To get in the mood, here's a list from Movies, Films, and Flix discussing "The Top 21 Horror Films of the 21st Century," as determined by a reader poll. There were a few that surprised me (What We Do in the Shadows and Mulholland Drive, neither of which are really horror), and a few I haven't seen (Trick R Treat, Martyrs, and The House of the Devil). There are also several I don't agree with. For example, I haven't fallen in love with It Follows the way many horror fans have. To me, there were a lot of issues with it, not least of which was how hard they worked to beat the message into the audience. Whatever happened to underlying themes instead of in-your-face themes?
Of course, any list like this is subjective. It did give me a few more movies to watch that I hadn't otherwise considered, so I'll have to check out the ones I haven't seen.
As a bonus, Moviepilot put together a list of horror shorts. You can check them out here. My favorites from the list are Night Night Nancy (despite some obvious flaws, like the actress's acting and the unrealistic way she reacts to what's going on) and Downstairs. I tend to prefer the evil of humanity more than monsters (though I love a good monster), but Downstairs had some excellent creepy moments and scares.
Looking forward to IWSG this week? I'll be co-hosting! If you're not sure what it is, look for Insecure Writer's Support Group HERE. Also, I'll be a guest on Yolanda Renee's blog, Defending the Pen, next Monday, the 12th. Come visit me there! In the meantime, I'm among great company, so stop by to see her other guests, as well. Christine Rains is there today.
Bearing in mind that this is 21st century only, are there any films you would have liked to see on the list? Anything you would remove or shuffle around? What was your favorite of the short films? Do you enjoy short films or does it need to be longer for you to get into it?
May you find your Muse.
Image by OCAL, clker.com
19 comments:
I almost never watch short films and I usually avoid horror. I'm too big a chicken.
If those films are on the list, then it's an odd list indeed. Will go check it out.
Thanks again for co-hosting this Wednesday.
And while I definitely disagree with some on the list, cool that Cabin in the Woods was number one.
Interesting choice of films. I mean, I loved movies like What We Do in the Shadows and American Psycho, but I wouldn't consider either of them horror.
I'm totally unfamiliar with any of those films, being the absolute dinosaur I am. Since I'm such a dinosaur, though, I love short films. Too many modern-day filmmakers have forgotten the art of packing a complete story into only a few reels, or only one reel.
I want to see What We Do in the Shadows, but it looks like a comedy that's parodying Horror, rather than a Horror film.
The 21st century is young, but Martyrs? Devil's Rejects? The freaking Mist? And hellll no to #1.
Ah well, Let the Right One In, The Descent, [REC], and Paranormal Activity are all so wonderful that I'll live.
Hi Shannon,
Thanks for the shout out, but especially for participating and bringing DeAnna along! The Halloween blogs are doing great and so much fun to read. I love scary movies during Halloween month, but no zombies, please, still can't handle the munchers! LOL
SAW was a series I could not get into. And I'm like you, more afraid of human monsters than any others. Of course, a really good vampire movie like Salems Lot is awesome.
I've recently stopped watching horror movies, because I kept dreaming of the witch in The Conjuring. For some reason that movie freaked me out. But that is a good list. I haven't watch some of them though.
Hi,
I never look at horror films. They give me nightmares. It took me years to get over Rosemary's Baby and The Omen.
Shalom,
Patricia
I didn't watch short films before, and then I went to a writing workshop where several were shown to illustrate some of the points being made. It was amazing how much story could be told in that small amount of space. Same goes for short stories.
I do love Cabin in the Woods. People either love or hate it, it seems, but I love it as an homage to horror.
Agreed. I can see how American Psycho would be categorized as horror, but not What We Do in the Shadows. AP was also a bit satire, though, too. Horror satire?
Yep. Sometimes it seems much of a regular length film is a bunch of filler. The shorts remove the filler and pack in the story.
I very much think What We Do in the Shadows is comedy parodying horror. There wasn't anything scary in it at all. However, it's a fun movie. We've had a lot of so-so horror movies the last fifteen years. A few good ones, a lot of bad ones.
I will be binge watching scary movies all month. Not that I don't watch them when it's not October, but this is the month I catch up with all the ones I haven't watched in awhile.
I'm not big on torture porn. I watched the first Saw, but never any beyond that. I also watched the first Hostel, but that was plenty. Blech.
I really liked The Conjuring. My sister and I saw it before we went on a road trip, and I told her I was going to start a game of hide and clap at the hotel.
Those were both really good horror films!
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