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An error has ocurred. Please try againShout-outs to all devotees who have not given up on the genre! Hope some of you enjoy these.
[I'm native German speaker: Apologies for tons of glitches and spelling mistakes.]
Alright, before you get at me, I'm not claiming these thrillers are "the best" or "the greatest you never heard of". All I am saying is this, these are films that affected me strongly and are going to stay with me for bloody ever. But I would be very glad if you find this list useful, at least a little bit. [I'm native German speaker and not really fluent in English. Sorry in advance!]
Allegedly, the 80s were the best decade of Horror. Well, I strongly disagree! Being an 80s child myself, I believe that we're in a golden age for horror right now. The genre has never been better in the last 35 years, and my collection explodes year over year. To celebrate, I couldn't help but start this list: A mix of classics and recent favs. Not necessarily ones that would be considered as the goriest or sickest. But they all have one thing in common — played 'em in heavy rotation and will mos def watch then again and again. Hope you find some inspo. Cheers!
[I'm native German speaker and anything but word-perfect in English. Sorry in advance!]
Reviews
Hyena (2014)
Epic sleaziness with an agenda
A Faustian lesson in corruption as a way of life. It encourages us to see the things that we encounter in daily life anew.
Vaguely reminiscent of Pusher and 'Footsoldier, Hyena follows a rotten bunch of drug-squad officers in a downward spiral: Running out of cash, running out of guardians, running out of options! The film's ending appears to be frustrating initially, but the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Hopefully!
Zivot i smrt porno bande (2009)
On tour with Balkan's most weirdest porn-renegades
Just when you think you've seen it all... Balkan chillers are always freaky, but this one is – super freaky. Imagine Srpski Film meets Mondo Bizarro meets some ff-esque travelogue. Actually, it's more far-out than that, but my English is too poor to express it properly.
The plot is as unique as it is bizarre: Misunderstood filmmaker Marko is sick of Ø-budget porn. He teams up with a bunch of weirdos for a traveling circus – porno style. Their journey takes them through dazzlingly bizarre post-war Serbia where they indulge in sex and debauchery. When they gravitate to snuff-side-of-things, the really weird stuff begins
Just like Srpski Film, Porno Bande blends heavily taboo-breaking flair with pointed social satire: Traveling through the aftermath of the Balkan-wars is like landing on Mars: Death and sex are very close, life is distorted by 90's traumas hailed down upon Ex-Yugoslavia like meteor showers.
Even though Porno Bande crosses a lot of boundaries, it's by far less disturbing as I've come to expect from a film of this caliber. There's no excessive necro touch here and hardly any in-your-face gore. Shrouded in sleazy charm, the tone is rather lighthearted bordering on bittersweet melancholy sometimes. But that doesn't turn me off at all. To me, it's not the strength of body counts, but the strength of look and feel that counts. And the Eurosleaze of Porno Band practically drips off of the screen.
Strange but true: For brilliant simplicity, Porno Bande is hard to top. In a weird way, it's the exact opposite to Srpski Film: lo-fi, frisky, ultra-minimalistic, and with a fine psychedelic kick. Fittingly, the low end quality plays perfectly into its unique "depraved authenticity". The narrative radiates freshness in every way; nothing about it is predictable. No fillers. Not a bit of it! The fun keeps coming with absolutely no downtime in between – and never really ends.
There are gorier films out there, there are more taboo-breaking films out there, and yet, there aren't many indies out there you could compare to this underground odyssey. If you like your chiller macabre and edgy, then you absolutely need to see this carnival ride for yourself.
The Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013)
Magical mystery tour to Russia's heart of conspiracy theories
Sorta kinda, found footage has become what B-horrors were to the 80s: dubious, brutally slammed, chock-full of clichés, low-end – and full of surprises! Within the first 5 minutes of 'Dyatlov I realized I had found the diamond in the dust. Not least because of the core theme – the Urals: The final frontier... where no Western ff crew has gone before.
>>>The True Story: In 1959, nine young hikers were found dead at the "Mountain of the Dead". This has become known as "The Dyatlov Pass Incident", named after the leader of the expedition, Igor Dyatlov. Some of the bodies were found to be mutilated, others radioactive contaminated. The rest is – speculation. What's fake, what's real? Who knows, but one thing's for sure: It makes for one absolutely amazing legend – and sets the stage for this film.
>>> The Movie: 50 years later, five students shoot an investigation into the mysterious deaths. They take the old trails the Dyatlov expedition took before. Soon they discover that the Dyatlov Pass-myth might be more than just a soviet legend – and get more involved with mysteries than they would care for. Of course, the camera never stops rolling – until the chilling end. 'Dyatlov isn't by any means revolutionary, it doesn't try to redefine the genre in any way whatsoever. Unlike literally hundreds of similar films, it's about as solid and sincere as you are going to get. What transpires is done very convincingly. 'Dyatlov isn't afraid of a sublime cast, the heroine is a stunner, dialogues are sharp and pointed. Pace and story are catchy, no need for pussyfooting in the first place. And best of all, the climax doesn't disappoint either! Really, I can't tell you how many times I've felt angry over the more-buildup-than-payoff issue that plagues found footage. Mercifully, 'Dyatlov leaves nothing to be desired.
As much as I am hailing this – 'Dyatlov isn't anywhere near as frostbitten and icy as I've come to expect that from a glacial "horror". And those who love to constantly complain about lack of originality should stay far away. Most, if not all, genre-archetypes can be found inside this. However, if it's proud and pure found footage you're after – then this is after your own heart.
Shout-outs to all devotees still gravitating towards the genre: Don't let the haters fool you – this mystery tour is surprisingly cool, also brings a bit of the Urals to your living room, and provides the best ending since Absentia for sure, albeit without heart-stressing scares. Indies that leave you wondering what actually happened are rare. This is one of them.
Srpski film (2010)
Porn To Be Wild! Porn To Be Free!
If you've not seen it, you've heard of it. Not since Cannibal Holocaust have I seen a film so conspiratorially hailed as supreme, so frantic shared through secret channels hidden from the public. I'm not sure Srpski film is anywhere near as philosophically deep as the filmmakers would have us believe. But regardless of why and how it was made, it's possibly more of a pure Anti-war-satire than anything else out there.
Mad props to the whole crew: for a powerful flashback of 90s-traumas hailed down upon the Balkans like meteor showers; and for giving the middle finger to self-appointed social watchdogs around the globe. Director Spasojević says, Srpski film "combats fascism of political correctness". Mission accomplished! Sorry haters, you can ban films but you can't block truth! 11/10. One in a million — true underground cinema with a perverted bent!
Dust Devil (1992)
Still unmatched – the Blade Runner of Mystery!
Some films are the stuff of legend because they are beastly gory, others because of the impact they have on the scene. And one film is a legend because it has been under the radar for far too long.
'Devil delivers almost-epic horror. But when it first hit video stores in '93 it was barely noticed. Although heavily butchered by the Weinsteins, there has always been something deeply special about 'Devil. Underground horror circles were the first to celebrate it, and it was only a matter of time before it started building its number of loyal aficionados. Various versions came and went, however, it wasn't until '07 that the quest for Richard Stanley's true version has come finally to an end. The difference between the messy '92-deconstruction (US-Cut) and the '07-reconstruction (Final Cut) is night and day – it almost feels like two different movies. Maybe not in terms of quantity, but in terms of quality.
Horror is supposed to thrill, and 'Devil does it fantastically. But if Guts & Gore is what you want – then this isn't the type of movie you're looking for. Oozing psychedelic Sergio Leone vibes from every pore, 'Devil hijacks horror for 108 minutes and breaks out in a flamboyant direction bordering on mythical existentialism. A fuzzy menace hanging over the Namibian desert like an oppressive cloud gives Devil its own unique flavor.
By the way, it's also a political testament to the dark past of South Africa's apartheid. A world crumbling down during the filming of 'Devil, and a world that thankfully no longer exists.
Fair warning here: This one gets trippy. Guess a lot of people find it too vague, too fluffy, too spacy. And I can understand that. Personally, I love spiraling into this Nietzschean and symbolically overloaded world. I have always admired the catchy noirish touch. In marked contrast to pretty much every David Lynch labyrinth, Devil is both clearly and darkly, epic and ambiguous, unorthodox but familiar.
In an age where everything seems like it's been done 100-times before, 'Devil arguably has no equal. The imagery, the music, the attitude – this film still is magic. Hell yeah, this is the Blade Runner of mystery. Watch accordingly!
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Old but not forgotten – the Casablanca of found footage!
Ahhhh, treasured memories of times gone by! The mother of all true cannibal films. The mother of all FF-films. And, first and foremost, the mother of politically incorrect cinema! If you're an 80's kid you're mos def plagued by sentimentality right now. And for those of you who aren't old enough, you have no idea how sexy Deodato's relict was back in the days: It was inescapable, no binge-party without a worn-out VHS bootleg! Its menacing reputation not only outstripped the movie itself but pushed the obscure cannibal sub-genre to new heights. Most notable, Green Inferno, the notorious film-within-the-film, gave birth to FF. The rest is history...
'Holocaust isn't shocking by today's standards, of course. And yet, as vintage-horror playing by its own rules, it's still raw, still nasty, still thought-provoking — morally, politically and technically. Its media criticism may have been ahead of its times in 1980, but its coming back with a vengeance now.
Majestic indie art. From 1980 until today and beyond. All hail gory glory!
i-Lived (2015)
Sympathy for the Devil 2.0!
Oh man, the kids of today – social media maniacs to the core, slaves to the app as hardcore as it gets. Many of them have forgotten what every kid should know before leaving the nest: Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. The oldest trick in the book, but it sure is one of the best.
Red cape and pointy horns? Not really. In this day and age, the Devil has a sound grasp of contemporary developments, he knows all the dark secrets behind social media's success. About time someone made an indie about it!
To warn you in advance, i-Lived won't give you an anxiety attack, that's for sure – it's more of a low-key drama with horror overtones than a straight out shocker. Howerver, if you find yourself disappointed about the direction of Unfriended (2014), that sort of thing, this one might boost your mood.
This is all low budget, yes. There are shortcomings, yes. Come on. Who cares? Commitment and a few bright ideas are much more valuable than any budget in the world. Really, there's an unmistakable vibrant charm about i-Lived – again, and not surprisingly, it's all about the lo-fi atmosphere that does most of the heavy lifting.
Raise your beer to this brazen indie. Absolutely worthy of support!
Dabbe: Cin Çarpmasi (2013)
Found footage strikes back – in the best possible way!
Man, how the spirit of found footage has been corrupted down through the years! That's why I feel so obliged to jump to 'Cin Çarpması's defense.
Turkey is probably one of the last places on earth that I would have expected to release a film of this magic. 'Cin Çarpması gives the genre an "Extreme Makeover: Oriental Edition": Eastern mysticism, Djinns, Turkish voodoo, black magic spells and runes, mythical demonic energy, traditional charms, and who knows what else. Sublime!
Quite different from the likes of Baskin, 'Cin Çarpması is rather accessible for an all-Western-non-Muslim like me. The catchy storytelling has more steam than a whirling dervish and is given tons of love and attention – something that Western horrors have seemingly forgotten about. In parts it feels like an Oriental telenovela, which in a weird way provides extra eerie realism.
Obviously, the filmmakers shoot on limited budget. So what? These guys are passionate, and they have an eye for both disturbing visuals and beauty. Magic kicks in without warning, the fun never stops coming, from start to finish, and takes a wicked turn at the end.
Probs to 'Cin Çarpması for putting balls on found footage. This is a trippy ride in every sense that gets better with each watch. Still unmatched in recent horror. If you have yet to see this, don't put it off any longer.