Worst in Show: 2017 Horror (Pt. II of II)



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5. Wolves at the Door
Horror fans eat up pretty much all types of brutality in film as long as the result is warranted, fictional and generally in tasteful,  good fun. So when the marketed-as-a-horror-film true account of the grisly Manson Family Murders was unleashed in the form of Wolves at the Door, it should have come as no surprise that this unnecessary, distasteful and one-dimensional depiction left little to satisfy viewers. Told through a true perspective with little added depth, this movie would have done far better to stay clear of any real life cults, members or slain victims with living relatives. At least then the very blatant The Strangers rip-off would feel a little more spirited and tactful.

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4. Be Afraid

Indie horror can lead to some pretty great little gems. Unfortunately, Be Afraid is far from sparkling. Confusing, immature and generally dumb, Be Afraid should have stayed out of the public purview. It's a laughable and disjointed little film with little to enjoy and little to write on.

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3. The Bye Bye Man

The Bye Bye Man is a rough film to get through. Melding teen horror, far too many conventional scares and poor CGI, this almost jokey movie didn't raise any hopes for the 2017 year in horror. The Bye Bye Man is filled with unlikeable and generally unreasonable characters with little meat. Like so many made-for-the-masses horror films, like Ouija, this movie felt deeply insincere and unstylish; two things that could have been changed and brought the movie a long way past the mediocrity viewers were left with.

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2. Rings

Objectively, Rings is the worst horror film of the year. In a rare first-person perspective, I've not forgotten how terrible this film was and how more than half of the audience in my theater stood up and walked out midway through. The experience was painful, but unlike anything I'd ever witnessed. No movie I've seen in a theater - big or small - has caused such a unanimous uprising. Tepid, poorly acted and incredibly tension-free, the CGI-fueled Rings felt insulting to both the original Ringu and the American remake. It wholly deserves every criticism it gets, and probably more. In fact, had it not been for one film's release, it would most certainly take the top spot. 

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1. Jeepers Creepers 3

In a second rare first-person perspective, I'm going to declare here and now, that I never saw Jeepers Creepers 3. But almost as objectively as one could look at Rings and personally as a human being, I can say that this movie is surely garbage. Directed by convicted child molester Victor Salva, Jeepers Creepers 3 picks up after the first film and... Well honestly, it doesn't matter because this movie was an offensive cash grab. It's an insult to horror fans everywhere that spend much of their time arguing that the genre isn't filled with creeps and criminals. That's it.

Review: Wolves at the Door



(imdb.com)

Cult mania has seen a bit of resurgence in recent years, the indie hit Last Shift, which drew attention when it started streaming on Netflix, Emma Cline's The Girls, and the James Wan-produced Annabelle all featured satanic cults with insidious intentions. Attempting to build on this retro, 60s-inspired subgenre is Wolves at the Door. Recounting the true story of the murders a group of friends murdered by the Manson Family during the 1969 "Summer of Love," Wolves at the Door plays relatively close to a reenactment without much of the backstory, reasoning or tact to make it anything more than exploitative.

Wolves at the Door features former Harpers Island stars Katie Cassidy as pregnant Sharon Tate and Adam Campbell as Wojciech, Elizabeth Henstridge (Agents of Shield) as Sharon's friend Abigail and Miles Fisher (Mad Men) as Jay. Each are actually pretty solid in their roles, despite the film's shortcomings and the tasteless resulting product.  Cassidy is especially effective at conveying love and loss, and as Sharon, she brings some justice to an otherwise low-brow screen.

This movie does feature some scares, even if it is suspense-free. Swept straight out of movies like The Strangers, Wolves at the Door has plenty of dark figures bouncing around the house just out of sight of the characters. There are creepy scenes with our home invaders tapping on glass and writing on walls, but these feel really misplaced and tossed in. In terms of plot, the movie feels as though it is a brutal super cut of murder rather than a holistic film. It never really comes full circle or offers anything past the death scenes and this works to the disadvantage of the horror. There's no art or camp, and definitely no substance to whatever this movie is or could have been and when compared to superior, although critically panned film like The Strangers, the scares of Wolves at the Door feel miniscule and exploitative.

There are things that could have been done to improve Wolves at the Door. A constantly tricky subject, the recounting of real life murders in film can be a steep slope that most filmmakers would avoid. But, where other films may shoot for something more in line of a documentary or a completely changed story that only draws inspiration from its source, Wolves at the Door shamelessly shoots out and showcases the real characters' deaths.

While it'll surely appeal to some, the blatant and contrived nature of Wolves at the Door feels less like a horror movie and more of an unrelenting, dramatized sequence of real life murders. Sure it may feature some of the home invasion aspects kin to movies like You're Next and The Strangers, but it doesn't offer any of the cleverness, storied background or plot. The bottom line is that Wolves at the Door feels like a cheap façade, profiting off of others' loss without regard for the real lives impacted by the losses. There's no storyline, no higher meaning or resolve, just brutality and selfishly profited death. 2 out 10.