The Overlook Theatre's Top 10 Horror Films of 2016

My computer Goblin recently died, so thank you Book Wyrm for piecing this banner together last minute. - Lord Battle

Hail Internet invaders, web surfing weirdos, and virtual voyeurs and welcome to this year's Top 10 Horror Films of 2016 as the Overlook Theatre sees fit.

2016 started off on a bad foot as the first film we made a trip out to go see was The Forest... which was so bad that it actually scared off some of the more hardy creatures for the next couple of weeks. Yet the weeks still rolled on and films like The Boy, Pride Prejudice and Zombies, Light's Out, and Boo! A Madea Halloween continued to play theatres. While films like Bleed, Anti-Birth, The Eyes of My Mother, and The Love Witch all saw limited releases and a huge lack of eyes.

The Overlook Theatre's list is comprised of character creatures reviews, lists, and overall enthusiasm. Some creatures love horror movies and may come off a bit biased to veteran directors like James Wan, while others only watch horror films when they wonder into a residence possessed by the Overlook. The goal here is to provide a balanced list not represented by horror fans or critics but by an audience that watches whatever Lord Battle (speaking now) subjects them too.
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10.) The Wailing

Sitting at the bottom of our list is a South Korean film directed by Na Hong-jin (The Yellow Sea, The Chaser) that made waves on social media, given you're in the horror bubble. Otherwise you probably didn't hear about this lengthy Cohen Brothers-esque, dark fairy tale and that's a shame... But to be fair neither did most of the Overlook's regulars as only 3 creatures scratched The Wailing on their list. The key here is that everyone one who saw it really enjoyed it... except for our newest fiend The Ascendant, who thought it was just to long.
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9.) The Conjuring 2

It's surprising how low The Conjuring 2 eventually settled on our list. This was a film that had some anticipation, seeing as how well its predecessor did not only for Blumhouse but for studio horror as a whole. I personally saw this film twice in the theatre, once at the Alamo and a second time at a large theatre in a mall (Century Tanforan). The first time at the Alamo was a pre-screening event that had some seating issues. Issues that carried into the first 5-10 min of the film (this was on the patrons not the Alamo) but even with this major distraction the film played beautifully. The one thing I need to stress about seeing films at the Alamo Drafthouse SF is that they play their films LOUD and it's awesome. So awesome that in a tense film like The Conjuring 2 any pause in long shots of suspense was greeted with a uniform exhale from the audience. Now at Tanforan there wasn't a moment you couldn't hear your neighbor chewing popcorn. Does this change an audiences experience? Hell yes it does. Did it hurt this film and cause it to clock in at number 9 on our list? No. What caused that was an early release. Oh well, James Wan (The Conjuring, Insidious) is doing just fine.

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8.) Ouija: Origin of Evil

In the dawn of this Mike Flanagan (Hush, Occulus) helmed sequel The Overlook Theatre held a small screening of the original film Ouija. I was honestly surprised at how run of the mill the original Hasboro film played. I was expecting a money grab train wreck of excellent proportions, instead I just got a boring ghost story filled with pretty people.... In fact, now Oujia seems like the uninspired money grab of a sequel to its obviously superior Origin of Evil. Unlike The Wailing and The Conjuring 2, Oujia didn't open early and allow fans to forget or suffer from a lack of eye balls; what hurt Oujia: Origin of Evil is its ability to live deep in the troupes of horror, making no attempt to appear "elevated" or painstakingly researched. It's flat out just a damn good horror movie. On a side note, if you liked The Conjuring series but hate The Warrens (yes I've heard this complaint) Oujia: Origin of Evil is just your film. Featuring a similar period piece aesthetic, strong acting, and a toned down religious aspect.
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7.) Don't Breathe

Fede Alvarez's (Evil Dead (2013)) newest film has become a regular topic of conversation on our new podcast The Overlook Hour (pardon the shameless plug) since this seems to be what "film" fans are watching, as far as horror goes. Now what I mean by "film" fans would best be explained as someone who describes the type of movies they watch strictly as "film", whereas movies are something watered down artistically for the masses. And I honestly mean no implication when I point out that almost every guest we've had on the show from one of the lead singers of Set Your Goals, Jordan Brown to local film house host and avante garde film curator for the pier 13 Exploratorium, Sam Sharky have seen this damn movie and even if it was the only one they had seen in months. Nonetheless Fede's film is horror despite its highbrow reception and his finished product is something of a Spring Breakers horror movie, throwing some pretty millennial into a situation ala The People Under The Stairs and The Collector. On a side note, this was the only film that had a voice speak out against it appearing on our list. The grave robbing ghoul was non-other than the outspoken KillDozer who so thoughtfully dubbed this film "Don't Bother" and in the process was branded with a hashtag #CantWaitToHate.
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6.) Under the Shadow

This amazing feature debut from Babak Anvari is my personal favorite of the year and winner of the "Not enough eyeballs" award. Under The Shadow follows in the tradition of The Babadook by reinventing the ghost story narrative with a heavy dose of arthouse. Set in the 1980's, our story takes place in a house located in the middle of war-torn Tehran. Beautifully illustrating how stress is the unseen ghost in our horror stories and unlike most aspirators it's fucking real. If you want more well-researched horror films like The Shinning and The Witch, Under The Shadow will ease you in and blow you away. Seriously, after exiting one of the two shows this played at the Alamo, I turned to the Math Mage and asked what he thought. He looked up but still into the distance and said in a low unfamiliar voice, "That was scary.".
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5. Hush

On March 12 of 2016, a little 1 million dollar horror film hit NetFlix. On March 13 of 2016, I Lord Battle was set upon by hoards of peasants claiming they had found something on NetFlix that I needed to see. Obviously as the Lord of the Overlook I had already seen all the great horror that would find itself in front of the plethora of peons who browse NetFlix for hours on end... yet I hadn't seen this one. When I took to the Internet to find out about what film I had somehow missed, I was shocked to see it wasn't just some film that popped up, but rather a Mike Flanagan film (Written and Directed by!) that just popped up! The creatures of the Overlook have been restless for some time now having seen Mike Flanagan not get the proper respect he deserves. Hopefully landing twice on our list this year will help him out ;). Hush is a skillfully made home invasion film that couldn't have played better when we screened it. Oh and when you start the film just know that your audio is fine; Mike's just showing you how precious our hearing is.
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4. The Neon Demon

Often referred to as beautiful but lacking substance, which I'd like to counter by saying Beauty is the Beast in Nicolas Winding Refn's dark L.A. fairy tale, he himself calls a horror movie. And one should take in the powerful mood The Neon Demon emits via color pallet, pacing, and Cliff Martinez's brilliant score, as each of these is a tool being used to paint a story that can only be described as superficially scary.
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3.) Green Room

The Overlook Theatre has more than a few musically inclined monsters among its ranks and even a few that have shared enough success to tour quit often. Sitting with them as Green Room played was an experience in and of itself but even for those who have no way to understand the Hardcore Punk scene or even what it's like to fall asleep while driving a tour van. Green Room bleeds authenticity from its adolescent pores. On a side note, Green Room is the only film to have a reviewer argue it as not a horror film but as an action movie. Please feel free to weight in on this argument and do yourself a favor and check out Jeremy Saulnier's (Murder Party, Blue Ruin) other films and keep an eye out for this rising talent. Sadly we never got around to reviewing this one.
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2.) 10 Cloverfield Lane

Perhaps the most manipulative spiritual sequel in existence, this film had us questioning everything from aliens, to conspiracies, to if it was even legal to market this film the way they did. In the end it all makes sense and whether or not you accept the actual reality of the situation this may be the best execution of a screenplay this year in horror, not to mention how well acted and directed this film is. Part Twilight Zone episode and part lost Rosanne episode from hell, 10 Cloverfield Lane is anything but found footage.
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1.) The VVitch

Chris Columbus calls The Witch "The best horror film since The Shining". Now as a horror collective named after the vary same Kubrick film, I have to say that seems like a ridiculously bold statement. I mean both films are well researched pieces of fiction brought to life by their roots in reality. Both films require multiple viewings, one to understand why it unnerves us when there really isn't a real antagonist, and the other to understand what the hell anyone is saying. Both films are loosely based on books. And to be fair, Robert Eggers does have several very The Shining-esque moments in his debut film not to mention a very reminiscent score... Still, they didn't need to be compared. I mean does Mr. Columbus want all of the die hard Kubrick fans to burn Eggers alive?!

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Below is the individual Top 10 lists that the creatures created. These were painted in blood, cut into victims, and scribed by mystics but all used as equal parts in the spell Math Mage concocted to create the list above.

Lord Battle 

1. The Witch
2. Green Room
3. The Neon Demon
4. The Wailing 
5. 10 Cloverfield Lane
6. The Love Witch
7. Under the Shadow
8. The Boy
9. Conjuring 2
10. Ouija Origin of Evil

Huntress

1. Blair Witch
2. Under the Shadow
3. Conjuring 2
4. The Wailing
5. The Boy
6. Ouija Origin of Evil
7. The Neon Demon
8. 10 Cloverfield Lane
9. The Witch
10. Lights Out

The Great Hornito

1. The Witch
2. The Neon Demon
3. 10 Cloverfield Lane
4. Bad Ben
5. The Boy
6. The Ones Below
7. Krampus 2
8. Shelly 
9. JeruZalem
10. The Good Neighbor

KillDozer

1. Green Room
2. The Invitation
3. The Master Cleanse
4. The Witch
5. Phantasm V
6. Hush
7. The Neon Demon
8. Lights Out
9. Fender Bender

Speed Demon

1. Green Room
2. 10 Cloverfield Lane
3. The Conjuring 2
4. The Invitation
5. Fender Bender

Math Mage

1. 10 Cloverfield Lane
2. Under The Shadow
3. The Neon Demon
4. Don’t Breathe
5. The Witch
6. Baskin
7. Ouija Origin of Evil
8. Tokyo Grand Guignol
9. Meet the Blacks
10. Hush

Berkeley Blazer

1. Ixcanul
2. The Witch
3. Hush
4. Antibirth
5. The Wailing
6. Ouija Origin of Evil
7. Don’t Breathe
8. Green Room
9. 10 Cloverfield Lane
10. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The Impostor

1. The Autopsy of Jane Doe
2. Don’t Breathe
3. The Neon Demon
4. The Witch
5. Conjuring 2
6. Under the Shadow
7. 10 Cloverfield Lane
8. The Boy
9. Lights Out
10. Green Room

Dabbles

1. 10 Cloverfield Lane
2. Don’t Breathe
3. Green Room
4. Hush
5. Under the Shadow
6. The Conjuring 2
7. The Witch
8. Blair Witch
9. Ouija Origin of Evil
10. The Boy

Trash

1. The Eyes of My Mother
2. Night of Something Strange
3. The Similars
4. Antibirth
5. Creepy
6. The Love Witch
7. Plank Face
8. Nina Forever
9. Trash Fire
10. The Alchemist’s Cookbook

The Ascendant

1. Green Room
2. American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock
3. 10 Cloverfield Lane
4. Train to Busan
5. Don’t Breathe
6. The Invitation
7. Harvest Lake
8. Trash Fire
9. Plank Face
10. The Wailing

- Lord Battle