From ‘Don’t Breathe’ to ‘Neon Demon’: Here’s 2016’s 10 Best Horror Films

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November 26, 2016

2016 Has Been Jam Packed With Some Great Horror. Does Your Favorite Film Make This List?

Other than comic books, no other film genre did as well this year as horror did. Everything from big budget hits to indie surprises come together as the best of horror in 2016. It comes as a shock when films like ‘The Shallows‘ & ‘Ouija: Origin Of Evil‘ do far better on Rotten Tomatoes than Hollywood films released next to them. Rarely does horror get the appreciation it deserves but this year seems to be slight shift. Out of all the genre films released this year, which are the top 10 of 2016?

To make this list, I’ve taken into consideration the all aspects like critical reception and box-office. Sadly, we all know when it comes to scary movies, critics & viewers have never been too kind. Ultimately as a massive fan of horror films, I look at how each film on the list impacts or helps the genre.

So below are the top 10 horror films of the year!

Let me know in the comments below if you agree with my list.

Honorable Mentions:

10. ‘Hush‘

Most people know bout ‘Hush‘ from randomly scrolling past it on Netflix. That’s where some of the best horror is nowadays. This movie relies on an intriguing conceptual story about a deaf & mute woman living in the middle of the woods. She’s attacked but remains calm as she fights back. A classic home invasion movie done right. ‘Hush‘ kicks off my list and director Mike Flanagan’s great year.

9. ‘Don’t Breathe‘

In a sea of supernatural films, ‘Don’t Breathe‘ stands out as something so rare in the mainstream nowadays. Masterful director Fede Alvarez decided to go for something totally unexpected and bring out of the most interesting stories of the year. With just enough jump scares with the right amount of blood, I’m glad to see Alvarez follow up his ‘Evil Dead‘ remake with ease.

8. ‘Blair Witch‘

One of the times where my love of a film will trump the critical and fan reception for a list. I’m still flabbergasted on why ‘Blair Witch‘ wasn’t well received. It is another found-footage film but it’s insanely inventive with the sub-genre. Updating and expanding the Blair Witch mythos, I found to be one of the most satisfying sequels in years. Maybe this film will gain cult classic status later on…

7. ‘Green Room‘

Who knew Patrick Stewart would star in one of the best horror movies this year? Punk music and horror films seem like a great fit and ‘Green Room‘ proves it. I didn’t know what to expect from this but the end result is a brutal film about neo-Nazis attacking a punk band that witnesses a murder. It would place higher on the list but it just lacks real human connection that some of the others do.

6. ‘Under the Shadow‘

‘Under the Shadow‘ is an international co-production coming from the United Kingdom, Jordan, and Qatar. It tells the story of a mother and daughter dealing with a haunting during the Iran–Iraq War. If being in the middle of the “War of the Cities” wasn’t enough, the pairing also has to deal with an evil spirt tormenting them. ‘Under the Shadow‘ is not only scary as hell but deeply profound.

5. ‘The Neon Demon‘

Any film with a color palette more vibrant than ‘Suspiria‘ is a winner to me. What makes ‘The Neon Demon‘ so notable is the immense attention to detail. This piece shows the exploitation of women in such a realistic way but sets you in this surreal world. Nicolas Winding Refn knows how to visually tell a story and this is by far one of his best scripts. It did prove to be too arthouse for some critics.

4. ‘The Witch‘

The story of a Puritan family fighting against evil forces in the woods beyond their small farm is probably one of the most stripped back horror pieces in years. ‘The Witch‘ obviously deals with witchcraft but it’s the madness the family deals with that feels like the true horror. This kicked off the year of great horror and remained one of the best throughout 2016.

3. ‘Ouija: Origin Of Evil‘

I heard ‘Ouija: Origin Of Evil‘ was actually good but I had to see to believe. Following the horrible ‘Ouija‘ from 2014 was a challenge but the serious direction from Mike Flanagan allowed this to shine in a overused sub-genre. Appearing for the second time on this list, Flanagan made a major name for himself in 2016 with some great horror movies. Let’s hope we see more of him in 2017.

2. ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘

This hit came out of no where. Literally, the promotion for this movie started less than 3 months before the actual release. ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘ is the quasi-sequel to 2008’s ‘Cloverfield‘ but it takes the franchise in a whole new direction. Throwing away the found-footage style of the first film, it’s replaced by a cerebral story of survival and monsters. The real star is the stellar showing from John Goodman.

1. ‘The Handmaiden‘

Everyone knows the easiest way to a number one spot for me is mix to sexuality with prolonged torture scenes, as well as disturbed revenge. ‘The Handmaiden‘ feels like a fever dream of a foreign horror fan but it’s a real thing created by the genius Park Chan-wook! I expect to see ‘The Handmaiden‘ on the top of many list, not just horror, this year. What could have topped it?

Did your favorite horror film of 2016 make the list?

Comment below and don’t forget to share!

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Review: ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable’: Episode 35

By

Anthony Wendel

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November 25, 2016

Bites The Dust, Part 1

SPOILER ALERT

A lot of people die in this episode. Or do they? After the cliffhanger incident from the previous episode, things take a turn for the worst as Kira’s dad comes and visits his beloved psychopathic son. Everything get messed up from there as the Stand granting Stone Arrow plunges itself into Kira’s body and causes him to develop a new power.

What is this new power and does it make him even more of a threat then he was previously? It’s called Bites the Dust (hence the nickname of this episode) and it makes him extremely threatening. It activates whenever Hayato tries to tell someone about Kira and how he’s not really his dad. It’s effect is killing the person who he revealed the secret to and rewinding time to right before the event took place. The character already had the ability to turn anything he touched into a bomb, was it really necessary to give him the ability to warp time? He was threatening enough and now he’s on the same level of Dio Brando was from the previous arc, Stardust Crusaders. The final fight with Kira is truly going to be a knockout and drag out fight to the end.

This new rewind ability means there is a good chance we’ll have a lot of characters die in the last four episodes only to have them come back from the dead before the end of the episode or by the end of the season. This will result in a lot of people crying in horror as they watch some of the beloved cast die gruesomely for what is essentially just a shock factor scare. Well a scare tactic or not, the result is still the same. You find yourself eagerly awaiting when the next episode will come out.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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‘Suicide Squad’ Gag Reel Released

By

Aric Sweeny

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November 25, 2016

Update: The video has been taken down.

The blooper reel for the David Ayer directed Suicide Squad has been released online via a channel aptly titled “Harley Quinn” on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKznHPZt2T0

“Figuring they’re all expendable, a U.S. intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and other despicable inmates must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own”

Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Cara Delevigne, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Jay Hernandez, Karen Fukuhara, Scott Eastwood, Adweale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Ben Affleck.

You can get the film on Digital HD now.

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Thought Blast: The Ultimate Shut Down on X-Men in The MCU (For Now)

By

Wesley Messer

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November 25, 2016

In a story covered on the Monkeys Fighting Robots express, did anyone really think the X-Men would hit the MCU? Speculated in constant online columns, articles, and endless chatter on social media. Kevin Feige managed to put a smackdown on that speculation in a big way. Fox is in a state of flux with X-Men overall, but they’re still profitable for them. On the other side, Marvel is stacked with projects from here until 2019. Every time the idea of X-Men coming to the MCU appears, it gets knocked down, so why does it keep popping up? Well let’s dive into this more, heck I know I got a lot of thoughts on it. So let’s get started.

X-Men: Forever Radical, just not in the MCU (For Now)

Yes, I would love to see the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it would be cool. There is nothing but love for this even remotely happening. For Fox right now, it wouldn’t make sense. Fox isn’t in the shape Sony was in with Spider-Man. In the case of Sony, they were limping along with Spider-Man and it made sense for Sony and Marvel to team up. Until the day comes when Fox cannot make any money with X-Men, Fox will hold on to that franchise.

Now you will reference X-Men: Apocalypse and while it didn’t make billions of dollars, it made over $543 Million dollars worldwide. While it didn’t do brilliantly domestically, that worldwide number is nothing to sneeze at. Add this to the playing field, a New Mutants movie is happening. We still have Logan coming up in March, Deadpool 2 on the way, and Fox still has a lot to do with the X-Men in the coming years. There is a lot still on the docket with Fox and X-Men. Even on TV, with the upcoming Legion TV series and other stories, Fox has a tight reign on X-Men.

Take note of this for anyone enjoying the idea of Fox doing R-Rated films along the line of Deadpool, Disney/Marvel wouldn’t be game for it. Not saying it wouldn’t happen, but Marvel is staying strictly PG-13 and an R-Rated anything in The Great Mouse Empire likely would be a no go. With Logan being an R-Rated film as well, Fox is willing to take their characters in a tougher direction movie wise. With the MCU, it would be awesome but you’d never see an R-Rated film out of the X-Franchise again. Not that I’m for everything being R-Rated but it is food for thought.

Since Wolverine and Deadpool have had Mature Readers stories, R-Ratings for either franchise works.

The ultimate part of this Thought Blast though is will the X-Men end up in the MCU? Will we see the X-Men in the Marvel Movies and even live action TV series? Well, the answer is, likely yes. Eventually, this will happen, the X-Men will end up back at Marvel, just not for a long time. Alas, this won’t put an end to every think piece on this subject. These sort of pieces will never end but unless something crazy happens, I won’t be writing much of a think piece on this myself for awhile. There’s only so many think pieces one can write on this. TThis is more a way of processing my own thoughts out into the grand universe of the Internet.

If you want to chat about it with me, I’m not hard to find. Leave a comment below and tell me what you think. Always happy to talk about this stuff, good or bad comments alike. Until then, thanks for reading! Thought Blast over.

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New Action-Packed Promo For ‘Justice League Action’ Released

By

Aric Sweeny

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November 25, 2016

A new action-packed promo for Justice League Action has been released by Things I Like on Youtube. You can watch it below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WG56fUyNNY

Based on the 30 seconds of footage, the show seems to base its art style off of Batman: The Brave and The Bold but its tone, style and substance is akin to Teen Titans and even Spectacular Spider-Man.

Pilot episode – Shazam Slam:

“In ‘Shazam Slam,’ the villainous Black Adam battles Batman on the Rock of Eternity and unleashes a horde of Djinn determined to turn the Earth back to its pre-human, volcanic state. Affected by the otherworldly powers of these primordial monsters, Batman becomes possessed and is turned into a giant flying Batmonster laying waste to the Hall of Justice, with only Superman capable of taking the fight to the Dark Knight. One by one, the Justice League – with the help of Shazam (voiced by Sean Astin) and The Wizard (voiced by Carl Reiner) – must hunt down and defeat each Djinn in order to yet again save the world from destruction.”

Justice League Action starts on Cartoon Network on Saturday, November 26 at 7:30 a.m.

What are your thoughts on the promo? Will you be tuning in for the premiere? Let us know in the comments!

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Oh Yes, ‘The Walking Dead’ Midseason Finale Has a Longer Run Time

By

Wesley Messer

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November 25, 2016

As per the trend for Season 7, The Midseason Finale of The Walking Dead runs nearly 90 minutes long as per Comicbook.com. Keeping with this trend, Episode 6 will run 10 minutes more ending at 10:10, Episode 7 is set to be a 90-minute episode ending exactly at 10:30 pm, and the Midseason Finale Episode 8 ending at 10:25 pm. Meaning the last part of this season will all be extended episodes. Yet has this extended episode wonderland been to the benefit of the show? This is what makes this all the more interesting.

Extended Episodes are Meant to Be Special Events, so do these episodes hurt ‘The Walking Dead’ more than help it?

Executive Producer Scott M. Gimple leans towards the help aspect of the extended episodes from his quotes. Gimple says, “We sneakily tell you the week before.”, he continues on to say about the episodes, “Yes there are, here and there. We’ve had the opportunity to do that, and that’s been really exciting. There’s a lot of story to tell and there’s a lot of characters to serve, and I feel really, really lucky we’re able to give the audience more story.” Yes, the audience has been given more story to work with, but does it help the show? That seems to be the dividing point if you pay attention to the ratings.

This is where the usage of multiple extended episodes gets interesting.

As noted in the ComicBook.com piece and noted by multiple sites, IGN being one such site, the ratings are down. The premiere of Season 7 had 17 million viewers and as of episode 5, ‘Go Getters’, the viewership is down to 11 million viewers. The ratings are still excellent for any night, that’s for sure. The Walking Dead is renewed for an eighth season so the show is safe. By the mid-season finale, all this talk about ratings will be a non-issue as it should get a spike from that. If there isn’t a spike from the mid-season finale then we might need to revisit this subject.

This season has had a lot to get into story wise, but the extended episodes have been overkill for some viewers. With other viewers, the season premiere was enough to drive them away but that’s another story entirely. The Extended episodes and a controversial season premiere have made Season 7 a divisive one.

So what do you all think of the extended episodes of The Walking Dead? Are you all more or less interested in the show? Are the episodes overused or used to great effect? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know.

The Walking Dead airs on Sunday nights at 9 pm on AMC.

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Darth Vader & Director Krennic “Aren’t Friendly” In ‘Rogue One’

By

Aric Sweeny

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November 25, 2016

While many casual filmgoers are excited to see Darth Vader’s return to the big screen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the hardcore fans are looking forward to diving into the dynamic between Vader and the film’s main antagonist, Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). The actor spoke with Empire about the movie and gave some details on the relationship between the two villains.

“It’s fair to say Lord Vader and [Krennic] aren’t friendly. Darth is very much about the Force. Krennic is force – not really down with the whole mystical thing.”

He then went on to discuss the character’s mindset.

“He is truly a man that has made his own way up the chain through his own abilities. His weapon, for instance, is a very old type of blaster, because he’s an old warrior duded. He’s been put in charge of making this thing happen. And it’s gonna get done!”

What do you think will happen between these two characters? Leave us your speculation in the comments section.

The film hits theaters on December 16.

ICYMI: the tickets for Rogue One are going on sale soon. Get the details here.

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‘Rogue One’ Tickets Go On Sale Monday, November 28

By

Aric Sweeny

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November 25, 2016

“We’ve been expecting you, Lord Vader.”

The tickets for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story officially go on sale Monday, November 28.

This information comes to us from a short video on the official Star Wars Facebook page, which you can watch here.

“In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.”

Will you be getting your tickets on Monday?

Rogue One hits theaters on December 16.

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Hela Teased In ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Set Video

By

Aric Sweeny

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November 25, 2016

A video from the set of Thor: Ragnarok has surfaced online, giving us a look at Cate Blanchett’s stunt double playing the character of Hela. Check it out below.

Directed by Taika Waititi, the film stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters on November 3, 2017.

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Seven Movies To Be Thankful For Whether You Like Them Or Not

By

Ruben Diaz

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November 24, 2016

First, let’s all be thankful for movies themselves. Enjoying a movie is a subjective experience. What one person thinks is awful, the next person considers great. Case in point, the Marvel movies. Some people love them, others, like me, believe that they’re a plague unto film. However, it’s possible to wear two hats. For as much as the Marvel films do nothing for me, I give credit to the craftsmanship and detail that goes into each one, and I appreciate that superhero movies have revitalized the science fiction genre. For without Marvel introducing us to space through Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy, we’d likely not have Arrival or next year’s Valerian.

Without further rambling from me, here are seven movies to be thankful for this Thanksgiving …

Star Wars – 1977

Haters can hate, and I should know because I’m a hater. Star Wars WAS a series of great films that has since become a ruthlessly beaten dead horse. However, be thankful, because without the original Star Wars, science fiction doesn’t reach the levels of greatness we get today. And it’s not so much that Star Wars was a huge box office success, but that the technical achievements in special effects catapulted movies into a whole new realm.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit – 1988

The 1980s weren’t that great a time for animated feature films. But Roger Rabbit revitalized interest in animation and breathed new life into Disney leading to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and beyond. Roger Rabbit was a classic, screwball sort of comedy which blended live-action and animation in technically precise ways. Bob Hoskins and the rest of the Rabbit world get every nuanced detail right when interacting with animated co-stars.

Toy Story – 1995

Pixar’s first feature-length movie was also entirely computer generated. The technical achievements of Pixar’s CG alone make Toy Story a legendary film. But Pixar’s storytelling mastery makes Toy Story a complete movie. Pixar was a nail in the coffin of traditional hand animation but has since given rise to 20+ years of computer animated brilliance.

The Blair Witch Project – 1999

Here’s a perfect example of me living in two worlds. I think The Blair Witch Project is one of the worst movies ever made. It’s not good at being a horror movie or drama. But, it put the found footage style story on the map, seemingly for good. While Cannibal Holocaust in 1980 is one of the first movies to use “found footage,” Blair Witch wowed audiences and has since spawned a robust genre that includes Grave Encounters, Paranormal Activity, and a whole lot more.

X-Men – 2000

I already hear the grumbling of people saying Blade is the start of the modern superhero movie. But Blade was a modest hit that most people saw as an action movie and had no idea was a comic. Also, Blade is a terrible movie that’s almost unwatchable today. Not to mention, The Crow and Batman (1989) came before it anyway. Bryan Singer took the sleek style of Blade and added good effects, writing, acting, cinematography, plus a non-cookie cutter, TEAM oriented story with a bit of a message.

Harry Potter – 2001

At its least influential, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books seem to breathe new life into young adult readers. I was blown away by the number of young, former non-readers who lined up at bookstores like it was opening night for a new movie blockbuster. As a film franchise, without Potter, Marvel doesn’t exist. Why? Because before Potter, long franchises didn’t typically go past three movies. Potter went to eight without losing any quality along the way.

Star Wars Prequels And Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

Like any good movie, I’ve thrown in a surprise, twist ending here. There’s an interesting connection between these two trilogies. The Prequels, while much hated on (for many good reasons), did pioneer CG blended worlds. As horrific a character as Jar Jar is, there’d likely be no Gollum so soon after. Everything the Prequels pioneered, from digital armies to CG-enriched vistas, Lord of the Rings did better. Regardless, the techniques used in both trilogies have since become industry standards, including Lord of the Rings’ cost-effective method of shooting multiple parts at once.

Honorable Mentions:

Birth Of A Nation

The first truly epic film. It’s racist as all hell, but the camera work and storytelling achievements are second to none. Let’s be thankful this was just a movie too … or is it?!

The Jazz Singer

The first film with sound. This “talkie” made movies a lot more interesting by combining sight with sound.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

A groundbreaking animated feature. It took Disney to a whole new level and made animated features a viable, commercial way to tell stories.

Citizen Kane

The granddaddy of modern cinema storytelling. Kane pioneered a host of techniques, including non-linear narratives and slick cinematography.

2001: A Space Odyssey

A technically astounding and intellectually challenging science fiction film. Without 2001 in 1968, half of Lucas’ effects team for Star Wars doesn’t exist.

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