A New Century of Horror

A Culture Article by Isa Eugenio

The Exorcist, Psycho, The Shining, Rosemary’s Baby–just a few Halloween horror classics of the 1900’s. The 21st century, from the small sampling we’ve had so far, doesn’t seem to be a pushover though. Here is a list, in no particular order, of horror and thriller films from 2000 onwards Witherly Heights believes are exceptional.

Get Out (2017)

Get Out is an engaging thriller in which the main character, Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), finds himself unnerved by his white girlfriend’s family during a trip to their house over the weekend. As his stay progresses, family members become increasingly strange for reasons more disturbing than one might imagine. The uncomfortable conversations between the family and Chris throughout the film and the ending earned it universal critical acclaim and widespread success at the box office. Rookie director and comedian Jordan Peele broaches topics like racism in his film for a unique take on what defines the thriller genre. The abnormality of the story is what makes Get Out so appealing to many, and its subtly creepy nature elicits fright–leaving the audience ripping the edges of their belt-buckled armrests in anticipation until the very end.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfpyUB60YY

It (2017)

Based on Stephen King’s classic novel, It takes place during the summer of 1989 in Derry, Maine, focusing on a group of preteens who find themselves victims of a shape-shifting clown named Pennywise. Every 27 years, the monster awakens from the sewers of Derry to feast on younger children for a few months, leaving missing person posters plastered on telephone poles and floating body parts in its wake. The kids, connected through their school, band together to discover the origins and true nature of the disappearances of children in the town. Though its jump scares are excruciatingly horrific, its characters and their development throughout the story give the movie its main appeal. However, there is a second part to this clown-crowded story set to release in 2019, leaving the fate of the children and Pennywise up in the air.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAUTdjf9rko

Hereditary (2018)

When the grandmother of a suburban family passes away, those whom she left behind struggle to deal with her death, leading them to confront the dark beliefs of the family’s past generations. Compared to The Exorcist in terms of how frightful the movie was, Hereditary is a genre-defining film of modern horror. Filmmaker Ari Aster uses suspenseful encounters between the family and the undead tobreak the norm of relying on sudden appearances of yelling ghosts in dark hallways. The gaunt images of a dying family on advertisements and the movie’s eerily unwatchable trailers prompted many to anticipate the truly horrific nature of the film. Excellent cinematography and lighting help Hereditary beone of the scariest movies ever made. Dark, dreary, and mortifying, Hereditary is widely feared and for good reason.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wWKNij_1M

A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place follows a family of five living in a post-apocalyptic world plagued by sightless, long-armed monsters. To make up for their lack of vision, the monsters have incredible hearing, forcing the protagonists to go through most of the movie in near-silence. The John Krasinski- directed flick explores themes of family through the lens of horror as real-life couple Krasinski and Emily Blunt struggle to protect their kids. Its popularity stems from its interesting concept–that of monsters attracted by sound–and the emotional relationships between the family’s characters.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR7cc5t7tv8

The Conjuring (2013)

When the Perron family moves into an old farmhouse in 1971 and notice that there is a darker presence at their new Rhode Island home, they rely on the aid of two paranormal investigators to end its satanic possession. The phenomena becomes increasingly terrifying as the family learns more about the history of the house. Ranked among the most terrifying of its genre, The Conjuring gets its reputation from lingering camera shots, eerie noises, and countless moments filled with suspense, all of which result in a frightening atmosphere and terrified audiences.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k10ETZ41q5o

Split (2016)

A psychological horror film, Split centers around the kidnapping of three teenage girls by a man name Kevin Wendell Crumb. Crumb suffers from dissociative identity disorder and, as a result, has 23 different personalities. The girls must rush to escape from Crumb while he develops his 24th new and more terrifying personality. Shifting between a young boy and developed aristocratic women, Crumb searches for his true identity before finally collapsing into his 24th phase. Many applauded James McAvoy’s performance as Crumb, as well as the film’s unique ending. One that was characteristically unexpected, like most of director M. Night Shyamalan’s other works.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TouqfIsiI

Paranormal Activity (2007)

In Paranormal Activity, a young couple, Katie and Micah, sets up a camera to document the supernatural presence which haunts their home. The film itself is “seen” from the camera’s point of view, utilizing a unique perspective to add to the film’s scare tactics. The found footage aspect of the film, borrowing from the original ingenuity of The Blair Witch Project, forcibly moves the audience into the world of Katie and Micah. They are not the only ones experiencing the haunting first-hand; the audience is unwillingly, tantalizingly involved as well.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twoWuDy5kys

El Orfanato [The Orphanage] (2007)

Before he caught the Hollywood bug and started directing would-be blockbusters like The Impossible, A Monster Calls and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona made short films and perhaps his feature-length masterpiece, El Orfanato.  The story of Laura, played impeccably by Belén Rueda, involves her harrowing search for her adopted son, Simón, who suddenly disappears in their new home: a former orphanage where ghostly children still shuffle down its halls and play in its yard.  The movie is really a classic haunted house flick full of indelible images: a child with a sackcloth for a face, a seaside cave that floods with sick memories, the death of a character that will have you jumping out of your seat. El Orfanato, though, is a film that is not pervaded by gore or even the horrific.  It is, at last, one that is permeated with sorrow, an urgent yearning that is love, and the baffling mystery of why bad things happen to good people.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qjHkkffOx8

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

David Lynch’s take on the vainglorious ambitions of those who try their luck in Los Angeles and Tinseltown doesn’t have the recognizable tropes of a horror film.  It is certainly marked by suspense: the camera hugging a wall until it turns that fateful corner, the discovery behind the slowly swinging door, the unpredictability of characters who suddenly appear on screen.  The nightmarish quality of Mulholland Dr., which made a big splash in the festival circuits 17 years ago and is now widely regarded as one of the best films of this century, is how it continually shifts the ground beneath its audience.  One does not really know what’s going on until the end–then you’re still scratching your head when the end credits scroll. This isn’t confusion for the sake of confusion. Lynch is telling a heartbreaking tale of ambition, unrequited love, and mental illness.  Too bad we can’t tell you more. Even the names of the characters played by the movie’s two principals, Naomi Watts and Laura Harring, will give up the jig.  One must be willing to take that winding road called Mulholland Dr. to discover everything and nothing.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZJ487oJlY

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Ever since George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead spooked the screens in 1968, we cannot seem to get enough of zombies and their simple-minded hunger.  This century has had a good spate of them: 28 Days Later… (Danny Boyle), Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer), The Girl with All the Gifts (Colm McCarthy) and Cargo (Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke).  One that stands out because of its horror/comedic tone is Shaun of the Dead.  The film is the first installment of The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy by director Edgar Wright, and screenwriters/actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.  Shaun is a send-up of the zombie genre while the other two–Hot Fuzz and The World’s End–mock cop movies and apocalyptic imaginings.  Shaun is hilarious while still able to deliver all things undead: shots to the head, teeth-marked arms and legs, pseudo-ethical dilemmas like would you shoot your mother who is now a zombie? But Shaun, like all the trilogy’s films, is really about friendship–its elasticity, its demands, its sacrifice, its importance: all contemplated as you whack off a head with your crimsoned cricket bat.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIfcaZ4pC-4

Honorable Horrifying Mentions

Drag Me to Hell

Let the Right One In

The Cabin in the Woods

The Witch

The Others

The Ring

The Grudge

What We Do in the Shadows

The Devil’s Backbone

Pulse