William Pattison’s Top Ten Horror Movies from 2021
By William Pattison
Gore and Scares everyone! 2021 was a really good year for
horror. I watched a lot of good horror films, so many it was really hard to
choose just ten, but I prefer doing a top ten rather than a top twenty. So,
after a lot of deliberation, here is my top ten horror movies for 2021…
10. Censor
Director
Prano Bailey-Bond
Writers
Prano Bailey-Bond
Anthony Fletcher
Stars
Niamh Algar
Michael Smiley
Nicholas Burns
In 1985, Enid Baines works for the British Board of Film
Classification during the height of the Video Nasty controversy. Enid's
co-workers call her "Little Miss Perfect" due to her strictness in
recommending that violent content be cut or banned. While Enid is having dinner
with her parents, they discuss the disappearance of Enid's sister Nina when the
two were little. Enid's parents have since declared Nina legally dead, but Enid
is convinced that her sister is still missing and is the star of the film she
is currently censoring.
This was a very interesting psychological film. this
film strongly echoes the works of Argento, Fulci & Cronenberg with its
splendid use of color, style & mood. Those films within the film pay homage
to the low-budget horror & exploitation films of the 1980s while its own
plot is missing chunks of flesh. It also gives away the ending rather early
with hints of a dark past concerning our protagonist but remains gripping.
9. Halloween
Kills
Director
David Gordon Green
Writers
John Carpenter (based on characters created by)
Debra Hill (based on characters created by)
Scott Teems
Stars
Jamie Lee Curtis
Judy Greer
Andi Matichak
The Halloween night when Michael Myers returned isn't over
yet. Minutes after Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and
granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged
and burning in Laurie's basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with
life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor.
But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie's trap, his ritual
bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself
against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their
unstoppable monster. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of
Michael's first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands,
forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all.
This installment in the rebooted Halloween franchise was
quite effective. The entire audience was screaming and shouting and just, in general, having a spooktacular time. The storyline was modern but yet paid
homage to the original. The scares, the gore, the stupid decisions, it all came
together to make one killer movie.
8. Antlers
Director
Scott Cooper
Writers
Henry Chaisson (screenplay by)
Nick Antosca (screenplay by)
Scott Cooper (screenplay by)
Stars
Keri Russell
Jesse Plemons
Jeremy T. Thomas
In a small town in central Oregon, Frank Weaver runs a meth
lab out of an abandoned mine. While his young son Aiden waits outside the mine
in his truck, Frank and an accomplice are attacked by an unseen creature.
Investigating strange noises, Aiden is also attacked by the creature. Frank and
Aiden survive their encounter with the creature and return home, where their
condition quickly worsens. Frank sets up a locked room and demands that no
matter what, Aiden's older brother Lucas keeps them locked inside.
This movie was quite surprising to be fair, I was expecting
a typical horror with the basic format of a scare here and there with a cliche
ending, but no this creature feature is actually quite unique with very
interesting themes about trauma and abuse and has great parallels between the
two main characters. The effects were pretty good and the creature looked
really good when it was finally revealed. The acting was solid even the kid
actors weren't bad at all. The score was pretty cool and fit the creepy vibe of
the film. Not too long and not too short of a film, perfect length for these
sorts of films as they drag on if they're too long and feel bogged down with
exposition. Not much to say really about this one. Just a solid horror.
7. Blood Red
Sky
Director
Peter Thorwarth
Writers
Stefan Holtz (scenario)
Peter Thorwarth (scenario)
Stars
Peri Baumeister
Carl Anton Koch
Alexander Scheer
A woman with a mysterious illness, who is with her young
son, is forced into action when a group of terrorists attempt to hijack a
transatlantic overnight flight. The result is a bloodbath.
This film is an original twist on the vampire saga. Don't
take it all that seriously and you are going to see a rather good movie. It's all
there that you want from a vampire flick and somehow it did remind me a lot of
the series The Strain. You know, the airplane were things go wrong.
6. Wrong
Turn
Director
Mike P. Nelson
Writer
Alan B. McElroy
Stars
Charlotte Vega
Adain Bradley
Bill Sage
Friends hiking the Appalachian Trail are confronted by 'The
Foundation', a community of separatist people who have lived in the mountains
since the Civil War.
I must say that I only saw the original Wrong Turn film so I
went into this with no real expectations about what should happen. It turns out
it was one of those few reboots that outdid the original horror film. There are
plenty of scary moments as well as quite a few unpleasant deaths. The
protagonists aren't particularly likable; they may be diverse and politically
liberal but they have their own prejudices. Without going into retails I
thought the way friends crossed paths with The Foundation; the various traps
were fun and the Foundation appeared scary. On the downside one really does
have to suspend one's disbelief; The Foundation might be a danger to hikers but
one can't imagine the authorities would be ignorant and tolerant of people
disappearing on a particular mountain for a hundred and seventy years! The
setting looks great even though it was filmed in Ohio rather than Virginia.
Overall I'd say this is worth watching but not a must-watch for horror fans;
just don't take it too seriously.
5. Malignant
Director
James Wan
Writers
James Wan (story by)
Ingrid Bisu (story by)
Akela Cooper (story by)
Stars
Annabelle Wallis
Maddie Hasson
George Young
Twenty-seven long years after the brutal Simion Research
Hospital incident, abused Madison wakes up in a hospital in present-day
Seattle. But with numbing visions of murder getting in the way of a normal
life, more and more, Madison's obscure past emerges, baffling both herself and
the local detectives. Are these explicitly violent killings figments of
Madison's troubled imagination? Either way, someone, or better yet, something,
links the past to the present, demanding closure and blood. Is the bogeyman
real?
Horror movies are tough to make. Especially when you are
trying to please the general crowd and the hardened horror aficionados.
Especially the latter might depict your movie and quite a few things you chose.
Now James Wan seems to love a moving camera ... and I think that works nicely.
But he also seems to like action ... which is apparent towards the almost
insane action set piece almost at the end of the movie. It is so over the top,
that one might feel it doesn't belong in there.
It still sort of works if you suspend your disbelief. Other points you can criticize
are things that are being built up without a payoff. While it may not be too
bad when it comes to the (comedic) romance subplot, it is more than weird with
a location towards the end. It gets such an epic ... introduction and yet it
deflates into almost nothing.
Maybe there is more (deleted scenes I'm quite sure), some scenes obviously have
been cut, one, in particular, comes to mind with more romantic stuff, that didn't
make it into the movie. Dialog wise that is, just in case you are wondering.
But if you only see the negative, you will miss out on the fun and the horror
the movie dishes out. The story/plot does check out and while you'll be trying
to figure out what is what (and again hardcore horror fans will probably be
onto Wan early on), it does not take anything away from the journey.
There are some horror clichés too (the very last frame may annoy you), but
overall the movie is a nice mixture between horror, comedy and action. If you can
dig that, you are on a good way to really like this.
4. The
Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Director
Michael Chaves
Writers
David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (screenplay by)
James Wan (story by)
Chad Hayes (based on characters created by)
Stars
Patrick Wilson
Vera Farmiga
Ruairi O'Connor
Based on the infamous demon murder case. A chilling story of
terror, murder, and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life
paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational
cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy,
then takes them beyond anything they'd ever seen before, to mark the first time
in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a
defense.
Everyone who's complaining that they're too much story and
not enough scares, are you kidding? Story and character is the reason why we
care about the stakes that's where drama, tension, and horror come from. If it
was all jump scares and lacking in the story (the movie Winchester comes to mind),
I guarantee y'all would've been even more disappointed. But if that's your
thing, you'll probably be just as entertained by a jack in the box. While
remaining faithful to the Conjuring universe, I appreciated that this third
movie explored new territory so it wasn't just a repeat. It is a quality
addition to the series with good production value and much more thoughtfully written than the spin-offs. It's a win for what it is considering
the impossible task the writer and the director had of pleasing all these harsh
fans who couldn't even tell you what they liked about the first two conjuring
movies other than "it was scary."
3. Army of
the Dead
Director
Zack Snyder
Writers
Zack Snyder (story by)
Shay Hatten (screenplay by)
Joby Harold (screenplay by)
Stars
Dave Bautista
Ella Purnell
Ana de la Reguera
With the abandoned, walled city of Las Vegas overrun with
zombies, after a disastrous government fault, billionaire casino magnate Bly
Tanaka realizes he has left something behind in Sin City: $200 million to be
more precise. But for the time being, his mountains of cash are safe behind an
impenetrable casino vault. Now, Tanaka is willing to pay $50 million to
decorated former mercenary Scott Ward and his hand-picked team to retrieve the
money before the US President nukes the entire city. Indeed, this is a
life-changing offer Scott cannot refuse; nevertheless, the rules have changed,
and this time, the horde of the walking undead seems to be more organized than
they might have expected. And, above all, time is running out. Will Ward's crew
return from Vegas in one piece and rich?
Oozing with a gung-ho attitude, smeared with a brawny touch,
and brimming with an unabashed brainlessness, Army of the Dead has all the
hallmarks of a silly, idiotic & extravagantly dumb yet fun blockbuster with
a bonkers premise & stupid characters to steer the adventure and not only
does it deliver what it set out to do but also does so with panache &
near-fatal overdose of style.
2. Last
Night in Soho
Director
Edgar Wright
Writers
Edgar Wright (story by)
Krysty Wilson-Cairns (screenplay by)
Stars
Thomasin McKenzie
Anya Taylor-Joy
Matt Smith
In acclaimed director Edgar Wright's psychological thriller,
Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s
where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie. But the glamour is not
all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter
into something far darker.
Edgar Wright seems to polarize with this movie. Although
generally speaking the majority seem to love this as much as I did. Or in
similar fashion - no pun intended. And for a genre movie it starts off ... well
off (weird). You don't get a shocker, quite the opposite it starts off with a
music number/dancing. Which makes sense when you think about it in hindsight
and still sets a tone for the viewer - even if not one that is as menacing as
the movie becomes later on.
Technically speaking the movie is impeccable. Anyone arguing differently surely
has not seen far lesser movies produced than this and is probably blinded by
the fact they don't like the movie. Which is more than fine, just don't let
your dislike turn into a general bashing. One does not have to like a movie
that is well made. We have different tastes and that is a good thing.
There are things that depending on how you view things, may feel like flaws or
things the movie did not get right. Like the moral ambiguity or the love
interest. The latter may feel a bit one dimensional, but ask yourself this: how
many female love interests have been played or rather written the exact same
way? So this is nothing unusual - unless you count the gender swap for who is
playing the gullible and way too nice person to be real ... having said that,
again that may not be enough to sway you to like the movie or the characters.
And the moral issues the movie displays including an ending that some may not
be entirely left satisfied with (character choices and so much more) - with
many unanswered questions ... on the other hand, some things are better left
without an answer, so we as viewers can fill in the blanks.
Stylish and probably with quite a few in-camera effects (I imagine certain
tricks were used to avoid a higher special effects cost, but I may be wrong),
this movie has a few exquisite jump scares and a really good story as a
backbone. Oh and before I forget, a great cast. It has been ages since I last
saw Terence Stamp on the big screen.
Anyway, really good genre movie by a director who knows what he wants - for an
audience who mostly seems to appreciate it.
1. Willy’s Wonderland
Director
Kevin Lewis
Writer
G.O. Parsons (screenplay
by)
Stars
Nicolas Cage
Emily Tostaa
Beth Grantt
A quiet loner (Nic Cage) finds himself stranded in a remote
town when his car breaks down. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he
agrees to spend the night cleaning Willy's Wonderland, an abandoned family fun
center. But this wonderland has a dark secret that the "The Janitor"
is about to discover. He soon finds himself trapped inside Willy's and locked
in an epic battle with the possessed animatronic mascots that roam the halls.
To survive, he must fight his way through each of them.
I like the general premise and the place. I love Cage's
obsessive cleaning although his character should start differently. Instead of
a bad mother driving a muscle car, he should be a simple workman driving a
beat-up truck. He should be poor which would explain him working as a janitor
more easily. I like the teen group for the most part and they are good cannon
fodder anyways. I like the animatronic killers although the killings get a bit
repetitive.
So, there you go my top ten for 2021. Hope you found them
interesting. I’ll see you next year around this time for the top ten of 2022.
Keep America Strong, Watch Horror Films…
