Just like every year, 2013 has been host to a few very solid mainstream releases in the horror genre, yet there was still an abundance of utter crap that was fed to us by big-budget Hollywood producers. Fortunately, despite a plethora of garbage, 2013 brought a few memorable genre films to the big screen, most notably Insidious: Chapter 2 and You’re Next. While I wouldn’t necessarily describe 2013 as a great year for the genre, I will definitely say that this year at least wasn’t filled with shitty remakes (other than Carrie) and we at least got to see some original concepts for once. (The Purge comes to mind) Without further adieu, allow me to highlight some of the films that stick out to me the most when reminiscing on the past year of horror releases.
The Purge could be categorized in the
“government” sub-genre of horror due to its original concept that follows the
emergence of a new law that allows all crime to be legal for a twelve-hour
period for one day each year. Taking place in the year 2022, the story follows
a man named James Sandin, a home security salesman (played by famous actor
Ethan Hawke, who also starred in Blumhouse’s Sinister), who, along with his family, are tormented by a group of
disturbed individuals who are obsessed with “purging” in order to help decrease
the poverty rate and “take back America.” While this film offers nothing
spectacular and is predictable beyond belief, this film is very memorable, which
is mostly due to its original concept and its high-octane level of entertainment.
Similar
to The Purge, You’re Next not only proved that the slasher sub-genre is still alive, but also that horror can be blended with action and still be successful. The duo of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett proved that they had something to offer that was not only gory and disturbing, but also a great overall exhibition in storytelling. If you want to see a film that features three creepily-disguised masked madmen and offers a take on the “home invasion” sub-genre that is new and original, look no further than You’re Next. The writer/director combination of Wingard and Barrett is definitely a promising tandem to look out for in the future.
All Hallow’s Eve was a film that
would’ve stricken many horror fans as something to watch out for upon the
reveal of its trailer in September. However, this debut feature from
writer/director Damien Leone (known for the popular horror short entitled Terrifier, which is featured in this
film) was nothing more than cinema trash that very deservingly landed straight
to DVD and video-on-demand for its numerous undeniable faults. The acting is
atrocious, the story is uninspired and dull, and most of all, the film suffers
from being painfully boring. If you’re looking for a straight-up killer clown
slasher film, don’t look here. With a budget of six figures, you’d expect a
film with a half-decent plot to at least be…decent, but this is far below
average. Hopefully Damien Leone can break away from the Jesse Baget-owned
Ruthless Pictures and do something that exceeds the high standards he set with Terrifier. Boring shit like this simply
won’t cut it.
Insidious: Chapter 2 continued to
showcase the ability that James Wan and Leigh Whannell possess when it comes to
creating scares. In this sequel to the hit 2011 film, we “further” (pun loosely
intended) explore the dark realm that haunted the young boy in the first film,
though this time, his dad (portrayed by Patrick Wilson) is now the victim of
the spirit world. This superb sequel dwells into the supernatural and
successfully creates some of the most intense scare scenes ever depicted on
film. This film outdoes the first film in every way imaginable; though,
especially in terms of delivering the scares, Insidious: Chapter 2 takes the cake in a way that its predecessor
failed to.
Just
when you thought the remake fad had died out, Carrie hit the big screen in time for Halloween, and opened to
mostly mixed-to-positive reviews. Out of all the terrible remakes Hollywood has
put out in recent years, one would know not to expect much from Carrie – and right they’d be in doing
so. Just like the majority of remakes we see these days, this film is nothing
but a painfully cheesy, pointless piece-of-shit that helps prove the average
horror fan’s typical belief that no remake can surpass its predecessor in terms
of execution and overall quality. Carrie
fails from having the most typical and annoying characters of recent
memory, having no antagonist or anything worth being remotely scared of, and
simply being an unnecessary remake that offers nothing new or original to the
Stephen King story.
Overall,
2013 wasn’t a bad year for the genre compared to some of more recent years.
James Wan came back with The Conjuring and
more importantly, the fantastic Insidious:
Chapter 2, which helped make his case as the best active horror filmmaker
out there. Films like You’re Next and
The Purge helped bring the slasher
film back to the big screen in an impactful manner. Of course there was a bunch
of crap, but what else can one expect these days? One can only hope that the
coming years will be as good as or better than 2013. There are plenty of films
that are slated for release in 2014 and 2015, some of which carry a lot of
promise, others of which aren’t necessarily worth getting too excited over. If the coming years can host a bit more
horror films on the big screen, that sure would be appreciated.
Until
next time.
-Jason
Harlow
