Each year I tell myself I’ll make an end of year list of the Best and Worst movies I’ve seen during that year, but usually fail to make said list. This year, I’ve actually done it. Ok, I did it about a week late, but it still counts. In 2015, I saw a little over 200 movies, not all 2015 releases, but still a “respectable” number considering I was mostly out of the reviewing business until July when the bug caught me again. This means I’ve missed a ton of movies and am doing this list out of what I’ve seen. 2015 was as solid year for me with a lot of good to great films and very few bad ones which means this will not be a Top 10 Best and Bottom 10 Worst, but more of a collection of titles to check out or avoid.
Best Films of 2015 (in no particular order):
Deathgasm: So much fun, perfect mix of horror and metal, everything you’ve heard about it is true and then some. It has lots of gore and a bunch of great kills, a brootal soundtrack and some eye candy for both the ladies and the gents.
Turbo Kid: A surprise for me as I had not seen the short, but that poster sold me into going and fighting to get in. Then I fell in love, with Apple, hard. This movie is all you want out an apocalyptic BMX action gore flick.
We Are Still Here: Creepy house in a beautiful setting with some very well done supernatural beings. Well-crafted characters who react as naturally as one would think in their odd situation. Barbara Crampton is amazing and stunning in this.
The Final Girls: A lovely coming of age story and a lesson in letting go wrapped up in a crazy 80s slasher and all its tropes. Touching and funny.
Spring: A romance set against the backdrop of a sweet Italian village that also happens to be a horror movie without feeling muddled or like it has multiple personalities. Perfect date movie if your date likes body horror.
Mad Max: Fury Road: Furiosa. That is all you really need here. Furiosa is the most badass character of the year, the film is a good return to Max’s land as it felt right for the series and brought more to the story.
Borning: Fast cars, humor, and touching characters make this one a blast to watch as it doesn’t take itself too seriously yet still manages to bring characters one can get attached to. Sequel please!
Tales of Halloween: A new Halloween classic with its short tales that bring all kinds of sub-genres to play together without feeling disjointed.
Nina Forever: A messed up love story, with lots and lots of blood while still remaining very human and very real. A tale of learning to accept people as they are, with their baggage and past, and to let go of the past which is touching and a bit crazy.
The Shelter: Major change in style for John Fallon who wrote American Muscle and Deaden, with some of the same themes while having almost no violence and very few characters. Worth seeking out.
Almost made the cut, but not quite: A Christmas Horror Story (Badass Krampus, badass Santa, the ending is what kept it out of the Best), Hateful Eight (saw it in 2016 technically, requires a second viewing before final judgement), Cooties (so tired of zombies), Inner Demons (good scares, good characters, tired of found footage style), The Hallow (well shot, well-acted, good story, good effects, but something was missing), Synchronicity (maybe a bit too science-y for me, but still very good).
Worst of 2015 (in no particular order):
Shark Lake: So so bad, nothing could save it. I am huge fan of Dolph Lundgren and this made me question why. Also, not even a friend’s foot showing up in the movie could help. It’s that bad.
#Horror: It tries hard, too hard, and fails. It should have been much better considering the talent involved. Timothy Hutton makes it worth seeing though; he hams it up with his best Nic Cage performance. Loved him, got bored by the movie.
Hostile: Overdone clichés abound, found footage, not very well done at all. The acting is ok, but not even the twist could save this from being sleep inducing.
Prevertere: I know I’ve watched it because it’s in my notebook. I do not remember the story at all, only images here and there, like pretty photos with no content.
Meathead Goes Hogwild: I wanted to love it but I found it un-entertaining, boring, and hipster-y (it’s that a thing for movies). It’s fairly well-crafted, but you need more than that to make a movie good. The story seemed forced and so did the performances when the actors didn’t look bored.
Bunny The Killer Thing: Yeah it’s offensive, but is offensive enough? I was not entertained here and it did not teach me anything or bring anything to the proverbial table. I didn’t even offend me, even though it’s its goal. I mean, I get it, it’s about a giant bunny killing people by raping them to death. Ah- ah, meh.
I was lucky enough in 2015 to be able to see most of what I have wanted to see (Creed: soon) and managed to have a pretty good run while avoiding most of the terrible movies released this year (no Paul Blart 2, no Pixels, no Ridiculous 6, … for me).
In 2015, I loved covering Fantasia International Film Festival and Horrible Imaginings Film Festival San Diego, got to do my first interview, got to watch more movies than my schedule could handle for a while, and got to connect with a crazy group of film loving nerds, the Film Geeks San Diego. It was what I would call a very good year.
Let’s see what 2016 has in store, shall we?