Summary
Sometimes it takes a couple of years for a film to find its audience, and in the past decade, this was the case forseveral horror movies that have proven more than worth another watch. The horror genre has long been considered a proving ground for young up-and-comers, so it’s a crowded chock-full of talent, and some of those bold visions haven’t always immediately landed.
The2010s were a decade so rich with horror movies, from slasher movies tothe rise of psychological horror movies in the 2010s, that there are certainly more that deserve another examination. Inan era that started with slasher reboots and ended with the cultural primacy of studios like A24 and Neon, some gems got lost in the shuffle. Some had small but fervent audiences upon release. Others were quite controversial. Still others had great critical reviews but failed to translate them into success. Whatever the case, these movies deserve a rewatch.
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Annihilation
Cast
Alex Garland’s Annihilation is based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. It follows a group of explorers - comprised of biology professor Lena (Natalie Portman), psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), physicist Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson), geomorphologist Cassie Sheppard (Tuva Nvotny), and paramedic Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) - as they enter “the Shimmer”, a quarantined zone of mutated plants and animals caused by an unknown extra-terrestrial phenomenon. Lena agrees to enter the Shimmer in search of her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac), who was sent in as part of a special forces operation.
Alex Garland’s heady sci-fi-infused follow-up to his highly successful breakoutEx Machinawas a tough sell with Skydance, the studio that produced it.Roughly based on a Jeff VanderMeer novelwhose inspirations were drawn from the works of Franz Kafka and JG Ballard, the story is dreamlike and associative, paired with technicolor surrealist imagery.
While the film is now considered one of his best,financiers panicked after a tepid test screening, worryingAnnihilationwas too intellectual to draw the average viewer’s interest(viaTHR). As a result, after producers refused to force dramatic cuts to make the film more conventional, Garland’s sophomore feature was released on streaming less than a month after its theatrical debut, leading to a poor showing at the box office.
Knock Knock
Knock Knock is a 2015 crime drama starring Keanu Reeves, Lorenzo Izzo, and Ana de Armas. Reeves plays a married father who aids two young women who knock on his door. But things quickly escalate as they threaten and seduce him. Knock Knock is directed by Eli Roth and is a remake of Death Game (1977).
Eli Roth’s satirical home invasion thriller abouttwo young women who digitally extort a befuddled Keanu Reeves with false rape accusationsrubbed audiences the wrong way upon its release in 2015. Earning a paltry $6.3 million on its $10 million budget, critics dismissed its commentary on social media’s impact on sex and society as tonally inconsistent and unnecessarily campy.
Viewed as a product of its time, though, this tricky, tongue-in-cheek bloodbath is both clever and amusing, likely to satisfy audiences far more accustomed to horror’s blending with comedy than even five years ago. Reeves’ performance as a loving father and good husband, a cartoon Job figure being tested by the scourge of conventionally attractive and scheming women, is hilariously unmodulated.
LikeUnfriendedbefore it,Knock Knockis a sickly look at how we’ve tried (and often failed) to understand the sociological underpinnings of social media and technology in the 21st century.
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The Lords of Salem
The Lords of Salem was written and directed by Rob Zombie and stars Rob’s wife, Sheri Moon Zombie. The 2012 release is a supernatural Horror film that revolves around the Salem Witch Trials, following a modern day DJ named Heidi that ends up mixed up in a centuries-old ritual.
Rob Zombie’s ‘70s occult pastiche,The Lords of Salemwas rejected by critics and audiences in 2013, who found it virtually incoherent. The film follows radio DJ and recovering heroin addict Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie) on a path to complete psychological (and supernatural) breakdown after witches leave a record for her to play on the air.
The Lords of Salemis absolutely more vibes-based than plot-based
The Lords of Salemis absolutely more vibes-based than plot-based, pulling from its grab-bag of references like a teenager hastily rifling through a collection of band t-shirts before a party. But Zombie, a rocker turned director, is a perennial shock jock and plays these references to Polanski, Ken Russell, and Méliès with a veejay’s aplomb. Since its grim opening weekend,the film has found its cult audienceand been raised in critical esteem.
Color Out of Space
Directed by Richard Stanley, Color Out of Space is a 2019 Horror film starring Nicolas Cage. The film follows a meteorite that strikes the Earth, leading to strange occurrences on a farm. The release features Lovecraftian elements.
One film that hasn’t received major critical reappraisal is cult director (and former warlock) Richard Stanley’sColor Out of Space,because it hasn’t needed it - both critics and audiences rate it highly on Rotten Tomatoes.An adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story of the same name, it has all the makings of a midnight movie: Nic Cage stars as a befuddled dad who believes alpacas are the animal of the future and transplants his family to his father’s old mansion in the middle of nowhere.
When an alien color invades,the film takes on a distinctly psychedelic, stoner-ish timbre, featuring references to the Necronomicon, a not-insignificant secondary role for Tommy Chong, and multiple “full Cage” scenes for its star. It’s noMandy, butColor Out of Spaceis a worthy entry into the psychedelic horror subgenre that blossomed at the end of the 2010s.
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A Cure for Wellness
Directed by Gore Verbinski, A Cure for Wellness stars Dane Dehaan as Lockhart, a young executive sent to retrieve the CEO of his company from a strange wellness retreat in the Swiss Alps. Becoming trapped at the retreat, Lockhart begins to uncover its dark history and must fight for his life to escape. Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, and Celia Imrie also star.
LikeThe Lords of Salem, Gore Verbinksi’sA Cure for Wellnesswas knocked for its florid meta-referentiality upon its initial release. As A.O. Scott described it (viaLA Times), watchingA Cure for Wellnes,“you might feel like you’re in the company of a manic cinephile friend breathlessly recounting his favorite movie scenes in no particular order.”
The film,inspired by a Thomas Mann novel, follows a businessman (Dane DeHaan) on a journey to the Swiss Alps after his boss (Harry Groener) disappears at a mysterious health retreat. ThePirates of the Caribbeandirector’sbalance of good fun and slick, ambitious visuals inA Cure for Wellnessmake this twisty thriller an enduring object of curiosity, and its fan base has grown significantly.
Doctor Sleep
Doctor Sleep, set decades after The Shining, follows Dan Torrance as he confronts his traumatic past at the Overlook Hotel. He encounters Abra, a teenage girl with powerful extrasensory abilities called the “shine,” who enlists his help in battling sinister forces.
Mike Flanagan’ssequel toThe Shining, Doctor Sleep,released between the massive successes of some of his best-regarded work on film as well as in television (afterGerald’s GameandThe Haunting of Hill Houseand just beforeThe Haunting of Bly Manor), was a flop. It’s hard to understand what went wrong, considering the film’s nearly universal critical acclaim.
Still, it suggests thatits 2.5-hour runtime and short marketing campaign may bear some of the responsibility for its failure.The film is worthy of the praise it received, however. Offbeat and dense, the film boasts excellent performances from Ewan McGregor as grown-up Danny Torrance and Rebecca Ferguson as the seductively evil “shining” vampire Rose the Hat.
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Under the Skin
Under the Skin is a sci-fi thriller directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johansson. Johansson plays “The Female,” an alien from another world that hunts men in Scotland. Despite receiving high praise upon release, Under the Skin was a box office bomb, only making a little over half of its budget.
Even before its dramatic box office failure in 2013, critics recognized Jonathan Glazer’sUnder the Skinas a piece of art.
Even before its dramatic box office failure in 2013,critics recognized Jonathan Glazer’sUnder the Skinas a piece of art.Developed over a decade and shot to be deliberately alienating, including ample use of hidden cameras and non-actors,Under the Skinwas hard for audiences to accept.
This contrast was made particularly stark by the fact that the film, whichstars Scarlett Johannson as a clinically (anti)sexually curious alien, came out the same weekend asCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, also starring the actress. Still, the film, with its artful examinations of what Glazer broadly termed his interest in “the human condition,” has also subsequently been firmly (and rightly) claimed as an existential, feminist sci-fi art film.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter
Girls Kat (Kiernan Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Boynton) are left alone in a Bramford prep boarding school during the winter holidays when their parents mysteriously fail to pick them up. While they experience increasingly strange events at the isolated school, the film shows another story - that of Joan (Emma Roberts), a troubled young woman on the road who, for reasons unknown, needs to get to Bramford as quickly as possible. As Joan gets closer to the school, Kat is tormented by increasingly horrifying visions.
Since the release ofLonglegsthis summer,Psychostar Anthony Perkins’ sonOsgood “Oz” Perkins has achieved a new level of fame outside the horror communitythat would have seemed incredible only a few years ago. The director’s debut film is a pathos-driven chiller about a lonely young woman (Emma Roberts) trying to protect a group of boarding school students (centrally, Kiernan Shipka) left alone over winter break.
The Blackcoat’s Daughterwasn’t released until 2015, however, after struggling with budgetary problems and a botched release schedule after its festival premiere.The film appears fully formed, with none of the jitters that can appear in even the most talented director’s first features.Its scare scenes are eerie and, at times, crawl-out-of-your-skin disturbing. Kiernan Shipka, who rarely has starring roles, is haunting as Katherine, bringing possessed-doll vibes to a character with limited backstory.
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Set in a dystopian 1983, Beyond the Black Rainbow is a science fiction horror film directed by Panos Cosmatos. The story revolves around a young woman imprisoned in an experimental laboratory and her struggle against her sinister captor. The film delves into themes of control and liberation, enhanced by its visually striking and atmospheric presentation.
Mandydirector Panos Cosmatos debuted with a bang in 2010, releasingBeyond the Black Rainbow,a full-blown trance film that draws inspiration from metal music and the films of Andrei Tarkovsky alongside grindhouse ‘70s aesthetics and Ken Russell’sAltered States.
Set in a latter-day Esalen Institute gone to seed,the film is a moribund morality tale about the death of the ’60s and the health-and-wellness capitalism that supplanted it by the ‘80s.Full of mystery and, eventually, monsters, some critics rejected it as pure pastiche, while others dubbed it a would-be midnight movie. Since the success of his more recent films, this underappreciated low-budget arthouse puzzlebox has attracted a cult following.
1Green Room (2015)
Directed By Jeremy Saulnier
Green Roomis a slick, nasty little slasher aboutregular punks who witness Nazi punks commit a murder after a gig in Portland.This taught, electrifying gore-fest was extremely well received by critics when it was released in 2015, but, like others on this list, underwent a botched release, getting lost in the shuffle between limited and wide distribution. This edge-of-your-seat tale, told over the course of one harrowing night, boastsan unforgettable performance by the late Anton Yelchin, considered one of his best.
The skinheads, led by a would-be Nazi mafioso performed with sociopathic calm by Sir Patrick Stewart, are undeniably and memorably creepy, whilethe gore itself is particularly high quality.Green Roomnot only holds up as a particularly effectivehorrorfilm deserving of more attention, but it also remains salient and stylistically fresh, taking on a timelessness of form that holds up its specific time and place, turning it into a classic.
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