The horror!

Voice critics go back and forth on their favorite frightful films

JOE: October is my favorite month. And even though I don’t dress for it anymore, Halloween is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday. That has always had something to do with the season and its iconography of death.

The weather turns colder. The first hints of wood smoke begin wafting across ever more leaden skies, accentuating the scent of failing life. The trees and shrubs turn to skeletons as the ebbing colors magnify the sense that a deeper ritual is at hand—something pagan and necessary to protect us from gods and monsters that wait within the long, ascendant night. 

Plus, I love pouring some adult libations and settling in for some shocking selections culled from the decades of cinema dedicated to things that go bump in the night. Sure, there are standards like “The Shining” or “The Thing” (Carpenter’s version, of course) but each year brings a new crop of potential classics like “You’re Next” or “The Conjuring.” This year is depressingly slim on big horror releases (it’s the red-headed step-genre, after all), but thanks to Netflix, that doesn’t mean you can’t make every day a new adventure in fear. Are you a 30 days of horror kind of guy, Josh?

JOSH: I am in theory. In practice, not so much. I watch a lot of horror movies anyway, but I have trouble committing to watching one every single night for a month straight. I do end up binging on horror for one or two days leading up to every Halloween. And I have a few titles I watch every October like clockwork. Namely, “The Shining” and “The Thing.” It might be a cliché, but in my opinion there are no two greater Halloween films. There may be better horror films (though I can’t think of any), but in terms of evoking a mood that gets me excited about fall and Halloween, those are it. Both movies are heavy on mood and atmosphere; they create this hazy, almost narcotic feeling of blissful nostalgia and melancholy. For me, that’s October in a nutshell.

I’d also include Tobe Hooper’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Let the Right One In,” “Cabin Fever” and “Suspiria” as titles I usually try to revisit in October. This year is kind of unique for me, though; I’ve somehow already exhausted my usual go-to titles for Halloween, so I’ll probably try to change it up. Maybe I’ll do a Fulci marathon, or gorge on the French shockers. What about you, Joe? 

JOE: As much as I can, but like you it’s more in theory than in practice. Kind of like when I don’t dress up and vow to do something special next year instead. Never happens. But it is easier to honor the occasion with time as opposed to money spent on a costume (authentic Stormtrooper outfits are not cheap). Also, horror needs a crowd. So while I might pick out some old favorites in the middle of the night, really, it’s about getting together with friends, booze, and—if we’re doing it right—themed food offerings. Splitting chorizo sausages in half for a chili inspired by “I Spit on Your Grave”? Sure. Spaghetti and meat sauce for a “Day of the Dead” dinner? Why not? There’s fun to be had in pairing culinary delights with cinematic mayhem—like a filet with a fine wine (which would make a nice match for “Let the Right One In”). 

I do like your list and I’m glad you mentioned the French because goddamn if they haven’t been distinguishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in international horror (what does one eat while watching “Inside”?) In the realm of sick puppies, even the Japanese stand in awe of what’s been coming out of France in the past decade.  Which I guess begs the question: What is the most hardcore horror film you’ve ever seen? 

JOSH: First, you eat poached eggs with hollandaise and sriracha when watching “Inside.” Obviously. As far as hardcore goes, I don’t know if I can pick just one (though “Inside” is certainly a candidate). More recently, Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist” and Gaspar Noe’s “Irreversible” really got under my skin. Both are beautifully shot, with top-notch performances from actors willing to travel to very dark places. Both are pornographically explicit in their depictions of sex and violence. And both are relentlessly bleak and pessimistic about humanity, and marriage/parenthood in particular. 

On the trashier side of things, I watched the original “I Spit on Your Grave” when I was way too young. That movie ruined my life for a week. “Cannibal Holocaust” disturbed me well after I thought I’d been fully desensitized. Both have the feel of an illicit snuff film discovered in Jeffrey Dahmer’s basement; they’re mean-spirited, nasty little trash masterpieces that feel genuinely dangerous. “Holocaust” in particular, with its un-simulated animal slaughter and surprisingly sophisticated practical effects work, feels so real. It’s no wonder the director, Ruggero Deodato, was arrested and charged in Italy with making a snuff film. He actually had to prove that he didn’t kill anyone on camera. 

Am I correct in assuming “A Serbian Film” is at the top of your list?

JOE: Many films that push the envelope in their own unique ways, and usually the boldest come from outside the U.S. German freak Jörg Buttgereit’s “Nekromantik 2” with its necrophilia and bloodgasms, the Hungarian-produced “Taxidermia” which—while not strictly a horror movie—is so off-putting and bizarre that it might as well be (while having the gall to submit itself for Oscar consideration in 2007). “Irreversible” isn’t a horror film per se, either, but again is so stomach-churning in its construction and intent that it qualifies. Of course, as you mentioned, “Antichrist” is kind of scarring for men due to yet more penile trauma and bloodjaculation, while “Cannibal Holocaust” is borderline reprehensible—not so much for the reasons you mentioned, I just thought of it as a clumsily made film. Fact is, I have a pretty bad memory for such things, so you know these must be pretty awful because they stuck with me as memorably and disturbingly pushing the envelope.

But, yes Josh, “A Serbian Film” takes that envelope, wipes its ass with it, adheres the postage with semen and mails it to your mom. 

It is wrong on almost every level, and there are sequences that I wish I could unsee but never, ever will. I can’t even describe them in this space. Its diabolical sadism is an endurance test after the first act, and by the end you’ll wonder if there is something wrong with you for finishing it (yes, there probably is). What’s worse is that it’s not even a bad film. It has subtext, is well-made and is actually trying to say something about corruption in the country in the post Miloševic era. Even if you consider yourself a glutton for this kind of punishment, I would still fervently warn people not to watch “A Serbian Film.”

Except you, Josh. You totally need to see it.

JOSH: Let’s leave my mom out of this particular discussion.  

One last question: any new horror films you’re excited about this season? I recently saw “Horns” and “Annabelle.” “Horns” was awfully fun. It reminded me of an ’80s Joe Dante flick, though it was a bit of a letdown in the end. “Annabelle” was just awful—a quick cash-in prequel to the far-superior “The Conjuring,” with a few scary moments but a clichéd, boring story.

JOE: Yes, there were, until many got pushed back to the early 2015 dumping grounds or were reset for limited release and VOD. Eli Roth’s “The Green Inferno” was supposed to be out this year, and the latest “Paranormal Activity” entry, “Ghost Dimension,” as well as the James McAvoy/Daniel Radcliffe feature, “Victor Frankenstein,” two of which I was looking forward to.

Speaking of Radcliffe, I very much enjoyed the flawed but imaginative and fun “Horns” (Editor’s note: see Joe’s review on pg. 42). While I loved “The Conjuring,” James Wan is clearly tired of the low-key spooky-shtick he’s mastered, if “Insidious 2” were any evidence. “Clichéd and boring” applies to most of the mainstream frightfests of late—but than sequelitis is an affliction that effects all genres. I think that’s why the films we’ve picked here stand out. They’re all grotesquely unique. Let’s hope we’ve influenced readers to get more adventurous.