There’s no disputing that in terms of quality horror films – and box office receipts as well – we’ve been subjected to turkey after turkey during 2014. Sure, a few shining stars have emerged (you’ll have to wait for our year-end best of/worst of lists to see what those might be in our humble opinion), but overall it’s been a lackluster several months to say the least.
So, what do horror fans have to be thankful for? We were able to come up with a pretty solid Top 5 that we’ll be toasting tomorrow when it’s our turn to share with friends and family our favorite things from 2014.
To kick things off, we have a few honorable mentions that brightened our year: First is Monsterpalooza, which takes place in Burbank, CA, in the spring with its Son of Monsterpalooza spin-off happening each fall. This show is hands down every horror fan’s wet dream and not to be missed. Forget saving for a visit to Disneyland or Hollywood’s Walk of Fame – if SoCal is on your agenda and Monsterpalooza isn’t part of it, then turn in your horror cred card.
Next we have to send a little love to Scream Queen Extraordinaire Danielle Harris. It isn’t often we get to see someone progress so effortlessly from cute young girl to beautifully budding ingénue to full-fledged gorgeous genre icon, but in Danielle’s case we got all that and more. We might not have been big fans of See No Evil 2 as a whole, but Danielle’s performance made it worth the price of admission.
Lastly, we give a quick shout-out to Titan Books/Comics. If you do a search for “horror books” or “horror comics” on the Dread Central site, Titan’s name is sure to pop up more than just about any other, and with titles like Anathema, Norman, and World War X (among many others) heading our way next year, it doesn’t look like that trend is going to end any time soon.
Now, on with our Top 5!
First is Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions. Take a peek at Jason’s IMDb page, and you’ll see a ridiculous amount of horror movies either now in release, just completed, in post-production, currently filming, or in pre-production. Plus he has a reality TV series in the works at GSN. We’re honestly not sure when – or even if – this guy sleeps! Sure, a couple of his recent projects haven’t set the world on fire quite like Paranormal Activity or even Insidious and Sinister did (Ouija and Jessabelle, we’re looking at you), but The Purge: Anarchy was the biggest surprise of the year, and we have high hopes for the next Purge installment along with Amityville: The Awakening, Insidious: Chapter 3, and of course the next Paranormal film, all of which are slated for 2015 along with a slew of others. When it comes to producers who have black hearts, we can’t think of anyone with a bigger one than Blum. Just please stay on the right path, and don’t make us eat our words next year!
Bill Oberst, Jr., is next on our list, and if you’re a regular Dread Central reader, then you no doubt know why. No one – and I mean NO ONE – is a bigger supporter of the genre than Bill. In the world of indie horror, he stands head and shoulders above the pack for his passion and perseverance in making sure it and its fans receive the respect they deserve. At any given time Bill is juggling a handful of projects that are sure to appeal to his legion of followers. Oberst is often cited as this generation’s Lon Chaney, and that is well earned. However, we suspect that in the not too distant future, up-and-comers will be known as their generation’s Bill Oberst, Jr., and we can’t wait to say it ourselves!
Author Anne Rice is the catalyst for our third reason to be thankful: Lestat is BACK! After leaving the supernatural world behind for several years, Rice returned to the fold in 2012 with The Wolf Gift, followed the next year by The Wolves of Midwinter. Both of these werewolf novels were welcome additions to her oeuvre, but they didn’t exactly fill the void left by the absence of her most popular creation, the vampire Lestat, who has been credited with sparking the current glut of vamps on the scene like Twilight, “True Blood,” and their ilk. When word came that Rice would be releasing a brand new Lestat book in 2014, her fans (this Woman included) just about went into cardiac arrest. What could we expect? Had Rice and Lestat been apart for too long to resurrect their old magic together? Well, now that I’ve read about half of Prince Lestat (expect a review soon – it’s simply too good to rush through), I can promise that longtime fans won’t be disappointed as it doesn’t seem that either Anne or her brat prince have missed a step over the intervening years. Along with catching up with just about everyone in The Vampire Chronicles, we also get to meet several new characters who are sure to become just as beloved as Lestat, Marius, Louis, Armand, and the rest. Anne’s accessibility to her fans on Facebook (and forthright expression of her views – popular or not) is another reason to appreciate her. If you haven’t picked up your copy of Prince Lestat yet, be sure to put it on your Christmas or Chanukah wish list – it’s one not to be missed!
This next entry is the biggest no-brainer of the bunch. When it comes to horror DVDs and Blu-rays that were released this year, what’s the first distributor name that comes to mind? If you didn’t say, “Of course it’s Scream Factory, you moron,” then you’ve been living under a rock and need to come out more often for a bit of sunshine. No company provided as much sunshine to horror fans as Scream Factory did in 2014, and 2015 looks to be even better! If we started listing their releases, we’d be here all day so just do yourself a favor and visit the Scream Factory website to see what you might’ve missed and what’s yet to come.
We wrap things up with another rather obvious choice, but it’s one that bears repeating over and over again: horror on TV. We are seriously living in a golden age when it comes to the variety horror fans currently enjoy on television, and that’s not likely to change in the foreseeable future. To obvious juggernauts “The Walking Dead,” “Hannibal,” “Supernatural,” “American Horror Story,” and “Sleepy Hollow,” we’ll add some of our own staff picks like “Salem,” “Bates Motel,” “The Strain,” “The Originals,” “Penny Dreadful,” “The Dead Files,” “Ghost Adventures,” and “Grimm” (sorry, “Vampire Diaries” – even though last week’s episode was awesome, you’ve been off your game lately). Hell, I’ll even throw Syfy’s “Z Nation” out there – it’s loads of fun, full of over-the-top gore gags, and never takes itself too seriously. Just about any day of the week you can find at least two, if not more, genre-themed shows to choose from… and more are being announced all the time! So count your blessings, Dreadies, and let us know what your favorites are.
Before closing, we do have one other notable thing to be thankful for, and that’s EACH OTHER. Sure, we spar and scuffle like you’ll be doing with your siblings tomorrow as you each reach for that last piece of pumpkin pie, but we do it with love, and none of us would be anywhere without each other. Our strength is our numbers (and purchasing power), and as long as Hollywood keeps churning out crappy remakes and shitty sequels, we’ll keep shunning them and seeking out those few and far between gems like the ones found above.
So there you have our Top 5. What did we miss? Chime in with your choices below, and Happy Thanksgiving to us all!