We have compiled a short list of the "Best Horror Films of 2018", a year that delivered exemplary titles (both mainstream as well as indie and extreme) ranging from psychological horror to supernatural horror, but also thrillers with horror and dramatic elements.
Here is the list of the "Best Films of 2017".
The House That Jack Built, the new film written and directed by Lars von Trier (Melancholia, Nymphomaniac), reaches the top of the ranking. This brutal hymn to madness and art (painting, sculpture and literature) can be considered one of the best films about serial killers.
The House That Jack Built sheds light on several atrocious murders committed by a psychopath suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder against unsuspecting victims, whom he perceives as parts of a hallucinatory, surreal and infernal work of art.
In this masterpiece, distinguished by its majestic direction and rich screenplay, Lars von Trier guides the viewer into the fragile mind of the protagonist (played by an outstanding Matt Dillon), making them part of his deliriums rooted in blood and death.
It also leaves a very incisive mark Ghostland - La casa delle bambole (aka Incident in a Ghostland), the new horror film directed by Pascal Laugier (Saint Ange and Martyrs).
The French director and screenwriter packs an edgy, destructive horror film that spills into a harrowing traumatic context in which the spotlight is on a condition of stress and psychological suffering. As in Martyrs, also in Ghostland pity succumbs to give way to cruelty and pain.
He made himself known The Lodgers - Don't break the rules (aka The Lodgers), Gothic horror about wrathful entities.
A dilapidated castle in rural Ireland in the 1920s is the magnificent location in which the macabre story of two orphaned twins tormented by an evil spell unfolds. This is a ghost story that plays on the dark fate of the protagonists, here suspended in an evocative dimension that has echoes in a mournful dream world.
The film is directed by Brian O'Malley (Let Us Prey).
Written and directed by Demián Rugna, the Argentine horror film Aterrados (aka Terrified) is a chilling supernatural horror filled with violent deaths.
Enhanced by a terrifying and anguishing atmosphere, Aterrados (Argentina – 2018) stands out among paranormal horror films for the sense of unease and oppression it manages to convey to the audience. The genre’s stereotypes, reworked here, take on a different light and meaning, giving the film an innovative aura.
Directed by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, Ghost Stories (UK – 2018) is a supernatural horror that, through cases of paranormal activity, mystery and skepticism, brings to the screen a drama that gives life to fear and horror. Engaging and compelling, Ghost Stories also features a shocking ending that sheds light on the deliberately obscure aspects of the story.
Spanish director Jaume Balagueró directs The Seventh Muse (Spain – 2018), the film adaptation of the novel The Lady Number Thirteen by José Carlos Somoza.
Marked by elegant direction, this cinematic reinterpretation offers a mix of crime and mystery while also providing a refined vision of the horror genre, where the concepts of beauty, love and art are transformed into a tragic and claustrophobic vision of life.
Hereditary (USA – 2018), directed by Ari Aster, is a supernatural horror that might initially leave viewers puzzled because of the slow pace that characterizes the development of the story. In reality, this is one of its strengths, as it gradually exerts a sinister fascination over the audience.
The true nature of the film is that of a powerful diabolical work whose success is due to impeccable direction, cinematography and cast. Special praise undoubtedly goes to Toni Collette, here delivering a performance that seals together ambiguity, deception and terror.
Among the “Best Extreme” of 2018, we mention Your Flesh, Your Curse and Who’s Watching Oliver.
Pessimism, violence and degradation are the constants on which the story of the Danish extreme film Your Flesh, Your Curse is built, a work that violently intersects with the dramatic genre. The torment of a female body, both in life and in death, becomes the focal point of others’ pleasure.
Humiliations and suffering are recurring elements that echo within an infernal context where diabolical pacts slither and vivid perversions unfold.
The extreme horror film Who’s Watching Oliver by Richie Moore explores the terrain of mental illness and the problems it triggers, such as those connected to behavior and the emotional sphere, with consequent repercussions on social life. The film plays on anxiety disorders and on the impulses of the protagonist who, as if affected by borderline personality disorder, gives in to abominable actions followed by shame and guilt.
Russell Geoffrey Banks, the lead actor, delivers a strong performance, successfully embodying an iconic and unforgettable killer.
siete gente malata...seriamente disturbata (finito su sto sito x pura sfiga)
@normal agent
Dipende. Esistono appassionati dell'horror disturbante che non sarebbero in grado di schiacciare una mosca, e persone che non vedrebbero mai un film sanguinoso di paura ma che poi, nella vita, eccedono in preoccupanti atteggiamenti violenti.
Secondo la mia esperienza, che può differire da quella di altri, non è l'horror a indurre pericolosi comportamenti. Quando andavo a scuola, stranamente i soggetti violenti e insopportabili non amavano l'horror né il cinema. Non leggevamo fumetti o libri. Amavano solo due cose. Le ragazze e il calcio. Eppure erano fastidiosamente maneschi.
D'altro canto, ho conosciuto fan dell'opera horror di carattere gentile, amichevole e innocuo.
A te decidere, dunque, se gli articolisti di questo sito e gli appassionati di horror siano malati, o se l'atteggiamento di una persona dipenda unicamente dalla persona stessa.