Joe Augustyn

Just a few of the horror films I've enjoyed, some old some new, in no particular order. I've enjoyed many more but these are at the top of my list, which I'll update as I have time. 

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TERRIFIER 2

 A tour de force of bloody good horror. Supernatural sadist Art the Clown in his best film yet.

Great special efx work, solid script with some fun surprises, excellent direction and production.

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HAUNT

Good creepy fun set in a Halloween horror house. Suspenseful with some unnerving imagery.

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AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE

Great original story, cool efx and very crisp direction. As good as a "one location" movie can get.

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THE DAISY CHAIN

Awesome little supernatural mystery thriller by outstanding Irish director Aisling Walsh.
Not for rabid gorehounds, but a serious treat for story lovers.

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SPRING

This is a sort of horror love story in the same way that EX MACHINA was a sci-fi love story.

Very original with a mythological slant.

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HOWL

Cool werewolf thriller set on a British train.  Always have room in my heart for a well-done shifter flick.

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PATIENT SEVEN

Michael Ironside shines in this expertly stitched horror anthology.  Tasty stuff.

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CREEP VAN

Nice little slasher indie from Detroit with excellent production values, including topnotch gore, a solid screenplay, a very likable cast and sure-handed direction. If you need a bloody B transfusion check it out.

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IT FOLLOWS

This little indie horror flick got plenty of rave reviews and deservedly so.  The filmmakers were smartly efficient, doling out the efx in the right doses at the right time. Like SPRING, the premise is also very fresh.

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DON'T BREATHE

Nicely done suspense. I really appreciate writers who can keep me enthralled for 90 minutes with just a handful of characters and one location. 

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LEMORA: A CHILD'S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL
Strange little slightly surreal indie from the early 70s featuring the beautiful ill-fated actress  Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith. If you appreciate smart low budget  weirdness like "Eraserhead"  or "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" or "Forbidden Zone" I think you'll dig this.

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KNOCK, KNOCK

IMHO this is Eli Roth's best movie, sexy and suspenseful, keeping you on the edge of your seat.

Keanu Reeves stars and produced. A much better script than he usually deals with.

 

THE VOICES

This dark comedy features Ryan Gosling as a conflicted serial killer torn between the positive suggestions made by his dog and the devilish temptations of his cat. The cast includes Gemma Arterton and Anna Kendrick.

 

THE VATICAN TAPES

The first few acts owe heavily to Exorcist 1 and 3 then the story takes a more original turn. Fans of exorcism movies should find this a bit more entertaining than the many low budget offerings of the past decade, a few of which have been dreadful.

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THE WITCH

People either love or hate this film. I suspect the naysayers are the kind of fans who judge a horror film by how many buckets of blood are splattered onscreen or how many sudden scares lift their asses off their seats. This is a beautifully directed period piece that owes as much to Bergman's 50s films like Virgin Spring as it does to the horror genre. After hearing about how "slow" it was I was pleasntly surprised to find it kicked into gear fairly early, albeit with subtle clues and creepy insinuations. The pacing and tone are certainly closer to Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant than to Dawn of the Dead. If you enjoy smart horror and appreciate well-crafted films you should love it.

 

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

One of the many shot-on-vid POV movies set underground, for my money this one is the best. A small group of explorers follow a trail of clues into the Paris catacombs and mega-creepy stuff ensues. Much better than the similarly themed film starring Pink.

 

THE CHILDREN

This British film has been around for a few years but if you haven't seen it watch for it. An extended English family meets for a winter holiday in the country, where a virus begins affecting the children. The director got amazing performances from some very young toddlers handling some intense material. This is a movie I catch whenever it's on.

 

THE DAY

I'm a huge fan of Ashley Bell (THE LAST EXORCISM 1 and 2) and this is my favorite film of hers. She plays a woman traveling with a small group of survivors struggling to survive in a hostile post-Apocalyptic world. Obviously made on a low budget, I found it more satisfying than its big budget counterpart THE ROAD.

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