1. RED WHITE & BLUE
Written and directed by Simon Rumley.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/t00mJ8

I first stumbled upon Simon Rumley when, years ago, the sadly now-defunct Two Boots Pioneer Cinema screened his feature The Living and the Dead. Had the internet existed back in 2006, I would’ve easily plopped it at the top of my fave horror films for the year. I lost myself inside the mind of its pitiful miscreant, James, a delusional man-child left to tend to his terminally ill mother at home—all alone. The Living and the Dead amply suggests that, sometimes, the monsters we need to fear the most turn out to be the ones who love us the most, paving our descent into hell with the best of intentions.

I made a vow then and there to watch whatever this Brit directed next. It took him nearly five years, but Rumley returned to the big screen with his vicious Red White & Blue.

Consider yourself warned. This is not a movie to recommend lightly. I have suggested it to a few friends and now they’re all a bit perturbed at me for ruining their Friday night. This horror film doesn’t set out to frighten you with a litany of pre-programmed jump-scares—rather, it bleakly sinks under your skin like a staph infection, resilient and unrelenting in its intention to destroy your cinematic immune system from the inside-out. It is gangrenous. It is unforgiving. It is unflinching in its display of human brutality.

But would you believe me if I told you it’s actually a love story?

Set in septic Texas, we’re introduced to Erica—a benumbed young woman systematically annihilating herself with one one-night-stand after another. When Erica meets Nate, a bearded bit of debris set adrift from some 70’s grindhouse flick, an unlikely friendship develops. Their tender connection is akin to a corn kernel lodged into a log of fecal matter, that little golden nugget surrounded by so much dung—unbreakable, indigestible, forever solid. No matter what fate befalls these two, they will always have each other…

Noah Taylor’s unnerving turn as Nate brings to mind the early life of Charles Manson prior to assembling his crew of cult-worshippers. Taylor has always been an enigmatic scarecrow onscreen, lanking around in such films as this year’s worthwhile Submarine. But nothing Taylor has done up to this point, and I mean nothing, could have prepared me for the simmering psycho-nihilism that spewed out from this Aussie’s tongue-chewing Texan twang. Not Vanilla Sky. Not Shine. Not even Lara Croft: Tomb Raider…

We hurt the ones we love? Yeah, well—Red White & Blue is one of those films that seems to say we hurt the ones who hurt the ones we love. A lot.

HONORABLE MENTION

A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE
Written by Simon Barrett. Directed by Adam Wingard.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/s3J1yp

Mumblecore horror strengthened by its leads Amy Seimetz and AJ Bowen. I’m going on record and confessing my fandom for Bowen’s wounded psychosis right here and now and forever. Having popped up in The Signal, House of the Devil, and the upcoming You’re Next (written and directed by Barrett and Wingard as well), Bowen is amassing a solid catalogue of characters that all seem to internalize an unknown quantity of malignant hang-ups, gift-wrapped in a sweet veneer of bearded gentility. Don’t trust him, no matter what—but watch him in whatever film his scruffy face pops up in. I sure will.

GOOD NEIGHBORS
Written and directed by Jacob Tierney.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/vMfXIM

Had Alfred Hitchcock directed an episode of Friends, this is probably what you’d get. Is that something the world needed? Is this actually a recommendation? Will you ever trust my opinion ever again?

CAMP HELL
Written and directed by George VanBuskirk.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/spnVDM

Jesse Eisenberg is in the thick of suing Lionsgate for exploiting his miniscule role in this micro-budget mess. Don’t be fooled by the cover: This isn’t Eisenberg’s movie. Originally titled Camp Hope, it’s clear to see how much meddling the studio had in re-packaging and re-branding this poor film. Buried somewhere deep within this inept attempt at subtle horror is a story that, in more capable hands, could have been pretty darn good. There’s no way I can recommend this movie with a clear conscience, but I’m hoping more movies like this get made. Someday, someone will get the storyline right.

VANISHING ON 7th STREET
Written by Anthony Jaswinksi. Directed by Brad Anderson.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/umTCVy

Brad Anderson is a director that should be put on a pedestal. Session 9 remains one of the best horror films released in the last twenty years, hands down. Vanishing on 7th Street amounts to little more than an extended episode of The Twilight Zone—or, more to the point, a companion piece to his surprisingly above-par contribution to the Masters of Horror series, Sounds Like… Having established himself as a director who can master atmosphere, all the ethereal bits of sound and lighting that enhance the sensory experience of fear, Anderson deserves better material than this. Until then, Vanishing stands as a harmless matinee movie to fritter away your Saturday afternoon with.

HORROR DOCUMENTARY

ZOMBIE GIRL: THE MOVIE
Directed by Justin Johnson, Aaron Marshall, and Erik Mauck.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/s5XrZ2

Twelve year old Emily Hagins is downright adorable. Watching her struggle to make her first feature length zombie movie, all you want to do is pinch her cheeks and simply eat her up. And suck out her eyeballs. And bite them with your back teeth, releasing a warm spurt of vitreous humor down your throat. Then rip into the flesh of her neck, tearing off a thin strip to chew for a full thirty two intervals before swallowing the mess all down.

FOREIGN FILM

THE LAST CIRCUS (BALADA TRISTE DE TROMPETA)
Written and directed by Alex de la Iglesia.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/vK3xbW

Over the top and as subtle as an iron in the face, this Spanish horror-comedy cranks it up to eleven and just keeps on.. ironing. I felt a bit fatigued with its absurdity about two-thirds of the way through, but I’d still say it’s worth a spin. Why? All you need to know is this: It’s about dueling psychotic clowns fighting for the love of an aerialist. Whatever. Scratch that last part. Who cares who they’re fighting over. Dueling. Psycho. Clowns.

WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (SOMOS LO QUE HAY)
Written and directed by Jorge Michel Grau
Trailer: http://bit.ly/sFrC9E

A family of cannibals coming up from Mexico. This film really should be on the top ten list, to be honest. I don’t know why it isn’t. Just watch it. On an empty stomach. Please.

TROLLHUNTER (TROLLJEGEREN)
Written and directed by Andre Ovredal.
Trailer: http://bit.ly/vKr3F5

Yet another found-footage horror film, this Norwegian point-of-view mockumentary focuses its lens on Hans, a freelancing monster-tracker on the government pay-roll. A little too talky for its own good, what lands this film on the list is its crisp special effects.

Dig this list? Also be sure to check out Clay’s 2010 and 2009 picks!

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