Dread Central’s Best and Worst Horror Films of 2016
Steve Barton
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Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton
2016 Sure had its ups and downs movie-wise, but thankfully the high points were a lot higher than the lows. So here they are… my best and worst horror movies of the year in no particular order!
10 Cloverfield Lane – How a Cloverfield sequel got made without anyone knowing in this day and age is a bit of a modern cinematic miracle, and holy cow, did this one pay off! Part psychological thriller and part monster movie, what we have here, kids, is the best of both worlds! A stunner!
The Monster – Now THIS! This is a monster movie and probably the most realistic one released in years. Bryan Bertino’s vision of an imperfect family colliding with the deadly unknown ticks every box on my I LOVE THIS chart and does so with ease!
Train to Busan – Just when you thought you were just about done with the living dead sub-genre that has saturated every conceivable area from the small screen to the big screen, comes a film that cranks it up to 11. Sang-ho Yeon’s film serves as a sterling example of why and how zombies got so popular in the first place.
The Conjuring 2 – This is quite possibly The Godfather II of horror sequels! James Wan took everything that was right with The Conjuring and raised both the stakes and the scares higher. Probably the best haunted house film in the last decade.
Swiss Army Man – This movie has it all… Love, laughs, death, tasteless humor, gross-out gags, humanity, inhumanity. It’s all here, and it’s pitch perfect. Best movie of the year – horror or otherwise.
Honorable Mentions: Don’t Breathe, “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Hush, Lights Out
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Here’s an idea… let’s take a movie and give it far less gore and zombie action for horror fans to dig while adding in lots of romance and comedy. On the other side of the coin, let’s make a romantic comedy that will have its audience put off by what little gore and zombie action there is, effectively creating a movie for… well… nobody. Genius.
Sharknado: The 4th Awakens – I know this is like shooting fish in a barrel at this point, but Jesus Christ, they’re not even trying anymore.
Morgan – From the son of Ridley Scott comes the most boring movie of the year that sure is pretty to look at…
Cabin Fever – Remember that shitty shot-for-shot Psycho remake? Remember how pointless it all seemed? This managed to make it look like one of the most relevant films ever made.
The Disappointments Room – For the love of all that is holy, how did this even get released in theaters? Were the filmmakers going for a meta experience to go along with the film’s title? The only saving grace of this absolutely stagnant shitfest is the most creatively creepy usage of the opening of the children’s show “The Magic Garden” that I’ve ever seen.
Dishonorable Mentions: The Forest, “Scream Queens” Season 2, Holidays, The Purge: Election Year
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