This batch of films is proof positive that you can still do a good remake or a good sequel that is better than the original. The top 100 marches on! You can’t stop it!
As we get closer and closer to the top, the movies get more and more familiar. The films at this point are showing up on lots of ballots. And still, our jury managed to sneak in a couple of surprises! This also happens to be the proving grounds for some of the all-time great horror remakes. Jeff Goldblum turns in a should-have-been Oscar-nominated turn in a 1988 remake of a 1950’s camp classic. And, he just so happens to have appeared with Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, and Veronica Cartwright in a 1970’s thriller that elevated another 1950’s red-scare science fiction/horror classic.
It isn’t just 50’s Matinee features that get remakes. Our #21 movie is a remake of a recent Japanese masterpiece, which also made our top 100 list. This film manages to stand by itself as a great film, thanks in large part to Naomi Watt’s fine acting and some spellbinding cinematography, and tight editing.
There is a movie in this grouping that is so severe, so over-the-top that Eric and Mike are too chicken to watch! It also is both Liz William’s and Luca Pincelli’s #1 film. So, it proves that either Liz and Luca are sickos, or Eric and Mike are sissies. Probably a little of both. A welcome surprise is the little retro take on a sexually transmitted stalking curse, which is arguably the starting point of our modern horror golden age, which comes in at #30.
Speaking of the current golden age, the Scariest jury determined that there is definitely room near the top for a very recent film. Toni Collette managed to pull off the full Goldblum, and provided a volcanic and tormented performance in one of the most powerful horror films in many, many years. One of Eric’s top films (his #2) is a fast zombie movie, that pulled together a fantastic and sympathetic group of protagonists who survive a fast-zombie (or zombie-like) horde of plague cannibals. And, one of Mike’s all-time favorites has been pulled from the forgotten archives and is having a bit of fresh respect, having initially been burdened with being a sequel of one of the most revered films of all time.
We get John Carpenter’s literary take on a Stephen King-like figure who is warping reality in perhaps the most successful Lovecraft film ever made… despite that the tale really isn’t a true Lovecraft story. And you will see that one of the landmark found footage movies has arrived. This is the movie that built Blumhouse, the trend-setting indie-horror production company, and proved that you can make a real powerhouse film with almost no money and simple camcorders, which made it all the more compelling and chilling.
So, join us now for our take on #30-21. Feel the dread! Feel the impending doom!
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