5 OF THE BEST: HORROR

#1 Silent Hill

As video game to film adaptations go, this easily outstrips all of its competitors, and for that you can thank its director Christophe Gans. Gans not only had the sound developer from Konami flown to the set, he also played the game on a 40-inch screen in front of the entire cast and crew so they could get a feel for the game and emulate it in their work. What a hero. On top of its excellent development process, the film is also different to nearly everything in its genre because it has an actual plot, with a twist and character development and alternate dimensions and everything.

Also the creepy family who live in Silent Hill have the last name Gillespie, which is just great.

#2 Friday the 13^th

Questionable moral lessons and killing scenes with excessive amounts of blood are here, it’s definitely an eighties slasher. If you have sex, well, I hope it was good, because it's the last thing you'll ever do. Smoking weed? Better enjoy that joint, because you're about to be stabbed in the face. The acting is hilariously dreadful, look forward to the scene where one of the boys pretends to drown, and get a lesson in how not to react in a potential crisis. It’s awful in every sense of the word and you really have to see the sequel to at all understand the story behind the monster, but all this aside, it’s still an absolutely great experience in horror film history.

#3 World War Z

A zombie film that also examines the geo-political outcomes of a worldwide epidemic. I don’t think there’s anything I didn't like about this film (although the scene with the bikes still confuses me) and Peter Capaldi’s appearance half way through just made it all the more enjoyable. No loose ends but enough twists and turns to keep you going in a film that stands alone from the book it’s based on as a piece of art in its own right. I can’t explain how much I enjoyed this, I might even buy the DVD.

Further reading: The Zombie Survival Guide (2014 release), The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, and World War Z

#4 The Blair Witch Project

I tried to stay away from the obvious choices but if you’re not mentally scarred for days after watching this then you’re just not human. The cast were given no direction before they were sent out into the woods with cameras for eight days, with only notes along the way to guide them, and the crew harassing them by night; so the stress and the exhaustion are all real. By far the scariest thing is watching the characters deteriorate mentally until basically the only dialogue is heavy breathing and yelling; leaving it more distressing than obviously terrifying. 

Also the house at the ends reminds me of the interior of my place in Brussels - bloody hand prints aside obviously. 

#5 REC

Almost as terrifying as #4 and there’s something about people yelling in Spanish and needing to use subtitles which just makes you more on edge than usual. My fun fact about this film is that the creepy girl at the end is also played by horror film legend (and actual person) Javier Botet, who plays creepy elongated women like no other (also see Mama). Basically everyone you get attached to in this film (and the sequels) will die, so don’t watch if you’re having a bad day. Or if you’re planning to visit any apartment blocks in Barcelona.

The one you should see – The Conjuring

Having spent most of the film with my eyes shut I can’t tell you a whole lot about it apart from the fact it’s absolutely terrifying. Not wanting to become a spoiler, I won’t say much, but the addition of the outside characters is nice, the birds are a little unnecessary, and the make-up department did an excellent job.

The one I want to see – V/H/S

Found footage. An omnibus of found footage. An omnibus of found footage with a plot arc and two people fainted when it was premièred at the Toronto Film Festival. There is nothing about this that means I don’t absolutely have to see it. V/H/S 2 was released earlier this year but not in the UK, although I'm told it has nothing on the original, and experience has taught me you don’t have to bother with sequels/prequels if they’re no good. So just stick with V/H/S and get scared silly.

Coming Soon – ­­­­­You’re Next

Okay so you've seen the trailer, and you think it looks exactly like The Strangers. You’d be right, it does; a wholesome family evening ruined by a home invasion by masked killers, but don’t you remember how good last time was? This looks to be more of the same and I think it's going to be incredible. 

xx