Picking Favorites: The Best Horror Films of 2017

Slasher Studios*Top Ten

It
It ranks up there as one of the most perfectly made horror films of all time. For the full 2 hours it completely grasps you and makes you almost a part of this world. You genuinely feel like you are a part of the Losers Club and feel the fear they have of Pennywise. It’s a perfect blend of horror and coming-of-age film. The young cast does an amazing job, as does Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise. The production design and everything down to the costumes and the overall feel is pure nostalgia.

Happy Death Day
What Happy Death Day does is take the slasher genre and breathe new life into it by taking the tired “groundhog day” plot and turning it into something fun and thrilling. We have some great kill sequences, a fun montage, a clever whodunit story, a very creepy masked killer, and most of all a tremendous performance by Jessica Rothe as the leading lady who greatly shows different layers to her character as the story progresses.

Annabelle: Creation
Having not liked the first Annabelle film at all, I was massively surprised by how great this sequel was. But at the same time, when you have David F. Sandberg who brought us the pretty damn scary Lights Out, I shouldn’t be entirely surprised. Creation is extremely atmospheric and suspenseful with some great and effective jump scares and two great and likable performances by the two young leads, Talitha Bateman and Lulu Wilson. It’s doesn’t push the story or the Conjuring franchise really anywhere, but it’s a fun and effective supernatural horror film.

The Babysitter
This straight to Netflix horror film is probably the most fun you’ll have this year. We have a great young lead in newcomer Judah Lewis and a deliciously fun, sexy, and evil performance from Samara Weaving as the title character. The supporting cast does a great job as well, particularly Robbie Amell and a surprisingly hilarious performance from Bella Thorne. If you want a fun, hilarious, and bloody horror film, check this one out.


Split
M. Night Shyamalan’s best film in a while is also one of great thrills and performances. James McAvoy gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a man with multiple personalities and McAvoy tremendously exhibits them all. And Anya Taylor-Joy, who is continuing to make a name for herself in the horror genre is brilliant as the lead female and a character you hardcore root for who uses her smarts while also showing emotion when her inner demons are shown. Also worth mentioning is Betty Buckley who is just as terrific as her two co-stars.


Raw
This French film revolves around cannibalism, but more than anything its strength comes in the form of a character study. We see this young girl go from a shy and sheltered girl and gradually become this monster that’s always been within her. Garance Marillier is amazing as our main character as she portrays her characters’ change mentally and even physically, definitely one of the best female performances in horror this year.


Get Out
The politics regarding this movie aside, it’s a brilliant and well-made horror film with a great lead that you are rooting for the whole time even though he’s clearly not an idiot. It also has a great way of making you feel just as uneasy as the lead, brilliantly played by Daniel Kaluuya (who also deserves an Oscar nomination), as things start to be uncomfortable to complete insanity as the climax nears. Along with Kaluuya we also have solid performances from Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, and Allison Williams. Jordan Peele really delivers in his directorial debut the provides extremely thrills and major laughs (particularly from Lil Rel Howery).


The Blackcoat’s Daughter
This dreary and haunting film, brilliantly directed by Oz Perkins, takes you on a suspenseful, twisted, but also emotionally-driven ride. It’s definitely one you have to pay close attention to as the two storyline reach their ultimate collision that will leave you pretty mind-blown and pondering about the ending. Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts are brilliant in their roles, showing a great amount of mystery and haunting in their performances. It’s also a huge breath of fresh air in that it’s not like your conventional possession film.


Mother!
Probably the most controversial and divisive film you’ll see this year, Darren Aronofsky brings us this nightmare-like film. And I mean this very literally. The film has such a great build-up that is very nightmare-like and when it reaches the final act where everything just goes insane to really fucked up and you just waiting to wake up. The ending and much of the events that happen in it are like a punch in the gut. Aronsofky really strives to make this film visually striking and work to fit the tone of the film as it progresses. He and Jennifer Lawrence (who provides her most dedicated and Oscar worthy performance yet) work their asses off you really make you feel what Lawrence’s character is feeling, and you most definitely do. The whole time you are right there with her, so as her emotions change, so do yours. Michelle Pfeiffer (who should have gotten much more screentime) and Javier Bardem also are brilliant in their respective roles, especially Pfeiffer.


47 Meters Down
What 47 Meters Down succeeds at is really putting you on edge and holding your breath as much our two leads are. And this happens several times throughout the film, and the jump scenes are extremely effective, even if you see them coming or not. It’s a perfect blend of survival film and shark film. Claire Holt and Mandy Moore are great as the two leads and have solid chemistry as two sisters fighting for survival.

–Cody Landman

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Slash Into the Holidays With DISMEMBERING CHRISTMAS

Slasher Studios*Dismembering Christmas

Ready to celebrate the upcoming slasher season in blood red style? Slasher Studios latest feature, Dismembering Christmas, is the movie for you. It was supposed to be a holiday vacation they would never forget, not a holiday vacation they would never survive. When Mark and his friends go up to his fathers new vacation home for Christmas vacation, they were ready for a fun time. Out in the middle of nowhere, the house is cheerfully decorated for Christmas. But an unknown visitor is there, and one by one they are murdered. Its Christmas and not a creature is stirring except the killer in the house…

Order your copy on DVD or limited edition VHS today and score an 11×17 Dismembering Christmas FREE.

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DVD Extras include:
Audio commentary with Actor/Director Austin Bosley
Audio commentary with Writer/Producer Kevin Sommerfield
Bloopers
Fly on the Set: Making Of Dismembering Christmas
Theatrical Trailer
Teaser Trailer

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Free Shipping! Slasher Studios T-Shirts Now Available

Slasher Studios*Horror

We’ve had a number of requests for specific Slasher Studios t-shirts and now we are thrilled to be able to offer you some Slasher Studios style. These Slasher Studios shirts are very limited as we only had 15 printed so make sure to pick one up before they are gone for good. Also, as a slasher thank you, you will receive FREE shipping anywhere in the United States with your t-shirt order. Thank you again for being our horror fan and follower. We couldn’t do it without you!


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Limited Edition IRRATIONAL FEAR T-Shirts Now Shipping

Slasher Studios*Irrational Fear

Our brand new, limited edition IRRATIONAL FEAR T-shirts complete with fearful art by the awesome Austin Hinderliter are now shipping. Only 25 of these have been made so don’t delay and get yours today. All t-shirt eorders will include a free 11×17 Irrational Fear poster with purchase.


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Make sure to also preorder Irrational Fear on DVD and/or limited edition blu-ray. All preorders will begin shipping in early December.

COMPLETE WITH KILLER BONUS FEATURES!
Cast & Crew Commentary
Filmmaker’s Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Cast & Crew Interviews
What’s Your Fear? Featurette
Slasher Studios Horror Podcast: The Making of Irrational Fear
Theatrical Teaser
Theatrical Trailer
Indie Horror Trailers
Photo Gallery

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All Eyes On You: KEEP WATCHING (2017) Review

Slasher StudiosKeep Watching

A family falls victim to a home invasion, they eventually realize that they are part of a twisted came that’s being recorded for people to watch live. Now they must fight to survive the game.

After taking 3 years to be released, Sony and Screen Gems released Keep Watching for one night only theatrically, on Halloween with one showing at 10 pm. This is how I viewed the film. And to my surprise, I didn’t find it that bad. It was a pretty entertaining film, but that’s about it. The movie is basically a combination of The Strangers, Saw, The Hunger Games, and Vacancy. The family at the center of it are being watched and preyed upon by masked strangers and while trapped in the house and the terror being recorded, the family is given “gifts”. These gifts can either help them in fighting back, or lead them to their doom. For the most part this had some pretty good intense scenes going for it, and you actually care about the family. They’re pretty likable and not as annoying as most families in horror films are. Could they have been developed a little bit more? Definitely. But you get a decent enough feel of them to at least not deem them annoying and you can’t wait for them to die.

Admittedly it is essentially a pretty generic home invasion film with its predictable moments, and the moments where the characters make questionable decisions. However, the concept of the killers allowing their victims play this slasher game with the ability to fight back gives it points for being at least a little different. When it comes to them filming the mayhem, you do have to question how the hell the police aren’t seeing this or at least someone is reporting it. And while it’s actually really well-filmed with some of the camera techniques they used, I think they overdid it with just how many cameras the killers placed throughout the house, and most especially where they hid them. Yes, the entire film is viewed through hidden cameras. I think had they made it both hidden cameras and regular format it would have fared better. Overall, it is a pretty cool concept that helps the film be different than your average home invasion horror film. The acting is pretty well done all around. Bella Thorne genuinely surprised me in this one, she showed a decent amount of range that makes me wonder just what the hell she’s been doing turning in horrible performances in her other films that didn’t involve her being the idiot bitchy girl.

Keep Watching has a decent amount of flaws, and it’s not exactly scary, but it’s a different and entertaining take on the found footage genre that I recommend. It at least should have gotten more than 1 night showing, it deserves that much at least.

–Cody Landman

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He’s Back: CREEP 2 (2017) Review

Slasher StudiosCreep 2

Following the events of the first film, Josef (who is now going by Aaron) reels a new victim named Sara. Sara has her own YouTube channel where she meets people of Craiglist with unusual desires and uses it as an exploration of people. Seeing this as a new opportunity for her channel, Sara takes on Aaron’s post. When she meets him, he’s beyond forward, and Sara is eating it all up, seeing him as just a weird character and not believing anything he says. She learns that she should probably be being more cautious.

The original film I’ve come to find is really divisive. I personally enjoyed it for how well it makes the viewer uneasy and on-edge. Not only that but Mark Duplass turns in a fantastic performance. Well, for the sequel, Duplass once again turns in a fantastic performance, however, this one didn’t leave me feeling uneasy or on-edge at all. In some ways I can respect Creep 2’s ambition to make this entry more of a character study of Josef/Aaron, and it actually does a great job of that. And along the way we get not only the aforementioned great performance from Duplass, but also a well-done performance from Desiree Akhaven as Sara. It’s really interesting watching these two engage with each other and often times it seems like they’re both playing games and you are enticed to see who will win.

That said, all of that works for half of the film, but it continues on for basically the whole film and doesn’t go into any suspense territory until around the last 5-7 minutes. And by then it’s not really that effecting. The final scene of the film was pretty interesting and could take us somewhere interesting in the third film however. I mean there are moments of slight discomfort, but that’s only because much of these moments are just so awkward and weird. If you didn’t like the first film, chances are you’ll hate this one. This sequel is ambitious and boasts two great performances, but I honestly feel the lack of tension, unease, and suspense was lacking a lot. I won’t go so far as to say I don’t recommend this movie. If you did like the first film, I do say go ahead and see this one, but I say proceed with the knowledge that this movie goes to a much different beat than the first film.

–Cody Landman

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Same Old Trap: JIGSAW (2017) Review

Slasher StudiosJigsaw

A decade after the death of John Kramer, bodies begin turning up with the Jigsaw Killer’s trademark puzzle piece cut into their skin. Cops and medical experts are baffled. There’s no way Jigsaw could still be alive? Could he? Or is a new copycat continuing his legacy? The clock is ticking while they must figure out the mystery while a new group of people are playing one of Jigsaw’s deadly games.

There’s no question about it that the original series can be considered a classic, and obviously successful. But is that a reason to resurrect a series that doesn’t need to re-live and (for the most part) ended well? I really don’t think so. And what’s even worse is that Jigsaw doesn’t even attempt to offer anything new to try reassure these thoughts. This latest entry (reboot?) has no originality whatsoever, and instead chooses to pull key twists, and even similar traps, from the original series and places them into this film. Sure there are some interesting newer traps, but there are far more impressive ones in the past films. When the identity of Jigsaw is revealed, yes you could that is a surprise, but overall all of the twists and turns don’t work at all because the original series already did it. This series is also known for it’s gore, this entry is actually pretty fricken tame, and the gore is lackluster. The script itself, besides not being original, is also very thinly written with very little going for it. The fact that it moves at such a brisk pace is both a blessing and downfall. Instead of making this a treat for the hardcore fans of the series in just one film, they choose to bring this in a direction of a potential new series (I REALLY hope to god they don’t do this). Sure it has the things you’d like about a Saw film, but they hardly do enough with it to make this entry serviceable or worthy of being made. On a positive note, it is well-filmed, and the acting is pretty decent. I will also say as a warning, the trailer gives much of the films away, especially most of the traps. Thankfully they don’t give the most interesting one away. And I admit it does do the job of bringing me all the way back to the 2004-2010 era when Saw was the big thing. Oh the good old nostalgia of a decade ago.

Jigsaw is a sad reboot that offers nothing new to the original franchise that hasn’t been done before, even down to the twists. The traps (while are also hardly anything exciting) are really the only thing I can see why you would want to watch the film. But even that is hardly worth it. Do yourself a favor and re-watch the original series over again. It’s more worth your time, and you’ll basically be doing that with this movie, but without the fun or even suspense.

–Cody Landman

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IRRATIONAL FEAR T-Shirt Preorder Begins

Slasher Studios*Irrational Fear

We are thrilled to offer you our brand new IRRATIONAL FEAR T-shirts complete with fearful art by the awesome Austin Hinderliter. Our 25 of these are being produced so don’t delay and preorder yours today. All t-shirt preorders will include a free 11×17 Irrational Fear poster with purchase and are expected to start shipping in mid to late November. Keep an eye out for the killer DVD & limited edition bluray preorder coming soon!


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THE SNOWMAN Killer Prize Pack Giveaway

Slasher Studios*Horror

We have a killer giveaway here at Slasher Studios thanks courtesy to Universal Pictures in promotion of their new thriller, THE SNOWMAN. The terrifying thriller based on the novel by Jo Nesbø is in theaters now. A sociopath who calls himself “The Snowman Killer” has targeted the one person for whom he wants to showoff his methodical, unthinkable skills: the lead investigator of an elite crime squad. With cunningly simplistic baits, he begs to have a worthy opponent to play his sick game. Check out the fun app game below and for your chance to win the prize pack, simply share this post on Facebook or Twitter. Winner will be announced on October 27th. Good luck!!

The Snowman pack has:

1 – Limited Edition Snowman Plush Doll: This limited edition Snowman plush is only available via this promotion and has a run of 200 pieces worldwide. It is a replica of the killer’s Snowman and features a detachable head and the Snowman logo on the bottom.

1 – The Snowman Official Promo Shirt – An official promo T-Shirt featuring The Snowman logo on the front and the signature design on the back.

1 – Replica Snowman Killer Letter – A replica of the Snowman killer’s note, sealed.

Take the “Help Harry Hole Find The Snowman Killer QUIZ”

The prize will be sent via FedEx or USPS. No P.O. Boxes please. Please note that the assets included within this message were delivered to you to promote Universal Studios, The Snowman. Any actions (including contest and competitions) that you complete with the provided assets are your liability, and should comply with both local and international laws. Also, please remember to disclose that you are working with Universal Studios, The Snowman, or that Universal Studios, The Snowman supplied these materials to you if required by local law.

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Netflix Horror: THE BABYSITTER (2017) Review

Slasher StudiosBabysitter (2017)

12-year-old Cole, is being babysat by his sexy babysitter Bee, whom he clearly has a crush on, while his parents are gone for the weekend. Cole is bullied in school and Bee is clearly the one he chooses to confide in and turn to over his best friend Melanie. During the night, Cole wakes up to find Bee has invited over a few guests, but to his horror he sees that they are part of some twisted cult. Now Cole must go up against this group and survive the night.

I went in watching The Babysitter with some lower expectations, but to my surprise, I ended up loving every minute of it. The movie is a blast and entertaining from beginning to end. When it comes to horror, it has some pretty suspenseful scenes, but it also massively delivers some great comedy, especially some great dark humor scattered throughout. You hardcore root for Cole throughout the film, and it’s also great watching him grow from this shy, nerdy kid to this bad ass. Even before his big transition he’s a pretty smart and clever kid. The scenes between him and Bee are charming and you like their relationship. Even Cole’s relationship with Melanie (while kind of underdeveloped) still feels and comes off as interactions and conversations of 12-year-olds. The movie does move at quite a brisk pace, so there are some things that can seem undeveloped, like the young cult members for example. But from what we do have of them, we do get a sense of their personas, and each one is pretty unique, but regardless, they’re pretty horrible people, so you love seeing them getting their just deserts. It also serves as a fun retro, throwback film in terms of the cheesiness it presents, it even has pop up words indicating character thoughts or actions, but it doesn’t bombard the film with it.

The director McG, has always been known for having stylistic films, and that is still present here. He gives us a great vision for the story he wants to tell and is a huge factor in keeping the viewer engrossed. Surprisingly, there is a good amount of heart to it with it’s coming-of-age/growing up story, and there is even a couple of pretty sentimental moments towards the end. The cast does an incredible job, especially newcomer Judah Lewis as Cole, he totally carries the film and offers plenty of charm, wit, and laughs, while also really making you root for him. Samara Weaving also turns in a solid performance as the titular character. Weaving has a way of making you fall for her the same way Cole does, but she also rocks the villain role in how she can give the perfect icey/devilish looks. Also worth noting is Robbie Amell as the football stud of the cult and really sells the role of the douchebag jock, but also kicks ass as the more psychotic one of the group. But I was definitely surprised with Bella Throne, apart from The Duff, this is the only other role where I wasn’t cringing at her performance for how bad of an actress she is. She plays the deluded, slutty cheerleader perfectly and actually has some great comedic timing in this. I can’t really pin point one overall weak performance in this movie, although two of the more underdeveloped cult members don’t much time to shine, they really work with what they can. In smaller roles we have Leslie Bibb and Ken Marino as Cole’s parents, and Chris Wylde as Melanie’s dad who offer some comedic moments of their own.

The Babysitter is hands-down one of the most fun horror-comedy films I’ve seen in a while. It’s not without its problems, but it’s one fun as hell ride you should check out on Netflix right away.

–Cody Landman

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