Elaine Lamkin’s Top 10 Underappreciated Horror Films of the Past Decade
Written by Elaine Lamkin
As 2009 draws to a close and everyone is writing their “Best of” and “Worst of” lists for both the past year as well as the past decade, we at Fatally-Yours thought we would break the mold and serve up our thoughts on the Best Underappreciated Films of the past decade according to the opinion of one of our writers. Films that flew under most horror fans’ radars, were released with no fanfare straight to DVD or were released in other countries.
With that in mind, here are ten (actually eleven but you’ll understand why we consider it ten) films which this writer thought were criminally treated by their distributors and which every horror fan should at least give one look at. Ranging from a Lovecraftian Civil War horror to Vietnam War ghosts to a VERY lonely Belgian inn-keeper to an Aussie bushman everyone ELSE should leave alone, there should be something for everyone in the following list. Can’t wait to see what the next decade brings us.
10.) Dead Snow (2009) – What’s not to love about a film with Nazi zombies in it (where ARE Brad Pitt’s Aldo Raine and his Inglourious Basterds when you need them?). Another entry from Norway (what IS in the water up there?), Dead Snow has a group of med students on an Easter break ski trip running afoul of some honked-off dead Nazis who are after the loot they hid in the area during World War II. Of course, some of the group find the hidden goodies which sets everything into MAJOR motion. While most people wouldn’t consider “traditional” zombie movies funny (with a few exceptions such as Peter Jackson’s Brain Dead), Dead Snow has quite a few comedic moments. I mean just the idea of Nazi zombies, in full uniform, Iron Crosses and all, chasing young skiers across Norway… You get the idea. Fun AND gruesome!
Available on Amazon
9.) Wrong Turn 1 & 2 (2003 and 2007) – These are two different films but as they are part of a franchise, I put them together. The first Wrong Turn starring Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Jeremy Sisto, Emmaneulle Chriqui, Kevin Zegars and Lindy Booth has med student Harrington taking the wrong road to avoid a traffic jam on the interstate and literally running into the car belonging to Booth, Zegars, Chriqui, Sisto and Dushku. With both cars out of commission, four of the group set out to find help and, well, things just don’t go well for anyone once they meet the “mountain mutants” (did I mention that both films are set in West Virginia and Sisto even makes a reference to Deliverance?).
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End has Henry Rollins bringing a motley group to the West Virginia mountains for a survival reality show. With Erica Leerhsen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) and Crystal Lowe (Black Christmas remake) among the contestants, it is anyone’s guess who will literally survive. While Wrong Turn had an amazing kill in it, the director of WT2 (Joe Lynch) had to top that and he does so. Gruesomely. And right out of the gate. This ain’t your momma’s Wrong Turn. Check it out!
Wrong Turn on Amazon
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End on Amazon
8.) Dead & Breakfast (2004) – With a cast including the late David Carradine, his niece Ever Carradine, Oz Perkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (pre-Denny on Grey’s Anatomy), Gina Philips, Erik Palladino, Portia De Rossi and Jeremy Sisto, this hilarious zombie film is unlike anything you have seen. A group on their way to a friend’s wedding must stop for the night at a rather seedy bed and breakfast run by David Carradine and chef Diedrich Bader. Before you know it, a spell has been unleashed, turning the whole town into zombies. There is even a “Greek chorus” from musician Zach Selwyn, as Randall Keith Randall, the town’s gas station attendant (some of the songs are hysterical – the soundtrack is a worthwhile investment). Check it out for the mayhem at the “barn dance” and the Psycho reference courtesy of Oz Perkins (son of Anthony Perkins). Pretty high body count too.
Available on Amazon
7.) R-Point (2004) – From South Korea comes the chilling ghost story, R-Point, directed by Su-Chang Kong. Set during the Vietnam War, the film takes a group of soldiers and a highly decorated if slightly unhinged commander and has them sent to try and find a missing platoon in a sector designated “R-Point”. When they reach their destination, they come upon a tombstone with a message warning those who enter R Point that it is a sacred area and no one who enters ever leaves. They also come across an abandoned (and creepy) French outpost where thay make camp and set about searching for the lost platoon. As one would expect, things do not go well for the rescue team and by the film’s end…well, you just need to check this K-horror entry out for yourself.
Available on Amazon
6.) Feast (2005) – The last film from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Project Greenlight, Feast is a wonderfully over-the-top monster movie that takes place over a single night at a bar in the middle of nowhere. And with a cast including Balthazar Getty, Eric Dane, Judah Friedlander, Clu Gulager, Henry Rollins (just seeing Rollins in pink sweatpants was worth it for me), Jason Mewes and Krista Allen you just know there’s going to be some hilarity. None of the characters are addressed by “real” names but by nicknames like Bozo, Coach, Tuffy, Honey Pie and Bartender and the direction, by John Gulager, Clu’s son, is fun. The monsters themselves are pretty horrific and the “monster sex” scene is a riot. Check it out but don’t bother with the sequel.
Available on Amazon
5.) The Skeleton Key (2005) – Not a traditional horror film but unnerving nonetheless with Kate Hudson as a hospice nurse, taking care of a dying patient at a creepy Louisiana plantation. Voodoo, hoodoo, a secret in the attic and the plantation’s own horrific history all mix together to make The Skeleton Key a tasty gumbo. And I never saw the ending coming!
Available on Amazon
4.) Wolf Creek (2005) – A polarizing film from Australia, Wolf Creek has been described as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the Outback. But for those people in the know, this is a film based on real events that happened fairly recently in Australia. For anyone who has been to Oz and is acquainted with the Outback, the sheer terror at being lost out there (never mind that a psychopathic killer is after you) is enough for a horror film all on its own. And the character of Mick Taylor (brilliantly and horrifically played by Picnic at Hanging Rock actor, John Jarratt) is enough to give you nightmares. “Head on a stick” will never be heard the same way again.
Available on Amazon
3.) Cold Prey (2006) – From Norway, this is a slasher flick with brains. The obligatory group of young people travel to a remote area for some tourist-free snowboarding when one of the group sustains a broken leg. Holing up in a nearby abandoned ski lodge, the group soon become aware that they are not alone as one by one they disappear. This is a film where you really get to know some of the characters and really care what happens to them (Jannicke and Morten Tobias, anyone?). And it is also one of the really well-done films from a country few of us think of when we think “horror”.
Available on Amazon
2.) Calvaire (2006) – Christmas in the Belgian countryside and an entertainer on his way to the South of France for his next gig loses his way and ends up at an old inn run by a man who has not recovered from the loss of his wife. And tries to use the entertainer as a substitute! Creepy (the scene in the pub is unforgettable) with some bizarro characters, Calvaire is another film you really need to watch more than once AND admire the amazing cinematography by Benoît Debie. And don’t forget about the pig.
Available on Amazon
1.) Dead Birds (2005) – The Civil War, a haunted plantation, a creepy cornfield and SOMETHING that is picking off the Confederate deserters and their companions one by one. Shades of Lovecraft and a film you really have to watch more than once to “get it”. Definitely a slow burn horror film but I think it pays off and if you don’t understand it, I am happy to answer any and all questions. I’ve been talking about Dead Birds since Day One as a horror journalist so that should tell you something about this film. Just watch it!
Available on Amazon
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 8:45 am | Filed under News.
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