As we all rip through presents, pound the spiked nog, feud with relatives and watch tons of movies…we thought we’d treat you guys and gals with something a little different this Christmas. That’s right y’all, with only a few short weeks left until Award Season is officially underway, we think it the perfect time to give a little to the many worthy genre flicks that came out this year. I mean, we all know the horror genre, like comedy, tends to get the shaft comes Oscar season. But all that changes today friends. On this glorious Christmas day, we’re opining with 10 genre flicks that we think ought to be considered in one or more Oscar categories. It could be the Big Kahuna, Best Picture, or something along the lines of Best Costume & Makeup. Either way, there’s a little something for everybody.
So what are you waiting for? Dig in up top to unwrap our Top 10 Genre Flicks of 2015 That Deserve Oscar Consideration!
Don’t front, MAD MAX FURY ROAD was the best time you at the movies all damn year! I know it was for me. And the chances are, you’ve never been so fully marauded by such a indefatigably throttled-up thrill-ride as what George Miller and company so excellently delivered. We certainly haven’t. Of course, with its worldwide success among critics and fans alike, garnering various awards along the way, sincere consideration for the film as Best Picture, George Miller for Best Director and my girl Charlize Theron for Best Actress is more than warranted. Best movie of the year!
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Who knew Matt Damon was so damn funny? Or Ridley Scott for that matter? And don’t just take it from us, the Hollywood Foreign Press has nominated THE MARTIAN for a Golden Globe…in the comedy category. Really, we shite you not. As pleasant as those comedic revelations are, so too is the wild success of THE MARTIAN as both a thoughtfully engaging sci-fi film and a crowd-pleasing piece of pop entertainment. 78 years old and Ridley Scott still proves he’s capable of helming an Oscar worthy film that explores the cosmos with such vitality. Give Sir Ridley a Best Picture & Best Directing nod!
Longtime screenwriter and Danny Boyle mentee Alex Garland, who’s no stranger to genre material having written 28 DAYS LATER, made quite the lasting impression with his mind-f*ck of a directorial debut this year, EX MACHINA. The sublimely unforeseen script deserves plaudits on its merit, but to us the real Oscar worthy facets of the film come from its sturdily built supporting turns, namely that of Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander. The former manages to be both creepily off-putting and oddly humorous, while the latter, a true breakout star, plays a robotic humanoid with frightening realism.
As one of the most unanimously lauded horror films that we’ve seen in sometime (perhaps since THE BABADOOK), the grand metaphor of IT FOLLOWS ought to be good enough to be considered one of the year’s best original screenplays. The mortifying STD allegory – the guilt, shame and abject terror therein – was explored with such a simple yet effective approach that it’s almost absurd to think the idea had never been done before. Of course, the fact David Robert Mitchell wrote and directed the film meant the vision remained intact and unsullied, with the brilliant casting of Maika Monroe sealing the deal.
One of the best movies I’ve ever had the pleasure of reviewing here at AITH was an Aussie crime joint called THE SQUARE. I say that because its screenplay was written by Joel Edgerton (directed by his brother Nash), the writer/director/actor behind the surprise 2015 thriller THE GIFT. And you know what? Both flicks are deceitfully wrapped presents that feature stunningly unforeseen plot twists and story turns. In the case of THE GIFT, it’s neatly presented as one kind of film, yet is slowly torn apart layer by layer to reveal another kind entirely. The script was so damn good it attracted the A-list likes of Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall.
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I swear, you could nominate Richard Jenkins in just about every supporting post he delivers, and such is certainly the case with the dusty cannibal western BONE TOMAHAWK. Dude’s the shite! If you’ve not seen the low-budget genre-bender, do so ASAP, as Jenkins plays a second-in-command deputy named Chicory to Kurt Russell’s Sheriff Frank Hunt. But he’s no second banana, he’s riotously entertaining comic relief, as Jenkins does so well, yet still maintains an emotional core as a loyal old dog in his twilight years. Seriously, this is one of Jenkins’ best, most unrecognizable performances.
Chances are you won’t find a more lush production design and sumptuously elegant wardrobe than in Guillermo del Toro’s garish Gothic-romance CRIMSON PEAK. The detail is impeccable. From the Victorian era costumes – top-hats, corsets, long dresses, etc. – to the gaudy monstrosity of the mansion in the film, a more fully realized period-piece you will not have entered in 2015. If you’ve not seen it, imagine PAN’S LABYRINTH mixed with THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE to get an idea of the level of craft and care put into the final product. As a result, CRIMSON PEAK is del Toro’s best film in a good decade!
After spoiling us all with the marvelous Halloween anthology TRICK R TREAT, director Michael Dougherty turns his sadistic attention to this season’s most apt holiday, Christmas. Of course, KRAMPUS represents the dark underbelly of the holiday, an inverted Saint Nick if you will, who goes around punishing the naughty while his jolly counterpart is out gifting the nice. And you know what? Thanks to some killer makeup and FX work, KRAMPUS ought to be recognized for its eye-widening dress-up job. Hell, just cop a peek at that f*cking face! Or that six-foot set of antlers.
While it seems the horrific Hungarian Holocaust drama SON OF SAUL is poised as the front-runner in this years Best Foreign Film category, there’s no reason at all to sleep on the Austrian horror flick GOODNIGHT MOMMY. In fact, we think sincere consideration ought to be given to Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s film as the winner of the golden statuette. If you’ve not seen it, the flick follows the psychological torment of two young twin boys after going home to live with their mom after she undergoes facial reconstruction surgery. The horrors of the boys’ inability to cope with the woman’s new facade proves for a truly gripping tale of lost identity. See this flick ASAP!
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Okay, so THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY is not technically codified as a horror flick, but so what, Peter Stricklans has followed up his love letter to giallo cinema (BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO) with a flick that so deeply, hauntingly resonates for days after seeing it, it may as well be considered an out-and-out genre joint. The UK/Hungary production follows the brutally obsessive lesbian relationship between a quirky butterfly collector and her newfound lover. Further description would only do a grave disservice, as the images shown and subject matter tackled is nothing short of breathtaking. We really believe this film belongs on the Best Foreign Film shortlist.
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