As for 2016, we compile the list of the best horror films for 2017, a year during which we came across Italian cinema premieres and international premieres thanks to the cinematic works entered in the DarkVeins Horror Fest and to the The Optical Theatre Film Festival.
Summing up, 2017 proved to be a fairly prolific year but, at the same time, poor in exemplary titles.
Tuttavia, abbiamo raggruppato in questa lista, quelli che noi consideriamo "i migliori film horror del 2017", attingendo anche al cinema horror indipendente ed estremo.
Tra i film arrivati nelle nostre sale in questi mesi, sono sicuramente di rilievo (in ordine sparso): "mother!", "The Void - Il Vuoto", "It", "The Devil's Candy", "Leatherface", "Get Out - Scappa" e "47 meters". A questi aggiungiamo: "The Vault" e "7 Witches" ma anche film estremi, sicuramente non per tutti: "Dis", "Torment", "American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice" e soprattutto "Trauma".
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Written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie (Inferno of the Dead, Father's Day) and Steven Kostanski ("W is for Wish" segment in ABCs of Death 2), The Void - The Void is an old-style Canadian horror film filled with stupendous special effects and evocative Carpenterian and Lovecraftian atmospheres.
Hospital-themed, The Void is also a body horror dense with melting effects and presenting the viewer with a slew of monstrous and terrifying creatures.
Sorprendente la prima parte di "It" (here our special), the new adaptation of the famous horror novel written by Stephen King in 1986. Remarkable direction by Andrés Muschietti (who has already made his mark in the past with The Mother) and extraordinary acting evidence from Bill Skarsgård (Hemlock Grove). His performance certainly does not pale in comparison to that of Tim Curry (the Pennywise of the miniseries consisting of two episodes and coming to TV in 1990).
The Devil's Candy (USA - 2017) segna il ritorno alla regia di Sean Byrne, il regista di The Loved Ones (2009). Full of twists and turns, the film is an excellent blend of metal music, art, and horror. In The Devil's Candy you test the territory of the evil one, in fact the protagonist is a metal painter subjugated by evil. Remarkable ending.
Leatherface (USA - 2017) di Alexandre Bustillo e Julien Maury. Dai registi de À l'intérieur (2007) one certainly could not expect a film devoid of violence and gore. So here they make a satisfying eighth installment of the saga Don't open that door nonché prequel dell'omonimo film del 1974 di Tobe Hooper. Il loro Leatherface infatti fa luce sulle origini di "faccia di cuoio", concentrandosi sulle vicende che hanno segnato la sua adolescenza e maggiore età . Il film catapulta lo spettatore nella tipica "dimensione familiare imbrattata dalla follia" e che è tipica del franchise.
Unusual and terribly fascinating instead is Get Out - Scappa (USA - 2017) di Jordan Peele. Trattasi di un horror che marcia sul tema del razzismo e dell'alienazione e che si allarga su temi quali l'ipnosi e la chirurgia. Sicuramente "ipnotico", è ricco di suspense e si distingue per una storia agghiacciante e originale.
Darren Aronofsky sorprende con l'immenso mother! (USA - 2017), un film di genere drammatico che sfocia nell'horror psicologico. Interpretato magnificamente da grandissimi attori (Javier Bardem e Jennifer Lawrence), mother! is an excellent example of high and elegant filmmaking. The story, peppered with biblical references, provides personal insight into God, creation, Mother Nature, Adam and Eve and their sons Cain and Abel.
Negli ultimi anni sono "riaffiorate" decine di film horror sullo squalo assassino. Fra i tanti titoli spicca senza dubbio 47 meters, the shark survival horror film directed by Johannes Roberts (The Other Side of the Door). Claustrophobic and asphyxiating, 47 meters is well played by Claire Holt and Mandy Moore, here playing the unfortunate and courageous protagonists.
The Vault (USA - 2017) è l'horror sovrannaturale diretto da Dan Bush e interpretato da James Franco. Il film percorre la strada del thriller/action sfociando e culminando nell'horror. Adrenalinico e coinvolgente, The Vault nails the chair and offers a satisfying mix of crime and horror.
7 Witches (USA - 2017), l'elegante horror sulla stregoneria diretto da Brady Hall e che abbiamo avuto il piacere di recensire in anteprima (link to review). The film has no shortage of banquets, orgiastic rituals, and bloody human sacrifices that make 7 Witches A perfect horror title about witches.
Directed by Adrian Corona, Dis (link to review) is a leaden horror film that, as per its title, takes its cues for names and metaphors from Dante's poetics. Dis (USA - 2017) è la rappresentazione di un viaggio orrorifico e magico in cui, una figura demoniaca usa le sue vittime per nutrire il suo giardino di mandragora. Non mancano atti indicibili, impudici e osceni.
Directed by Adam Ford, Torment (link to review) is an extreme horror film that sheds light on the darker, sicker side of John Wayne Gacy (1942 - 1994). Torment (Italia - 2017) mostra esclusivamente le sadiche azioni dello psicopatico portando in scena depravazione, violenza e una rappresentazione sadica del dolore.
Sacrifice (Italia - 2017) di Poison Rouge è il quarto capitolo della saga American Guine Pig. This extreme horror (link to review) opens a gateway into the suffering world of a self-mutilator who, lost amid unhealthy thoughts and oppressive memories, spectacularizes his martyrdom. Between self-mutilation, cutting, fingernail extirpation, and skull self-transplantation, the protagonist savors his death in small, devastating touches.
From Chile comes a heinous, cruel and highly disturbing extreme horror film. It is about Trauma (movie review) directed by Lucio A. Rojas. The shocking Trauma opens the curtain to unspeakable horrors exceeding all limits. In this film, depravities, deviant loves and deleterious lifestyles sketch and start a sick story drowned in pain.





















Dear Barbara,
Just a note to thank you for including Adrian Corona's arthouse horror film DIS on your Best Of 2017 list here. I appreciate DarkVeins.com for supporting independent cinema, and for thinking of cinema as art. Thank you for all you do for our genre.
Yours in good horror,
Bill
Bill Oberst Jr.
billoberst.com
Hello Bill,
thank you for your kind words and for your extraordinary performances in horror films!