Forsaken Stars

There are plenty of lists out there for the very best Horror Films of All Time, many of which we’ve seen over and over and so many of which already have remakes.  So the following is a list of some good to great horror films of the last few years. Most of these are on Netflix, Amazon Instant, Google Play or Redbox. It’s a work in progress, so I hope to have Part Two up by mid-month. Also, these are in no particular order. Happy, er, Scary October!

1. Odd Thomas (2014) – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars – Based on the Dean Koontz novel and starring Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin and Californication’s Addison Timlin, they give this fright fest a romance seldom seen in the horror genre.
2. Hellraiser Revelations (2011) – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars – I’m a big fan of the original Pinhead, so it takes a little getting used to seeing someone else wear the pins.
3. Scary Movie V (2013) – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars – I love Ashley Tisdale, and I enjoyed the interweaving of parodies of Paranormal Activity, Mama, Evil Dead, Black Swan (?? Yes, Black Swan), Inception, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
4. Late Phases (2014) – 2 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars — Low budget, low key, but has some good performances and a few solid werewolf transformation sequences. A good midnite movie.
5. The Curse of Chucky (2013) – See my review at the Forsaken Stars facebook page!
6. V/H/S (2012) – Five stories between 3 and 4 and a half Forsaken Stars each — Curl up under a blanket, get your popcorn and cola of choice and get ready to clench, this one grabs you and doesn’t let go!
7. Stake Land (2011) – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars – Not gonna lie, this one is bleak, but it’s well done.
8. Area 51 (2015) – 3 out of 5 Forsaken Stars – Part heist film (breaking into Area 51) and part found footage, the horror comes mostly in the last twenty minutes of the film.
9. Spring (2014) – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — A really beautiful, well-shot film set in Italy following the love story of a man trying to escape his past and a woman who is much more than her beauty would suggest.
10. Wolfcop (2014) – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars – A cop that becomes a werewolf. Just cool.
11. The Babadook (2014) – 5 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — It’s as terrifying and terrific as everyone says it is. If you haven’t seen it, see it!
12. From Dusk Till Dawn the TV Series (2014) – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — A gritty, gruesome, exciting episodic re-telling of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez classic horror film.
13. Horns (2014) – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — Daniel Radcliff’s turn as a young man fighting his inner demon to solve the murder of his girlfriend/fiancée is a twisty, winding gut-wrencher that has a slow build and some terrific surprises that are well worth the watch!
14. Scream the TV Series (2015) 4 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars – Much like From Dusk Till Dawn, an intelligent re-telling of the film franchise, with callbacks to some of Wes Craven’s films, homages to the other great horror franchises (again like in the original Scream) Halloween and Friday the Thirteenth, and some stunning new moments of horror brilliance. A great cast too!
15. Oculus (2014) – 3 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — Karen Gillan and Horror. This is an intimate, unsettling flick. Watch it and be altered forever.
16. Ex Machina – 4 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars — Yes, it’s scifi. But it’s scifi Sublime, sexy, brilliant and disturbing.
17. Under the Skin – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — ScarJo as an alien serial killer. Also scifi horror. ‘Nuff said.
18. Zombeavers (2015) – C’mon, you know you want to.
19. Dark Skies (2013) – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars. A suburban family is taunted by ever-worsening events.
20. Haunter (2013) – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars. A creepy, more intense version of Ground Hog Day.
21. American Horror Story TV Series– Whether it be Murder House (4 Stars), Asylum (3 Stars), Coven (3 Stars) or Freakshow (3 Stars), each are creepy, unsettling seasons, hard to watch and hard to look away from.
22. Annabelle (2014) — Because if you’ve already seen the Conjuring (and if you haven’t, go see it), you have to see Annabelle. It’s a slow creep.

That’s it, the end of Part One. Here is the list of movies I plan to add to the list. I’ll try to watch as many as possible!

The Gallows

It Follows

Insidious 3

Maggie

Cooties

Poltergeist

Jurassic World

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

The House of the Devil

It should go without saying, but I would like to hear your recommendations in the comments below too!