2017 was a great year for film watching. I got to see a bunch of new movies in the theatre and at home. Seventy-three ‘new to me’ films made it onto my list, ten of those in the theatre. Here are the top 20 films I saw this year. Well, 22. After I started this, I remembered two more. They’re not all new. In fact, here’s the breakdown.

2010s-9 films
2000s-2
1980s-2
1970s-7
1960s-1
1950s-1

These are in alphabetical order.

100 Bloody Acres (2012)

100 Bloody Acres is a nifty Australian horror/comedy about a trio of friends stranded in the Australian countryside, who hitch a ride from the wrong guy. It has enough weird little eccentricities and twists to keep you engaged. I like Australian horror in general. I think it’s the accents. This is a gory one, but I was laughing all through it.

68 Kill (2017)

A couple with the most dysfunctional relationship ever, rob a rich guy and then everything goes pear-shaped. Part After Hours, part Midnight Run, part every Tarantino, Rodriguez, Ritchie film ever made, 68 Kill moves fast. The breakneck pace, fun characters,and unexpected turns make it a terrific watch, and the sexual role rehearsal adds a nice twist. AnnaLynne McCord and Matthew Gray Gubler are excellent in the leads. A nice surprise.

And Soon the Darkness (1970)

Two young British women, bicycling through the French countryside, become separated. It doesn’t go well. Is one friend lost or has she fallen victim to an unseen killer? Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, and Sandor Elès star in this fun British thriller. I love these smaller British films. I’m happy I found this one.

Baby Driver (2017)

What a fun movie! Ansel Elgort stars as a sad young guy with a tragic past who is forced by criminal boss Kevin Spacey to work as a getaway driver to pay off a debt. It’s a stylized sort of heist fantasy and the direction by Edgar Wright, cool stunt driving, and performances by Jon Hamm and Eiza González make it an edge-of-your-seat winner. I know people have a love/hate relationship with this one, but I enjoyed it.

 

Deadly Strangers (1976)

Hitchhiker, Hayley Mills gets a ride from Simon Ward. Pretty soon, a friendship with possible romantic undertones develops. As they motor along the M-5 to Prudenham-on-Twee or whatever, they have a row and get separated. Oh, there’s also a killer on the loose and Sterling Hayden! This is another terrific British thriller.

Deadpool (2016)

A wisecracking mercenary finds out he’s terminally ill. He signs up for a treatment program which may be a bit off the grid. What’s great about this superhero film is that the superhero, Ryan Reynolds, is a funny, sharp, smartass who truly loves Morena Baccarin. I’m not sure who wouldn’t love her, but that’s not important right now. This and The Nice Guys are the two funniest films I’ve seen this year.

Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)

A child killer in a small Italian village brings police and a reporter from the big city. Everyone is a suspect. This is a terrific crime film that doesn’t belittle the villagers or the police. Really well done.

Free Fire (2017)

Two groups meet in an abandoned warehouse in a town which may or may not be Boston. Oddly, since these folks are criminals, a fight breaks out. Since the deal they were doing involves a large number of firearms and it’s set in the 1970s, a major gunfight ensues. Ben Wheatley, who also directed the amazing Sightseers and High-Rise, actually choreographed this film in Minecraft, which I think is way cool. It seems like a simple plot line and it is. That simplicity allows Wheatley to develop the characters and enable them to smart off with impunity. I had a blast with this film and seeing it in the theatre with Wheatley introducing it and a gang of weirdo cinephiles in attendance made it even better.

I Drink Your Blood (1970)

Satanic hippies, led by the nasty Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury, mess with some folks in a small town. To retaliate, a young boy doses their food with rabies. Yeah, not a great plan. The gang runs amok, killing and maiming the townsfolk and each other. I know this sounds less than stellar, but the film is actually pretty good. Chowdhury and friends can act. There’s character development and a score and everything. Seriously, check this one out.

The Last Shark (1981)

This is a weird one. It’s an Italian Jaws knockoff set in the United States, during a windsurfing contest. “Close the beaches?” It’s kind of nutty how much this film rips off Jaws and Jaws 2, but the acting, by James Franciscus and Vic Morrow, makes up for it. This film is so much fun because of scenes like this.

“Ouch!”

Latitude Zero (1969)

Joseph Cotten and Cesar Romero earned their house payments in this Japanese 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea kinda deal. Cotten is trying to solve problems and save the world and junk while Romero just wants to make his own griffins by cutting the wings off condors and sewing them onto lions in his weird-ass Dr. Mengele/Moreau lab. The fashion alone makes this film worth watching. Thanks, #DriveInMob !

Just look at this guy!

Layer Cake (2004)

A smart, experienced lieutenant (Daniel Craig) in a British criminal organization is forced into an impossible situation by his double-crossing boss. Will he be able to extricate himself and leave the business with his fortune and his health intact? Craig is excellent as are Kenneth Cranham, Colm Meaney, Sienna Miller, and Michael Gambon. This is a terrific entry in the London crime film category. Highly entertaining.

The Nice Guys (2016)

Fast-paced, clever, and surprisingly warm, The Nice Guys pits Ryan Gosling, a grieving, mostly drunk, private detective and Russell Crowe, a thug-for-hire, against major players in government and the automotive industry. The two unlikely partners join forces to solve a few murders and redeem themselves. Angourie Rice, as Gosling’s daughter, is impressive. I hope to see her in a lot more. Also, Gosling and Crowe need to make about 600 more movies together.

Night of the Demon (1957)

Niall MacGinnis, an occultist who doesn’t like scientists telling the world that he’s peddling bunk, battles Dana Andrews, who believes none of his scary monster crap. Jacques Tourneur directed this atmospheric and beautifully-shot film and it’s terrific. There are some great smoke effects, a scary soundtrack, and effective cinematography. Critics have argued about showing the monster vs implying the monster since 1957. While I love me some Cat People-type subtle effects, I also love this creature. It’s incredibly scary and the sound accompanying him is perfection. You should probably watch this right away.

Phantasm (1979)

Phantasm is a legitimately frightening film. A metric shit ton of evil centers around a funeral parlor and the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) who works there. Terrific practical effects, a scary, heart-pounding score, and characters who aren’t stupid, make this horror film stand out. I enjoyed the hell out of this film. I can’t believe it took me so long to see it. Don Cascarelli made this for $300,000 and it looks like he spent 20 times that. So good.

Prevenge (2017)

Alice Lowe wrote, directed, and starred in this black comedy about a very pregnant woman listening to the voice of her unborn baby, who tells her to kill. This film is full of sick, British humor and I loved it. Grief is a bitch.

Rolling Thunder (1977)

William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones return from a Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp to a world they don’t recognize. As they sink into an abyss of depression and loneliness, a brutal, senseless murder wakes them up and gives them purpose. Yay, revenge! Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould wrote this and the dialogue, though spare, works. The action scenes are well done too and the 95-minute running time seems to fly by. Rolling Thunder is great 70s grit.

Surveillance (2008)

A violent highway killer strikes in a remote town. FBI agents Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman arrive at the police station to interrogate the witnesses. What unfolds is a Rashomon-like thriller that keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat. Jennifer Lynch directed this fun little gem. Another nice surprise.

The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975)

Sergio Martino directs this crime thriller about an undercover police detective, the excellent Claudio Cassinelli, investigating the death of a prostitute. His search leads to a human trafficking ring involving a number of powerful people. I love police procedurals and the giallo addition makes it even more fun.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson are all fantastic in this surprisingly warm black comedy from the mind of writer/director Martin McDonagh. After seeing In Bruges (one of my favorite films of all time) and Seven Psychopaths, I couldn’t wait to see this. It was worth it. There’s so much going on in this film, I feel like I need to see it a few more times to do it justice. McDonagh is a huge talent. I look forward to seeing what he does next.

Turkey Shoot (1982)

I have a thing for The Most Dangerous Game story and films with people hunts. This one is set in post-apocalyptic Australia and stars Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey as prisoners in a concentration camp for social deviants. It has an evil prison warden, two kinky jet-setters, a score by Brian May, and a werewolf. Seriously. You owe it to yourself.

The Void (2017)

The Astron-6 guys make funny horror films. I really liked this. I don’t love the ending, but directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski build the tension and characters so well during the first four-fifths, I don’t care. I liked The Editor more, but I’m always happy to see whatever weird films these guys make.

2018, here I come!

“Now something so sad has hold of us that the breath leaves and we can’t even cry.”
-Charles Bukowski, You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense

Grief incites people to all sorts of mischief.

People in films kill for a boatload of reasons. They kill for money, love, sex, power, a black bird, a tanker full of gasoline, a witch’s broom, Cornel Wilde, and even a penmanship medal. If you watch horror films, you’re used to watching people, and dogs (please stop) die in creative and horrifying ways. What you’re not used to seeing is the aftermath. Sure, horror sequels often begin with the hero or heroine recovering in a mental ward after an ordeal, but seldom do the filmmakers dwell on the survivor’s feelings. Generally, the protagonist must hot foot it out of the hospital to avoid ending the franchise prematurely. A handful of terrific new horror films and filmmakers break that mold. These artists focus on grief as both a reason to kill, and an actual entity.

The films in this piece portray grief in terms of horror. That makes sense because it’s something scary that no one wants to talk about. Grief gets buried, not unlike a victim in a premature grave, who pops out at the most inopportune times. You think you dug the hole deep enough, but the little bastard manages to crawl out and invade your Christmas by wiping his muddy feet on your carpet, or ruin a perfectly nice dinner party by playing that tune you’re trying so hard to forget.

Grief is also something everyone expresses differently, but is supposed to express the same. Friends study your affect and project their own feelings there. “How can he laugh at a time like this?” Police observe the spouses of murder victims and decide whether they’re reacting correctly. “She’s not even crying. We’d better investigate.” You can also overreact. In the 1946 drama, The Razor’s Edge, Gene Tierney comments on Anne Baxter’s character, Sophie, who’s sunk into despair and drunkenness after the loss of her husband and child in an accident. “Of course, it was a shock and everyone felt sorry for her, but a normal person recovers. If she went to pieces it was because she was always unbalanced.”

With the weight of so much emotion on your shoulders, it’s easy to lose your footing and fall into that newly-opened grave. The best choice is conversation. When the beast is out in the open, he’s easier to fight—or embrace. The players in these films choose different paths and it’s enlightening to see how those choices affect them.

In The Babadook (2014), writer/director Jennifer Kent creates a frighteningly claustrophobic world for her heroine. Amelia (Essie Davis), a lonely widow with a troubled young son, struggles to get through each day. Once, a vivacious writer in love with her musician husband, Amelia now simply goes through the motions of living. She works as an attendant at a nursing home and tries to care for her incredibly high-maintenance son. Aside from his behavior issues, her boy, Samuel (Noah Wiseman) has terrible nightmares so, of course, his mom gets no sleep. Samuel is such a handful, no one else will watch him, so Amelia is on the hook 24/7. Everything is a chore and she gets no peace. As if loneliness, drudgery, and lack of sleep weren’t enough, Amelia also battles depression and a sort of delayed grief. Her husband died on the day their son was born so she’s been too busy to grieve properly. After six years of this, her embattled psyche has had enough. A scary pop-up book, The Babadook, appears mysteriously in her house and the book’s protagonist, a combination of Dr. Caligari and Danny DeVito’s Penguin, begins to haunt Amelia and Samuel’s dreams and maybe even their reality.

The Invitation (2015) begins when Will (Logan Marshall-Green) accepts an invitation to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife and her new husband in Will’s old house. Soooo many red flags there. Anyway, he and his new girlfriend, Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi), along with the estranged couple’s old friends get together for a party complete with a gourmet supper, vintage wine, and weird oversharing. Throughout the course of the evening, we discover that Will and his ex, Eden (Tammy Blanchard), lost their young son a year or so ago. Eden tried to come to grips with her grief at a questionable retreat in Mexico where she met her present husband, David (Michael Huisman), who was there to deal with a loss of his own.

The strange, incredibly tense vibe of the film is punctuated by the cringe-worthy stories the guests tell and Will’s occasional outburst questioning the goal of the evening. Director, Karyn Kusama does a phenomenal job of keeping you on the edge of your seat as Will vacillates between enjoying the lamb and suspecting the rest of the party-goers.

The cast of lesser-known character actors works together well and includes the fabulously creepy John Carroll Lynch (Twisty!) as the guy you who you wish had RSVP’d in the negative. Despite the Jonathan Swift-levels of overcompensating for grief Eden and David learned at their slice of Spahn Ranch in the Mexican desert, The Invitation is a subtle, taut film that builds steadily toward a frightening end and dramatizes the lengths to which some people will go to avoid feeling that horrible ache.

Prevenge (2016) stars the most excellent Alice Lowe as Ruth, a very pregnant widow whose anger and grief mixed with a dash of hormones and a smidge of her already manic nature allow her to hear the voice of her unborn daughter. That sounds lovely. There’s just one thing; Ruth’s daughter is a sociopath who orders her to kill the people both blame for the death of Ruth’s husband.

Like Look Who’s Talking meets Kind Hearts and Coronets, Prevenge follows Ruth as she assumes different identities to get close to her victims. At first, she’s energized by her mission, but later comes to question its value when she realizes all her efforts won’t change anything. Her husband is still gone. That sad fact looms in the background all through this darkly funny film. That Lowe manages to make her character funny, vulnerable, and a bit mad is evidence of her talent as an actress and a writer and a director. Yes, she did all three — while pregnant. As in The Babadook, Ruth’s longing for her husband and her inability to cope with those strong, soul-crushing emotions create an autonomous life form. In Prevenge, that being’s sole purpose is revenge.

The Void (2016) mixes a story of grief with the supernatural, a weird death cult, and a siege, to create an original and referential horror film. Made by the same Astron-6 group that brought us The Editor and Manborg, The Void mixes Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing, The Devil Rides Out, and Don’t Look Now and sprinkles it with a bit of The Mist. The fact that The Void pulls from all these films doesn’t lessen its impact in the slightest. It’s a terrific, edge-of-your-seat horror full of practical effects, characters you care about, and great scares.

A small group of people defend a rural hospital against forces, both inside and out, they don’t understand. At the heart of the film is an estranged couple, played by Aaron Poole and Kathleen Munroe, who broke up after the loss of their baby. The ideas of loss and regret run through the film and it’s a testament to the filmmakers, Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, that they could make a poignant character study within their cracking good horror film.

Sometimes making it through a crisis is the easy part. All that fighting and strategizing and looking for weapons fills your brain so there’s no room for dread. There’s a famous phrase, “Dying is easy; comedy is hard.” Perhaps it should read, “Dying is easy; surviving is hard.” It is hard, but it’s good. You just have to keep telling yourself that.