Best of 2014 in Horror

Here (in no particular order) is my list of the best horror films of 2014, or at least the ones I knew were released in 2014 when I saw them:

I will now never purchase an antique.

Oculus

This is one of the few films that has had me leaving the theatre with a feeling of dread. This tale of two siblings' attempt to clear their father's name and destroy what drove him to madness artfully mixes flashbacks and the present. Of course things don't go as planned. It's really hard to explain what makes this film so good to others because the best way I can describe it without spoiling anything is that it's about an evil mirror that kills people. Sounds like a bad 70s B-movie right? Well just trust me when I say it is awesome and you should check it out when you get the chance.

So why weren't there more shirtless scenes in Downton Abbey?

The Guest

I went into this movie expecting an average thriller with a buffed up Matthew Crawley, what I got instead was an amazing dark comedy with a buffed up Dan Stevens and a plethora of genre actors. The actors bring their a-games which isn't hard with such a witty script. And of course what tops off this piece of art is the beautiful cinematography and stand out soundtrack. I can't remember the last time I heard such a great soundtrack.

And here's to more shirtless Daniel Radcliffe scenes in the future.

Horns

I've been a Joe Hill fan ever since I read Locke & Key, so when I found out one of his books was being adapted into a movie I was thrilled (it was filmed in Vancouver!) This movie was like nothing I'd seen before, the closest thing I could compare it to was John Dies at the End. It artfully used the west coast setting to portray a story of love and betrayal with Daniel Radcliffe looking progressively more badass as every minute of the film passes. Although I wasn't a big fan of the third act it was still an awesome film that stuck with me.

ABCs of Death 2

This is a great example of a sequel surpassing it's predecessor. Learning from the shortfalls of the previous film (segments like L and F spring to mind) ABCs 2 managed to improve on pacing, there was never a moment where I was waiting for a segment or the movie to be over, as well as having more memorable and innovative shorts than the previous film. Definitely the anthology film of the year.

Well you never really use your pinkie anyways.

Cheap Thrills

The best of the "What would you do for money" films I saw this year, Cheap Thrills brought some great performances by both some name actors, such as scream queen Sara Paxton, and lesser known actors like Pat Healy as the down on his luck family man lead. It's the well defined characters that make this movie shine, along with some particularly gruesome scenes that show how desperate some people can get.

The Editor

Astron-6 knocks it out of the park with this homage to Italian giallo films. Not only does it manage to be laugh out loud funny, but it also shows how far the group has come as filmmakers. The stylized cinematography was beautiful and the plot managed to continue to raise the stakes even past the climax. While at times, especially the end, you were left scratching your head and wondering "what does it mean" that is what made the film work. I can't wait to see what Astron-6 comes up with next.


Now there were also some films I didn't get a chance to see, but was really excited for and will be finding as soon as I can, so here is a list of them:

The Babadook, Dead Snow 2, Starry Eyes, It Follows, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Housebound and Late Phases.