Dread Central’s Best and Worst Horror Films of 2015
- Anthony Arrigo’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Ari Drew’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Debi “The Woman in Black” Moore’s Best and Worst of 2015
- The Foywonder’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Gareth Jones’ Best and Worst of 2015
- John Squires’ Best and Worst of 2015
- Matt Molgaard’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Paul “Nomad” Nicholasi’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Stephen Romano’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Todd Rigney’s Best and Worst of 2015
- Trisha Chambers’ Best and Worst of 2015
Gareth Jones
When it comes to quality, 2015 had a noticeable number of top-drawer genre entries – especially on the festival circuit. Thankfully, some of them even made it onto VOD in almost record time comparable to past years, which is a trend that I’d very much like to see continue.
In fact, when it came to creating this list, rhyming off a bunch of “best” entries wasn’t the hard part… narrowing it down to five was. So, even though you’ll see a group of titles listed as honourable mentions, know that they all share the same podium with the big guns up top… and each and every one deserves thorough praise for standing out so highly.
The worst? Well, they’re simply the crappiest film experiences I’ve had this year, for various reasons. Whether sequel, pastiche, or just baked in the oven of plain old incompetence, the offerings in 2015 also certainly gave us plenty across the board to hate.
So… let’s get on with it!
Night Fare
Ultra-stylish, tense, and impeccably crafted, Julien Seri’s Night Fare brings a single night of mayhem to thumping life. As The Driver, ex-UFC fighter Jess Liaudin is an amazingly formidable presence, bringing us an all-new genre icon reminiscent of Jason Voorhees and Matt Cordell.
Deathgasm
What to say about this flick? Hilarious, gory, balls-out rockin’ fun from New Zealand. It’s everything the 16-year-old metalhead me would have gone bananas for… and the mid-thirties metalhead me still loves.
Turbo Kid
A cinematic experience so hilariously delightful and utterly genuine in its ‘80s throwback style, that it’s impossible not to love it. I’ll just quote the closer of my review for this one: “It’s a tale of unlikely friendship, love, camaraderie, bravery and the rise of the underdog. It’s everything we used to love about Saturday night VHS rentals.”
The Witch
A deft blend of the supernatural and the all too real – especially when it comes to religious fanaticism – Robert Eggers’ The Witch is as unsettling as it is mesmerising. One of the best true horror films of the decade, it’s a folklore-laden tale of total darkness that shouldn’t be missed.
We Are Still Here
Ted Geoghegan’s directorial debut is a dream come true for fans of both the “extreme” Italian horror movement and “old dark house” flicks. Creepy, gory as hell in spots, and showcasing a strong cast – not to mention some of the most striking ghouls to hit the screen in ages – We Are Still Here is a rounding success. Can’t wait to see more from the man behind this one.
Honorable Mentions: The Hallow, Krampus, Bone Tomahawk, The Final Girls, Frankenstein, A Christmas Horror Story, Last Shift
Cherry Tree
Preposterous direction and a complete lack of any logic whatsoever (even on the nightmare level) undermine everything that Cherry Tree tries to do in order to generate a sense of unease or horror throughout. Punctuated by a terrible, bargain-bin stinger, it feels like you’ve just been subjected to one big, mistimed joke.
Sinister 2
If you thought Sinister was bad… you haven’t seen Sinister 2. Taking the promising mythology and modus operandi from the first film and pissing it up every nearby wall with total abandon, Sinister 2 is a yawn-fest of massive proportions… and one of the biggest letdowns of 2015.
Fury: The Tales of Ronan Pierce
CarrotVision™ makes its screen debut, and the results are as terrible as expected. Okay, so I made CarrotVision™ up… but still, this utterly worthless pile of comic book-inspired dreck is as hard-boiled as a gummy bear and about as pleasant as a razor blade enema.
Darling
Mickey Keating is undoubtedly a director with promise… but I ain’t drinking the Kool-Aid on this one. An attempt at Polanski-esque mental decay and Lynchian logic, Darling is shrill, art-house nonsense that lacks the finesse of either of the filmmakers it seeks to imitate. Yes, it looks beautiful. Yes, Lauren Ashley Carter is great. But no… it isn’t a good film at all.
Invoked
Found footage without style, character, or any meaningful reason to exist. Invoked is a thoroughly lazy attempt at horror that does next to nothing to tell a story of meaningful consequence – and acts as just more of the kind of barrel-scraping product that continues to wantonly devalue the genre in its search for easy distribution and profit. We’ve had enough of this shit already.
Dishonorable Mentions: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, #HORROR, Hellions
