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2021 is a big year for horror movies, but it is also a small year for horror movies.
Speaking of the big year, many horror film directors have new works.
It is said that it is a small year, because several word-of-mouth films have not yet been seen, such as "Spell", such as "Crying Sorrow".
More importantly, Wen Ziren, Luo Hongzhen, and Chen Guo's new horror films did not meet the expectations of fans (although there are a few I still like very much).
Therefore, this year, my personal list of the top ten horror films, in fact, the choice is a bit weak.
Most of the films can only be said to have bright spots, and it is difficult to call them good films.
The gap between "Genetic Doom", "Coming", "Nameless Female Corpse" and other films in previous years is not small.
There is no distinction between the rankings.
The Night House
This is my favorite horror film I have seen in the past six months, the movie is very sharp, the audiovisual and atmospheric sense are great, and the internal conflict set for the characters is also wonderful.
Of course, there are also shortcomings, this is not a logically complete story, there are too many blanks, most of the audience who need a complete story will feel a little "mysterious".
Rebecca Hauer plays a middle school teacher whose beloved husband commits suicide in a lakeside cottage, and she goes to the cottage alone to mourn, but nightmares and supernatural events occur, and she seems to have discovered more and more of her husband's secrets.
It should be reminded that this is not the traditional horror genre of the haunted old house.
The context is very modern.
The setting of space, various mirrors, and invisible people in "The Night Cabin" reminds me of "The Invisible Man", but the plot is not as "solid" as "The Invisible Man".
The last large section of dark light, lonely houses and various true and false mirrors of the "human ghost battle" highlights the director's skill.
Innocent De uskyldige
The horror film of the year in the minds of film critics was shortlisted for a kind of attention in Cannes.
Nordic frigid style, minimalist story, excellent psychological creation.
The story is about the "evil of human nature" between four children.
Director Eskill Vogt is very talented, and his 2014 blind vision takes sight, hearing and space to new tricks.
It is worth mentioning that he is also the screenwriter of another female-themed word-of-mouth film in 2021, "The Worst Man in the World".
The audiovisual level of "The Innocent" is not as outstanding as "Blind Vision", but through the cold color of the image and delicate psychological description, to explore the inner world of the "evil child".
Although the story is minimalist, it is still somewhat interesting to compare the "big evil" with the "small evil".
I was most impressed by the setting of "adults" in the whole movie, who were too simple and self-righteous, completely outside the children, unaware of the children's abyss-like world.
深宅 The Deep House
A lot of people like to ask me, what's the scariest/disgusting horror movie you've ever seen?
This is actually a question with no clear answer, like I asked you, what is the best thing to eat when you grow up so big?
But "In It," co-directed by Alexander Bustiro and Julian Morley, is sure to be on the list, and the less than 90-minute horror film takes the concept of "brainless killing" to the extreme.
And "Deep House" is the new work of these two directors in 2021.
Of course, a very large scale like "In It" is impossible to reproduce, "Deep House" is a "simple" horror film, the focus is the first-person shooting method and the deep sea ghost house.
After exploring various haunted houses, an expedition couple begins to play bigger, diving into the middle of the lake to explore the flooded old house, and underwater, they face the double fear of running out of oxygen and awakening the spirit of the spell.
The horror index of the film is quite high, and all kinds of intimidation methods are handy, but although the long underwater photography increases the horror atmosphere, it is still a little tired after watching for a long time.
Net-trick horror profile
This is actually a 2018 movie, and finally launched streaming media in the summer of 2021, which can be seen by everyone.
It is a desktop horror film similar to "Unfriend".
It's about a smart female journalist who tries to go undercover on social media to join a terrorist group, but ends up being tricked into it.
The script of this story is very good, and every step of the way is designed to be realistic and wise.
The heroine, Warren Kane, is also very accurate in her acting skills.
From the perspective of God in our audience, we may wonder why such a smart female journalist would fall so quickly.
But this is the essence of fraud and brainwashing, in the simplest and most brutal way, to screen the most suitable prey.
This movie is suitable for pig killing and science education films.
Fatal induction Malignant
Wen Ziren has rarely directed a horror film in person in recent years.
This film has the blessing of domestic capital, and was originally riveted to be released in the mainland, but in the end it was fruitless, and the online version of a video website was also castrated a lot.
Because the project sought to be released in the mainland at the beginning, it was impossible to follow the routine of "Conjuring" style horror films, and eventually it was made into a thriller suspense film with super power elements.
Many viewers felt dissatisfied.
But I still like this movie, leaving aside the deep horror culture (the "Conjuring" series) and the overly cerebral and bloody execution methods (the "Chainsaw Horror" series), what is Wen Ziren left? Fatal Induction gives a good answer.
The film has a very rich horror technique, the laying of sound and light, the beautiful mirror movement, and the editing technique with a very strong sense of rhythm, all of which reflect Wen Ziren's superb technical level and has been improving.
At the story level, the final reversal is still very hardcore. The moment the real body is exposed, the visual impact is full.
Of course, the big logic of the story does have many things that are not explained, and I guess this movie will be difficult to make a sequel.
Southern Witch
The most beautiful horror film of 2021, the debut of Malaysian director Cheung Ki On, who has been a DJ of evening literary radio for 12 years and has a long-term study of local folk culture.
Therefore, "Southern Witch" provides a new way of thinking for Southeast Asian folklore horror films - in addition to the extreme evil classic or crazy darkness, it can also be such a light and sad tone.
Behind this tone is actually a lament for the withering local rural culture.
The film can also be seen in the author's reflection on the excessive hegemony of mainstream pop culture.
The story focuses on an ordinary peasant couple in the countryside, after a worship ceremony, the husband suffered "possession", spitting out rust nails, and the soul was out of the box. The troubled wife and her children seek solutions in various ways.
The horror index of the film is not high, and several crazy scenes are also a passing stroke without remembrance. The scene of the countryside with various winds blowing rice waves and ancient trees has become a moving place outside the specific plot.
Strange house
The Korean horror film market has always been relatively prosperous, there are Asian folklore categories, there are also chinese and Western combination of cult categories, and this "Strange House" reminds me of the Hong Kong film "Three More" of that year, but the core is more abundant, on the basis of the dirty things in the dark house, the setting of the cult has been increased, and the strength can be.
The film tells 5 separate and interconnected horror stories that take place in an abandoned apartment.
My favorite story is the third story "Intermediary", a cold and lonely middle-aged greasy man who guards the best price-performance room in the whole building, he is extremely talkative, of course, he needs someone to talk to when he goes home, the object is a very expensive, amazingly large eyes, always keep a fixed smile, sex doll.
psychic
I know a lot of horror fans would say Medium is a disappointment film of the year.
I agree to some extent.
Because in terms of the creative lineup of Luo Hongzhen + Ban Zhuang, "Psychic Medium" is at least unqualified in presentation, and the first-person shooting method has played a counter-effect this time.
But I think this pot is mainly in Banzhuang, after the second brush, I think this story written by Luo Hongzhen is actually very bold, rebellious and even provocative.
He rebelled against the gods, rebelled against the faith, and the only thing that was certain was actually the evil spirit and even the devil himself.
As for the "zombification" that many people complain about in the ending, it is actually a misreading, and Luo Hongzhen, who is well versed in the grotesque charm of the East, will not brainlessly imitate the popular zombie culture in Europe and the United States, which is the setting about dogs buried in front of the response story.
In other words, even if "Psychic Medium" is disappointed, it is because the expectations were too high at the beginning, and it is still the first file in the horror film camp in 2021.
Soho区惊魂夜 Last Night in Soho
Perhaps it can be called the most gorgeous horror film of 2021, starring Anya who is popular all over the world with "Rear Wing Abandonment".
In fact, Anya debuted as a horror film at the beginning, hoping that after she became popular, she would also "not forget her original heart" and shoot more independent small-cost horror films.
"Soho District Horror Night" is a split-personality horror film, about a small town girl who comes to a big city, is confused by the sound and color of dogs and horses, and finally splits into a more powerful and beautiful superego in the inferiority and confusion of the original self.
The art of this film is very exquisite, the lens language is very dazzling, and like the previous "Night Cabin", it makes full use of the mirror as a transition element.
But I didn't like the film too much, because the story was too old-fashioned to deserve this whole set of gorgeous audiovisual language.
Quiet Place 2 A Quiet Place: Part II
It's rare to see a Hollywood horror movie in a movie theater.
The director is very clever, not obsessed with filling the gap in the worldview left by "A Quiet Place 1", but to make the scene smaller.
Less nonsense and a tighter pace. In the second half, the dense small scenes are created one after another, and the two story lines are a confined space and an open place, but they echo variously on the water, fire, gun, radio and emotional level, and the technique is superb.
Most importantly, this setting I like: people who talk a lot must die.
Of course, the disadvantage is that the overall plot is compared to the first part, and there is no substantive advancement.
In addition to the above barely forced out of the horror of the top ten. There are also two unpopular horror films that are well remembered.
Hazard Warning Caveat
It is also a Blizzard Mountain-style horror film.
The big logic of the story is flawed, but there is still something to see in the atmosphere creation and various horror small means.
The man accepts an invitation from a good friend to take care of his deranged niece. In a hut on a desert island in the middle of the lake, the girl sits in her bedroom all day with her face covered, her father has just committed suicide, and her mother is missing.
Deserted villages, loneliness, dilemmas.
The eerie atmosphere is in place.
Come True
I really like the color grading of the film and the visual design of the dream.
The heroine is a high school student suffering from insomnia, and at one chance, she came into contact with a research institute that studied sleep and dreams, and after participating in the experiment, not only the nightmares became more intense, but the vague monsters in the dreams became more powerful and clear.
Although the concept is excellent and the visual creation is very imaginative, the problem is the same, the story is too thin, so that it is easy to produce visual fatigue, and the overall feeling of the work is unfinished.
What impressive horror films have you seen in 2021? Welcome to add to the message area.
The author declares that there is no interest in this article, and welcomes reasonable exchanges and harmonious discussions among value friends