Movies
Alex’s Top Three of 2021
I am a self-proclaimed Reaction Whore™. When it comes to showing people films that I love, I strive to provoke an evocative response, be it shock and awe, fear, or laughter.
Malignant
I am a self-proclaimed Reaction Whore™. When it comes to showing people films that I love, I strive to provoke an evocative response, be it shock and awe, fear, or laughter. Malignant garners all of the above in one bonkers package. Directed by horror master James Wan, I was initially perplexed by the B-movie schlock it presents. The film’s opening borders on camp and reminded me of 1999’s House on Haunted Hill. The melodrama is almost tangible in the cold, damp house where protagonist Madison resides, and the plot screams direct-to-video. But the gag is, dear reader, that this film knows exactly what it’s doing, and once you understand this, you are in for a wild ride.
The film centers on the aforementioned Madison, whose life is upended by murders she presumes to be committed by her childhood imaginary friend, Gabriel. Its plot maneuvers through themes and topics of spousal abuse, astral projection, hot cops named Kekoa, the gray morality of science, bad wigs, and ultimately lands on the patriarchal control men have over women and their bodies. And while Malignant certainly toys with these ideas, its ultimate purpose is to reveal to us a twist and climax like no other: Gabriel is not Madison’s imaginary friend. He is an extreme teratoma attached to the back of her head from birth, which remained dormant in her skull until a recent violent altercation with her now murdered husband set him free.
Yes, it is the mother of all Reaction Whore™ moments. The crowning achievement, however, is that this information is revealed while Madison is imprisoned in a holding cell with a dozen other women wherein Gabriel unleashes a bloody reckoning upon them in a moment that can only be described as “backward John Wick.” So please, don’t shame my cinematic promiscuity. I’m only trying to spread the wealth.
The Fear Street Trilogy
Not since Kill Bill and The Matrix released their respective parts within six months of one another have I had the pleasure to enjoy such a rapid-fire release schedule of a film series. Dished out on Netflix over the course of a few weeks in the height of the summer, The Fear Street Trilogy became an event in the style of the Movie of the Week that we rarely get to experience in today’s binge culture.
The trilogy tells the tale of the curse of the supposed 17th-century witch, Sarah Fier (I see what they did there), that looms over the town of Shadyside. Its overarching plot focuses on a group of teens in the phosphorescent-infused Fear Street: 1994 who are inexplicably linked to the curse and its murderous rampage. The following two films bring us further back to the washed-out nostalgia of a summer camp in Fear Street: 1978, and finally to the early American settlers of Fear Street: 1666 to delve deeper into the history of the curse and why exactly people are transforming into vicious killers, Evil Dead style.
Knowing Fear Street is based on a young adult book series of the same name, I honestly did not have high expectations going in. I was surprised with how much these films lean into their R rating, violently setting the bar high with the first kill and not letting up through three gruesome supernatural slashers worth of carnage. They also cleverly take a page from American Horror Story and retain key members of the cast to play different characters in each film. The result gave me all the feels as I grew to care for these actors and their well-developed characters right up until they were snatched from my heart in a series of kills that stand up to some of the better slashers out there. Fear Street: 1978, my favorite of the trio, ends in an especially brutal and tragic sequence between two sisters that left my jaw on the ground.
Netflix served up a thrilling summer indulgence this year, and I invite them to try it again sometime.
Titane
French filmmaker, Julia Ducournau, delivered one of the most unexpected films on the 2021 bingo card: Titane. A bizarre story on love and human evolution, it follows a dancer with a steel plate in her head who moonlights as a serial killer, is impregnated by a car, and flees her crimes to disguise herself as a man’s decade-long missing son, which then results in the pair finding unconditional love in one another and the human/machine hybrid child she births into the world.
Much can be said concerning Titane’s sophisticated themes and grotesque imagery, and perhaps that’s why it stood out to me. To take such an absurd premise and skillfully track the journey of a woman quite literally made of steel and detached from her humanity, who finds love and acceptance with a similarly lost stranger, is a thing of art. The cold steel of Titane melted away, as did my mind, by the time the credits rolled.
We are finally in the midst of Shudder’s 61 days of Halloween! There are so many horror movies to consume and 31 days simply isn’t enough. Use the long Labor Day weekend to kick off your horror movie countdown and add these movies to your Shudder queue. Here is a list of what I would recommend checking out to ease into the Halloween spirit right before going into full blown premature trick-or-treating mode.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
The Yeti (2026)
A large creature has captured people in a remote Alaskan town in the 1940s. The sheriff has put together a search-and-rescue monster hunting party to bring back the captives. It sounds like the premise of a Cold Iron Studios co-op video game in the same vein as Aliens: Fireteam Elite. The stylization from co-directors Gene Gallerano & William Pisciotta in the trailer makes me think they have cooked up a story that blends action, horror, and wilderness survival. Sign me up, sheriff!
Leave (2022)
Hunter was found as a baby abandoned in a cemetery wrapped in a cloth covered with satanic symbols. She has been searching for answers her whole life about where she came from. Her journey to find her parents takes her down a mysterious path, and she is being warned by something from the beyond to leave this mystery alone. Can she trust who this investigation is leading her towards? It’s a mysterious, supernatural, culty film that will give you chills.
Penny Lane is Dead (2026)
One crazy night in Australia with perhaps a dash of revenge. Shudder’s latest original looks to be packed with blood and violence in this story of girls just trying to have fun until the crazy cousin drugs the party and invites dangerous people to play. The trailer promises lots of body horror (trigger warning, there may be SA or threat of it). I’m not saying it will be Evil Dead level, but there’s definitely something in the Aussie water with Lee Cronin pumping out his gory deadites and mummy films, and now Mia Kate Russel with this one.
The Others (2001)
This is a PSA to the younger readers of Horror Press; stop what you’re doing and watch Nicole Kidman go 100 miles per hour in this classic ghost story with a twist. Dreary weather, massive estate, confusing corridors, creepy house servants you don’t know if you can trust, and sad British kids. The ending is an all-timer and spoilers should be avoided at all costs. It has exactly what you need to get right into the cozy, spooky mood for 61-days of Halloween.
Dark Harvest (2023)
If The Hunger Games and The Purge had a baby and raised it during Oktoberfest. Teenage boys are tasked with hunting and killing the entity known as Sawtooth Jack on Halloween night, or it could mean certain peril for their town. Of the movies I have listed here that I have not seen, this is going to be at the top of my watchlist. Teens fighting for survival on Halloween night and the battle setting is in a cornfield?! Say less. I am there with my Sam Adams seasonal in hand. Another perfect movie to cannonball me right into the Halloween spirit.
This list has been carefully curated to watch in a specific order to gear up for a Halloween marathon. Start with the wintry monster movie, move on to a macabre supernatural thriller, followed by a ramp-up in blood and gore, to then be lulled into a spooky, bump-in-the-night classic, all to end on a ritualistic hunt taking place on Halloween night. This is just getting things started for the first 30-days. Looking forward to sharing the next list to get you through October.
Anyone who follows legendary horror author Stephen King on social media or reads the back of books knows one thing. It’s harder to find something that King hasn’t blurbed than something that he has. The dude is a voracious consumer of genre media, and he finds a lot to love. It’s an admirable quality. But, speaking as someone who saw American Ultra after he praised it, you can’t always trust his recommendations. Today, I’ll cut some of the wheat from the chaff and break down the best modern horror movies he’s recommended.
Three notes: First, I have decided to define “modern” as “2001 or later.” Second, King practices good social media hygiene and has deleted many of his old posts. A lot of them are archived elsewhere. However, it’s more or less impossible to make a truly comprehensive list of his recommendations. I’ve synthesized multiple different sources and done my best to truly encapsulate the breadth of his recommendations. Third, I have not included any adaptations of his own work. He may be outspoken about the ones he doesn’t like, but he’s still obviously biased in that department.
#10 Snakes on a Plane (2006)
To quote King himself (defending putting 2012 among his top 2009 movies), “no filmgoing diet is complete without some cheese.” Snakes on a Plane is a does-what-it-says-on-the-tin movie, delivering high-flying serpentine thrills. However, it’s also a remarkably faithful resurrection of the atmosphere of old 1970s airplane thrillers.
#9 Final Destination 5 (2011)
In his Best of 2011 entry on Final Destination 5, King called it “the best since the first,” and he’s absolutely right. While the sequels probably peaked with the highway prologue in Final Destination 2, the fifth installment is pound-for-pound the most thrilling entry. Between the bridge collapse, the laser eye surgery, and the nail-biting sequence where a screw falls pointy-side-up on a balance beam, there’s no denying there’s real power here. And that’s not even mentioning the fun final twist!
#8 A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
In a since-deleted Tweet, King called Day One “the rare ‘big Hollywood film’ that is both intimate and textured.” It’s true. A Quiet Place: Day One is a mini miracle of horror filmmaking. An IP-drenched prequel to a duology of good-not-great post-apocalyptic popcorn blockbusters shouldn’t be this genuinely stirring. Plus, relative newcomer Joseph Quinn holds his own against the awe-inspiring Lupita Nyong’o, resulting in an all-timer two-hander.
#7 The Strangers (2008)
After watching The Strangers, King took to Entertainment Weekly to pontificate about what makes good horror. If you inspire someone who literally wrote the book on horror to think about it more, you’ve done something right. Bryan Bertino’s home invasion movie is one of the grimmest movies of the 2000s, but its desperate existential dread is terrifying and perfectly in line with King’s best works.
#6 Splice (2009)
King included Splice on his Top 10 list for 2010, particularly praising the “talented actors… who take the material seriously.” How did this grotesque genetic-experimentation horror movie directed by the guy who made Cube land Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley? Who knows. But they breathe life into some already super solid material. What Brody in particular gets up to feels even more twisted because it’s the guy from The Pianist doing it.
#5 Smile (2022)
In a since-deleted Tweet, King called Smile a “good, scary horror film.” He added that “the real surprise is Sosie Bacon as Rose. What a hell of a performance.” Bacon really was a revelation, but so was debut director Parker Finn. His control over tone and pacing leads to some of the best scare sequences of the 2020s.
#4 The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024)
King’s not fucking around about the New Zealand horror film The Rule of Jenny Pen. It’s one of just two horror movies on his New York Times ballot for the best of the 21st century. The underseen movie is a real corker, too. It follows a judge (Geoffrey Rush) recovering in a care home after a stroke. However, his relaxation is ruined by a sadistic retiree (John Lithgow) who is obsessed with his baby doll puppet. Lithgow’s performance is stunning, and his thrillingly dark energy commands the screen every second he’s in front of the camera.
#3 Barbarian (2022)
In a since-deleted reply to a fan’s Tweet about Barbarian, King said “Yeah, that movie blew me away. It was crazy! Crazy GOOD!” This movie contributed what is perhaps the definitive scary basement in horror, which is no small feat. That’s all thanks to director Zach Cregger’s control over onscreen darkness (one of his many skills). The man must be a shadowmancer of some kind.
#2 Train to Busan (2016)
Train to Busan is the only other horror movie on King’s NYT ballot. It has received a lot of international recognition over the years. Perhaps more than any other non-Parasite movie from South Korea. That’s because it’s flipping amazing. Its crackling energy makes it one of the scariest fast-zombie movies in history. But it also marries that with a compelling father-daughter story. There’s really nothing Train to Busan can’t do.
#1 The Descent (2005)
King put The Descent on his 2006 best-of list, calling it “the best horror movie of the year.” Forget that. It’s one of the top horror movies of the century so far. It’s a bloody good monster movie nestled into a skin-crawlingly claustrophobic spelunking movie.
Honorable Mentions:
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) – I’ve never seen it, so I can’t in good faith recommend it
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – A masterpiece, but it’s not really “horror”
Obsession (2026) – We gotta let this one sit, in order to avoid recency bias
