Check out the first part here and the second here!
2010: Troll Hunter
The final encounter in the brilliant Troll Hunter is really just the cherry on top of this superb creature feature. The moment our leads find themselves confronted with the monstrous creature is pure monster movie perfection: against the barren Norwegian landscape, this beast towers against the skyline, as awe-inspiring as it is fucking terrifying. It feels almost elemental in its majesty, but at the same time, delivers a distinct feeling that the troll hunters have become the troll hunted.
2011: Grave Encounters
Now, we are part (and, indeed, all) of the Grave Encounters truther brigade, and that’s not just because it’s a really fun take on the mockumentary genre that satirizes silly ghost hunting shows in a wildly entertaining way. No, it’s because it’s a pretty damn scary ghost story, with unsettling sequences that pay off after a slow, steady build-up. You can honestly take your pick of the titular Grave Encounters, but this one, with the imposing sound design and simple, striking creature always catches me off-guard in the best way possible.
2012: Sinister
This deserves its place on this list just for the way it made me gasp out loud in the cinema. Sinister’s got plenty of great scares in it, most of them leaning towards the more abstract and supernatural, but there’s something so brutal and straightforward and almost matter-of-fact about the lawnmower tape that delivers an unforgettable punch. It lulls you with that monotonous long take, and then hits you with the worst possible conclusion. Perfection.
2013: Oculus
Oculus’ reputation has grown since its 2013 release due to director Mike Flanagan’s excellent Netflix shows and Stephen King adaptations. Even so, this deconstructed haunting story, which sees two siblings trying to destroy the entity that possessed and killed their parents still has a shout as Flanagan’s best work. His scares are on a smaller stage here, with clever editing breaking our, and the characters sense of time and space, to the point Karen Gillan eats a lightbulb. In fairness, she thought it was an apple, and I thought this film wasn’t going to make me sick. We were both wrong.
2014: The Babadook
The Babadook has a solid claim to be the best horror film of this century because it gets everything right that feels so wrong. I don’t have children, but I am plagued by insomnia, and this scene of Amelia washing dishes while clearly out of her head, only to see the Babadook in the window of her neighbours living room is incredibly spooky, and decidedly relatable for anyone who’s gotten to this brutal stage of sleeplessness. Though at least when I see things out of the corner of my eye, they turn out to be cats. For the most part.
Be sure to check in over the next few days for the rest of the series in the run-up to Halloween! If you enjoyed this and want to see more stuff like it, please consider supporting us on Ko-Fi.
By Kevin Boyle and Lou MacGregor
(header image via Ms Silver Screen)
No But Listen 