Also make sure to check out Best-Horror-Movies.com 10 Best and Most Disspaointing Horror Movies for 2011.

Written by: Crypticpsych

Well, it’s the New Year.  As such, it’s about time for most critics to reflect and roll out their Top “blank” of the year lists.  Here at BHM, we almost always put together Top lists and Worst/Most Disappointing lists, and who am I to butt heads with tradition?

That being said, some things need to be made clear, right off the bat.  First, as we usually do, I’m limiting myself to movies that were either in festival play, in theaters, or hit DVD in the 2011 calendar year.  I also am NOT including movies that would have been on my list for a 2010 “best of” list had I made one.  What does this mean?  Well, for one thing, you won’t see Slime City Massacre, Black Swan, Colour from the Dark, or The Last Exorcism on my “Best” list because I either SAW them in 2010 or they hit DVD then.  By the same token, my worst list is missing a fair few of the clunkers I’ve seen this year because they actually hit DVD in other years (like Red Canyon, Bloodbath in the House of Knives, and… God help us all… Lesbian Vampires, aka Barely Legal Lesbian Vampires: The Curse of Ed Wood…I may hate that movie but I do LOVE typing that name.)

I’m also limited by money and not a masochist.  What this means is that I didn’t get to see EVERYTHING that I wanted to this year, nor did I go out of my way to see theatrical releases that I had a feeling would drive me up the wall.  The first part of that means that I can’t really say much of anything about The Thing, Cold Fish, Attack the Block, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, 11-11-11, The Woman, Red State, Fright Night, and others.  The second part means that, unless I was specifically asked to, I would not have been caught dead in a theater or on DVD seeing Creature, Shark Night 3D, A Serbian Film (It’s not like I don’t know everything that happens in it anyway), Red Riding Hood, or others.  I know my tastes usually, and my impressions of things usually don’t lead me too far astray in the theaters (when I disobey them and stray from my first opinion, things like Jennifer’s Body and Splice happen to me…).  In other words, if you don’t see something on the lists, chances are I haven’t seen it, and I’m not about to recommend or bash something I haven’t physically seen.

SO, with all of that said, I present my Top 5 and Worst/Most Disappointing 5 Horror Movies of 2011:

Top 5 Horror Movies of 2011:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:  I have 5 honorable mentions that just barely missed the list.  They are:
•    Trollhunter:  The odd one out.  If this was a Top 6, this awesome Norwegian found-footage movie would be No. 6.
•    Insidious:  I actually went out of my way to watch this before writing this… just in case.  I think the critical acclaim got a little carried away, but it’s still a damn fine movie.
•    The Defiled:  Oh if only all Chemical Burn’s releases were as original and unique… if flawed… as this one.
•    Final Destination 5:  If you like the series, you know what you’re getting into, and this entry adds enough spice to make it recommendable as a little more than just the standard Rube Goldberg death-spree.
•    Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale:  Not super scary but will hopefully gain a cult Christmas following as time goes on.

Now then:



5) Dream Home:  I agonized long and hard about whether this should make the list or not and decided it made the cut not by having less flaws than Trollhunter but because I reviewed this in February and seriously considered importing it from England for a fairly long time because of how long and vividly that one chance VOD viewing has stuck with me.  Thankfully, IFC put out a DVD of it this year.  Memorable beyond belief, this story of a Hong Kong woman homicidally desperate for an expensive flat she’s wanted her whole life works by combining the best of two worlds:  the gore and violence of a brutal slasher with the legitimate character development and pathos of a drama.



4)  Black Death:  In a year where two movies combined the bubonic plague with horror, the smaller-budgeted one blew the average-to-mediocre Nicholas Cage actioner out of the water.  An excellent piece of Gothic horror-drama dripping with atmosphere, realism, and deep moral and religious questions, it works by being well-acted and expertly recreating the dark and dismal world of a Medieval Europe ravaged by disease.



3)  Panic Button:  Available at present only by way of importing a DVD from the UK, this Saw-esque take on social networking and online privacy combines likable, all-too-human characters with a central plot concept that grows more relevant by the day.  A great, intense thriller, it refreshes an old subgenre by removing the blood and gore and adding in psychological tortures and mind games.



2) I Saw the Devil:  An absolutely phenomenal Asian whirlwind of action, violence, mild dark humor, and revenge, this South Korean “cat-and-mouse” movie features two of the best performances of the year in its vengeful cop “hero” and serial killer “villain”.  Is it strictly horror?  No.  However, it’s still intense, thrilling, brutal, and covers some of the darkest ground of any movie released this year.  It’s neither a happy movie by any stretch of the imagination nor a movie whose characters fit neatly into stereotypical “boxes”, but definitely a memorable one either way.




1)  Tucker and Dale vs. Evil:  On absolutely any given day, the No. 1 and No. 2 on this list could be switched, and I’d have no problem with the final order.  It just depends if I’m in the mood for a happy movie or a deep, violent, dark one.  As for this one, it’s a brilliant, subgenre-spanning horror comedy that flips standard horror tropes on their head.  By far one of the best horror comedies of the last 10 years, the movie combines likable characters, legitimately hilarious comedy and satire, a believable romance, a brilliant script, and buckets of blood to make a final product that pays tribute to the genre while also being totally unique and original.

5 Worst Horror Movies of  2011

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS:  Once again, I have a few picks that just missed the cut.  There were a fair few mediocre or below average movies I saw this year, but these three stood out:

•    Cam Girl:  An attempt at an indie thriller that has some legitimate chills… yet is obliterated by random, pointless sexy montages for roughly half its runtime.
•    Idol of Evil:  Only even barely considerable as horror because of its climax, this low-budget ripoff of Indiana Jones is boring, clichéd, and shot-through with plot holes.  The only reason it DOESN’T make the list is because of the previously mentioned mildly freaky climax.
•    Dream House:  A movie with decent acting and a good concept that can’t help but feel disappointing because it was marketed as something completely different and had a trailer that spoiled a vital plot twist.  Go in blind and it’s…just okay.

Annnnnnd:

5)  Rubber:  One of two movies on this list that fit the “most disappointing” half of that title, this movie should have been brilliant.  It should have been a wacky movie about a killer tire.  That’s all anyone who saw the trailer for this wanted.  So imagine my surprise when I watch it and discover a movie that’s a clumsily mashed together film made up of said killer tire movie…and an absurd art film making a convoluted statement about “meaning” and “reason” in film.  If the two parts had gelled together better, the movie could still have been saved, but they just didn’t.

4)  Sweatshop:  If there is one point I have screamed about all year while reviewing multiple movies, it’s the lack of likable characters.  No movie this year showcases that more than this one.  A slasher does not work if there are no “good” or “relatable” characters we want to see survive.  Here, the entire cast is a bunch of annoying, partying, drunken idiots who are like fingernails against the chalkboard of my mind.  In addition, the script is terrible and gives its characters no depth.  Finally, outstanding gore and effects work is hurt by a sense that the movie is being shocking for no good reason.

3)  Monsters:  Everyone sees movies differently.  If they didn’t then there would be no need for critics.  So, saying that, I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with The Horror Czar’s review of this one.  The characters struck me as boring and unlikable with the script desperately force-feeding me a “relationship” that made no sense.  The titular “Monsters” were almost nowhere to be found.  Any immigration subtexts in the story (intentional or otherwise) come across as heavy-handed and unnecessary.  This is the other “disappointing” one on the list.  As a drama, maybe it would work with some rewrites.  A horror movie, though, this isn’t.

2)  Xombies 3D:  On every level, this movie is unfathomably bad.  The actors are bland and monotone.  The sound effects are stock, and the music has a tendency to drown out the actors.  The plot is underexplained to the point of being indecipherable outside of the most basic of outlines.  The computer effects are some of the worst I’ve ever seen.  AND it has the pure, unmitigated GALL to end with a sequel hook.  So why is this NOT No. 1?  Because, on some level, I actually think I can see what the director was going for.  I think he was trying to turn an obvious love of cult eurohorror into a throwback to older horror video games.  That’s the only reason.

1)  Almost Invisible:  And then there’s this.  Every problem with Xombies 3D, it’s present here in spades.  Computer effects as bad or worse than the legendary Birdemic?  Check.  Bad actors?  Check.  Pointless and amateur video editing effects?  Bingo.  Dialogue that matches actors’ mouths but usually gets drowned out by mumbling, echoes, or music?  Yep.  Flat characters we know nothing about reading dreadful and annoying lines?  Indeed.  A plot that makes absolutely no sense and is impossible to follow?  Absolutely, and it is that last point that puts it on the top of the list.  In addition to having all the problems of Xombies 3D at levels as bad or worse, THIS movie is completely incomprehensible.  At least in the other movie it’s quite clear that there are two heroes and some villains.  Here, I have no idea if there’s a supernatural haunting going on, who these characters are, how they relate to each other…ANYTHING.  It all adds up to a torturous endurance trial and my worst movie of 2011.