Marc’s Favorite Films of 2011
by Marc Patterson
In a few hours 2011 will be ancient history. I have to admit, I thought it was a damn fine year for horror. While horror at the box office seemed to be awfully underwhelming the stuff that was coming out direct-to-video and through VOD was astonishing. I touched on how 2011 would be the year of video-on-demand back in early May (read that article here). I’m happy to say I wasn’t wrong. That’s not to be arrogant – it’s just stating facts. Whereas Hollywood studios have been increasingly focused on keeping their bottom lines intact by releasing more sequels and remakes than ever before (see supporting article) the smaller distributors such as IFC, Dark Sky, and Magnolia have been cranking out some fantastic titles for us. Without further fuss nor muss, here’s my list of my personal favorites from this past year…
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil – Hands down Tucker and Dale vs. Evil was the best horror comedy of the year. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil has done for slasher films what Shaun of the Dead did for zombie films. It’s a fast-paced, cleverly written riff on the dumb-as-a-brick backwoods hillbilly horror flick. This inventive, yet simple, film flips the genre on its head resulting in an appendage crunching spin that shocks us most in that we can hardly believe that it has never been done before. While it faults in relying too much on CGI effects, it compensates for it by crafting genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and witty dialogue, that seamlessly weave themselves into the marrow of this soon to be horror classic. If you haven’t seen it then do so before the new year rings in! FESTIVAL REVIEW
The Divide – I read Cormac McCarthy’s The Road some time back and then more recently saw the film. Aside from The Road no other post-apocalyptic film has felt so bleak, so shocking, so sorrowful as has The Divide. In a nutshell The Divide makes a close character study of a group of survivors hunkered down in a bomb shelter after a nuclear attack. We watch as the group dynamics spiral down a dark dysfunctional tunnel before they’re snuffed out mercilessly. You’ll wince, you’ll look away, you might even shed a tear. While The Divide officially will get its theatrical release in 2012 I was lucky enough to catch this about a month ago and it still lingers in the back of my psyche. FESTIVAL REVIEW
Stake Land – I’m putting this one up as my favorite horror film of the year. It felt a lot like Zombieland (anyone remember that zom-com?), but stripped of the cheeky humor and instead replaced with a depressingly dark underbelly. It was wonderfully written, beautifully shot, and passionately acted. It embodied the perfection of a three-act film and though it wasn’t without its flaws it’s a film with real replay value. In fact, I’ve seen it three times now, and may watch it again before the new year rings in. As with many good monster horror flicks nowadays, this one is more about humans surviving each other in a post-apocalyptic world and less about the horrors of the monsters that plague the remnants of humanity. THEATRICAL REVIEW / FESTIVAL REVIEW
Dream Home – This silly slasher from Hong Kong is about a young girl whose dream of owning a simple home overlooking the ocean has been smashed to pieces. But this 99%er isn’t going to take it lying on her back. She’s going to get her dream home by any means possible. The worldwide recession has never seen such nasty vengeance as a young girl possessed! With a combination of spot-on direction, fantastic cinematography, and chunkblowing gore Dream Home is a horror fan’s dream film. It avoids drowning itself in economic inequality sub-text, something it could have easily done, and instead focuses on telling the story of a girl on fire. FILM REVIEW
Dear God No! – While the vast majority of genre geeks seemed to be jerking each other off to Hobo with a Shotgun, cult horror fanatics were getting turned onto Dear God No!, which is still out there playing around wherever it can find an audience. Made without studio backing, or the big-mouthed noise of the Quentin Tarantino crowd and all those Austin hipsters who gobbled up Troll 2 like it was “cool”, Dear God No! is a biker flick that successfully employed do-it-yourself movie making techniques (while bringing in real Hollywood talents to the filmmaking team) to create a film that feels like a direct product of the 70’s. It’s brimming over with exploitation value, including topless tommygun toting Nixon strippers, a blood soaked burnout on a nun’s chest (try not to make a habit of that!), and even a psychotic Big Foot that ravages the Georgian woods. FILM REVIEW
Cold Fish – An artfully constructed erotic perversion doused in an outrageous amount of grisly gore-filled sequences, Shion Sono’s latest entry to the horror genre is mindblowingly good. Focused on an ordinary man of meager means who runs a fish shop, who finds himself caught in a web of deceit on the part of both his family and adversaries, Cold Fish is an emotional gauntlet where Sono fucks with the audience’s head, not making it clear as to whom we should side with. This mental fuckery has been a real calling card for Asian filmmakers this year and Sono pushes us to our limits, and right over the edge at times. It’s nasty, brutal, unrelenting and brilliant in every way. The distinction between good and evil has rarely been so blurred. DVD REVIEW (Marc Patterson) / FESTIVAL REVIEW (Keri O’ Shea)
I Saw The Devil – Continuing to push an audiences ability to clearly side with good or evil I Saw the Devil emerged as what might just be the white-knuckled adrenaline ride of the year. It’s a tale of vengeance amplified. When a serial killer sadistically murders a young detective’s wife he makes the biggest mistake of his life. What ensues is a torturous game of cat and mouse that is more like lion and zebra. The young detective, filled with grief and hatred catches the killer, tortures him, and releases him, only to track him down, catch him again and continue torturing him. The absolute deadpan execution of revenge is as punishing on viewers as it is on the participants. Combined with a haunting and quiet score, augmented with stunning cinematography, brutality has rarely looked so good and hurt so bad. FESTIVAL REVIEW
Kidnapped – A suffocating exercise in total shock and awe that kicks cinema-goers straight in the balls with a size ten steel toe boot when they hardly expect it. Avoiding complicated and unnecessary back-stories, and meaningless moralistic filler meant only to pander to mass market audiences, Kidnapped puts viewers point blank at the end of a smoking barrel, promising each and every one of us that we’ll be next. You’ve seen home invasion films before, but never like this. THEATRICAL REVIEW
American Horror Story – Okay, so technically this is a television series, and not a film – not even a mini-series, but I think I’m safe to say that this was the dark horse of the year. It came out of nowhere, seemed to be marketed as it if it would be a here today forgotten tomorrow quick series for Halloween, and then turned out to be one of the most riveting and engaging shows running. It made The Walking Dead look like child’s play and hung in there as essential viewing alongside Boardwalk Empire and Sons of Anarchy. A perfect mix of The Shining and the best of those vengeful Japanese ghost stories, minus the moldy blue cheese children. You absolutely must catch up on this if you’ve missed it to date.
[Edit - During the process of posting this article the 10th and final film of this list was accidentally deleted. We apologize to our readers as well as the filmmakers of this final selection. Thankfully we've caught it within a few hours of the original post]
The Bunny Game – It’s the most controversial film you likely haven’t seen. It has been banned in Britain due to what the BBFC deems “unremitting sexual and physical abuse of a helpless woman, as well as the sadistic and sexual pleasure the man derives from this“. Of course we at BrutalAsHell.com don’t quite see it the same way. Completely contrary to this sentiment I’ve called it “An Ecstatic Vision Quest of Torture, Death, and Rebirth”. It’s a harrowing journey into hell for a prostitute who takes a job with the wrong john. But such a summary is far too pithy. Director Adam Rehmeier and actress Rodleen Getsic, who put herself through everything you see on screen, have created a punishing and spiritual cinematic experience, a cleansing by fire if you will. Shot in black and white, with sparse dialogue, the film is highly improvisational and excruciatingly realistic – mainly because everything you see happening is really happening. There were no stunts and Getsic really does take a brand in the making of this film. It’s Martyrs, except far more stripped down, raw, and pure in both essence and execution. It’s sure to cause further controversy as Adam continues the quest to bring this film to a wide audience, BBFC be damned. Annie Riordan’s Review / Marc Patterson’s Interview/Review
