joel.'s top 13 horror films of 2016.... #5

Every year, you never know what the horror genre is going to unleash upon the world. You have an unsuspecting audience, just waiting to have their deepest and darkest fears manipulated.... all in the comfort of an air conditioned theater or their home. Not every year has been full of winners, some have proven to be better than others, but 2016 has yielded some very interesting genre fare that is full of a little bit of everything under the sun. My fellow creeps, I've put together what I feel (in my humble opinion) to be the best of the best for this year. There were a few that were nudged out by only inches and that's not a bad thing. It just proves that there are more stories to tell and makes me dream about all the amazing scares yet to come. So, without further adieu, I give you my top 13 horror films of 2016! (based on release dates and not the years they were filmed.... although some may be in the last quarter of 2015.)

5) Green Room

Jeremy Saulnier is a director to watch. His work with Macon Blair has produced some of the more interesting films of the past several years. 'Green Room' is his newest outing and one that further stakes his claim as a man with a future. This film is entirely unique in it's premise and it's execution. There's so many moments of extreme tension and adrenaline, that you'll have to wait until it's over to catch your breath. It's borderline, in terms of being classified as horror, but it's more than a thriller and can be quite terrifying. If you're looking for something new that you've never quite seen before, this is one to watch. Not too mention, Patrick Stewart creates a character that's unforgettable in modern cinema. A classic all it's own.



Suggested snack to eat while watching: beer

My #8 pick for best Horror films of 2016 By William S. Mayfield

True Story, one time I helped my best friends band load in for a gig at a tattoo shop in downtown Greensboro, NC and had to carry everything up a flight of stairs that would rival a Egyptian pyramid. For them to play 30 minutes and then carry it back out. Even saw a hot chick doing a suspension show during the gig. If you have ever done something similar for a friend or are in a band yourself, then this is a must watch. Not for the glory and money that comes with being in a small band, but the dives and sketchy as hell bars you have to play at.

This is the story of a small, punk band just trying to make it from show to show, when they finally land a paying gig. But it just happens to be at a skinhead headquarters. The band winds up seeing something they shouldn't and that's where the story really starts. The cast includes Anton Yelchen, of the new Star Trek films, and Patrick Stewart as one of the most down to earth and scary individuals to ever grace a screen. He's not over the top terrifying, but just the way he plays the character. Like I said anyone who has ever been in a band or around one should check this out. What happens in this doesn't happen all the time when bands play, but it's something to think about.

Green Room (2015) Review

“It [Green Room] is what happens behind the stage that matters in this taut thriller as a rebellious group of musicians end up punished for being in the wrong place at the time” ~ Creepercast

Synopsis: A traveling punk rock band, The Ain't Rights, i.e. Pat (Anton Yelchin), Sam (Alia Shawkat), Reece (Joe Cole), and Tiger (Callum Turner), is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar. Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier (Murder Party, Blue Ruin), Green Room is a taut thriller with plenty of action.

We begin this review with a fond farewell to a talented young actor that was taken from us way too soon. As film lovers he was first introduced to us the reason why everything went to hell in Alpha Dogs. In the horror community we knew him as the new Charley Brewster, Odd Thomas, the poor guy who wanted to bury his ex, and the bass player of The Ain't Rights in the movie we are about to talk about. Though Green Room isn’t the last time we’ll see him, given the new Star Trek and ‘We Don’t Belong Here’, the world of horror has lost a champion that still had so much more to give genre. I can’t claim to be a fan of the new version of Fright Night but as a fan of the Odd Thomas novels I truly expected to see more with Anton in the quintessential role. It is very saddening to know that not only have any future Odd Thomas been shelved indefinitely but that a person I believe embodied the character perfectly will not be reprising the role. That much said, let's take a moment to reflect on a film that he left us to remember him buy...

Green Room is another one of those visceral drama/action/thriller/horror films we have been seeing a lot of lately. Done well, these films take us to a dark place where the reality of those horrors lurk in the corners and alleys of our lives. This Death Wave, as we’ve taken to calling it, has been brilliantly explored by several writers and Directors and is a championed genre of horror that writer/director Jeremy Saulnier is obviously no stranger. It is what happens behind the stage that matters in this taut thriller as a rebellious group of musicians end up punished for being in the wrong place at the time. Interestingly it is the accidental witnessing of a murder that seals their fate and not the fact they started their set telling the nazi punks to fuck off Dead Kennedys style. I mean, that alone would normally would have earned an instant ass kicking. It’s a good thing these four are good at jamming (Yelchin and Shawcat can actually shred on their instruments in real life). The struggles of life on the road come to crescendo once the murder in the green room is witnessed. Then the movie turns into a fight for survival as the four quasi-punks are left to fend for themselves against the real white bread punks.

One of the many things Saulnier has done right with Green Room is assembling a fantastic team of actors. Not just the obvious four that make up the The Ain't Rights but this film has Patrick Stewart as the Neo-Nazi bar owning leader. Rumor has it Stewart wanted this role after reading only a few a few pages of his characters dialogue because he’d never played such a sadistic creature. Afterwards it scared him having played such a monster. But c’mon, he’s Patrick F’n Stewart, he can play any twisted character he wants, he’ll be amazing at it, and we will love him. In the end Green Room is everything you want it to be with an awesome punk soundtrack, a peek into one of America’s darker sub-cultures, and everyday people facing insurmountable odds.

Til next we bleed… Farewell from the beasts and I,
JP

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