The best 15 horror movies of 2016 - Barbara Torretti

2016 proved to be a very prolific year for horror. In our long journey through the meanderings of the genre, we came across some very strong titles, and to compile a list of only fifteen is reductive, as well as painful. Based on the films viewed during the year (including those submitted to DarkVeins and the Optical Theatre Film Festival), I compile, with great effort, my personal list of what I consider to be the best 15 films of 2016, while knowing that several very good titles will be left out.

15 – Abattoir by Darren Lynn Bousman: undoubtedly a film with an original story. The house composed of rooms from other houses and in which murders were committed is certainly a magnificent location with incredible charm. Full of suspense, it delivers a surprising ending.

14 – The Chair by Chad Ferrin: based on Peter Simeti's graphic novel of the same name, the film recalls Das Experiment by Oliver Hirschbiegel. Asphyxiating and somber, it shows us the torture inflicted on prisoners inside death row, a place that becomes each prisoner's personal hell. Here is our review.

13 –  The Mind's Eye by Joe Begos deals with psychokinesis, an underused theme that becomes the film's strong point. Surprising, it gives juicy sequences of confrontations between people with psychokinetic abilities. Very close to Scanners by David Cronenberg.

12 – Harvest Lake (review) by Scott Schirmer: a fascinating film that blends fantasy and horror for a perfect cinematic mix. Evocative, it is rich in sensual and poetic imagery.

11 – Good Tidings (review) Stuart W. Bedford: This is a film that ranks well among the top Christmas horror films. Iconic and unforgettable are the three Santa Clauses who, charismatic in their atrocities, bring the viewer into a strong and suffocating sense of siege typical of Carpenterian films.

10 – Circus Of The Dead by Billy Pon: a 2014 film that is being released soon. Circus of the Dead offers an excellent example of bad clowns, ready to commit all kinds of efferractions. A film that sticks well in the memory. Review here.

09 – American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock (review) by Marcus Koch: an extreme horror film in which everything works (story, script, direction, special effects, cinematography, and cast) and which succeeds in making horror real.

08 – Atroz (review) by Lex Ortega: a disturbing extreme horror film from Mexico that brings degradation, violence and many paraphilias to the surface. A merciless film that not only boasts a dense bouquet of torture, but is supported by a good script.

07 – Train to Busan by Sang-ho YeonSang-ho Yeon: an adrenaline-fueled, claustrophobic zombie movie from South Korea that leaves you with bated breath.

06 – The Invitation by Karyn Kusama: a highly tense, highly dramatic psychological horror film in which paranoia and tension intersect. Textbook ending.

05 – Night of Something Strange (review) by Jonathan Straiton: clearly retro in style, this film relies on practical special effects, tons of splatter but also humor and especially disgust by appealing to all those situations that might annoy the viewer.

04 –  The Eyes of my Mother by Nicolas Pesce is an elegant and refined insight into loneliness and its consequences: illness and deviance. Sad and perverse.

03 – Jack Goes Home by Thomas Dekker: a hard-hitting psychological thriller-horror in which drama mixes with madness. Unsettling ending. A film that carves out a place in the heart.

02 – The Autopsy of Jane Doe by André Øvredal: An unusual autopsy is at the center of the story of this immense film permeated with a haunting atmosphere. Surprising and peculiar, it offers a story of unimaginable original insights.

01 – The Witch by Robert Eggers: an exemplary film about witchcraft masterfully written and directed by Eggers. Highly evocative and fascinating, it transports us into sweet and devilish imagery.