PoppaScotch's Top 10 Horror Movies of 2008 Part 1

So remember when I said that the 2008 Horror Movie Breakdown was completely different than every other list out there? Yeah I know what you're thinking and you are 100% right, it was totally different than any of those end of the year lists. But this list isn't different at all from any of those other lists. In fact, it's exactly like every other list out there. The only difference is that this list appears exclusively on horrormovies.ca (where all the cool people hang out anyways!) So count down with me and I run through my top 10 Horror Movies of 2008.

10: Diary of the Dead (Dir: George Romero) Synopsis: A group of University of Pittsburgh (HOLLER!) film students are thrust into documenting the impending zombie invasion.

My take: This seems to be one of those movies where you either love it or hate it and frankly, I love it. George Romero decided to try something different with the way his filmed his zombie narratives but a lot of people fell out of their Romero comfort zone. Everyone wanted this to be the next Dawn of the Dead 78 (which the movie clearly wasn't), but at the same time, it was never trying to be. It was its own little entity, even having the zombie origin story running parallel to the original Night of the Living Dead, the movie was trying to start its own ideas and threads and I feel that it succeeded. Of course, a lot of people wanted another perfectly shot narrative, which they didn't get.
Future?: It's a worthy installment in the George Romero catalog, but as far as long lasting appeal goes, then I would say having Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead on your resume may just overshadow this one.

9: Midnight Meat Train (Dir: Ryuhei Kitamura) Synopsis: A New York photographer, in search of a new and raw look at New York City accidentally stumbles on to a serial killer in the subway.

My Take: With this movie, you hear about it getting pushed back then you hear that it gets dumped in crappy dollar theaters and it only makes you want to see it more. After finally getting the chance to see the film, it's easy to say that the film didn't get the respect that it deserved. While the movie did have some flaws, it still succeeded as a solid horror film with a whole lot of gore and a story that ends up in a place you never saw it going but completely understand how it got their. While dipping their toe in the fantastical, the film never gets hokey and it very easily could have if it had fallen to a lesser director.
Future?: It really depends on the legs of the mystery surrounding the release of the film. I thought it was a good film, but still a bit forgettable. The fact that it is good and will most likely be discovered on the DVD shelf points to a possible video success story.

8: The Ruins (Dir: Carter Smith) Synopsis: A group of students take a trip to Mexico and decide to do some sightseeing at some remote ancient temples in the Mexico countryside. Turns out that after traveling to the remote archeological dig at the temple the locals won't let them leave.

My Take: Based on a previous novel, The Ruins succeeds extremely well as a psychological horror film as well as a sort of skewed siege film. Probably for the first half hour or so of the movie, you may be almost ready to turn it off. A cast of no names (well no names to anyone who isn't a genre fan that is) that is on some stereotypical "lost in a foreign land" picture just like Turistas or Hostel. Turns out what makes The Ruins special is that it isn't just about a weird situation in a far off land, its about being stuck with no hope what so ever, and it pulled off the ideas of fear and paranoia perfectly.
Future: Not sure, could go down as a great movie, or it could get unfairly lumped into the same crowd as Turustas and Hostel II. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

7: Teeth Synopsis: A straight edge High School girl who preaches abstinence soon finds out that she has "Vagina Dentata". I am not making that up.

My Take: This definitely wins my award for the most original horror film of the year hands down. If you are a guy, this movie will terrify and shock you (you can imagine what would happen if a girl had a set of shark like teeth in her vagina) but if you are a girl, you will find the movie hilarious. Aside from that initial viewing there are various subtle layers of meaning ranging from discussions of abstinence, rape, revenge, and personal responsibility. This one requires at east two views to really grasp all the issues involved, however like Hard Candy, this is one of those films I don't know if I could get through again.
Future: A girl with Teeth in her vagina = classic.

6: Inside (Dir: Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury) Synopsis: (mostly from imdb) still grieving over her recently deceased boyfriend, a pregnant woman becomes haunted by a mysterious woman.

My Take: Let me start this one off by saying the French are way ahead of us North Americans in the gore and body torture departments right now (or until David Cronenberg decides to make another horror film). The unrelenting gore along with the ideas and discussions of trust and some good old fashioned revenge pave the way for a film that is difficult to watch. Until the recent North American "torture porn" craze, these films delve deeper into levels of subtext that are thick enough to flesh out a film thesis. Whenever one of you decides to do you Senior papers on the Autonomy and disintegration of Horror cinema on French Society, I better get a foot note.
Future: It's foreign and really messed up. This one will be discovered again and in another ten years, expect it to be part of a balanced horror film education.

So those were the first batch of movies that truly feel deserve some recognition for a job well done. What do you think of my picks so far? Which ones do you think I will put in the top 5? Am I dead on with my picks so far or would you have changed something? Let me hear it!