As we draw in to the end of the year, I think it’s safe to say that, as always, we’re hanging on by our fingernails. And, in the spirit of the season, I thought it was only right that we talk a little about survival horror. You know what I’m talking about – horror that’s based around characters fighting for their absolute lives, and not just in the sense that I am trying to book a delivery slot for my big Christmas food order. While there are plenty of big-name classics in the genre, we’re going to take a look at some underrated movies that fill out the gritty, gory, and gasp-inducing world of survival horror. Let’s get into it!
Azrael
Starring burgeoning scream queen Samara Weaving, this intense action-centric survival horror from EL Katz (director of the excellent Cheap Thrills) is all momentum from the word go. Following Azrael (Weaving) as she flees from a violent cult that formed in the post-apocalypse, Katz adds a twist on the usual rural survival thriller with the detail that the members of this cult had their vocal chords rendered unusable. It’s a compelling idea that draws excellent performances from everyone involved as communication and characterization have to come in non-traditional forms, and there’s a surprisingly effective level of world-building and backstory developed despite this obvious narrative handicap.
Prince of Darkness
John Carpenter’s Apocalypse trilogy has had a weird time of it in pop culture, given one entry, his masterful remake of The Thing, overshadows the other two excellent horror gems. In the Mouth of Madness belongs on a completely different list so we’ll just focus on the middle chapter: Prince of Darkness. In the style of old ghost story icons like MR James, Carpenter sets the forces of evil against a bunch of academics as he mixes quantum physics and religious doctrine for his own take on the son of the devil. It is still Carpenter so, of course, we’re blessed by the presence of Donald Pleasance as a priest. It’s really, really silly and exceptionally fun.
The Monster
Bryan Bertino is probably best known for one of the most iconic survival/home invasion horrors of the 21st century, The Strangers. While that is a good (but definitely not great film) we feel his 2016 marriage of survival and psychological horror The Monster deserves a lot more love. Zoe Kazan plays Kathy, an abusive mother who, along with her teenage daughter (a brilliant Ella Ballentine) crash their car in the middle of nowhere while also having to fight an entity we know little about except that it’s hungry. I blame the generic title for the fact that this film isn’t well-known; I get it, Bryan, it’s stark and is supposed to make you wonder who the real monster is, but it’s making a lot of people scroll past it on streaming services, you know?
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By Kevin Boyle and Lou MacGregor
(header image via YouTube)
No But Listen 