Horror Films of 2019

[Reno]

Mmm... maybe we need a Horror Films 2019 thread. Anyways, I came here to post the newly released final trailer for It Chapter Two, and that I shall do...



Can't fucking wait

Not nearly as strong a year for horror films as 2018 and as I rarely go to the cinema these days, I’m still catching up with films at home.

Despite not being quite as good as Ari Aster’s Hereditary, his follow up Midsommar has been my favourite horror film of the year so far. It follows a more conventional (and predictable) horror movie trajectory, but I still think Aster is a fantastic director. It’s all in the accumulation of details and in the world building and as with Hereditary, he’s got a great actress to build his film around. Despite being two and a half hours long, the time flew by. I just got the directors cut which is even longer and will see how it stacks up against the theatrical release.

Loved Get Out, but thought Jordan Peele‘s second horror film Us, was disappointing.

The remake of Pet Sematary was not much better than the 80s movie, which was crap.

Brightburn was far from great, but entertaining enough. Its premise is, what if Superboy uses his powers for doing evil. Surprisingly gruesome for a mainstream horror film.

Crawl is a giant crocodile monster movie which got great reviews, but not sure why. Great set up, but very predictable from then on.

Ma features a great performance by Octavia Spencer, but it never goes far enough to become the campy bloodbath it promises to be and ends up being rather tepid.

Little Monsters is a horror comedy which is at it’s best before the zombies. It’s likeable enough, Life is Beautiful with zombies instead of concentration camps.

Looking forward to The Lighthouse and the two big Stephen King movies, It Chapter Two and Dr. Sleep.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I'd probably give Midsummer a 7/10... If I was on mushrooms whilst watching it. Unfortunately I wasnt, and thought it was a 5/10 at best.

I honestly can't think of any good horror flicks from this year. Escape room wasn't too bad but it could have been much better.

 

[JimW]

Not watched any but wanted to say how pleased I am to see you posting Reno!

 

[DotCommunist]

I googled to check Escape Room was this year, and it was but I note also that its scored low on the imdb/rotten toms scores. I enjoyed it anyway.

Been meaning to catch Brightburn at some point, OP reminds me.

 

[Sue]

Saw Wounds at the LFF. Really liked Babak Anvari's first (Under the Shadow) but this was very disappointing -- a very conventional found phone footage flick that made no sense. The cast did their best (Dakota Johnson was woefully underused) but meh.

 

[Reno]

Saw Wounds at the LFF. Really liked Babak Anvari's first (Under the Shadow) but this was very disappointing -- a very conventional found phone footage flick that made no sense. The cast did their best (Dakota Johnson was woefully underused) but meh.

Yup, heard it’s no great shakes. Also loved Under the Shadow.

 

[Reno]

I'd probably give Midsummer a 7/10... If I was on mushrooms whilst watching it. Unfortunately I wasnt, and thought it was a 5/10 at best.

I honestly can't think of any good horror flicks from this year. Escape room wasn't too bad but it could have been much better.

Escape Room was watchable enough but I forgot about it almost instantly. It’s still better than the similar Haunt, which also came out this year.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Been meaning to catch Brightburn at some point, OP reminds me.

You'll most likely be terribly disappointed.

 

[T & P]

re Midsommer...

What in the name of fuck did I just watch?

Rather disappointed tbh. Like a remake The Wicker Man but with an indescribably annoying soundtrack, and the slowest pace in the history of filmaking, yet devoid of any sense of tension, anticipation, or dread. Perhaps it is to be watched on musrooms as Saul Goodman suggested.

 

[Sue]

re Midsommer...

What in the name of fuck did I just watch?

Rather disappointed tbh. Like a remake The Wicker Man but with an indescribably annoying soundtrack, and the slowest pace in the history of filmaking, yet devoid of any sense of tension, anticipation, or dread. Perhaps it is to be watched on musrooms as Saul Goodman suggested.

I really liked it.

 

[Ming]

You'll most likely be terribly disappointed.

It’s a good idea but it’s not really scary.

 

[Reno]

Last night I watched It Chapter 2. Quite enjoyed the first one and I’m not a fan of the novel or of the mini-series. This is a disappointing follow up. It’s far too long and frequently very silly. Despite a good cast, the adult versions of the Losers Club aren’t nearly as engaging as the kid actors in Chapter 1. I didn’t buy the relationships between the characters as adults or the supposedly strong bond they they’ve developed over one year when they were children. Many of the flaws are inherent in the novel where the present day story also wasn’t as interesting as the stuff in the past. There still are a few creepy andeven surreally weird sequences, the director Muschietti comes up with some grotesque imagery, but overall this doesn’t quite work.

I also watched Ready or Not, a horror comedy about young woman who marries into a very rich and eccentric family who have a tradition of playing a deadly game at every family wedding. Good, but not as good as the similar You‘re Next from a few years ago.

 

[Reno]

What is bound to be scariest movie of 2019 will get released soon:

 

[Indeliblelink]

I'd like to see this Spanish film - The Platform [El Hoyo]

 

[Reno]

Has a bit of a Cube-vibe. Looks interesting.

 

[Orang Utan]

I liked that one gory scene in Brightburn and quite liked the concept of it, but it hasn't stayed with me much.

 

[Rosemary Jest]

I enjoyed Three From Hell, not as good as the first two, but decent all the same.

 

[D'wards]

Watched Ready or Not last night. Really good fun horror film I thought

 

[Reno]

Watched Daniel isn’t Real last night. Not great, not bad either. It’s about a man with a history of mental illness in his family, who revives his imaginary childhood friend when he is in his twenties. Shades of Drop Dead Fred, Fight Club and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this starts out as a psychological thriller and then dives into Clive Barker territory.

That’s Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s son, playing the evil, imaginary friend.

 

[Knotted]

I've been getting into horror films over the last 4-5 years, and it seems we are in a bit of a golden age. I spent a lot of time anticipating the second films from Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, Jennifer Kent and Jordan Peele. Finally decided to pay to watch Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale last weekend and wasn't disappointed though it probably doesn't count as horror, so I feel I can contribute to this thread now.

Apart from the brutality of The Nightingale I thought it was really haunting and a real eye opener for that horrific period of Australian history. Similar message to those old grisly Wes Craven films of the 70's - ie. revengeful violence is not redemptive/cathartic.

I also went to see The Lighthouse in the cinema (in January before the lock down) - something I hardly ever do. I was desperate to see that film. I used to be into classic films by eg. Kurosawa and Bergman and without making any direct comparisons I thought it stands up to any of the truly great classic films. I may change my mind on repeat viewings. Having said that I preferred The VVitch still, which I am totally obsessed with. But here again is a film that you can lose yourself in. You are there in that lighthouse with those two characters losing your mind with them.

Midsommar fell a bit flat for me if only because the side characters were utterly one dimensional (even including the boyfriend), but it did have a great soundtrack and trippy effects.

I thought Us was great if a bit bloated and convoluted, however the comedy aspects worked well (better than Get Out) and it was another intelligent allegory on American society that gets under your skin.

I would also strongly recommend Little Joe which is an invasion of the body snatchers type thing, except it is extremely subtle. Odd film in that its tone is as a horror film but it's only somewhat disturbing, its subtext is also its main text if you see what I mean. It really works if you are patient with it and it gets better with repeated watches. An absolutely exquisite, outlandish soundtrack.

I really enjoyed The Platform. Thought provoking and subversive if contrived and not especially artful. I started watching horror films because I thought that even the bad films would be somehow interesting and subversive and playful. I was wrong, there are some flatly terrible films out there, but here is a film that does the trick.

I haven't seen Luz or Blood Quantum yet both of which sound interesting to me...

 

[T & P]

Has a bit of a Cube-vibe. Looks interesting.

Cube is an interesting beast. I chanced it on Netflix without knowing a thing about it, and the feel of the cinematography/ film resolution as well as some of the acting/ dialogue was not much better than an amateur movie filmed on a camcorder. But the premise was so interesting I stuck with it, and overall it was a perfectly satisfying low-budget film of the genre.

I’d say exactly the same thing about Circle (not The Circle). Sci-fi rather than horror, but I found the premise so engaging its flaws and low production values were not an issue at all.

 

[Rosemary Jest]

I watched Cube recently too, and was a very good film. Agree on the hammy acting, and low budget, but was an engaging film and really enjoyable.

I also agree about Midsommar, it was decent but not as amazing as some of the reviews suggested. It seemed like a re-tread of other films, which is no bad thing in itself, it just wasn't so original and you could see what was coming from the start.

Also rewatched Terrifier again recently, which I'd recommend on the basis of the bad guy, brilliantly acted, and actually quite terrifying. As low budget as they come but brilliant with it.

I'm sure I've seen some other decent horror lately but will have a think and post back.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I watched Cube recently too, and was a very good film. Agree on the hammy acting, and low budget, but was an engaging film and really enjoyable.

Which one?

 

[Knotted]

Three films on Netflix that are at least worth a watch:

The Girl on the Third Floor A haunted/living house thing. In no way earth shaking and probably badly acted (it doesn't bother me) but weird and fun (and some sort of comment about toxic masculinity but more importantly it's weird and fun.)

The Perfection Which is a ridiculous film with dozens of twists but the first section is a great piece of body horror that... erm... really gets under your skin.

Hole in the Ground is a disappointing film but that's because the set up is really quite tasty even if it doesn't quite deliver. It builds a good atmosphere.

 

[Knotted]

I thought Climax was 2019 but it turns out to be 2018. It would be one of the best films of any genre in either year though.

 

[Reno]

Which one?

The one called "Cube" (so not the crappy sequels, none of which are simply called "Cube")

 

[kittyP]

The one called "Cube" (so not the crappy sequels, none of which are simply called "Cube")

I actually really enjoyed all three of them.
The first one was the best but I enjoyed the ridiculousness of the other two

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Despite not being quite as good as Ari Aster’s Hereditary, his follow up Midsommar has been my favourite horror film of the year so far.

Just watched this tonight on Amazon and thought it was excellent. Unlike Hereditary, I didn't need to google an explanation, although I'm sure it's one of those films that you'd get more from on a 2nd viewing...