10. “Master”
Horror has always been an allegorical mode of cinema. The genre’s history is peppered with modern classics that pretended to be about one thing — monsters, creatures, or transformations — as a vehicle for social commentary. And while “Master” may dip its hand into the horror genre, this is a film with very little interest in the fantastical. Only the barest threads of the supernatural are there to buffer its sense of urgency. “Master” parallels the academic careers of two people, one a student and the other an educator. As Black women, both Gail and Jasmine experience their fair share of micro and macro-aggressions. But the power of the film is in how it uses the supernatural as a form of folklore, with the threats of witches serving as a palpable whitewashing of academic history. It should come as no surprise that Regina Hall is a standout in the film, but much credit should also go to Zoe Renee (Jasmine), the young woman who sees ghosts in institutional racism — and sometimes, the other way around. And while the horror elements often take a background to interpersonal conflict, “Master” earns its spot as unquestionably one of the most ambitious horror debuts of the decade. – MM
9. “The Innocents”
At some point in the next month, you may find yourself watching the annual “Twilight Zone” marathon on the Syfy channel. You may even catch “It’s a Good Life,” the harrowing 1961 episode that features an entire town held captive by a small boy with superpowers. And if you do and find yourself wishing that Hollywood would update that story for modern audiences, you may be delighted to know that “The Innocents” already exists. Director Eskil Vogt and his young cast explore the boundaries between violence and exploration in their characters, and we are asked to examine — if not understand — the feeling of abandonment and cruelty that could lead to a perversion of power. And when the young friends begin to turn on each other, “The Innocents” finds moments of horror that most movies only dream of. Given the supernatural elements of the plot — think Josh Trank’s “Chronicle” for the arthouse set — it’s hard not to compare “The Innocents” to the current wave of superhero movies. And that makes what the film is able to accomplish in its closing minutes such an act of virtuosity. Vogt stages a climactic faceoff between characters that speak to the world beneath our world and does so with minimal special effects. – MM
(Read Caroline Tsai’s review of “The Innocents” here)
8. “Piggy”
One could argue the best films in the horror genre are the ones that take those traditional genres and subvert them in fun and unique ways. That’s precisely what Carlota Pereda’s heartbreaking “Piggy” does in a coming-of-age tale filled with emotion, empathy, and horrific murder. It’s a unique story of a young woman, Sara (an incredible Laura Galán), who doesn’t fit in with the rest of her classmates. She’s quiet, reclusive, and, as is pointed out by everyone in her life, fat. But her life suddenly becomes much more interesting when an older man shows her the attention and desire a young woman often craves. Unfortunately for Sara, the man in question is also a serial killer who is willing to murder anyone who crosses the young girl they refer to as Piggy. Pereda’s film straddles the line between tenderness and terror in a way few filmmakers can do successfully. – CB
(Read Carlos Aguilar’s review of “Piggy” here).
7. “Men”
Writer/director Alex Garland (“Annihilation,” “Ex-Machina”) keeps threatening to quit directing, and with his psychological folk horror “Men,” especially his ending, you can almost feel him trying to provoke the audience or the studios making his films, into arresting him and throwing him into director’s jail for his transgressions. Featuring a stunning performance from Jessie Buckley, the eerie film sees a young woman go on a solo vacation to the English countryside following the death of her ex-husband. Once there, she is threatened, intimidated, and frightened by men (all played by Rory Kinnear) — by their callousness, oblivious cluelessness, aggressiveness, self-righteousness, and self-assuredness, but unearned arrogance. It’s maybe a clumsy metaphor, all men are awful, but Jesus, framed by the psychological view of Buckley, who is grieving, traumatized, and wants to be left alone, their constant, graceless, unwanted invasion of her space, is nothing short of horrible and ghastly. And, of course, Garland finds much alarming horror in all this, seemingly operating from a space of self-loathing to unpack how men seek to control women because of how much we despise ourselves. Plus, the surreal, horrific, grotesque inverted ending is just insane and a hilarious, wtf mindfuck that feels like a provocative goading, a violation, and something mysteriously unfathomable- RP
(Read Brianna Zigler’s review of “Men” here).
6. “Mad God”
Phil Tippett is a legend in the world of VFX and animation. His work has been seen in numerous “Star Wars” films, “RoboCop,” and even the “Jurassic Park” franchise. But after decades in the business, his magnum opus is the stop-motion, instant classic “Mad God.” Beginning work on the film way back after completing “RoboCop 2,” Tippett slowly toiled away at what would eventually become a breathtaking, awe-inspiring horror epic about a mysterious figure on a journey through the underworld. Each frame of the film is filled with tremendous detail and care. Without really any dialogue and very little in the way of narrative clues, the audience is forced to sit and let Tippett’s masterful visuals (as grim, disgusting, and disturbing as they often are) wash over you for 83 minutes. It’s a film that feels old-fashioned but also ahead of its time. In 50 years, when people talk about the most artistic and experimental horror films ever created, “Mad God” will be mentioned, without a doubt. – CB
