Listed below are five great horror movies that are hardly ever mentioned when talks of great horror movies arise.  Part of my reason for coming up with this list was to avoid a potentially horrific situation in the future. Say I find myself in a room full of movie geeks 20 years from and not one of them has heard of any of these movies.  Can you imagine what a sad day that would be?

It is my hope that this list will float throughout the blogosphere and land on others radars, thus spreading the word about these must-see and rarely mentioned horror films.  Hopefully with the publishing of this list I have taken one step further towards avoiding that horrific outcome mentioned above and have given people an alternative to the popular classics.

Who Can Kill A Child? (1976)

Forget about Children of The Corn, Village of The Damned, or just about any other movie featuring hordes of bloodthirsty children.  When it comes to scary youth attacking, those efforts and all others like them fail in comparison to Narciso Ibáñez Serrador‘s Who Can Kill A Child?

The premise is a simple one; English tourists set out to go sightseeing on a picturesque island only to find the sights are kids hellbent on murdering them along with every other adult on the island.  From the opening sequence of a most uncomfortable prologue right up to the disturbingly jovial and awesome conclusion this 1970s gem is a cut above all others of its kind and deserves more recognition than it has received thus far.

Dead End (2003)

There’s a good reason as to why this movie has gone under so many people’s radar, in fact there’s a number of reasons.  First of all, aside from the devoted horror junkie nobody is going to pick a scary movie to watch featuring a cast of relative unknowns (not including the fabulous character actor and scene stealing, Lin Shaye), especially one with a generic title such as Dead End.  Now, throw in the fact that the movie’s US release was a straight to DVD one, and that the trailer is equally as generic as the movie’s title.

With all that being said, I can’t urge you strongly enough to ignore these things and pick this movie up the next time you’re in the mood for an actual scary ghost story.  In its telling of one family’s road trip gone terribly wrong the entire road trip genre becomes reinvented.  Not bad for a miniscule budgeted straight-to-DVD movie.

Pontypool (2008)

Just when I was starting to lose faith in anything new and original ever coming out of the zombie genre along comes Bruce McDonald‘s Canadian production of Tony Burgess‘ novel, Pontypool.  Except for one short opening scene the entire movie takes place in a radio station during a zombie outbreak.  Not wanting to give too much away I will say that the film is presented in a way I have never seen zombie outbreaks presented before.  And it’s totally awesome.  The majority of the horror found in Pontypool transpires in the viewer’s imagination, and that’s what makes this movie stand way above most others in the same genre - that and the film’s leading manly man, the charismatic Grant Mazzy.

We Are What We Are (2010)

I share the same sentiments as my fellow Filmbalayan, Nick.  Here’s what he had to say about We Are What We Are last July:

This is the Let The Right One In of cannibal movies and one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in years.  The story follows a family of cannibals living in Mexico City that lose their father, who was the hunter, and now must adapt.  The dark atmosphere and matter of fact style of violence make this a truly stunning film and a must see for all horror fans, or just fans of Mexican cinema.

Dr. S Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie (2009)

Once again, my sentiments are practically identical to that of fellow Filmbalayan, Nick.  Here is what he had to say about this movie back in June of 2010:

News Flash: Weed actually turns people into zombies.  Or at least that’s the case in this clever B-movie spoof.  With a great mix of humor and semi-tension,  presented in grainy old school black and white, this film truly captures what a B-movie is all about.  Part Evil Dead, partNight of the Living Dead, and part Reefer Madness, Dr. S is a must see for Horror fans.  This is one of the funnest movies in recent memory and puts modern Hollywood horror films to shame.  If you are a fan of horror, zombies, or marijuana, go see this movie!

Mother’s Day is this month and we want to know what your favorite film is with the word Mom, Mother, Mama, or Momma in the title.

In my attempt to not have an overwhelming amount of options to choose from I whittled the selections down to 10 from what started out to be 16.  Even if you haven’t seen all the films listed chances are that there will be at least a few that you have.

So, what are you waiting for?  Make your mother proud and vote now.

Well, I for one am not surprised at the clear winner of last month’s poll in where we asked which Quentin Tarantino film was your favorite.  Pulp Fiction seems to be most people’s favorite with Inglorious Basterds coming in second, followed closely by Reservoir Dogs.  I find it interesting that not only did none of the Kill Bill movies crack the top 3 but they also failed to pass Jackie Brown.  Are you happy with the way the voting turned out?  Follow the jump to see the results Read More…

With Tarantino set to release his 8th film later this year, Django Unchained, and with his announcement of yet another Kill Bill installment I thought now would be a good time to see which of his films Filmbalaya readers enjoy the most.

Don’t like Tarantino movies?  Sorry, I can’t relate.  Yet, ask a fan of Tarantino movies what his or her favorite is and chances are you’ll get a different answer each time.  My problem in deciding which film of his is my favorite is that it’s always changing.  Just when I think it doesn’t get any better than Pulp Fiction, I’ll rewatch Reservoir Dogs and decide that that’s my favorite.  Then, when I think it can’t get any better than Res Dogs, I’ll watch Jackie Brown, or a Kill Bill movie, or even Pulp Fiction again, and decide that any of those movies are my favorite.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that my vote will not be an easy one to make.

What’s your favorite Quentin Tarantino directed film?  To vote, click on the jump or look on the sidebar. Read More…

This year, Martin Scorsese was once again nominated at the Academy Awards for his film Hugo.  Although he did not win, the nomination had me thinking about which of his Oscar nominated films should he have won, and even better, which one did he most deserve to win.  Being that the Academy only gave him one Oscar, which was for The Departed, I posed the question of; Which of Martin Scorsese‘s nominated films should he have won a best director Oscar for?  Apparently, Filmbalaya voters seemed torn between Hugo and Goodfellas for the top seed.  Check out all the final results after the jump Read More…

1981 – Raging Bull loses to Robert Redford’s Ordinary People.  1989 – The Last Temptation of Christ loses to Barry Levinson’s Rain Man.  1991 Goodfellas loses to Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves.  2003 – Gangs of New York loses to Roman Polanski’s The Pianist.  2005 – The Aviator loses to Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby.  2007 – Yay.  He gets the statue for The Departed.  2012 – Hugo loses to Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist.

Martin Scorsese, having been recognized for his achievements in directing by the Academy Awards has been nominated 7 times, yet he has only been awarded one Oscar.  While there is no doubt the man deserves his statue, the question amongst Scorsese admirers continue, which of his other nominated films should he have also won a statue for?  Click on the jump or see the side bar to cast your vote Read More…

Well, it seems that last month’s poll results pretty much mirrored those of last week’s Academy Awards.  The question posed was which best picture nominee was most deserving of an Oscar.  Turns out The Artist managed to edge out The Tree of Life, with The Descendants following at a close third.  The remaining 6 nominees didn’t even stand a chance, and just like January’s poll, where we asked which Steven Spielberg film of the last 10 years was your favorite, War Horse couldn’t even gather a single vote.  Where’s the love for the stead, people?  Do you agree with how this poll turned out?  Click the jump to see all the results

Read More…

“If A Tree Falls” is a documentary that I found myself deeply respecting, so when I got the opportunity to interview the director, Marshall Curry, I couldn’t refuse. The film itself is one which, as has been said many times of it, asks more questions than it answers. As such, I found that I had many questions to ask one of the main creators of the film.

Tom Ellis: So, this is your second Oscar nomination?

Marshall Curry: Right.

TE: How do you feel being nominated for an Oscar?

MC: It’s great. The main thing is how it attracts attention to the movies. You work so hard on these things, and it’s really hard to get anybody to watch documentaries, so adding something like an Oscar nomination attracts a much bigger audience than you would get otherwise. And it’s fun to get dressed up and rub elbows with George Clooney. Read More…