Thursday, March 1, 2018

Faculty of Horror's Best of 2017

If you love horror film, and are not listening to the Faculty of Horror podcast, get ON it. Andrea Subissati and Alexandra West are smart and funny and provide a fascinating feminist take on horror film.

Check out Episode 58: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste for a their picks of their favourite (they're Canadian!) horror and horror-adjacent films of 2017.

Since they talk fast and there isn't a movie list on their website, here's their list. Descriptions are from IMDB, of course.




Get Out (2017)  It's time for a young African-American to meet with his white girlfriend's parents for a weekend in their secluded estate in the woods, but before long, the friendly and polite ambience will give way to a nightmare.

It Comes at Night (2017) -  Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son. Then a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.

Tragedy Girls (2017) - A twist on the slasher genre, following two death-obsessed teenage girls who use their online show about real-life tragedies to send their small mid-western town into a frenzy and cement their legacy as modern horror legends.

The Evil Within (2017) - The sadistic tale of a lonely, mentally handicapped boy who befriends his reflection in an antique mirror. This demonic creature orders him to go on a murderous rampage to kill the people he loves most.

The Eyes of My Mother (2016) - A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.

A Dark Song (2016) - A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

I’m Not a Serial Killer (2016) -  In a small Midwestern town, a troubled teen with homicidal tendencies must hunt down and destroy a supernatural killer while keeping his own inner demons at bay.

Hounds of Love (2016) - Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple. As she observes the dynamic between her captors she quickly realises she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive.

Beware the Slenderman (2016) - Tells the story of two 12-year old girls, who attempted to murder one of their friends in an attempt to appease Slenderman, a fictional monster from a horror website.
78/52 (2017) - An unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the "man behind the curtain", and the screen murder that profoundly changed the course of world cinema.

Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) - Vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) fights to end the eternal war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her.

Revenge (2017) - Never take your mistress on an annual guys' getaway, especially one devoted to hunting - a violent lesson for three wealthy married men.

Prevenge (2016) - Widow Ruth is seven months pregnant when, believing herself to be guided by her unborn baby, she embarks on a homicidal rampage, dispatching anyone who stands in her way.

M.F.A. (2017) - An art student taps into a rich source of creative inspiration after the accidental slaughter of her rapist. An unlikely vigilante emerges, set out to avenge college girls whose attackers walked free.

Horror-adjacent:

The Shape of Water (2017) - At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

Mother! (2017) -  A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) - Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister.

Lowlife (2017) - The sordid lives of an addict, an ex-con, and a luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong.

Colossal (2016) - Gloria is an out-of-work party girl forced to leave her life in New York City and move back home. When reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, she gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this phenomenon.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017) - A former boxer-turned-drug runner lands in a prison battleground after a deal gets deadly.

The Beguiled (2017) - The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.

Personal Shopper (2017) - A personal shopper in Paris refuses to leave the city until she makes contact with her twin brother who previously died there. Her life becomes more complicated when a mysterious person contacts her via text message.

Although they didn't love all of the previous titles, they REALLY did not love:

It (2017) - In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shapeshifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.

Raw (2016) -  When a young vegetarian undergoes a carnivorous hazing ritual at vet school, an unbidden taste for meat begins to grow in her.