5 Popular Horror Movies From 2014

2014 gave horror fans some interesting and different movies to watch. I listed five of the most popular ones with their good and bad points but they all deserve a viewing. The attempts to revitalize the genre are admirable and scary enough. - 8 years ago by

It Follows

After having sex the main character starts being followed by a seemingly indestructible shape shifting creature. Her only hope is to make love with an uninfected person and throw the creature at him.

The Good: It follows is terrific. The camera work, sounds and play are all top notch. It grips you from the beginning and stays with you till the end never letting go for a second. A pleasurable experience for the more hardcore horror fans, unaffected by today's cheap effects and jump scares. The film also sports an unique spin on the monster genre, with the main character actively trying to screw(heh) others as her only means of survival instead of working together.

The Bad: It is about sex and violence, and this is it. It Follows completely relies on the two main pillars of the horror genre without having much of other supports. Don't try to overwork your brain, questions like what is that and how it can be stopped are barely scratched, which leaves the movie as more of a feelings driven experience. Nothing wrong with that but some people will grow irritated by the lack of exposition.

 

The Babadook

Mother and son are being terrorized by a monster, which jumped right out of a book, or did it?

The Good: Another terrific slow burner of a movie, which in a way is the opposite of It Follows. The relationship between mother and son is explored very well and the characters are developed enough to make us care about them. Furthermore we always question what exactly is happening on the screen. Is there really a monster or is the whole thing an example of a distressed soul going completely bonkers? Other than that it is profusely creepy, especially the book and the monster's form. Cold chills will be had for sure.

The Bad: Slow burner can be a good thing, can also be a bad thing. If you expect lots of action you'll be royally disappointed and most likely won't like the movie one bit. Some viewers think it is not even a proper horror because of its subtlety. Also it is kind of overrated, which can create a lot of unreasonable expectations. Can you stand annoying kids? It is important, trust me.

 

Unfriended

A stock group of teenage horror characters is being hunted by an unknown entity in a Skype chat. They try their best to unfriend it/kick it out of the chat room but things turn bad and it starts killing them one by one.

The Good: It is a gimmick first and foremost. Do you like using webcam when talking with people? Have you done/said bad things on the internet because you can? Do you even use Skype or other chat programs? Well, if you are into any of these groups chances are you can relate to what is happening. It is a somewhat unique playing ground, while at the same time using familiar tricks to keep you scared, and it works. Some people even got so scared they proclaimed they will delete their Skype buuut I think behaving while online(and keeping private things private) is the better lesson we can learn from this bloody offering.

The Bad: If you can't find your way around Skype and computers in general you'll be more confused than frightened(after all trying to unsuccessfully stop a Youtube video is not a scary process by itself). The cast is a bunch of unlikeable tools but it makes sense if you stick to the end. Some of the scares are unoriginal when compared to the premise but I guess it is to made to satisfy a larger audience.

 

Dracula Untold

Dracula Origins.....Untold deals with the man himself, Vlad The Impaler. It tells us the tale of how he became the vampire we know and love today, a struggle with the Turks to protect what he loves.

The Good: It is fresh(ok not really but for vampire movie standard it is). It paints Dracula as a sympathetic guy, a hero to his people and a family man. It has good production values and some really nice combat pieces. Most of all it strikes just the right balance between its segments(not all horror horror horror) and makes sense in context. It should not be taken as a serious story, but then again, most people who watch vampire movies don't really expect them to be authentic.

The Bad: Oh dear, history got butchered and got butchered hard. While they correctly presented the Turks as guys who take young boys from their vassals for training everything else is off, from their swords to the way they got defeated. The story itself can be described as a convenient cliche, describing the most "by the books" fall from grace ever. It really comes with the territory of not taking it all very seriously.

 

Tusk

A very rude podcaster gets his just deserts after being kidnapped by a psycho and forced into a walrus suit. Now all that is left is to throw a rescue party and try to save him.

The Good: It is a horror comedy of sorts, one half is being funny, the other is being scary as balls. Both halves do work, the jokes are refreshingly Canadian and the main character is a straight up prick, while the later scenes can be grisly and terrifying in spades. Great performances all around enhance the experience, the bad guy is given enough time to build him up into a menace while the unfortunate victim goes through some disturbing transformations in attitude. If you are in the right mindset you'll enjoy this tremendously.

The Bad: Not for everyone, you can easily end up hating this. First off it may feel disjointed because of how abruptly the comedy ends and the horror starts, there is no real balance throughout and the movie jumps directly from one extreme to another. The plot is weak and unbelievable. The jokes from the first half are hit or miss. The ending is needlessly sappy considering how crude everything else has been up to this point. Tusk can be called a mess as easily as it can be called a genius.