Best in Show: Winter Horrors (Pt. II of II)

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5. Crimson Peak

Mistakenly marketed as a horror movie, but also featuring plenty of horror elements, this gothic romance is an incredibly visual journey. Dripping with director Guillermo Del Toro's stylistic charm, Crimson Peak is lush and brimming with dense fabrics and colors; complimentary to the derelict mansion's snowy exterior. Even the snow, dyed red thanks to the clay mined beneath the mansion is so vivid and intentionally placed. All of this culminates into a truly sensory experience that'll have viewers completely invested in Del Toro's fairytale-like world.  

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4. 30 Days of Night

During winter, days are shorter and nights are longer and in Alaska, this is most definitely true. Known for its impossibly short days and incredible long nights, this Northern state is the perfect setting for a winter horror film; especially when that film's evil resides in nocturnal creatures. So, around the time the Twilight franchise was dismantling the horror of vampires, the Alaskan-set horror film, 30 Days of Night, was reminding us just how terrifying these bat-like beasts can be. Action-packed and filled with blood-soaked snow, this film utilized its harsh setting perfectly to capture the dreadfulness of 24/7 cold nights.

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3. Frozen

Afraid of heights? Hate the cold? Well, the confined location of the oft-forgotten, non-Disney film, Frozen, will probably terrify you. Taking place almost entirely on an immobilized ski lift, Frozen finds a group of friends who are forgotten on a long weekend near the top of a mountain. Incredibly disconcerting, this film will creep into your bones. Frozen is grounded in reality, opting for the very real fears of hypothermia over supernatural entities and beasts. Fair warning, if you do actually like skiing and snowboarding, Frozen may be best avoided.

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2. The Grey

Liam Neeson is undoubtedly one of the most prolific action stars of our time. From all of the Taken movies to Non-Stop, his decades-spanning career has landed him plenty of hits and a fair share of misses. But, perhaps one of his greatest films is the epic survival tale told in The Grey. Telling the story of a group of plane passengers who survive a crash deep in the Northern wilderness, The Grey is compelling and surprisingly deep. Through all the violent wolf encounters, is a heartfelt core centered on friendship and bonds. It’s an intense thriller with more than enough gore to appease genre fans.

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1. The Shining
While Misery is a fantastic winter horror movie, nothing quite captures the cabin fever of winter more than The Shining. A classic masterpiece known by all, this film is probably the most iconic to come from author Stephen King's work. In the film, the trapped Torrance’s slowly spiral out of control witnessing plenty of horrific acts and scary supernatural entities. With thick fabrics and a hedge maze filled with snow, this movie is best save for the coldest months of the year.  The Shining is an incredibly influential film and its ability to capture the horrors of winter and turn them into something so fantastically engrossing is unparalleled.

Best in Show: Winter Horrors (Pt. I of II)

Despite the unseasonably warm weather, winter should be starting up any moment. As the days get shorter, the nights longer and cold weather starts setting in, icy shapes start to form and things can get little spooky. And, while horror films have a tendency to chill bones even in the dead of summer, it's those set in winter that'll leave you absolutely frozen with fear. These movies often utilize their settings' harsh temperatures and climate with incredible force, creating an experience that can feel urgent, claustrophobic and completely terrifying. So as the snow runs scarlet and the dread fills you up, grab a blanket and get ready for some wild rides.



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10. Dead Snow

Dead Snow is a ridiculous movie - no one is arguing that. The film follows a group of friends vacationing deep in the Norwegian wilderness when they are come upon by zombies. And not just any zombies- Nazi zombies. Even weirder, these oddly sentient beings use weapons to slaughter their victims. A true splatter film, this comedic, bloody movie is honestly, a little terrifying. Through all the comedy - whether it is a Molotov cocktail accidentally missing a window it needs to go through or pretty much any interaction with the Nazi zombies - Dead Snow actually has plenty of scares.

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9. The Blackcoat's Daughter

Arguably one of the best films to come out of 2016, The Blackcoat's Daughter is best described as a small flickering candle in the middle of nothingness. Chilling in the best way possible, this film deserved the accolades it received as we followed a student trapped at her school with only another student during a holiday break. The Blackcoat's Daughter is a beautiful master class of the slow burn. It is completely restrained; grounded in realism, despite its supernatural elements. It's the type of movie that some will hate, but most will feel compelled to drudge through the dark and unwelcoming atmosphere.

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8. Misery

What winter horror movie list would be complete without at least one entry for Stephen King, who hails from a place known for particularly rough winters. Misery is perfect for this time of year given its winter-based story, country home furnishings and muted-tone sweaters and clothing worn by its characters. Aging relatively well, most people know the story of the obsessed young woman who captures her favorite author after a car accident and imprisons him in a remote cabin. Misery is a hazy and fantastic journey with some out-of-this-world scenes worthy of the history books.

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7. Devil's Pass Despite some terrible CGI toward the end of this movie, Devils Pass is a horrific endeavor most comparable to The Blair Witch Project. Following a group of American students who set off into Ural Mountains to uncover the truth of the real-life Dyatlov Pass incident, this found-footage feature is best reserved for a cold night. Deeply unsettling and able to perfectly capture the fears of things that go bump in the night, Devil's Pass is an underrated gem worth watching - even if the end reveal is a little laughable.



6. The Thing 

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A bona fide classic, the 1982 version of The Thing is a legendary horror film featuring a group of researchers burrowed away at a base in Antarctica. Iconic to this day, this movie has everything representative of harsh climates; from ice and huskies, to snowmobiles and giant puffy coats. The Thing has some pretty incredible special effects given the year it came out and the setting is fantastic for an extra cold day. Sure, the average person will never find themselves in the coldest place on earth, but who among us hasn't felt like a winter day isn't the coldest day recorded?

Best in Show: Top Three of 2017 (So Far)

2016 was a pretty fantastic year for horror. Featuring a diverse collection of theatrical and indie released films; it was a year that gave us some terrific sequels and prequels, as well as originals. From the artistic The Witch to the terrifying The Conjuring 2, 2016 proved that some of the best, most original movies were coming from the horror genre. in a sea of remakes, even less well-received films felt newer than some of the more questionable choices in Hollywood. That's why, in 2017, hopes are high. Already this year, we've seen duds and stars, and this week's list looks at the three best, while mentioning some of the worst.

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3. It Comes at Night

While never completely fresh or revolutionary, It Comes at Night is amazingly well-done. It creates such a tense atmosphere that the weight of the world rests on the shoulders of the viewer. The dream sequences are horrifyingly anticipatory and with some gut punches to be expected later in the film, audiences can expect to be thoroughly gloomy after it ends.

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2. The Void

With an amazing marketing campaign, iconic costuming and some terrific special effects, The Void is truly impressive. Balancing a variety of subgenres, this movie is sure to appeal to most movie watchers. Between believable acting, 80s stylizations and an abundance of scares,  the sci-fi cult film, The Void feels entirely new in a genre inundated by similarities. The Void is the rare horror movie that, despite some occasional shortcomings, features so many amazing things, that its hard not to root for. It's a film you want to recommend over and over again, because it is a must see. The Void is fun and scary and encapsulates so much of what horror used to be, it's a welcome throwback.

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1. Get Out

Get Out made quite the splash when it was released. Capturing race relations in the United States within the context of an easy-to-understand horror movie, this film is surely a modern classic. While not scary for the typical reasons, this movie is, through and through, eye-opening, pure entertainment. Its funny, dark and suspenseful. Even as audiences begin to figure out exactly what may be happening, Get Out demands constant attention. It's a thrilling journey and by far the best horror movie to be released this year.

 

Honorable Mentions: Alien: Covenant, Split, The Blackcoat's Daughter and The Devil's Candy

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Dishonorable Mentions: Rings, The Bye Bye Man and Be Afraid

Between terribly timed scares, stuffy atmospheres and mediocre acting, each of these three films fail in very similar ways. They're completely unaware of their shortcomings and fall apart on so many levels that their releases are pretty surprising. Rings, a follow-up/reboot of the original pairs of the American remakes, suffers greatly from awful CGI, unbelievable performances and a plotline that is more nightmarish than the weak scares and atmosphere. The Bye Bye Man is just as bad, featuring nothing redeemable outside of a fun catchphrase. But, like the overly plugged line, this is a movie you shouldn't think about, shouldn't say and most definitely shouldn't see. Then there's the indie release of Be Afraid which even taken lightly given its smaller budget, feels lazy and poorly made.