The year 2020, where to begin? A year that was extraordinary different and unprecedented time for cinema. The experience of seeing a movie was for most of the year was spent at home due to theater shutdowns and studio delaying releases due to the COVID pandemic, horror events around the country were very limited which led to innovative drive in and virtual experiences the likes we’ve never seen before. For the first time we saw first run movies coming straight to us in streaming format, the list goes on. That being said there really was a ton of releases and a fantastic flood of amazing indie horror that took a pedestal more so than any other year that I can remember. We’re here today to celebrate these films in my annual countdown of the top 13 horror flicks in my opinion of the year. This years addition was a bit of a tough task, considering in 2020 there wasn’t much to do besides hunkering in and well, watch movies. The amount of films that were released were at times overbearing, but I shoveled out all the crap and narrowed the films down to 13. Without any more preamble, here we go!
13. The Dark and the Wicked. Every year traditionally the week in between Christmas and NewYears I spend down time binging all the films that I missed or just heard about and never had a chance to watch. This year during that binge actually three movies made their way onto this list, The Dark and the Wicked being one of those three. Here we follow a small family that gathers in a rural secluded farm house to await the inevitable death of their elderly father. What initially appears to be a ritual of remembrance and loss soon turns into a slow walk into the depths of hell. This was one of the few films this year that legitimately scared me. A true blue “slow burn” that had scares that will be burned into my brain forever. The dread was spread on thick with this one and with a third act sequence that really messed me up. 12. The Wretched. When movie theaters closed their doors due to the pandemic movie goers were stuck twiddling their thumbs with nowhere to go. Enter the epic return of the drive-in experience. One of the films that took the most out of this reality is the brother director duo of Brett and Drew Pierce’s The Wretched. Personally unfortunately I did not get to experience the film at a drive-in but many fans did and good for them. Generate revenue for the film while also bringing back the age old drive in experience to boot. The Wretched follows a teenage boy, struggling with his parents’ imminent divorce alongside high school life which includes crushes and obnoxious bullying from the jocks. Sounds like your normal run of the mill small town Highschool kid right? Well he also must deal with a thousand year-old witch, who is just so happens to be living beneath the skin of and posing as the woman next door. This had cool 80’s monster movie and disturbia vibes. Actress Zarah Mahler who is possessed by the Witch was fantastically creepy that just brings a smile to your face. The Wretched is a very enjoyable film and would fit well into your summertime movie rotation for years to come.11. Scare Package. Ah, yes. Anthologies. Growing up watching tales from the crypt religiously and all the creepshow movies at a young age, I have a strong love affair for the horror anthology, which is why it makes sense that there is two anthology pictures on this list this year. The first one is the Shudder exclusive Gem, Scare Package. After its release I wrote a pretty extensive review on it so I won’t go into how much damn fun I had with this here but I will say out of all the films on this years list scare package is the one I’ve probably rewatched the most. A Blood soaked romp of horror and comedy goodness! Scare Package Rules!10. Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight. If you blinked, you missed the announcement but Netflix released this year a Polish Slasher movie in the woods and it was INSANE! Yes, you heard me correctly. Polish director Bartosz Kowalski brought all of us back to the hay days of the slasher Ala Friday the 13th in this super gory blood bath of brutality where a group of teenagers arrive at a survival camp where they clash with two deformed and highly pissed off cannibals which leads to some of the best moments in horror this year hands down. Thank God the kills were so inventive and grotesque because what was also grotesque was the English language dub in the Netflix US version. Honestly if it was t for the unnerving dubbing this film would most likely be higher up on my list. If you are a fan of Jason Vorhees and somehow missed out on this, stop reading, cue up Netflix and rock and roll. 9.The Mortuary Collection. Clancy Brown plays an eccentric mortician in a horror anthology. Are you sold yet? Of course you are. The Mortuary Collection had a boat load of hype heading into its Shudder release this past year and they released it right around Halloween, which was perfect because this is as Halloween staple as its going to get. The second of two anthologies that made this list centers around a mortician played by the legendary actor Clancy brown ( shout out to Pet Semetary 2 fans ) who is our tour guide as he recounts several phantasmagorical tales that he has encountered throughout his distinguished career. This film was a blast from start to finish, I actually watched it with my mom when she came to visit and she made it up to the point where a certain character’s certain private area certainly exploded. She laughed, but she had enough haha. Four tales with the third and forth in which are much darker and gorier than the first two but that’s what makes anthologies great, variety. Director Ryan Spindell dedicated multiple years of his life on this project and it shows. The music, the aesthetics, the acting and the practical effects, it all gets hit out of the park on this one. For Pete’s sake if you havent already, get yourself a subscription to shudder even if it’s for this alone. Then do it now.8. His House. First time director Remi Weeks wrote and directed this incredible surprise Netflix release in 2020. Essentially on its surface it’s just another haunted house story, but don’t you dare sell it out that easily. This bad boy has layers of scares. A refugee couple, the female lead played by LoveCraft country’s Wunmi Mosaku who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses, make a harrowing escape from the war-torn South Sudan, but when they land in an English run down town they soon discover that their new home has an evil lurking behind the walls. The real life terror of being a refugee and the amount of regulations you have on your life is on full display in this film. You genuinely feel for this couple and are pulling for them to succeed. This was another one of the films this year that the scares really really worked. The moment our leads enter the house immediately the evil lurkes in. Director Weeks nails the atmosphere here with playing with light and shadows and just the sense of overall dread that our lead characters are also feeling. His House had some of THE best haunting visuals of the year. The ongoing battle of the couples ultimate decision of whether or not to stick it out in the very demonic haunted house or say screw it and go back to their country and return to what they were running from in the first place. This very well may end up being the best surprise of 2020 and it makes me super excited to see what this director conjure up for his sophomore outing. 7. IMPETIGORE. First things first, one of the most bad ass posters in recent memory. The almighty Indonesian film Impetigore comes in at 7. Impetigore, directed by last years Satans Slaves director Joko Anwar who if he keeps putting out films like this he is going to be a heavy hitter in the horror world for years to come. The film takes you on a journey with two best friends Miya and Dini as they travel to the small village of Harjosari in search a house that Miya has inherited. Once there the twosome immediately start to experience suspicious villagers, haunting sounds and sights from within the house, and a chilling backstory about Miya’s childhood that was albeit, deep and complex, tremendously original. Not going to give anything away because, like myself, going into this one completely cold is the best way to go about it. Trust me, the story arc had me enthralled from Pilar to post. The scares are the real deal, the gore is hard hitting, and with a final sequence that just made me run to the nearest church to cleanse my soul. Impetigore was all in subtitles but that didn’t bother me in the least. Can’t wait to see what this director does next. 6. Anything For Jackson. 2020’s most “What the $#@&!” Moments in a film,…. film. Another Shudder exclusive (starting to see a trend here?) Anything for Jackson was just total bat shit crazy and in a very good way. Undeniably the craziest part about the film is the director himself. Justin Dyke director of such holiday hallmark classics such as 48 Christmas wishes and everyone’s favorite 2016’s A Puppy for Christmas. Wait, what the fuuu, The fact that the same guy who made cheesy Christmas movies in his sleep, directed Anything for Jackson is just wild even for 2020. The film stars an elderly couple played by Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings who play bereaved satanists who kidnap a pregnant woman so they can use an ancient spell book to put their dead grandsons spirit into her unborn child. TAKE THAT HALLMARK CHANNEL! Trying to accomplish the feat of insanity leads to the summoning of a lot more than they bargained for. This film has everything that us horror fans would want in a horror film. Scares, blood, a very unpredictable plot, contortions and a scene involving a snow blower that when I showed my friends it was the topic of conversation for the next day or two. This is one of those movies where you WISH you could have seen it with a crowd in a theater. Halfway through I was worried that the actual story would drive off the rails into something that barely made sense but that wasn’t the case. Anything for Jackson was crazy good, heavy on the crazy but just don’t ever expect to see it on the Hallmark channel. “Trick or Treat”5. Relic. Personally as I’ve grown older I have become substantially more desensitized to the notion of being scared while watching a movie, that is however until the introduction of creepy old people come into play! Yet again another up and coming director Natalie Erika James makes her feature length debut with Relic from IFC Midnight. Relic deals with a lot of issues, mainly dealing with family issues. In this case Edna, the widowed matriarch of the family goes missing which leads to her daughter and granddaughter traveling to their remote family home to help find her. The search is over the morning after arrival and Edna is found cooking breakfast sort of out of it and covered in disgusting dirt and grime. What transpires from here is a constant conflict between this family over the condition of Edna. Is she suffering from a severe case of dementia or is it something sinister from within the foundation of the house itself. With visuals and sequences that stuck in my mind for days after viewing and the director using a very bland/ melancholy pallet of colors throughout the film, you as a viewer never felt a sense of ease, just total dread. Such movies like the Babadook that came before this, this style of genre storytelling is clearly my jam and Relic was very consummate addition to that said genre. Many reviewers acknowledged the very last shot of the film as one of the highlight moments of the year. Some in which even made them tear up. Me not being one of them. (swear) More creepy old people in 2021 please and thank you.4. The Wolf of Snow Hollow. ‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through my house not a creature was stirring except the wolf of snow hollow on my television. When I started “This years week of catch up on movies I missed,” I made it a point to start with this film because I heard so much about it. 1. It was exceptional and 2. It was about a werewolf. I, am, sold! Let’s go! The Wolf of Snow Hollow is written, directed, and starred by Jim Cummings, which truth be told, I had no idea who he was before viewing this movie but I was immediately a fan. A small, snowed in Utah mountain town where everyone knows everyone is stricken by immense terror when bodies are discovered after each full moon. Cummings plays John Marshal a deputy who is on the verge of a mental breakdown having to deal with the stress of his own family at home, his elderly father who is the towns sheriff who should have retired years ago, and yes, a supposed werewolf on the prowl. As the bodies continue to pile up Deputy Marshal emphatically denounces the idea that werewolves exist and this is the doing of an actual man and he will see to justice. Horror and comedy are my two favorite genres so when a film can pull off both its a glorious thing and this movie does that in spades. The balance between very gruesome werewolf attacks and the comedic banter between all the characters was fantastic. I literally had a smile on my face throughout the whole hour and twenty six minute run time. It had vibes of scream due to the fact that you as a viewer don’t know who this werewolf could be so you are constantly trying to figure out the who done it, which is always fun. In one scene without spoiling anything involved the wolf on top of a truck getting shot at by a shotgun and I swear the Monster Squad vibes were real. I felt like I was a kid again. This was an instant home run for me and with a pretty solid twist at the end I was looking for the Blu-ray so I could own my own copy of it when the credits were coming down the screen. They don’t make many monster movies anymore, especially ones that are this well made. Bravo Jim Cummings. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a well deserved top 4.3. FREAKY. “We are back baby!” Is what I said on Friday the 13th Nov. 2020. Eight long months without any kind of movie theater going experience that is until I asked my gf if she would risk the almighty COVID-19 virus and go see Freaky with me and by God she said yes! Blumhouse pictures’ Freaky, written by the now all star tandem of the Happy Death Day boys, Mr. Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy. Both gentleman have a deep love and appreciation for the horror genre and fortunate for them also comedic genius’s and it’s on full display for the masses here. Starring Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton, Freaky is a horror twist on the body switch story that everyone should be familiar with especially if you have ever seen the movie Freaky Friday. Only difference here is our lead character, a cookie cutter highschool teenager switches bodies with a deranged serial killer who could go blow for blow with Jason Vorhees on top of a building in Manhattan. Truth be told, personally going into this movie I wasn’t the biggest Vince Vaughn fan. I mean he’s funny but eh. In Freaky, he is brilliant! The work he did to transform himself into a Newton’s highschool character was a pleasure to watch and hysterical. I honestly can’t imagine a better casting for this role. The Kills pulled zero punches and were extremely brutal performed by both characters balanced substantially well with belly laughing skits and physical comedy performed by Vaughn. Even the side characters I fell in love with and were planted into situations of both danger and hilarity that were highly entertaining and engaging all predicated from the writers and directors crafting this bad boy. Freaky is a Gem it just sucks not many people got to experience it like we did in a theater with a crowd due to the stupid pandemic. I fully expect this film to kick off a franchise to continue the party, and I’ll be there for it. Mainly just to see how the boys top themselves after watching Freaky’s cold open. We can do without the Aaron Rodgers mask next time though. :: Wink::2. The Invisible Man. “Surprise.” Where as Freaky was the return of the movie theater, The Invisible Man was the goodbye to the movie theater as it was the last movie we saw before the strict lockdown procedures started. Written and directed by one of the current day masters Leigh Whannell. Whannell if you don’t already know, co created the SAW franchise with James Wan as well as the Insidious franchise. Branching out on his own to direct 2018’s sci-fi hit UPGRADE he then set his sights on remaking the universal monster The Invisible man and essentially kicking off a universal monster shared universe. ( sorry Tom Cruise’s Mummy ) It stars Elizabeth Miss, who is hands down my current favorite actress in the game and is quickly becoming a bonafide modern day scream queen. She plays Cecilia who takes center stage here as we experience this film through her. Cecilia after successfully escaping the clutches of her abusive boyfriend receives the news that he has committed suicide. As she begins to rebuild her life for the better her sense of reality is put into question when she begins to suspect her deceased lover is not actually dead but indeed stalking her during every waking moment. This film is incredible and I hope it’s not the last time Moss and Whannell work together. The invisible man himself played by Haunting of Hill House star Oliver Jackson- Cohen albeit, not on screen very much but when he is he shines. Whannell did an impeccable job of making you as a viewer to feel the same anxiety as our main character on screen feels as the sense of being watched at every second and the use of empty space on screen is so perfectly executed there wasn’t a time where I wasn’t looking around the room of the characters looking for shadows, clues, etc. personally I adore that stuff. Riding in the passenger seat with Cecilia as she descends into madness you can’t help but feel for her and pull for her that she gets out of this nightmare that she’s been placed in. They set out to bring the classic invisible man story into the modern world and they nailed it times ten. The scares work brilliantly, the drama of it all is caked on thick, and above all else, Elizabeth Moss’ talents of acting are through the roof. I just rewatched this a few nights before writing this for the second time and it was just as spectacular as the first viewing. If this is indeed the start of a Universal Monster shared cinematic universe, what a damn stellar way to kick it off! ( Rumor has it Werewolf is next. ) The Invisible Man is a well deserved number 2. (Shout out to the Jigsaw Easter egg towards the end!)1. HOST. 56 minutes, The run time of this years number 1 Horror film, and it wasn’t even close. Host is a Shudder exclusive. So when it was released in late July not a whole hell of a lot of people even knew what I was talking about when I would say you NEED to watch this movie! Due to quite frankly not many people outside the horror community have shudder as a service, it was a bit of a annoyance. Written by both Jed Sheppard and Rob Savage, directed by Rob Savage. With 2020 being what it was and so many film makers being locked inside their homes due to quarantine mandates, they came up with the idea to film a movie entirely on zoom. Host invites you to a zoom call from hell. I know what you’re saying. “A horror movie entirely done in a zoom call? Yeah, no thanks.” Boy how wrong you would be. Upon release this movie sent shock waves through the community dubbing it as this years big thing. So I of course checked it out the second I could. I admit, going into the film my bar was set very low. My goal was to push play and watch. What came next was such a visceral and terrifying experience that I could not help falling in love with. Starring 5 woman that are in real life very close friends so in the opening acts of the film you immediately buy into their friendship and due to this you are totally pulled into the realism and believability of what’s going on on screen. The premise here is quite simplistic, Six friends (a male character named Terry also joins the call ) hire a medium to hold a seance. Because what’s their better to do on a Tuesday during a lockdown right? Which then leads to them opening up the gates for something demonic to enter their worlds and the fight to survive the zoom call is underway. Now me personally being a super fan of the found footage sub genre going back to the classics of Blair witch and paranormal activity, this was totally up my alley. In fact after it had completed its run time one of my first thoughts to myself is I would sandwich this in with those other two iconic genre films. I strongly advise you to watch this film alone, in the dark, while wearing headphones as it feels you’re just another member trapped on this zoom call of insanity. I also watched this movie a few nights ago before writing this just to see if it was as strong as I remember it being from late July and it passed the test. The crew behind this constructed some of the most effective scares I’ve seen in years along with one death scene that involves a zoom background filter that made me stand up and say wow. Picking the number one movie for 2020 was not difficult in anyway. In many ways this movie will forever represent the year 2020 as it openly touches on the pandemic, not shaking hands, being trapped in our homes, and the fact that the film makers created it on zoom makes it all the more amazing feat. Creators Jed and Rob have since been signed with Blumhouse pictures to a three picture deal just from these 56 minutes alone and I personally am so excited to see what they do next. They are really fan friendly and deserve everything they’re about to get. A blu ray dvd is expected to be released in February and I’m hoping many more people get to experience this and become equally as terrified as everyone else that has seen it has. Moral of the story here, don’t mess with spirits. In any medium.
There you have it. 2020’s best horror films according to yours truly. With so many heavy hitters being postponed to next year, 2021’s list should be extremely packed but I’m very excited as you should be as well. If 2020 has taught us anything it is to not take anything for granted. Whether it be family, friends, significant others and yes, movies. See ya next year.
Added bonus below with a handful of my honorable mentions from this year included a few extra recommendations.
Honorable mention picks for 2020: ( In no particular order )
The Rental. Color Out Of Space. Spiral. The Deeper you Dig. We Summon the Darkness. And The Hunt. PS. POSSESSOR AND SPONTANEOUS are great films…. NOT HORROR MOVIES.
Three more recommendations, novels I’ve read this year, Paul Tremblays “Survivor song” and Adam Cesares “Clown in the Cornfield” with a tv recommendation of Apple TV’s “The Servant”
2020, a year unlike any year in my lifetime. For the horror fan in me especially. Countless titles have been pushed out of this year to be released in 2021 so personally I have been starving for anything new in the horror genre. Out comes a new HBO series entitled Lovecraft country. Now I have to admit being a lifelong fan of the genre I unfortunately have not read any books from HP Lovecraft but I am very familiar with his work that has been adopted into films for example The Re-Animator series, Castle Freak and the just recently released soon to be classic Color Out Of Space, so my interest and excitement was immediately through the roof. So the job then was to wait with anticipation for Sunday August 16th for the pilot and by the time the credits were on my screen, the wait was worth everyday. This is my blood soaked review of episode one entitled “Sundown.”
Adapting straight out of the pages of author Matt Ruff’s novel also entitled LoveCraft Country produced by Jordan Peele and show creator Misha Green, LoveCraft country follows Atticus Freeman aka “Tic” his Uncle George, and his childhood friend Letitia on a road trip across middle America in 1954 in search of Atticus’ missing father. Thus beginning a struggle to survive both racism in white America along with the unimaginable horrors found in the pages of a LoveCraft novel. Now let’s break the ice here right off the Jackie Robinson’s bat. This show is going to be heavy rooted in race inequalities and racism in general. Now, personally I am a white male and I feel uncomfortable discussing race as an issue because truthfully in my life I have not dealt with any kind of racism especially to the extent of a black person in 1950’s America. That being said, there is nothing I hate and despise more on this planet than racism and the white privileged mentality. That is not how I was raised and it’s sure as hell is not how I am going t raise my children. What this show does so incredibly well is portray to the viewer the horror, the anxiety and the overall constant fight it was during that time period to be an African America living in America or trying to anyway. From the moment our characters leave the comfy confines of segregated south side Chicago you can immediately feel the war has begun. Whether it was disgusting looks of passerby’s or the teenage rug rats at the gas station making ape noises and even tossing a banana peel at Atticus. As someone who is in their thirties as myself not living or experiencing these encounters you have to ask yourself, did all this stuff really play out like this or is it the show runners exaggerating the point for the show’s purpose? Well as I listened to the LoveCraft country podcast after watching the episode, host Ashley C. Ford not only confirmed that that was the way of life at the time, it’s still happening to this day in some small town USA. This notion took me surprised considering I went into this show as cold as I possibly could. The true horror of the show outside of the “Lovecraftian” monsters is the fear and constant unrest that the African Americans experienced on a day in and day out basis and this show expresses this masterfully. And makes you ask the question, Are people themselves actually scarier than monsters?
When I originally knew I was going to write a review for this show I laughed with myself that I could spend and entire post just on the cold open of the show. An orgasm for the eyes so to speak, whether it be scenes of the Korean War or Jackie Robinson splitting a monster in half with a baseball bat, which being a huge baseball nerd, really enjoyed the metaphor there of The monster being baseballs color barrier and Jackie smashing it to bits. It was such an epic open and sucked you right in immediately. What follows is there introduction of our main characters. Which in most pilots when I’m watching character introductions I have the tendency to sometimes almost space out on them and just waiting to see what the conflict will be. That was not the case here. I instantly had a connection with Atticus. Bonded with his love for story and adventure, finding the good in all people, and dealing with the situation of missing a father. He’s our main character here and I am all in on taking this journey with him and whoever else. Speaking of whoever else we then meet Uncle George. A peaceful and caring character that stands up for his beliefs as well as you find out later in the episode not without his flaws. I can tell already Uncle George will be a fan favorite. And lastly we meet “Leti” played by the gorgeous actress Jurnee Smollet. Now the acting in the pilot episode was top notch by everyone involved but for Jurnee it was next level. A few standout moments of her performance for me was her we need to get the F out of here right now sequence in the Diner and of course here tipping down of the sunglasses with the classic “ yeh I see you and I know you see me” face before entering the diner. I believe she had me saying out loud “ she’s awesome.” On a couple of occasions.
Uncle George- “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Tic- “A book can’t refuse your service. Leti- “Or spit in your water.”
Our trio eventually get to a small town in Massachusetts called Devon county where they believe was the last known location of Tics father. Once arriving is when the horror elements come on full force. I won’t give anything away just in case you the reader have not watched the episode yet but I will spoil this, there are monsters and there is gore that made me use a few expletives out loud followed by fist pumping and smiles. I have been waiting for content like this all year long dealing with COVID related struggles has been tough. But if this opening episode is any indication on the excitement value that this show is going to be, my happy little ass will gladly be quarantined in front of my tv selecting that HBO max icon with a smile on my face.
I can’t really say any negatives about this pilot. The acting, the lighting, the sound design, and the freaking monsters! Cmon now. I’m fully confident that this will be HBO’s next big phenomenon in the shadows of Game of Thrones and Sopranos before it. I am so stoked to see what adventure lies in the coming months of LoveCraft Country and so should you.
The Shudder exclusive film entitled Scare Package was initially released during an episode of The Last Drive In on June 12th that I unfortunately had to miss. So like the Schlub that I am, I had to wait for the worldwide release on Shudder June 18th. This horror anthology originally called Tropes, has seven directors submitting their unique take on over the top, trope filled spoof horror. If you’re even the casual fan of the genre you will get some of the references and nods to past films, but if you’re astute in horror, grab your popcorn and barf bag, find your favorite chair and be ready to be entertained.
The film opens with “Cold Open” from Philadelphia born (my home town) director Emily Hagins’ (V/H/S,Coin Heist) which follows a self aware background horror movie character named “I’m not crazy.” Mike (Jon Michael Simpson) as he tries to play a more prominent role in the movie you are now watching. This leads to some hilarity as well as some bloody carnage. With the score paying homage to both late 70’s classics such as Halloween and Friday the 13, along with a certain Nightmare on Elm street shout out, that I will not give away. This was a real kick ass shot of adrenaline to start this anthology off with a smart and savage opening.
We then get introduced to the wrap around story that takes place in the generic 80’s video store named Rad Chad’s Horror Emporium. This establishment serves as a hub for our movie as store owner played by Jeremy King is meticulously training a new employee Hawn and trying to avoid Uber geek, horror fanboy Sam. With a full plate of horror nods including what’s better Leprechaun in the hood or in space? The back and forth banter should put a big old smile on your face. With these three characters it supplies the catalyst for the seven stories.
Sam will then introduce us to the next story entitled “One Time in the Woods.” (An over the top, Goo filled riff on the camping in the woods sub genre. ) Helmed by Chris McInroy. This was one of the stand outs for me. Extremely goofy, the practical effects are insanely good, and the one liners had me running to my note pad to jot them down so I wouldn’t forget.
Next up, Noah Segan, yes that detective from Knives Out Noah Segan co-wrote, directs, and stars in “M.I.S.T.E.R.” A story that to be honest was just not jiving with me at all until the third act flips everything on its head and what comes next was really freaking gnarly. When a seven or eighth minute short can have me saying “oh wow, I didn’t see this coming.” Ya gotta give it its due. Hopefully this will not be the only time Noah dips his toes into horror.
Forth is “Girls’ Night Out of Body” from the directing twin sister duo of Hillary and Courtney Andujar. This shorts story didn’t grab me as it’s a candy coated take on the Michael Myers type stalking you from outside your bedroom window. That being said the Andujar sisters who are primarily Hollywood production designers, shine with their artistic cinematography, lighting, and over all choice of color in the set design. I mean this thing is a treat to look at. Keep your eyes open for these sisters moving forward.
Next up to the plate is short number cinco. “The Night He Came Back Again! Part IV: The Final Kill” I mean just from the absurdity of the title alone, you know this is going to be a shit show and it indeed was, in the best type of way. This short directed by Anthony Cousins takes place on 4th of July. Our killer returns every year on July 4th to attempt to kill our final girl and all her friends, well this year she’s had enough and has concocted a plan. As in every horror flick plans don’t always go to well… plan. This leads to some amazingly gruesome kills with top notch practical effects. You can’t predict where this short was going next. It also has a line in it that involves jumper cables that actually had me laughing out loud on my couch. I highly enjoyed this one.
Short number Six from Baron Vaughn called “So Much To Do” was the least memorable out of the bunch. With the premise being very unique and interesting I felt it just landed with a dud. The bright spot that I can point out with this one was it has very good cgi effects that give you old school John Carpenter’s The Fog vibes.
Now finally onto the final short. “Horror Hypothesis” brought to us by Aaron B. Koontz- who directed the wrap around segments as well. This short is by far the longest of the bunch and it is quite tricky talking about without giving away spoilers. So that being said I will say this, imagine Cabin in the woods meets any slasher from the 80’s. Starring Wrestling legend Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust! Yes, I know. Exciting. This story (albeit a little choppy plot wise at times) was a lot of fun with the kills being down right unforgivingly brutal. Plus, semi spoiler. There is a freaking cameo from THE Joe Bob Briggs himself! And it’s fantastic!
Overall, Scare Package is a Blood drenched, slapstick horror comedy anthology that knows exactly what it is and nails it right between the eyes. Sure, some of the shorts are better than others but that’s what you’re going to get with anthology films. The gory gut wrenching good moments out weigh the bad in this laugh out loud absurd pile of Goo. So gather up a group of friends and have a bloody hilarious time.
Terrified State 