6. The Descent (2005)
A group of female friends descend into an off the grid cave to explore. Things go awry when a rock fall blocks the only exit. The tension escalates and history between characters comes to light just as savage creatures emerge from the darkness in search of their next meal.
Lurking creatures in the dark is not a new concept. However, The Descent provides a fresh take on the monster movie by creating a high tension environment by providing just the right amount of backstory for the characters and letting it develop as they have to fight for their lives in a confined space.
7. Hostel (2005)
Hostel is one of those movies where the initial creativity is there, but poor execution dragged the film down to mediocrity. The idea of creating a sinister world where the craziest, sickest fantasies can be purchased is rather intriguing. It adds a backstory and depth to a story which would otherwise be nothing but a gore fest.
Ok, let’s be honest, the film is a total gore fest, but we have to at least acknowledge Roth’s attempts at playing with known stereotypes and placing them in new, nightmarish scenarios.
8. Let the Right One In (2008)
A bullied boy makes friends with the new girl next door, who is actually a vampire and begins to feed on the town’s people.
Let the Right One In presents a mix of young love, friendship and murder, all closely knit together in a story that delves into the paranormal and also into very mundane topics such as bullying and friendship.
The idea of telling the story through the eyes of a young boy helps differentiate this film from other vampire tales and brings new light to an already overexploited genre. It is also quite interesting to see a child attempt to understand the notion of good, evil, need, and desire.
9. Audition (1999)
Unsuspecting audiences might confuse audition with a drama or perhaps even a romantic comedy if all they watch is the first act. This film could take many turns with such a set up. A lonely widower sets up a fake audition for a non-existing movie to attract a group of young women and decide which one of them is marriage material.
Once he sets his eyes on beautiful Asami, Aoyama (widower) is determined to have her. The twist is that Asami also wants him all to herself, and she will go to great lengths to keep him from running away. Without giving away too much for those who haven’t seen this film, Asami’s methods are totally unorthodox and more tortured based.
Audition reinvents the femme fatale and brings to life a psychotic female serial killer.
10. The Mist (2011)
In The Mist, a father and son become trapped in the local grocery store as a thick mist of unknown origin descends upon their town, bringing along an army of hungry monsters. Chaos strikes the supermarket and soon the only rule that applies is every man for himself.
Frank Darabont delivers a perfect recipe for post movie depression with The Mist. It is certainly his specialty to trap a group of characters in a confined space, hiding away from the monsters on the outside, but making the humans on the inside more dangerous.
The film is definitely darker than it might appear as most monster movies tend to be more on the lighter side and attempt to bring out the best in the protagonist(s) by the end of the film. The Mist doesn’t concern itself with overall character arcs or happy hopeful endings, but rather it takes the characters from bad to worse, and it doesn’t stop until it has completely crushed them.
Author Bio: Rosely is a writer based in Vancouver, BC. She’s a horror movie buff, tech enthusiast, cat lover, and zombie survival instructor, in no particular order. She’d love to write about wine, but she knows nothing about it.