2019 has proven a standout year for film with no shortage of excellent genre offerings. The fact that Ari Astor, Robert Eggers, Mike Flanagan and Jordan Peele all released a film in the same year is something for horror fans to sit back and appreciate.
Midsommar and Us proved two of my favorite horror outings in 2019, and I don’t think I’ll ever get Willem Dafoe’s performance from The Lighthouse out of my head. Nor would I want to, quite frankly.
To start though, I want to throw some love to some lower profile freaky flicks. These first two came to Netflix without much stir, but have sat well with me for the duration of the year.
I had been anticipating Velvet Buzzsaw from Nightcrawler writer/director Dan Gilroy for sometime. Gilroy takes his previous leads Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo and throws them into an artsy exploitation nightmare, alongside a phenomenal supporting cast including a vicious Toni Collette and a brilliantly dry John Malkovich. The actors give a hundred and ten percent as the tale of cursed artwork chugs along, the deaths ranging from strange to goofy to downright disturbing. It’s a ridiculous late night B-movie from an all star cast and crew. You can catch this one on Netflix right now.
John Malkovich lent his talents to another personal favorite from this year’s Netflix oeuvre, the Ted Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Director Joe Berlinger also directed a four part documentary for the streaming service, if you really want to do a deep dive on one of America’s most notorious serial killers. Berlinger finds a way to capture the monster of Bundy without reveling in his notorious crimes, but rather takes an extremely nuanced and patient approach in unmasking the monster. Zac Efron proves himself a powerhouse actor, not for the first time, as he truly embodies Bundy in appearance and mannerisms. While not violent, the film captures the truly bizarre turns Bundy’s murderous life and trial took, which must be seen to be believed.
From modern day exploitation maestro S Craig Zahler, writer director of Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, Dragged Across Concrete is a slow descent into a truly surreal and nightmarish hell. It starts off as a grim exercise in police brutality and corruption, but soon descends into something far stranger. Disgraced cops, played by very world weary Vince Vaughn and Mel Gibson, plan to rip off a group of criminals after a heist. Of course their plan unravels and they find themselves locked in battle the very faces of evil, with an ex con played by Tory Kittles stuck between the warring forces. It’s a slow, unpleasant experience that is a must see for those that aren’t afraid to peer into the void now and then.
The Shining is one of my favorite films of all time. I was hesitantly excited about the prospect of a sequel, and then the first trailer sold me. I was ready to go back to the Overlook Hotel. Happily, Doctor Sleep turns out not only to be a fantastic follow up to The Shining, but a brilliant horror experience in its own right. Mike Flanagan, who balanced supernatural horror and family dysfunction so expertly with The Haunting of Hill House, proves once and for all that he is one of the great auteurs to translate King to screen (right alongside Frank Darabont and Rob Reiner). From the meticulous casting to set recreations, Flanagan transports viewers back to Kubrick’s masterpiece beautifully. Yet because of the emotional depth that ties it to the original, and even strengthens the familial trauma from the first film, Flanagan’s film feels truly earned. If The Shining is about addiction and the malignant determination with which it rips a family apart, then Doctor Sleep is about recovery and the constant battle to keep those demons at bay. Danny Torrance is a deeply troubled individual at the onset of this sequel. Through the slow steps of recovery which his father Jack could never take, we and Danny know that the worst of his trauma is still lying dormant up in the Rocky Mountains. Doctor Sleep certainly blazes its own path for the majority of the story, but as events escalate to the return of the Overlook Hotel, there is an inevitability that has been tracking Danny ever since he escaped that hedge maze nearly forty years prior.
And what would a year in film be without a gruesome monster movie? Alexander Aja is no stranger to the creature feature. Piranha 3-D is a pulpy blast, and I for one could not wait for his hurricane/gator thriller that brought him back to the gory sub-genre. I’ve loved creature features ever since experiencing Lake Placid as my first R film in a theater, and I have to say that Crawl is the most fun I’ve had watching animals eat people in quite awhile. It’s a much more controlled affair than Piranha 3-D, but it still earns its R rating in a much more grounded approach. By keeping the drama to one location with only two major characters there’s a natural tension that sets in and does not let up. Sam Raimi as producer certainly leaves his mark, and I for one will more than happily line up any Aja/Raimi collaborations in the future.
Television wise, True Detective really blew me away with a phenomenal third season. Wading through three separate timelines to investigate the case of two missing children, Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff create a very touching and dysfunctional partnership. Scoot McNairy also steals the show as a father reeling from the lack of answers. Dialed in and disciplined in his storytelling, Nic Pizzolatto finds the magic of the first season by mining the relationships of his protagonists and that ever elusive hope for redemption.
And on a much lighter noter, What We Do in the Shadows season one is a must watch for fans of horror/comedy. The vampire mockumentary makes a seamless transition from big to small screen, maintaining the balance of jokes and bloodletting that made the film such a success. Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement remain very involved and have found a fantastic cast to further explore this bloodily charming undead world. Special shout to Mark Proksch for playing the least intimidating vampire of all time.