Do you like scary movies?
Amidst all The Simpsons ‘Treehouse of Horror’ specials, bobbing for apples and trick or treating, there’s a Halloween tradition that really has to be maintained every year, regardless of your age.
A scary horror film is an absolute must watch (unless you happen to be an even bigger chicken than the largest Peri-Peri at Nando’s) and with this in mind, I’ve decided to look at some of the best releases from the last decade.
How many of these have you seen?
Let The Right One In
Pagan pleasing plot: Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds friendship and revenge through Eli, a similarly troubled girl but there’s a massive twist. She’s a vampire and it’s not long before her thirst for blood begins to cause havoc in the quiet town.
Scarily similar to: The child perspective of The Devil’s Backbone with the realism of vampire classic Near Dark.
It’s a ghoulish great because: It’s haunting, beautiful and strangely touching. The US remake is very good but nothing can match Tomas Alfredson’s original for its poetic cinematography and dark fairytale narrative.
REC
Pagan pleasing plot: A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
Scarily similar to: The brutality of 28 Days Later mixed with The Blair Witch Project’s found footage aesthetic.
It’s a ghoulish great because: The shaky-cam style has been done to death but this somehow manages to breath new life, bites and scares into the genre.
The Orphanage
Pagan pleasing plot: A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for disabled children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Scarily similar to: The creaking menace of The Others mixed with the gothic fantasy of Pan’s Labyrinth.
It’s a ghoulish great because: I genuinely believe that it’s the best horror of the last decade. It covers all the classic traits of the genre, creepy kids, creaking floorboards and credible characters are all here, but the plot and set-pieces will leave you terrified.
The Conjuring
Pagan pleasing plot: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.
Scarily similar to: Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror.
It’s a ghoulish great because: At times, it does feel like 100 other horror films that you’ve seen before but the scares are executed perfectly and it’s extremely well acted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khJiqsVfiB8
VHS and VHS 2
Pagan pleasing plot: When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.
Scarily similar to: The short stories of Tales From The Crypt mixed with The Ring but presented for the YouTube generation.
It’s a ghoulish great because: Not all the blood soaked segments work but when they do, they’re gory as hell. VHS 2 features an absolutely bonkers segment from Gareth Evans, the director of The Raid, which is an absolute must watch for horror fans.
Wolf Creek
Pagan pleasing plot: Stranded backpackers in remote Australia fall prey to a murderous bushman who offers to fix their car, then takes them captive.
Scarily similar to: The unknown dread of The Hitcher with a few bloody drops of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre thrown in for good measure.
It’s a ghoulish great because: This could easily happen which makes it infinitely more terrifying. It’s hard for horror films to come up with new villains but Wolf Creek succedes in spades…and knives.
The Babadook
Pagan pleasing plot: A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.
Scarily similar to: Any film that relies on a creepy possessed kid, Sinister, Poltergeist and The Shining all spring to mind.
It’s a ghoulish great because: The first horror film was made in 1896 and since then we’ve seen vampires, werewolves, mummies, slashers, zombies, serial killers, ghosts, ghouls and everything else in between. This somehow feels original.
The Mist
Pagan pleasing plot: A freak storm unleashes a species of blood-thirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
Scarily similar to: Night Of The Living Dead and The Twilight Zone.
It’s a ghoulish great because: Mrs Carmody is a psychotic villain for the ages and the ending is absolutely superb.
The Descent
Pagan pleasing plot: A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
Scarily similar to: The claustrophobia and paranoia of Alien and The Thing.
It’s a ghoulish great because: Shauna Macdonald’s character Sarah is up there with the best cinematic heroines of recent years but the film also features one of the most memorable leg-breaks that you’ll ever see.
It Follows
Pagan pleasing plot: A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after getting involved in a sexual encounter.
Scarily similar to: Species and Megan’s Body.
It’s a ghoulish great because: If John Carpenter was still making horror films then this is something that he would make. Yes, it’s that good.
The Woman in Black
Pagan pleasing plot: A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
Scarily similar to: The Haunting and The House of the Devil.
It’s a ghoulish great because: You always need a reason to be scared absolutely s**tless by the sound of a creaking floorboard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXXRS3Kghh4
Sinister
Pagan pleasing plot: Washed-up true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt finds a box of super 8 home movies that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose work dates back to the 1960s.
Scarily similar to: Insidious and Session 9.
It’s a ghoulish great because: Some of the death/set-pieces will give you nightmares.
30 Days of Night
Pagan pleasing plot: After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires.
Scarily similar to: The Thing and Dawn of the Dead.
It’s a ghoulish great because: You don’t see enough decapitations via axe.
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