This week's top ten list chronicles the best horror movies of the 21st century, so enjoy.
10. 28 Days Later (2002) - While I still don't defend 28 Days Later as a zombie movie, I don't have any problem deeming it the tenth best horror flick of the last eight years. Boyle's direction is superb and the acting is downright great. The only major flaw is that the story is complete retread pap.
9. Cabin Fever (2002) - Screw you, this movie is good. Cabin Fever is an infectiously original horror tale set in a *gasp* a cabin in the woods. The whole story revolves around a disease that eventually starts taking over the residents of said cabin. It's nowhere near the first viral horror film, but it stays fresh, becoming almost a slasher movie with no slasher, merely a disgusting, skineating disease!
8. Jisatsu Saakuru (Suicide Club) (2002) - Surprisingly the only Japaneses film to make my list, Suicide Club is a crazily surreal mystery story filled with bloodsoaked carnage. You remember that scene in Hostel where the chick jumps in front of a train? Totally cribbed from Suicide Club. Anyway, just watch it.
7. Session 9 (2001) - A generally undiscovered gem, Brad Anderson's (Happy Accidents, Transsiberian) Session 9 is a thrilling ghost-mystery film, putting a new film on the haunted building (in this case, a mental institution) formula. Overall, the chills here are more psychological and keep you on the edge of your seat.
6. Slither (2006) - From the mind of former Tromaville resident James Gunn comes a wickedly funny B-movie in the tradition of Night of the Creeps. Slither stars Henry himself, Michael Rooker, as Grant Grant, the guy that eventually becomes the host for some strange alien creature that really likes to eat. Check it out, some great laughs!
5. Grindhouse (Deathproof/Planet Terror) (2007) - Yeah, we are putting both films together. Tarantino and Rodriguez came together with a very solid one-two punch with Grindhouse. Of course, the entire thing is homage (that is the whole concept behind it). Luckily, this homage is crafted by two expert film-makers!
4. Haute Tension (High Tension) (2003) - The French are really starting to make a name for themselves in the horror community with stuff like Inside and Frontiere(s), but it seems like it can all be traced back to Alexander Aja and his crimson-soaked (almost) masterpiece Haute Tension. I'll be the first to admit it, I don't like the ending either. I found it just as trtie as you did. But the rest of the film, my goodness, keeps the red stuff coming. And Jordan likey.
3. Shaun of the Dead (2004) - Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. Another film that is conceptually an homage (in case you are extremely uninformed, the name is a riff on Dawn of the Dead), and is gut-bustingly funny in execution. Shaun of the Dead keeps the gore at a hard R, but still manages to be bitingly funny (much funnier than anything Peter Jackson did, I must say).
2. American Psycho (2000) - You say what you will, but American Psycho is a straight up exploitation film in the mold of all my favorites. Forget the ambiguity of the ending, and focus on the whacked out, twistedness of the film. I'm not suggested Patrcik Bateman is a role model, but you could do worse.
1. Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) - Don Coscarelli makes weird movies (almost exclusively Phantasms and Beastmasters), and Bubba Ho-Tep is no exception. This hilarious B-movie pits Bruce "Don't Call Me Ash" Campbell's old-ass Elvis Presley and Ossie Davis' JFK (yep) against an ancient mummy in a showdown at a retirement home. Yeah, that's the plot. As ridiculous as that sounds, the laughs keep rolling, especially thanks to Campbell and Davis' great turns as the deceased historical figures. Great campy fun.
EDIT 10/17: I am not going to re-edit this whole list, but watching the 2007 Spanish horror film [Rec] really makes me want to. It is phenomenal and would probably bump down Grindhouse. Watch it!
- Bride of Jordanstein
Sulphur Springs, TX
