1) The Descent – Easily the best scary movie of 2006 (except for Little Man). This British import starring six unknown actresses may not have had the marketing hype of, say, The Grudge 2, but it surely deserved it. Six women decide to explore underground caves… and that’s as much as I’ll tell you. Yes, the symbolism of lithe young ladies trying to fit through really tight tunnels is rife for parody. But the film is so confident in its premise that it doesn’t even bother to introduce the creepy-crawly creatures that attack them until halfway through (okay, so I just told you a little more). Employing claustrophobia, smart editing, psychological mind games, complicated group dynamics, and some serious ass-kicking female characters (rare indeed in Hollywood horror movies, see #4-2 above), The Descent stands out among the rest. My only problem is that the decision to trim the truly creepy, ambiguous ending from the British run for the Americans' easy, lazy, cheap final scare (for more about The Descent, its influences and references, the Sun Times serves as a good primer).
So what do these movies say about the modern state of horror movies? Sequels and prequels usually suck and there’s more crap put out than good ones. But you could say that about movies in general, right? Every other genre has its so-bad-it's-good gems, but scary movies are consistently either genuinely great or hilariously God-awful. To paraphrase a quote, when they're good, they're great, and when they're bad, they're even better. It's fun to dig through the losers even as you search for the one that truly tingles your spine.
Article comments
1 - Deano
My problem with all of these films above (Descent excepted - it was great), is that they seem to all fall so neatly into what I would define as "horror porn" - not due to any gratiutious sex or nudity but due to the voyeristic nature of the content. The films seem to live for "the money shot" of some horrific injury / denoument and torture.
Bluntly it isn't terrifying, just vicious, sadistic, repetitive and boring. It is every bit as "genre" as the previous generation's "slasher" films with the unkillable pyschos.
2 - aly
i think all of those movies were awsome!! mi sister scared me during The Descent, she was outside taking the dog out and she knocked on the window and i jumpedand screamed, almost felt like i was gonna have a heart attack and the other movies were scary too, i love them all, although Hostel was a lil graphic!!
3 - DeWayne(FilmCritic)
I think all of the movies were fun to watch. It is hard to expect a lot from Hollywood, because they are so good at selling crap.
It is great to see horror movies making a strong come back and if the producer's will step up to the plate and really focus on a creepy, yet hair raising, eye-popping plot...we might sleep better at night...ha ha ha!
With Rob Zombie's Halloween success...it is proof that it can be done! There is more to come...
DeWayne(FilmCritic)
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