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The Best & Worst Horror Movies of 2012 (joshk1986)

When I look back at 2012 for it's release schedule of horror, the main word that comes to mind is 'average'. I think its safe to say this has been a year that hasn't exactly been a spectacular year for our beloved genre. Sure there's been some solid films but as a whole I had a tough time making my "Best of" list, and as you will see, I can only list a top 3.

TOP 3 BEST HORROR FILMS OF 2012 3. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 I am a huge fan of this series. The first film was a genuine surprise and the second managed to surpass it. The third I didn't like at first but after a few re-watches I have grown to like it so going into the fourth one (on opening night so I hadn't heard any of the backlash) I had hopes that it would continue to be the fun scary series it has become.

I loved Paranormal Activity 4. I thought it offered a hell of a lot more answers than the third one did and I can argue anyone that it actually manages to bring the story full circle. The series could ealy end with this entry and for me that is above all, satisfying.

Apart from liking the story I also found the direction from Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman solid once again. They managed to build some genuinely spooky scares and I like the fact that their films do not depend on jump scares like the first two. Their scares are about building tenon. The slow burn method which I take my hat off too. And lastly, I really liked the characters in this movie, you really hope that they make it through this.

I will say the film is not without faults. There are a few jump scares which are created by the camera's running time actually jumping time codes that really pissed me off. That's as cheap as you get. And I'll also say it is definitely the least scary of the four films so far. So it's not a perfect film - but I really loved it and I left that cinema cheering once again.

2. V/H/S When I saw the first teaser trailer of 'V/H/S', I was instantly sold. I love the found footage genre and this one looked set to be bold, crazy and brutal. It didn't let me down.

I don't want to go into this too much as I feel the less you know of it the better, but I will say if 'House of the Devil' or 'The Innkeepers' haven't confirmed Ti West to be one of the most important figures in horror to emerge nce John Carpenter, then check out his short film in this. It's completely masterful.

1. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS I've seen 'The Cabin in the Woods' top a lot of 2012 lists so whilst I'd like to be original and pick something left of center, I have to be honest and say this was without a doubt the best horror movie of the year.

It's full of twists, turns and surprises as well as excellent performances from Richard Jenkins and Chris Hemsworth. Like 'V/H/S', the less you know the better going into this so make sure you avoid any spoilers. It's one hell of a good fun ride.

TOP 5 WORST HORROR FILMS OF 2012 5. THE AWAKENING Talk about a missed opportunity. I loved the look of this when I saw the trailer. I'm a sucker for those clasc haunted house films, especially if they're set anywhere between the 1800s-1950s.

While this film looks gorgeous, the performances were fine and the overall direction was good, this film was boring as hell. The script let this film down so much and by the end of it I was so ready to switch it off and never watch it again that I let out a huge gh of relief once the credits began rolling. Avoid unless you like your films about nothing.

4. LENT HOUSE Once again, another huge let down after a proming trailer. I should mention I have never seen the original so I have no idea what that one is like and how this one ts next to it, but I can confidently say I hated the script of this and within half an hour I had checked out of this.

Please Hollywood, stop giving us these boring horror films with terrible twist endings that ruins even more what is already a piece of shit!

3. ATM I will use the above poster for 'ATM' as my review of this film, and the reasoning of why I hate it: 3 people go to exit an ATM building to see 1 man standing at least 30 meters away from them. They decide to stay inde (and of course the man ends up being a killer). There is so much wrong with this that I'm going to leave it at that.

2. PIRANHA 3DD Alexandre Aja's 2010 splatter tit-fest 'Piranha 3D' was a fun, hilarious and gory rollercoaster ride that didn't for one second take itself too seriously, but managed to have an amazing balance of scares and comedy which for me, made it a modern day adults only veron on something like 'Gremlins' or 'Tremors'.

This sequel is 100% trash. I cannot even believe how badly this is made. The narrative is all over the place, the acting is awful and the entire story builds up to what we think will be the huge bloodbath caused by the killer piranhas but what we get is instead a quick 5 minute badly shot scene of David Hasselhoff cracking 'Scary Movie 3' standard jokes. The quality dividing this film from it's first is so distant that I had to put this as my number 2 worst film of 2012. The only reason it's not no.1 is because despite it being a terrible film, it's not to be taken too seriously.

1. LOVELY MOLLY "From the creator of 'The Blair Witch Project'"..... SOLD.

Yep, everything looked about this film. The trailer, the initial reviews and the knowledge that Eduardo Sanchez was behind the script and the direction.

This was a waste of time. Despite it having a wonderfully creepy opening scene, this movie heads into a downward spiral into nothingness, with no scares, annoying characters and one of the most cliche and unsatisfying 'what the fuck' endings I have ever seen. If you need more convincing, check out the Skeleton Crew's review of it in episode #37 - they hit the nail on the head on why this movie is so fucking bad.

Here's hoping 2013 will be a much better year for horror.

Not sure why Lovely Molly is so under appreciated. That was a good film.

Best

The Cabin in the Woods The Innkeepers Prometheus EXCION (love, love, LOVE this movie! Todd Solondz meets David Cronenberg!)

Worst

Paranormal Activity 4 (ENOUGH ALREADY!!!) nister (I don't think it was terrible, but I was very disappointed) Piranha 3DD (I admit I liked some things in there, but it was a MISS overall)

Best

The Cabin in the Woods The Innkeepers Prometheus EXCION (love, love, LOVE this movie! Todd Solondz meets David Cronenberg!)

Worst

Paranormal Activity 4 (ENOUGH ALREADY!!!) nister (I don't think it was terrible, but I was very disappointed) Piranha 3DD (I admit I liked some things in there, but it was a MISS overall)

Just ordered Excion on Blu-Ray

NO! Piranha 3DD is magical! I LOVED that movie! haha

Best

The Cabin in the Woods The Innkeepers Prometheus EXCION (love, love, LOVE this movie! Todd Solondz meets David Cronenberg!)

Worst

Paranormal Activity 4 (ENOUGH ALREADY!!!) nister (I don't think it was terrible, but I was very disappointed) Piranha 3DD (I admit I liked some things in there, but it was a MISS overall)

The Innkeepers was actually 2011 otherwise it would have made my list :)

Important to note too that I haven't seen nister yet (it's yet to be released in Australia) so I'll let you know what I think as soon as I see it!

NO! Piranha 3DD is magical! I LOVED that movie! haha

But it has half the amount of gore, laughs and T&A from the first one!

The Innkeepers was actually 2011 otherwise it would have made my list :)

Important to note too that I haven't seen nister yet (it's yet to be released in Australia) so I'll let you know what I think as soon as I see it

You are right about The Innkeepers! I think I got confused because I saw it in the theatre earlier this year. Either way, I really love that movie and actually watch it every few months. If anyone has it on DVD or Blu Ray and is a fan of Ti West, both of the commentaries will only deepen your appreciation of his directorial efforts.

I am not going to say too much about nister, but it probably didn't help that I had high expectations. There are some INCREDIBLY effective things in the film (starting with the first shot and all of the Super8 footage thereafter), but also a lot of missed opportunities, goofy moments, and an ending I predicted in the first 15 minutes (which I can never usually do).

As for Piranha 3DD, it wasn't THAT bad for a direct-to-video sequel, but the gore and humor just fell flat compared to how excellent the Aja film was. I hate to say it because I loved the first Feast, but I don't think John Gulager is a very good director.

Great list and I was also wrong, I thought The Innkeepers was 2012 also, it somehow should still count, I love that movie! :)

NO! Piranha 3DD is magical! I LOVED that movie! haha

But it has half the amount of gore, laughs and T&A from the first one

I just absolutely loved that line that chick says when she's in the hospital and tells her friends that her vagina bit off the dude's dick! That movie was just hilarious! Not to mention, somewhat creepy if you think about it. I mean piranhas in the sewer and pipes! oh my the terror! haha

The Innkeepers was actually 2011 otherwise it would have made my list :)

Important to note too that I haven't seen nister yet (it's yet to be released in Australia) so I'll let you know what I think as soon as I see it

You are right about The Innkeepers! I think I got confused because I saw it in the theatre earlier this year. Either way, I really love that movie and actually watch it every few months. If anyone has it on DVD or Blu Ray and is a fan of Ti West, both of the commentaries will only deepen your appreciation of his directorial efforts.

I am not going to say too much about nister, but it probably didn't help that I had high expectations. There are some INCREDIBLY effective things in the film (starting with the first shot and all of the Super8 footage thereafter), but also a lot of missed opportunities, goofy moments, and an ending I predicted in the first 15 minutes (which I can never usually do).

As for Piranha 3DD, it wasn't THAT bad for a direct-to-video sequel, but the gore and humor just fell flat compared to how excellent the Aja film was. I hate to say it because I loved the first Feast, but I don't think John Gulager is a very good director.

Ti West in my opinion is one of the best horror directors out there today. 'House of the Devil' is one of my all time favourite movies period.

And dude I couldn't agree more with you about John Gulager. I loved 'Feast' when I first saw it, but on a rewatch it's really not that good... and the direction is the main problem. The guy is a TV movie director at best.

I agree with most of this list

I agree with most of this list

I'll take a guess and say you hated 'Paranormal 4' like the rest of the world Alex? I'd actually love to request a 'retrospective/breakdown' of the PA movies by you legends. I'm really interested in what you guys think of them all

Hated PA4. I don't use that word lightly, but that movie was awful.