Best in Show: Unsuspecting Travelers Abroad (Pt. I of II)

5. Chernobyl Diaries 

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This movie's gotten a bad rap. Featuring a pretty standard group of characters who engage with one another and their situation in a way not much unlike real life, Chernobyl Diaries reinforces the idea that when traveling, you should stick with the typical. Extreme tourism feels right up the alley of many who decide to go abroad, and for this group, that decision comes with a hefty price. This film is a scary reminder that sometimes, those areas that are off-limits should remain just that: off-limits. 



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4. The DescentThe Descent has been widely covered on list after list on this blog. But, it's relevancy to horror is far too paramount to be excluded. The Descent seeps into pretty much every subgenre out there as it's perfectly shot, intensive plot and stellar cast all make for a terrifying but completely compelling endeavor. At the center of this film, Sarah isn't just in an unknown cave, she is quite literally out of her element; having just crossed the Atlantic to for an annual trip with friends. She of course gets far more than she bargained for as a group of strong-willed ladies become trapped in a cavernous maze of death. The Descent should scare both local cave-divers and those looking for more international adventures alike.

3. Hostel

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For whatever reason, horror filmmakers seem to have a pension for gore abroad. Like Wolf Creek and Borderland, Eli Roth's Hostel is the type of gross-out fest that easily makes the stomach turn. Hostel follows a pair of tourists who get caught up in a seedy, underground business of (literally) gut-wrenching proportions. Hostel is a dark and sick movie that'll have even the most versed travelers feeling uneasy about visiting places off the beaten path. It's the type of film that utilizes foreign barriers and the resulting isolation to create an atmosphere of absolute dread. For those homebodies out there, this movie presents nothing more than a confirmation that perhaps keeping local is the best way to go.





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2. As Above, So Below/Devil's Pass

Both As Above, So Below and Devil's Pass share the unique similarities of travelers intentionally looking for mystery. In each, a group of explorers end up in a downward spiral of chaos. In As Above, So Below, an archaeologist and her newly formed group of spelunkers travel into an unexplored part of the Paris Catacombs and practically descend into hell. In Devil's Pass, some American students run off to Russia to make a documentary about some missing hikers. Both are found-footage, both have some truly scary moments and each is notable for their horrific execution. While Devil's Pass suffers from some weak graphics, there's enough atmospheric suspense - similar to The Blair Witch Project - to make it quite the journey. As Above, So Below was also the center of some criticism despite some truly scary moments that'd make anyone's skin crawl.

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1. An American Werewolf in London 

The pinnacle of this list and by far the most deserving of the top spot is An American Werewolf in London. Like all of the unfortunate victims of circumstance on this list, perhaps none are more unsettling than this pair of Americans who encounter a beast on an English countryside. Equally funny as it is scary, An American Werewolf in London has aged better than most 80s horror films. Featuring the isolation of being in a foreign country with some old nostalgia and lore typically met by backpackers exploring desolate area, every moment of this film feels holistically thought through. The humor is never distracting, the jump scares are never predictable and throughout, viewers will be drawn closer and closer into one of the best werewolf movies ever.

Best in Show: Unsuspecting Travelers Abroad (Pt. I of II)

Horror has a long history of inflicting itself upon the unexpected. Especially abroad, travelers often get way more than they bargained for. With summer fast approaching and the need to explore outside of our borders itching at the adventurous, this week's list looks at the best horror movies about travelers abroad. Ignoring the somewhat problematic nature of painting foreign lands as particularly dangerous, these free-for-all movies are often complete descents into chaos.




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10. Out of the Dark

While not the most cohesive film, Out of the Dark is a rare indie horror film that feels scary. Offering a share of jarring moments featuring dead, bandaged children and terrifying shadows, the film wasn't much of a critic or commercial success. Its problematic painting of the mysticism of the third world - although met with a certain tone of first world oppression - didn't do the ghost story any favors. But, Out of the Dark is plenty horrifying. It follows a mother positioned to take over her father's business in South America, whose family is haunted upon arrival. The movie gets twisty as discoveries are made and the mother's daughter goes missing. Out of the Dark is ta telling story of how American misdeals can come back to bite you.



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9. They're Watching

They're Watching is a pretty ridiculous movie with a fun, engaging plot and pretty much zero basis in reality. Following an American home makeover TV crew in Eastern Europe, They're Watching plays completely into the traditions and mystic nostalgia of the area while providing the occasional scare and intentional laugh. It's a terrifically odd movie destined to scare few, but entertain all. It's placement on this list is mostly thanks to the sketchy villagers surrounding the makeover home who make for deeply unsettling moments.



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8. Wolf Creek

This movie is bleak. Wolf Creek is a gritty portrayal of suffering at the hands of a maniac. Following a pair of British 20-somethings who travel into the Outback with an Australian, Wolf Creek is a stark cat-and-mouse chase of disturbing proportions. It's a film that features little relief or absurdity and instead focuses on unsettling the viewer through very real possibilities of kidnap and torture. For some viewers, Wolf Creek will most definitely be too much, but who could blame them? This film is so painfully executed that the awfulness these characters experience, you feel, too.



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7. The Ruins

The Ruins is pretty typical for a mid-2000s horror movie; dumb young adults doing dumb, adventurous things and paying for it. But none of these aspects stops this film from being terrifying. Featuring a mysterious Mayan ruin with viciously alive vines, The Ruins makes adventure feel all too worthless. From the Cabin Fever inflections of attempting to strip your body of the infection to the off-center mimicry of the plants, this movie will leave viewers afraid of going anywhere that's not a particular tourist trap. In The Ruins, unmarked means death.



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6. Borderland

For detractors of Wolf Creek, heed this warning: Borderland is not for you. Following a trio of college friends who get swept up into a satanic crime cult, Borderland takes everything displayed by Wolf Creek, adds dimensions of the occult and tosses it into a small Mexican city. It's gory and gratuitous violence; all exasperated by harsh lighting and intense camera work make for a romp that'll make stomachs turn. Borderland has some of the intrusive nature of Americans into other's lands and nails the ignorance of youth perfectly.

Best In Show: Horror's Creepy Kids (Part II of II)

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5. The Little Things, Hand bitter (King Kong), spotlighted child (Chernobyl Diaries) token apocalypse daughter (Quarantine)

Rather than occupy entire spots for these small roles, I decided to combine these deservedly noteworthy moments of terror. In each of the films occupying this spot, these children were absolute scene stealers, leaving me with nightmares for weeks. Whether it's the little girl with the chocolate bar in the King Kong remake or the small radioactive child in Chernobyl Diaries, or even the somewhat larger role as the residential apartment girl in Quarantine, these youngsters truly shook me to my core. In fact, part of me thinks they deserve to be placed higher as their parts really did scare me whole-heartedly.

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4. The Grady Twins (The Shining)

I remember the first time I encountered The Shining was when I was sneakily watching my parents watch it and the first scene I saw was with The Grady Twins. Without context or truly understanding their role in the film, I was still terrified. The Grady Twins gave me goose bumps and it was only until I saw the movie in full years later that I realized that no matter what, they would scare me.

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3. Mercy & Jonas (The Witch)

Mercy and Jonas are perhaps two of the greatest children in modern horror. From their willingness to talk to a goat, to Mercy's iconic "clickity-clackity" scene, the pair is odd in both appearance and personality. There's something so innately off-putting about the two youngsters, who seem all too innocent. As the movie progresses and fingers begin to point at their wayward ways, the suspense and tension building around Mercy and Jonas made my hair stand on ends. It was as if all these underlying thoughts overflowed into my consciousness and left me unsettled. Mercy and Jonas are truly standouts in the already stacked Witch cast. Their spot on this list is more than worthwhile.

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2. Regan (The Exorcist)Probably the most legendary child in horror, Regan is the epitome of scary. As a young girl possessed by Satan, she is by far one of the scariest children ever. Whether speaking in tongues or lashing out, Regan is the pinnacle poster child of horror and her actions throughout The Exorcist should scare everyone, but especially parents. What makes her even more effective is the fact that, outside of her possession, Regan is a character you feel for. She's a simple young girl who is then afraid herself of the entity surrounding her. In fact, even the later revival of The Exorcist into the Fox series gives a continued depth to the youngster who terrified a generation.

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1. Asian Influences Kayako and Toshio (The Grudge) & Samara (The Ring)

Full-disclosure: Without having ever seen the source material for The Ring and The Grudge, I can say that the American recreation of these ominous children is still terrifying. And, while eventually I will see Ju-On and Ringu, for now, I will settle to being afraid of the American versions of Kayoko and Toshio and Samara. For movies that have widely been criticized as less-than, I can say with utmost honesty, that these characters were haunting. Each left me up at night and while later sequels took away from - or in the case of Rings, ruined them, each of the three children haunting these films is amazing in their American original form