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James Jay Edwards’ Top-Ten Fringe Horror Movies Of 2014
It’s time for all of the year end, best-of, top-ten, or whatever you want to call the lists of favorite movies that writers like to make. Because everyone sees the same movies, these lists are usually very similar. You’ll be seeing a lot of lists that contain titles like The Babadook and Starry Eyes (and deservedly so, as both are great), so I’m going to give you something a little different; these are my favorite fringe horror films of 2014. These movies are not pure horror, but they all walk the thin line between science and superstition. There will be no masked killers or ghosts-in-mirrors on this list, but there should be something in each entry that will keep you up at night. And now, the movies…
- Jodorowsky’s Dune
Jodorowsky’s Dune is the least-horror entry on this list, so let’s get it out of the way first. It’s a fascinating documentary about cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to make a movie out of Frank Herbert’s quintessential sci-fi novel Dune in 1975. The movie was scrapped before a single frame of film could be shot, but the story of its failure and the influence that it has had over seemingly every sci-fi film made since is unbelievable.
Buy Jodorowsky’s Dune on Amazon here
- Blue Ruin
A festival favorite from 2013, Blue Ruin finally got a legitimate release in 2014. This gritty flick is about a vagrant who learns that the man who murdered his parents years ago is being released from prison. He plans his revenge, but things do not go quite as smoothly as he had hoped. A revenge tale that is heavy on the violence, Blue Ruin is like Quentin Tarantino meets Sam Peckinpah with just a dash of Chan-wook Park. Macon Blair is amazing in the lead role, too.
- The Signal
The Signal tells the story of a trio of kids who are driving cross country when they get a message that leads them to an abandoned shack. They wake up in a hospital-type setting with no idea how they got there. The Signal is a creepy science fiction movie with an amazing cast that includes Brenton Thwaites (Oculus), Olivia Cooke (Ouija), and Beau Knapp (Super 8) as the three travelers, and the inimitable Lawrence Fishburne (The Matrix) as the head of the hospital.
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with the apes now in control of the world while people live within isolated pockets of humanity. Ape and human clash when the humans need something from the apes’ territory. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a visual effects masterpiece, and someday the Academy will recognize the talents of Andy Serkis (who plays Caesar, the head ape) as an actor and not just a motion-capture performer.
Buy Dawn of the Planet of the Apes on Amazon here
- Cheap Thrills
Two guys walk into a bar. A third offers fifty bucks to the first one who can do a shot. The night goes on, the dares get more risky, and the stakes get higher. That’s the premise of Cheap Thrills. It’s a highly entertaining study of how far some people are willing to go for money, and how much money it would take for some people to do unthinkable things. This one is anchored by stellar performances from Pat Healy (The Innkeepers) and Ethan Embry (Late Phases).
Buy Cheap Thrills on Amazon here
- Under the Skin
Although it’s unlike any of her other movies, Under the Skin stars Scarlett Johannson of The Avengers fame. The starlet is stripped of the glamour and glitz of Hollywood, barely recognizable in a retro-disco curly wig. Frat boys everywhere flocked to this one thinking that they were finally going to see her naked, and they did – but, let’s just say that the experience was not quite what they were expecting. ScarJo plays an alien who stalks and abducts men on the streets of Scotland, all the while being followed by a strange man on a motorcycle. This is a weird, artsy film, but if you don’t mind doing a little of the thinking for yourself, it’s great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoSWbyvdhHw
Read the iHorror review of Under the Skin here
Buy Under the Skin on Amazon here
- Enemy
Enemy stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) as a man who discovers his own doppelganger (also Gyllenhaal), and the two men play a scary game of cat and mouse with each other’s lives. When I first saw Enemy, I left the theater wondering what the hell I had just watched. As confused as I was, I could not get the movie out of my head for weeks. The entire film is laced with an underlying feeling of dread and uneasiness. It’s a very slow burn of a movie, so you’ve got to want it, but patient viewers will be rewarded with the most WTF ending in recent memory.
Read the iHorror review of Enemy here
- Grand Piano
Elijah Wood (Maniac) stars in Grand Piano as a stage-fright stricken pianist who is attempting to make a comeback. At his first concert back, he notices a red sniper dot on his sheet music that points to a message that says “play one note wrong and you die.” Talk about pressure! Grand Piano is a heavily stylized film, shot beautifully and edited flawlessly. This is the Brian De Palma film that Brian De Palma wishes that he had made.
Read the iHorror review of Grand Piano here
Buy Grand Piano on Amazon here
- The Guest
Written and directed by Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard (the team behind You’re Next), The Guest is about a stranger who shows up at the door of a family who lost a son in the Afghanistan war. The stranger claims to be an army buddy of the fallen solider. At first, the family welcomes him with open arms, desperate to feel a connection with their lost son. They soon discover that their houseguest is not who he claims to be. Everything about this movie is great: the writing, the performances, the action sequences, the soundtrack. Everything.
- Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler is not only good enough to be considered the best horror film of the year, but it’s the best film of the year, period. It’s also the second Jake Gyllenhaal movie on this list. In this one, Gyllenhaal channels both Patrick Bateman and Travis Bickle as a freelance news photographer who takes his job of shooting bloody crime scenes a little too seriously. This movie is dark, disturbing, and downright creepy. Nightcrawler is the type of movie that will make you feel uncomfortable for wanting to laugh at it. I loved every second.
Buy Nightcrawler on Amazon here
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Movies
Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month
Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.
Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.
According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.
Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.
Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.
Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.
While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.
According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”
The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.
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Movies
Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released
In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.
The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.
The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.
Here is the fresh trailer:
According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”
Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.
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News
Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers
Warning: This is a disturbing story.
You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.
This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400.
If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing.
Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction.
“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”
She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.”
At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.
“She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”
If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.
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