Best of the Best
I sat down earlier this week to narrow down my list for favorite horror film of the decade and quickly found that it was surprisingly easier than I thought it was going to be. That’s not a knock on the past ten years worth of horror films either, it was just obvious to me from the very first moment I thought of it. My favorite horror film of the decade is THE DESCENT. Let’s crack a bottle and discuss why, who it beats out, and whether or not any American genre films even came close.
I understand the film is basically just an extended alternate version of the scene in ALIENS where the Marines enter the hive, using an all female cast and way more blood, but, to be honest, that might be the greatest log line I’ve ever heard. There’s something to be said about a film whose setting alone scares the living shit out of me. I’m not so much claustrophobic as I am disturbed by the thought of being stuck in strange tunnels with no light, no idea where I’m going, and having to deal with strange noises. By the time the crawlers actually show up I’m already emotionally spent and constantly feel like I can’t breath. The rest is just pure bliss if you’re a horror fan. It’s a film that’s both figuratively and literally dark beyond comprehension for your average moviegoer and takes itself serious enough to replace the cheap scares of modern genre shit with actual character arcs and pure adrenaline pumping thrills.
The entire decade reeked of foreign dominance in the genre. While quickly scanning titles as I tried to come up with my winner, the only other films to make a run were THE ORPHANAGE, [REC], LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, JU-ON, MARTYRS, INSIDE, and maybe 28 DAYS LATER (which I’ve warmed up to in recent years) or DOG SOLDIERS. America barely sparked an interest with the best they had to offer in THE MIST, DAWN OF THE DEAD, FRAILTY (if you consider it a horror movie), and MAY. Films such as SHAUN OF THE DEAD, AMERICAN PSYCHO, THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, and THE OTHERS are all fantastic but involved too much mixing of genres for me to consider them straight-up horror.
Maybe it’s the booze talking but I’ve never been more certain of a number one pick than I am with this one. The intensity, character development, bloody carnage, and reverse twist at the end all hit me in the right spot at the exact right moment. Please feel free to add your lists below. Overall, I think it’s a decade that needs to be acknowledged for some pretty spectacular terror.