Scotty's Favorite Horror Movies of 2014

Well, as the year draws to an end, I have finally come the conclusion that I need to make up a list of not just top movies I have reviewed, but the movies that have stuck with me the most since watching them.  I have been asked what draws me to the horror movies, and keeps me away from more of the serious stuff, well that is not that hard to answer.  A horror movie can take you away from the trials and pains that life can put on you on a daily basis.  Seeing someone who has it worse than you in a movie, I hate to say it, makes you feel better about your current situation.  That is one way of saying it, the second is a good scare helps make sure that you are alive.  Just a little bit about me, but one to the movies!

You’re Next – For some reason, I cannot get this movie out of my head.  After watching it the first time, I knew I would have to watch it again to make sure I did not miss anything.  With the family dynamic being examined in this film, it is easy to find out why some of the children want to take out their parents, but as most things come down to in our lives these days, it is all about the money and how much we really want it.

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Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil – This is a classic throw back to all of the horror movies that have haunted our dreams for many years, but with a twist, it is a comedy and the only people that are killing are killing themselves.  With Tucker and Dale just trying to find their own way in this crazy world, they are being hunted by college kids that believe they are crazy killers in the woods.  This movie has hit a sweet spot for me as with all of the laughter that comes from it, it still provides enough blood to keep even the hardcore horror fan intrigued.

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Hollow – Wanting to make sure that their relationship is pure, Scott and Emma take a vacation with their friends to Emma’s recently passed grandfather’s house.   Finding out that her grandfather knows plenty about the surrounding area, they find that there is a tree that has some sort of unnatural power.  With all roads leading to the tree, the group has to keep their eyes on what really matters, but Scott is not able to escape what is being done to him and starts looking for love from someone other than Emma.  Although this is a story about failed friendships, it shows you that the power of a strong relationship can overcome the worst of the worst, even when spirits come into the mix.

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Pontypool – This is one of those movies that you would never imagine being scary based on the title and the short description that comes with it, I mean, how in the world can words be scary.  Well this movie proves that theory wrong as an unseen threat is taking over a small town and a radio host is trying to report on it, without being able to confirm it is true.  As the town gets torn up, the host, along with his crew seem to be safe in the radio station, but when one person starts to show they have become infected, the others know it is only a matter of time before they become the next victim.  It is a great movie that will keep you wondering about what is really happening in the town, as your main characters are asking themselves the same thing.

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The Shrine – This movie keeps you guessing about what is really happening in a small town out of Poland where people consistently go missing.  With the locals blaming the losses on a statue of the devil that is hidden in their woods, they seem to be very focused on keeping everyone that have been involved with it away from their community.  Although the outsiders have a different plan of reporting this to the world, but the towns people know what evil comes from statue and how to keep it from joining the outside world.  Without anyone being able to communicate with each other as the language barrier has been reached between the reporters and town’s people, it is easy to see why the people in the town dislike having to protect their woods and secret from anybody else.

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Yellow Brick Road – In 1940 the entire population of Friar, New Hampshire walked up a path in the woods never to been seen or heard from again.  When a group of reporters try to identify what happened to the people over sixty years later, they find that they have more problems than they could have expected.   With a strange music coming from the woods, some sort of forties area dance music, the group thinks they can locate the missing people, but when the music gets louder they find they have been targeted and must find a way to escape the woods before it is too late.  Not knowing what is behind the disappearance is one thing, but when the group witnesses what might have happened first hand, it leaves you wondering if it is only in their heads, or if there is something more sinister at play.

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13/13/13 – Your birthday should be the most special day of the year, but does it hold a different meaning than you could know about.  In this story, if you have been born outside of a leap year, you are in trouble.  With only a few people having a birthday every four years, somehow they have been protected by a madness that is raging through the world.  With only wanting to make sure that their families are ok, two survivors have been able to find a way through the madness without being injured, but when their loved ones re being protected by people that have been infected, it is hard to say what will happen next.  With everyone being at everyone else’s necks while they try to battle their new type of feeling, it is a great story that keeps you wondering what will happen next as everyone is ready to kill.

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Wrath of the Crows – Ok, I will be honest, I doubt I would have ever seen this movie without talking to Tiffany Shepis at MHHFF this year.  With it being on the table, she did recommend it and compared it to one of her previous films that I loved.  With a group of strangers being locked in a dungeon of sorts, they are given a new mate that is there to stir the pot.  As Princess has some sort of power at her disposal, she is able to make all of the inmates of the prison experience their wrong doing and what got them locked up in the first place.   With an unseen judge that is determining their fate, the inmates want to try to escape before their time is up, but there is no place to go as it seems their movements are being tracked very closely.  What keeps this movie spinning around in my mind is the interaction between the inmates and how they have instilled trust in each other, even with their lives on the line, they will stand up and try to help each other out before letting the judge have his way with them

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The Taking of Deborah Logan – There is something special in this movie that makes me like it so much and it has to do with a loved one experiencing a fight with Alzheimer’s.  As Deborah Logan is the fighting the fight of her life to stay who she was, a group of medical students are following her around with cameras to document her deterioration.  Not liking this, but needing the money, she plays along, but a memory comes back to her that is much more dark than anyone in her family will ever understand.  Not knowing what is happening, Deborah starts acting out a bit, but there is a force guiding her to a place on her property that will answer all of the questions that she has hidden away for many years.  It was a great transformation between the kind old woman, and the shell of her as she is looking for a way out of her current predicament.  Wanting to keep the past dead and buried, she remembers enough to try to head it off, but with an unseen force pushing her, she has to try and fight it, to save herself and her family.

I do have a hard time picking out favorite movies from the horror genre, because several of them are not comparable to one another with how the different stories play out.  But what I can say is that every one of the horror movies I review, I enjoyed watching and might have seen it more than one time.  The movies that stick with me have different story lines as you can see and each one has some sort of message that comes up near the end that makes me like it even more, I think anyway.   Please, do not hesitate to comment below on what your favorite movies of this ever growing genre are, since I counted over 120 horror movies came out last year alone and I have only heard the names of thirty of them.  Stay Scared.

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