Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Overlook Theatres Top 10 Horror Movies of 2015







You may ask why we are so late with our top 10 list and the answer is simple, creating a list that keeps each chaotic creature and foul fiend happy is hard. On a side note, I always disliked how these lists normally run from #1 at the top and then you scroll down to #10; it just seemed like you are asking your audience to do work for movies you didn't like as much. After compiling the list for 2015, I changed my stance on the subject since I now realize the further down you get the greater the possibility of finding something you missed or just didn't agree with. Now I don't love arguing over which films were more deserving or not but I do love conversation about film, so when you undoubtedly disagree with some of our choices please chime in and say so. Also if a films title shows up in a purple hue, that means we've reviewed it, so if you'd like a more in-depth look into what the entities thought just click the title.
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You'd think with how long it took me to put up our Top 10 list that we'd have some obscure, insightful, or at least unique number 1 but it's a testament to ItFollows how many non-horror fans really liked the film. It Follows ranked in the top 2 of all but 1 of the 8 reviewers that met to discuss the 2015. Do yourself a favor and check this film out if you haven't already.
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2. "What We Do in the Shadows"


Last year was a particularly busy one but we still manage to re-watch the films we truly love. I watched What We Do In The Shadows 4 times and I cried from laughter the first 3. Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi co-wrote & directed this modern masterpiece of vampire mockUmentary, that is both deathly witty and laugh-out-loud funny.
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3. "Spring"

Two years ago, a little film called Resolution made it to number 7 on our Top 10 list. I personally was very moved by the film and actually became so frightened that I had to slow walk through my house at night. Now my reaction was very unique as I've never heard of another person being scared by that film but this our director team of Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson return with a film that's even got Richard Linklater talking. Their Drama/Horror Spring is best described as an H.P Lovecraft story hidden in a Linklater slice-of-life film.
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One of the best events I've attended in the Bay Area happened last year at the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley. Adam Green and Alex Pardee teamed up to create not just an awesome film but an amazing movie-going experience, with limited edition posters, shirts, stickers, prints, and an art gallery that traveled from city to city! Many people argue we overrated Digging Up The Marrow but if you saw it how we did, there's no way you wouldn't give it 5 stars.
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5. "Creep"

2015 was a slow year for found footage films but a few awesome ones still snuck out. Creep not only lived up to its name but it also flipped the found footage genre on its head. Starring Mark Duplass and directed by Patrick Brice, Creep proves that if the story lends itself to the found footage medium it can work and be taken seriously, even when not being so serious.
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Eli Roth pays homage to one of the lesser celebrated horror sub-genres by creating a modern Cannibal Exploitation film. This polarizing horror film took over a year past its initial release date to finally be released in the United States, only to be met with mixed reviews from causal and horror audiences.
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With Fast & Furious 7 stealing James Won away, it seemed the natural choice to leave the franchise in the hands of the co-writer Leigh Whannell. No one would have predicted just how much Leigh had learned over the years, as Insidious 3 is a very hard hitting horror film just like its 2 predecessors and some would argue even more effective!
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8. "Bone Tomahawk"

Bone Tomahawk is a film most watched while ridding off a film-high from The Hateful 8 and for an obvious western/Kurt Russell fix and what they got was something completely different. First time director S. Craig Zahler had put together a genre film that leaps from western to adventure to horror and is seemly cast from Hollywood has-beens, yet delivers an indie hit that many enjoyed more than The Hateful 8.
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Not quite the film most Horror Nerds and Monster Kids wanted from Guillermo Del Toro, but those who enjoy Gothic horror or just the visual craft of that we've come to expect from the man were overjoyed. I don't believe any of the fiends that frequent the Overlook Theatre enjoyed this film quite as much as The Berkeley Blazer did and if you're a fan of Gothic literature, definitely checkout his wrap-up following our review.
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10. "The Final Girls"






















Comedy/Horror, The Final Girls takes a very goofy premise and fills it with emotion, which is no small feat if you know what this film is about. The Final Girls is a comedy first though and they definitely make fun of midnight movies with guest appearances that consist of surviving relatives and a bunch of 80's Slasher tropes, oh and they revived the actual 80's song "Bette Davis Eyes". This is a must for any casual horror/curious non-horror fans.
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Individual Lists

RankSpeed DemonMath MageIce GiantCreatureLord BattleThe ImpostorKillDozerHuntress
#1It FollowsWhatWDitSWhatWDitSIt FollowsSpringIt FollowsSpringDiggingUtM
#2The Green InfernoIt FollowsIt FollowsThe Green InfernoIt FollowsCreepIt FollowsWhatWDitS
#3Crimson PeakBack CountryFinal GirlsSpringWhatWDitSBone TomahawkThe Green InfernoIt Follows
#4KrampusDiggingUtMInsidious 3Final GirlsBone TomahawkDiggingUtMInsidious 3Unfriended
#5DigginUtMCrimson PeakThe Green InfernoBone TomahawkInsidious 3Final GirlsWhatWDitSBone Tomahawk
#6CreepSpringUnFriendedDiggingUtMUnFriendedWhatWDitSKrampusNightlight
#7Sinister 2Sinister 2Bone TomahawkKrampusCreepDeathGasmMadMax FRCreep
#8Insidious 3CreepKrampusWhatWDitSSicariaCrimson PeakDiggingUtMSpring
#9SpringThe Green InfernoThe VisitCreepDiggingUtMInsidious 3Crimson PeakGoodnight Mommy
#10EverlyN/ACreepTurbo KidSinister 2UnFriendedTurbo KidCrimson Peak
#11 (Hated)Krampus: The ReckoningKrampus All 3!The GallowsCootiesThe Vatican Tapes#HorrorCootiesThe Vatican Tapes

-Lord Battle

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