Top 5 Things Horror Fans Should Be Thankful for in 2014
Debi Moore
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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!
