It seems just like yesterday that I was downing an entire bottle of champagne by myself in my apartment while the clock struck midnight on December 31st. The point of that sentence is not to indicate that I live a lonely and pathetic existence, but to state the fact that another year has come and gone and it’s time to talk about the best and worst horror movies of 2017! Fun fact: There were a lot of good horror movies this past year. So I’ll try to narrow those down to my Top 5. You’re free to disagree if you’d like. Let’s get to it!
Let me kick this post off by saying that I’m pretty impressed with the crop of horror movies so far in 2017. This week, Raw comes out (not a remake of the Eddie Murphy standup) and that’s been my most anticipated for a while now. But…….and this is a BIG but. The Void is gaining steam and is right on Raw’s tail. What is The Void, you ask? Well peep the new trailer and we’ll talk a little more afterwards:
I guess it’s pretty evident from the content in the trailer and some of the comments from reviews that were popping up throughout, that this is a throwback to the heyday of 80’s horror. Written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, The Void seems to channel most of it’s energy and influence from John Carpenter (dig those practical effects towards the end of the trailer). And there is clearly nothing wrong with Mr. Carpenter being an influence. So far, the reviews are positive and the buzz is growing. If you want to hop on the hype train, then just know that The Void will hit limited theaters (and possibly VOD) on April 7th. Learn it. Know it. Live it.
How often do you hear news or see a headline that someone passes out in a movie theater because something onscreen was so intense….so horrifying….so disgusting that they just couldn’t stand it and had to drop to the floor or vomit. I think the last time I can recall something like this happening was during a screening of the movie Bite. And if you go back and read my review for Bite, then you’ll realize that the hype surrounding that was all a pile of bullshit. But yes, hype is hype – and whether you want to believe the hype or not (Chuck D would advise you not to), it can be effective and help a movie strive.
The latest movie to jump onboard the ‘someone passed out in the theater’ train is Raw. It’s a delightful tale about a vegetarian who attends a veterinarian school and is forced into a hazing ritual which puts her onto the road of eating meat. Let’s check out the Red Band trailer below and discuss:
I can tell you something before we go any further, and that’s that the French have a way of making some truly fucked up horror movies (Inside, High Tension, Martyrs). So based off of that alone, I’m ready for Raw. Add to that the fact that director Julia Ducournau seems to have skills behind the camera because the trailer if visually stunning. Fucked up, but visually stunning. And also probably one of the most effective trailers I’ve seen in a long time. This is on the top of my list for 2017 and will be out in the US on March 10th. I do have a feeling that Raw is going to be an acquired taste though. That bad cannibal joke is free of charge.
