You’re Next (2011)

Due to scheduling issues I’m doing a late substitution for the film originally planned for today. Instead I’m dusting off the slasher classic You’re Next. “A classic?” You say. They did do a mural of the film at the Alamo Drafthouse. No idea if it’s still there but that’s cool. I would also argue this was the film that set Adam Wingard up for all of his future success. Despite the fact this film totally got the shaft upon its release.

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Attack the Block (2011)

The best genre movies (as in horror, sci-fi, and fantasy) often blend a healthy dose of reality in with all the unbelievable. Dawn of the Dead is about surviving a zombie apocalypse, but it’s also about cultural rot that consumerism tries to conceal. E.T. is a movie about a kid befriending an alien, but it’s also about dealing with a divorce. Princess Mononoke is about an exiled prince trying to cure a terrible curse, but it’s also about how humans exploit and abuse the environment (like pretty much every Miyazaki film). Whether it’s through subtext or loudly proclaimed over and over, these movies show that a different setting can illuminate ideas that might be ignored or taken for granted. Attack the Block is one of those movies.

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The Woman (2011)

Lucky McKee should be a household name. I mean come on, he goes by LUCKY MCKEE. How great is that? Yet I rarely hear his name come up when people talk about the Masters of Horror—even though he directed an episode of the Showtime series Masters of Horror in 2006. I’m not sure you’d include him in the Splat Pack either. Which was a nickname for a collection of ultra-violent indie horror filmmakers in the 2000s. Lucky is somewhere in the middle. His films are basically coming-of-age dramas but with more face eating. Which is all any of us want in our independent cinema.

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Piranha 3D (2010)

Could a movie like Piranha 3D (not to mention Piranha 3DD) get made today? It’s a weird thing to think about, considering it came out in the same decade we’re currently in. But making a movie with such overt male horndog elements to it was pushing it in 2010, and now feels even more in line with the B-movie tropes of a completely different era. Though, that does hint at how enjoyable the film is if you don’t take it too seriously (which it clearly doesn’t want you to), since this is exactly the kind of dumb fun that your inner 13-year-old will thank you for. Continue reading →

Shutter Island (2010)

Our decade of terror nearly missed out on having a Martin Scorsese movie, as Shutter Island was originally slotted to be released in October 2009 before being pushed back to February 2010. The reason given at the time? The recession was hitting too hard and Paramount needed something to help buoy their slate in the early part of the new year. So they pushed the movie with the bankable star and acclaimed director based on a book from a famous author. This announcement came about a month after Universal similarly moved their Wolfman movie from November 2009 to February 2010. Both these developments were covered on a humble blog in the form of tastefully titled reviews. I bring up these things not because they are interesting, but because I found it horrifying how long ago a decade can feel in our breaking-news-every-15-minutes world.

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Julia’s Eyes (2010)

If a film opens with “Presented by Guillermo del Toro” you know you’re in for something interesting. I’d go as far as to say del Toro’s name carries more promise than a “Presented by Quentin Tarantino” or any modern film that’s “Presented by Steven Spielberg”. I love Tarantino but when his name is attached to a film he didn’t direct it’s always trashy exploitation you find in a bin at 7/11. Spielberg produced a lot of great movies (and cartoons) in the ‘80s and ‘90s but it’s always been mainstream low-risk, blockbusters. Del Toro is far more niche. When del Toro attaches his name to a project you know it’s a story that resonates with him on a personal level. Del Toro loves stories with whimsy and dark fantasy. Films that find beauty in dark places. Much of which could be used to describe today’s film, the 2010 Spanish Horror-Thriller Julia’s Eyes.

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