HICKEY'S TOP 20 HORROR FILMS OF 2015 – PART 2

The first part of my look at the best genre flicks of the past 12 months included fantastic films such as Bone Tomahawk, Krampus and The Hallow. Those are some pretty damn good films, but this second crop contains a selection that I feel is even stronger.

Ready?

Well, plough on!

TOP 20 HORROR FILMS OF 2015 — PART 2

10: THE FINAL GIRLS




Worthy of mentioning in the same breath as Cabin in the Woods, Scream and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Lesley Vernon, Todd Strauss-Schulson's The Final Girls is a brilliant deconstruction of genre tropes. With plenty of laughs and a surprisingly moving amount of heart, this is a great homage to the heyday of slasher movies.
Read my review here.


9: DEATHGASM





Jason Lei Howden's splatterific love letter to metal played out like a gloriously gory hybrid of Spinal Tap and The Evil Dead, directed by a young Peter Jackson. Deathgasm makes for an absolutely awesome fun viewing-experience and is a sure-fire, stonewall cult classic.
Read my review here.


8: WE ARE STILL HERE





Any film that pays homage to Lucio Fulci's bloodily barking Gates of Hell trilogy gets a thumbs up from me. Combining a quiet and personal haunted house film with spectacularly violent kills and starring Scream Queen great Barbara Crampton, Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here was a tremendous find.
Read my review here.


7: UNFRIENDED






It had a terrible name, boasted a cast of irritating shiny teens and a concept that couldn't possibly work – the whole film unfolds in realtime on a computer desktop – yet somehow Unfriended overcame all of that to secure a place on this list. Extremely clever and surprisingly dark and creepy, this is a perfect example of stellar high concept executed flawlessly.
Read my review here.


6: CREEP





A Found Footage (sort of) movie with a cast of two, Patrick Brice's Creep foregoes blood and guts and a metronomic bodycount for deeply personal scares. When Brice's Aaron is hired to document a day in the life of Mark Duplass's Josef we are treated to one of the most unnerving and creepy genre performances in a long, long time plus a legitimately unsettling ending.
Expect a review soon...


5: MAGGIE





Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin make for another fantastic central pairing in the surprisingly moving Maggie. A bittersweet look at mortality and the relationship between father and daughter, it's deep, depressing, complex and, at times, utterly beautiful. See it.
Read my review here.


4: IT FOLLOWS





Another film with a central theme of mortality and ageing, It Follows was EASILY the most hyped genre film of the year after it blew audiences away at the Cannes Film Festival. Ok, maybe it wasn't this year's The Babadook (despite what plenty of critics wrote) but Robert David Mitchell's film was a fantastically rich and entertaining film that offers plenty to enjoy to horror fans and 'serious' film watchers alike.
Read my review here.

3: SPRING





I'll be honest, I only watched Spring this week because I'd heard such great things about it and was about to compile this list. I’m so glad I did.
A beautifully shot Euro-romance, that just so happens to be a creature feature and body-horror shocker too, Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead’s movie is unique, original and one of those films that I know I’m going to be recommending to people for years to come. Absolutely fantastic.
Expect a review very soon...

2: THESE FINAL HOURS






The best film I saw at Film4’s FrightFest this year, in my review of this Antipodean Apocalyptic movie, I called it: ‘A beautiful, heart-breaking but ultimately hopeful tour de force, it is one of the finest movies I've seen in a long, long time’ and ‘an absolute must-see’. Two months on I stand by that. A character driven work of deeply personal horror, Zak Hilditch’s film is near flawless. If there’s one thing I hope my work as a reviewer achieves, it’s bringing These Final Hours to the attention of more genre fans.
Read my review here.

1: CRIMSON PEAK





Guillermo del Toro. Jessica Chastain. Tom Hiddlestone.
Gothic Victorian ghost story.
When I first heard about Universal and Legendary’s hugely ambitious ghost story (or is it a story with a ghost?) my mouth started watering. The film did not disappoint. Forget about the lackluster box office performance, Crimson Peak is a joy to watch. It’s sumptuous, atmospheric and exquisitely crafted with a host of incredible performances and some genuinely frightening spectres on display. An utter masterpiece.
Read my review here.

But it's not been a 12 months without letdowns. Allow me to present the most heinous of those...

DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: GHOST DIMENSION





I’m a big fan of the low-fi chills of the Paranormal Activity franchise. Even when audiences started to turn on the series upon the release of Paranormal Activity 4 and the criminally underrated The Marked Ones, I remained a staunch defender of the films. So I was excited to see the ‘final chapter’ of the saga. 

I wish I hadn’t bothered. 

None of the characters we’ve come to care about, godawful CG and 3D, and perhaps worst of all, NO SCARES WHATSOEVER. I’d say the series finished with a whimper rather than a bang, but the total non-ending to the film that leaves every single plot thread dangling even makes a mockery of that. 

A film so terrible I almost begrudge wasting any more time on it by writing a review. Maybe for the DVD release...

Anything you disagree with? Anything you think should be higher? What do you want to see in my top 10?
Let me know below!

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors






Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

THE WEEK’S HORROR HEADLINES (16th-23rd February)

Not got time to trawl the web for all the top horror news of the last week? Well allow me to give you a bite-size breakdown of the all biggest nightmarish news!

1. JUDITH O'DEA’S BARBARA TO RETURN IN THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: GENESIS

Amazing casting news from V2 Pictures’ unofficial Night of the Living Dead sequel, NotLD: Genesis, Matt Cloude is bringing back star of the classic original movie, Judith O’Dea as Barbara.

I love Romero‘s original trilogy and news doesn’t get much more exciting for me. What do you think, stunt casting or cool homage?
Read Bloody Disgusting's story here.

2. NEILL BLOMKAMP’S ALIEN SEQUEL IS COMING

20th Century Fox has reached a deal with Neill Blomkamp to bring his Alien film to the big screen! It will be developed separately to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel and is a sci-fi fan’s dream. 

Blomkamp had Sigourney Weaver onboard when he first touted the idea of this project, so it will be interesting to see if she is still set to star.

Great news!

Read Variety’s story here.

3. WOLF CREEK WEB SERIES IN DEVELOPMENT

Video on demand service Stan is developing a six-part web series based on Aussie horror flick Wolf Creek!
Star of Wolf Creek and its sequel, John Jarratt is expected to return as movie madman Mick Taylor in the Screentime and Emu Creek Pictures production.

I dug both Wolf Creek movies, so if this brings the extreme down and dirty nature of those to small screen, I am DOWN with this. 

‘Welcome to Australia, cocksucker!’

4. CHILD’S PLAY 7…

Do you like Chucky? Want to see more of the world’s favourite Good Guy gone bad?

Of course you do!

With that in mind, I think you may well like what series maestro Don Mancini had to say on his twitter feed recently…

5. ZOMBIE MUTANT NAZI FLYING SHARKS

Honestly, I’m not making this up. Marctropolis’ upcoming Sky Sharks is poised to make Sharknado look a bit tame. The official synopsis follows:

A team of Arctic geologists stumble across an abandoned laboratory in which the Nazis developed an incredible and brutal secret weapon during the final months of WW2 .

Deep in the ice, they accidentally awake a deadly army of flying zombie sharks ridden by genetically mutated, undead super-humans, who are unleashed into the skies, wreaking their bloodthirsty revenge on any aircraft that takes to the air.

An elite task force is assembled to take on this deadly threat and stop the Sky Sharks from conquering the air, but as time runs out, the task force realises they will have to fight fire with fire, and the stage is set for the greatest flying super-mutant zombie shark air battle the world has ever seen....

Go to their site here.

6. NEW THIS WEEK

This week sees the UK cinema release of what is set to be the biggest horror film of the year, It Follows.

Read my review here, then be sure to check it out this weekend.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

RAW REVIEW: IT FOLLOWS

Early word of mouth suggests that It Follows is poised to be the biggest and best horror film of the year. It has drawn a significant amount of praise and, with its release date looming in just over a week‘s time, anticipation levels are skyhigh.
I was lucky enough to be able to catch a preview screening of the movie with director David Robert Mitchell and stars Maika Monroe and Daniel Zovatto in attendance at London‘s BFI Southbank cinema. Could the reality possibly match the overwhelming hype?
Read on…

IT FOLLOWS (2014)

Dir: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Jake Weary, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I’ll try not to spoil too much here but read on at your own risk.

Jay (Monroe) is a pretty, fancy-free girl in her late teens who lives with her cute and fun sister (Kelly) and rarely present mother. She has a new young man in her life, Hugh (Weary) who, despite an odd outburst on a date at the cinema, is handsome, sweet and everything she is looking for in a boy.

After finally sleeping together one evening, Jay's life is turned upside down when Hugh suddenly drugs her and takes her to abandoned building, ties her to a wheelchair and explains the truth behind his bizarre behaviour — he has become desperate to escape a relentless supernatural entity. He has been pursued by a merciless killing machine, invisible to all but those who have been cursed by the being that stalks its prey at a slow, steady walking pace but never rests, never gives up and never ever shows any mercy. And now, by sleeping with Jay, he has passed the curse on to her.
At first she doesn't believe his outlandish tale, but after witnessing the entity in the shape of a naked, bloodied woman stalking inexorably towards them, her nerves are shaken.

After Hugh dumps her in the street outside her home, Jay's friends rush to her side — including funny bookish Yara (Luccardi), handsome rogue Greg (Zovatto) and Paul (Gilchrist), who has clearly carried a torch for Jay for some time.

What follows is a constant game of cat and mouse as Jay and her friends try to stay one step ahead of the murderous being as it takes a number of forms, some familiar to Jay, some just otherworldly and terrifying.

What is It and can it be defeated? And if not, will Jay pass on the curse to save herself?

THE BEST BITS: One of It Follows' biggest strengths is easily the wonderfully original premise. First we had STIs, now it seems we have our first STC — sexually transmitted curse.

The slow, relentless stalking shapeshifter is a very creepy antagonist, which (combined with the nature in which the curse is passed on) makes It Follows one of the most unique and fresh feeling horror films in some years.
The story, written by director Mitchell, was based on a recurring bad dream he had during his childhood, and that best sums up the mood of the movie — it feels like a waking nightmare. This is heightened by the bizarre world in which the film takes place. It is written as if it is not of any particular era, with clunky analogue TVs showing nothing but old black and white movies and cars from years gone by, yet the characters have mobile phones and Yara uses an e-reader that doesn't even exist yet. It makes the world seem familiar, yet strange enough that it keeps the audience wrong-footed throughout.

The fantastic writing is continued through the characterisation — these are a group of realistic and, for the most-part, likeable youngsters and they respond to the danger in which Jay finds herself in ways that (unlike the vast majority of horror flicks) won't have you smacking your forehead and screaming at the screen. It's nice to see that the group are quick to get Jay's back and form a protective circle around her. In a film in which very few adults are shown (and even fewer are much help) Jay's friends fill the void.

The characterisation is aided immensely by the talented young cast. Sepe and Luccardi are both adorable, making their's characters you can't help but root for, while Zovatto walks the fine-line between cocky and charming like a pro. He's going to go a long way.

Gilchrist is given plenty to do, at times breaking the unbearable tension with some fine comic delivery, at others provoking real sympathy for his unrequited love. At first seeming dorkish, when the shit really hits the fan he is able to transform Paul into a real heroic character. Excellent work.

Of course the star here is the wonderful Monroe. Pretty and charismatic, she is also a wonderful actress, she is able to convey so much in just a look or gesture. There are points in the film where whole internal monologues play out on her face, her internal struggle and thought process readable through the subtle shifts in her expression. That's not to say that her line-delivery isn't perfect too, because she is never anything less than believable and engaging. With this role and the one in Adam Wingard's The Guest, Miss Monroe has built a hell of a lot of credibility with genre fans. 

I mentioned Gilchrist's character's humour breaking the tension and that mounting feeling of dread throughout the movie is something that needs further discussion. Much like the monstrous Follower, the oppressive and paranoid atmosphere is unrelenting from the point that the Jay contracts the STC.

This is due in no small part to the fantastic vision of Mitchell and his director of photography Michael Gioulakis. They use a significant number of wide shots, leaving vast expanses of open space around our characters which grants us the ability to see The Follower loom into view in the background, stalking ever closer to potential victims. It's a clever technique in which to keep the audience permanently on edge. This also allows us to see lots of the Detroit setting, whether it be the leafy, mundane and safe suburbs or the run-down, dangerous city itself, giving the film even more character. Mitchell's direction and vision is wonderful, the wide shots cranking up the feeling of isolation, yet there are some close shots that have drawn well-deserved comparisons to John Carpenter. The use of blocking in some scenes is amazing, really heightening the claustrophobia of the scenes in which characters find themselves trapped indoors. These include one pant-fillingly terrifying scene in Jay's bedroom, matched only by the heart-stopping Cat People-esque swimming pool scene. 

Finally, the Carpenter likenesses continue in Disasterpeace's awesome and distinctive electronic score. This is a proper horror score that is able to escalate from cool and melodic into overwhelmingly discordant and disturbing. There are scenes on this movie that are turned into the stuff of nightmares due to the awesomely creepy soundtrack. This is a score that will become an undoubted genre classic, I guarantee it.

THE WORST BITS: Okay, this is a tough one to criticise, but I did have a couple of minor qualms. First, while I praised the soundtrack (quite rightly) for its awesome Carpenter vibe, there were a couple of occasions during the film when it actually felt a little intrusive. They were few and far between, but there was a couple of scenes in which the intensity of the music seemed to escalate quicker than the events onscreen, leading to an almost melodramatic feel. I'm sure plenty of other viewers will disagree with me but to me it was a bit much at times.

Second, while I loved the originality of the plot, I did feel that Mitchell et al could have explored the mythos a little more. I don't need (nor do I want) a full and detailed explanation for everything in the movie — far from it, I prefer some mystery to my horror — but it feels that more could have been done with the haunting premise. Perhaps some ideas have been kept in reserve for a potential sequel, as Mitchell has said he has more ideas for this story, whether it be with these characters or a new group. It certainly doesn't ruin the movie as its singular focus on a relatively straight forward plot line and comparatively small core of characters only makes it a more focused and intense scary experience. I think it says a lot about how much I dug this world that I wanted more of it!

Finally the ending. I cannot, nor will I spoil the film and discuss this in depth, as quite frankly I don't think that's fair. However I will acknowledge that I think some people will express frustration at the conclusion of It Follows. I disagree, quite strongly with this stance — some of you may wish to stop reading here, but I feel that given everything we are shown and told about the nature of the curse, plus the strong focus on character and relationships, this is probably the only ending we could have. There is resolution, yes, just not necessarily the resolution that many of you may expect. I praise Mitchell for his storytelling and for delivering a truly memorable and logical conclusion. 

VERDICT: It Follows has probably been a little damaged by the insane levels of hype it has received. I was expecting a brand new genre classic, the likes of Rosemary's Baby, The Haunting or Romero's Night of the Living Dead. It doesn't quite hit those frankly unrealistic levels of expectation, but it is still a quite excellent horror movie. It feels fantastically unique, like some kind of strange genre mashup in which the characters from a John Hughes-style Breakfast Club-esque coming of age dramedy find themselves cursed a la Takashi Shimizu's Ju On by way of John Carpenter's grimy early classics. Awesomely shot and acted, with a kickass story and soundtrack, this is an easy recommendation, if only to see for yourself what all the fuss is about!

The film hits UK screens on 27th February, so while you wait, check out the film’s official Facebook page and give it a Like. Support our genre's big hitters, it's a surefire way to ensure that we will get more imaginative and interesting horror efforts in the days ahead.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

THE WEEK’S HORROR HEADLINES (15th-22nd December)

Not got time to trawl the web for all the top horror news of the last week? Well allow me to give you a bite-size breakdown of the all biggest nightmarish news!

1: BILLIE WHITELAW PASSES AWAY

Sad news as actress Billie Whitelaw, perhaps best known to horror fans for her fantastic performance in the role of Mrs Baylock in The Omen, passed away aged 82.

Our sincerest condolences go out to her friends and family.

2: J.K. SIMMONS JOINS KONG: SKULL ISLAND

Legendary Pictures’ new King Kong film has added some heavy-weight acting talent with the announcement that J,K. Simmons will be joining The Avengers’ Tom Hiddlestone on the cast. Talent’s of that calibre working on a creature feature by the same studio that made the recent Godzilla and Pacific Rim can only be a good thing. Count me in!
Read Deadline’s article on the story here.

3: NEW IT FOLLOWS POSTER

The much anticipated horror film, It Follows has released a suitably creepy poster for its upcoming release. The movie has had rave early reviews and the buzz surrounding this pic is gathering significant Buzz. I’ll keep my eyes peeled and as soon as I can give you guys a scoop, you'll get it!

4: MICHAEL PITT LEAVES HANNIBAL

Michael Pitt will not be returning as Mason Verger in season 3 of NBC’s Hannibal. Instead Joe Anderson will take over the role. Anderson may be familiar to you from his roles in The Divide and The River. I‘m a little down on this as I loved Pitt‘s fruitloop performance in the second season of Hannibal, but let’s give the very talented Anderson some credit and wait and see shall we. In the meantime, check out that make-up job above!
Read TVLIne’s exclusive story here.

5: SUPPORT BRITISH HORROR AND HELP FUND THE CAVERN DWELLERS

Dean Baldwin and the folks over at Abhorred Monster films need our help to get their film, The Cavern Dwellers made. Set in and based on the host of creepy legend surrounding Crank Caverns in St Helens and drawing some top acting talent from the United Kingdom.

Baldwin says: ‘The script is very much in the vain of a true British horror and we have drawn inspiration in films such as The Descent and mixed it with a little bit of the Evil Dead and thrown in a lot of black comic humour to make it as enjoyable as a modern day horror film can be. Although we are only asking for a modest budget we will not be satisfied if this film is nottop quality so we will work hard to produce this spectacular film.’
COME ON PEOPLE! Let’s do this. We’ve seen our friends across the pond succeed with the likes of Muck and Gutter Balls 2, so get over to the film’s Kickstarter page HERE and donate whatever you can. Why not get a ticket to a screening with the cast and crew for just £12?
SERIOUSLY, that's a steal! DO IT.
Also, follow the film on Twitter (The Cavern Dwellers @dwellersfilm), check out their Facebook page and give them a good old LIKE to spread the word. They need support and it is the time of year for that sort of thing!
Here’s the teaser to whet your appetite!

6: NEW THIS WEEK

Boxing day sees the dvd and blu-ray release of this year’s As Above, So Below.  I’ve not seen it but word of mouth was pretty hot, so it’s worth a look! Get over to Amazon to grab it.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.