Top 5 Horror/Exploitation Films of 2011

 

This was originally going to be titled The Top 10 Horror/Exploitation films of 2011 but in all honesty there simply wasn’t 10 horror films that knocked my socks off last year. Well here’s hoping 2012 brings some interesting and original ideas to the genre. I am hopeful, considering I don’t think there are any 80′s slasher flicks left to remake.

 

 

 

 

 

#5 The Thing

Distracting CGI aside this prequel was extremely entertaining. Plenty of obscure references to John Carpenters version from the 80′s lots of tension and plenty of gross out moments. Make sure you sit through the credits!

 

 

 

 

 

#4 Dale and Tucker vs. Evil

 Probably the goriest buddy comedy ever made! A comedy of errors where the errors result in some of the most uniquely funny movie deaths ive seen in a while. Oddly enough I would say this would make a really good date movie considering your date isn’t a narrow-minded dullard.

 

 

 

 

 

#3 Red State

I can narrow down why I like this film so much to 3 words, Michael Fuckin’ Parks! Dude has never been less than brilliant in anything he has ever been in. Parks plays the very Fred Phelps-esque preacher in this one. This is Kevin Smiths first venture into the genre with a story loosely based on those fun-loving folks from the Westboro Baptist Church.

 

 

 

 

#2 Mothers Day

The last thing you would expect to have to deal with during your middle-aged yuppie house party would have to be a family of kill crazy maniacs! Darren Lynn Bousman wrote and directed this unrecognisable remake of the classic Troma film. As far as home invasion films go i’d have to say this is as good as it gets. This one left me feel gross in a “what the fuck did I just watch” sort of way, which for me is of course a good thing.

#1 Hobo with a Shotgun

Damnit…this movie is almost fuckin’ perfect. Ridiculously creative villains, the bleakest landscape imaginable and gore out the ass create the perfect world for Rutger Hauer’s  hobo character to kick ass all over the place. This film was originally one of the fake trailers from 2008′s Grindhouse, made into this awesome full length feature. This looks really awesome on Blu-Ray by the way likely because of all the vibrant 80′s colors. This is worth owning for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

Devil’s Nightmare (1971)

 

              Greetings! Today I’m reviewing a sleazy old favorite of mine from Italy in the year 1971. Devil’s Nightmare opens in Berlin during one of the last days of World War II. A Nazi Baron paces the floors of a castle awaiting news of his wife giving birth in the next room. The Baron soon receives word that his wife has passed away and the new baby is indeed a girl, much to his displeasure. The Baron enters the room with the new baby and promptly executes her via a Nazi dagger. Flash forward decades later, we join a bus load of tourists (each representing one of the 7 deadly sins) seeking refuge from the weather and a conveniently blocked road, in the Barons castle. At dinner the tourists are joined seemingly out of nowhere by a dangerously beautiful stranger. The butler of the house refers to her as a Succubus. Those of you familiar with the earlier episodes of South Park will surely know a Succubus is a sort of demon woman who gains her power from killing men. The tourists are soon done away with one by one in ways befitting the deadly sin each one represents.

              I’ve been a huge fan of this film for many many years, to the point where I almost got the creepy symbol tattooed on my arm (no joke). The main appeal to me is certainly the atmosphere, the tons and tons of atmosphere. The castle is the perfect setting for this kind of film and the soundtrack ranks right up the with the best Ennio Moricone sountracks. There is very little gore in this film but as I said with this one atmosphere is everything! Make no mistake this ones not for everyone but for fans of old school Italian sleaze, this little gem will not disappoint. From creepy butlers, lazy lesbians to the silliest looking Satan in film history, I consider this an Exploitation classic! One final note this one’s fallen into the Public Domain so it can be easily found online for free if you care to check it out!

Chop (2011) Dir. Trent Haaga

 Chop is the very unfortunate story of Lance Reed (Will Keenan). Lance is a recovering crack addict who seems to be doing a good job of getting his life back on track (i.e. nice house, good looking wife). His troubles begin when his car brakes down and he hitches a ride with a stranger who calmly asks Lance if he has ever been shot with a tranquilizer gun before promptly shooting a dart into his neck. Lance awakens to find himself in a basement face to face with his brother who is bound and gagged. Also in this room is the Stranger who tells Lance to drop and axe into his brothers skull or something inhuman will happen to his wife at the hands of a guy named Rico. This is only the beginning of what the Stranger has in store for Lance who until he can remember who the stranger is and how he wronged him in the past will continue to be terrorized in the worst ways possible, including waking up with missing limbs from time to time.

             This may sound like a pretty standard issue torture porn gross out film but it is actually almost 100% Black comedy expertly directed by Troma veteren Trent Haaga (Terror Firmer, Citizen Toxie, Tromeo and Juliet). Fellow Troma vet Will Keenan does a great job of making the character of Lance absolutley hilarious and almost likeable. The same goes for Timothy Musketell who gives his character of The Stanger a witty effeminate Jigsaw Killer quality. There are only two or three really gory scenes but the dialogue alone was more than enough to keep me entertained throughout the entire film.

              I think the best way to sum this film up would be Pulp Fiction meets Saw. With great funny dialogue including a very akward conversation about the show Diff’rent Strokes, and a much needed shot in the arm of the tired Torture Porn genre, I highly recommend this one to fans of black comedy and especially exploitation.

(8.5/10)