A Bloody Good Time: Ranking The Horror Films Of A24

Opening Logo courtesy of Benjamin J. Colón (Soul Exodus)

As you’re all probably aware, there’s a big horror film coming out tomorrow called Hereditary. It doesn’t quite have that mainstream promotion as say, the Halloween reboot (which I’m very excited for), but it was a big at the festivals and the horror community seems really excited for it. As for the casual movie-goer, that really depends. It looks like Hereditary is going to fall into the same arthouse horror category that a lot of films have over the years. Those films are pretty divisive and several of them came from A24.

A24 is a newer company that mostly specializes in independent films, but occasionally get some big releases that catch on. In any case, they’ve released a handful of horror films and leading up to the release of Hereditary, I thought it best we rank those films.

#9: The Monster (2016)

This movie seems simple enough when you first start it. A mother and a daughter are broken down on the side of the road and there’s a monster that wants to eat them. Like several of the films on this list, and very similar to The Babadook, the movie uses the monster as an allegory for a lot of different things. Whether that’s the mother’s addiction, motherhood in general or a possible detachment from her daughter depends on your interpretation (I’ve read all of these in reviews).

I think my problem with this movie, at least as far as why it comes in last, is that it is a little too similar to The Babadook for my liking. I consider that film a minor modern classic but this seems like it leans a little too hard on those same motifs using the same genre. I’ve also not been the biggest fan of Bryan Bertino’s work over the years, including The Strangers. This was fine but nothing I’m going to want to see again.

#8: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

There is a very good chance that someone reading this list loves this movie. I’m not going to fault you for that because the issue with a lot of these films is that they’re divisive. Nothing of them are universally loved, even among hardcore horror fans. However I think this is the worst example of arthouse horror because not even I can stand its worst aspects, which blinds me to the genuinely chilling story ideas and unsettling performance from Barry Keoghan.

The problem is really all about the pacing and the acting from the remainder of the cast. Something just feels off about the performances of both Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman. They’re…emotionless. I don’t know if that’s a stylistic choice from the director or if they way they interpreted the script, but it took me right out of the movie. The story, about a strange kid who somehow forces a family to become afflicted with an unusual illness, could have really been something.

#7: It Comes At Night (2017)

It Comes At Night got the cushy summer spot from A24 last year and the reaction was very mixed. I think a huge problem was due to the marketing, which I also fell victim to. It was marketed as a suspenseful horror film. It’s not. It’s not at all. And if you go in thinking that you’re going to be disappointed. I’m not going to say this film is a masterpiece or anything (I’m not a big fan myself) but it is well-acted with some interesting dramatic moments and at least a degree of suspense.

The issue is that any horror comes not from the “It” that comes at night, but from people being awful to each other. It’s basically like any good zombie movie. The really scary stuff (in this case, an illness) is just a MacGuffin to show how people can treat each other in times of crisis. This has that quality about it, but it also suffers, again, from slow pacing and the dream sequences don’t seem to lead to anything. This is a movie that would have been better as a straight drama, instead it tried to win over the horror crowd and failed at both.

#6: Life After Beth (2014)

This one is a comedy that probably flew under a lot of people’s radar when it came out. It has a pretty decent cast for this sort of thing, with Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Anna Kendrick and a bunch of others. It has a lot of noteworthy and talented people, which makes it disappointing that the film was just…okay? It didn’t have a lot in the way of laughs for me, because I’ve seen zombie comedies do this better before.

Like there’s a nice message in there about knowing when to let go, but once again I find myself comparing it to something else. In this case it’s Return of the Living Dead III, right down to the premise. Granted the circumstances are different but it’s still about a guy who loses his girlfriend only to get her back as a zombie. This was done by Brian Yuzna in the 90s and to greater effect. This isn’t bad but it didn’t make me laugh nearly as much as I expected it to.

#5: Tusk (2014)

And this probably made me laugh way more than it should have. I’ve been no stranger about how much I hate Yoga Hosers, Kevin Smith’s most recent attempt at a horror-comedy. That movie was abrasive and annoying on just about every level. This one, while weird, at least seems to know it’s weird and take you on a ride anyway. It’s a body horror comedy that’s almost a parody of things like The Human Centipede (before it devolved into self-parody).

This movie benefits from Michael Parks, who is 100% committed to his role no matter how insane it is. You have to appreciate an actor like that. Parks gives it his all no matter how absurd things can get. In this case it’s about a man who wants to turn another man into a human/walrus hybrid. I don’t particularly know if this would hold up on a rewatch, but I laughed quite a bit at the weirdness of it and the special effects from Robert Kurtzman were great.

#4: The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2017)

This is a little more my speed, in that it has all the slowness of the other films but there’s a better feeling of dread to carry through. In this case we follow two plotlines that may or may not be connected, including one of two schoolgirl left alone with nuns that may or may not be Satanists. This is from Oz Perkins, the son of Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins. I really enjoyed this more than some of the others because of the performances and the fact that you’re never quite sure of what’s going on until the bonkers finale.

The movie tends to play with your expectations, particularly with how you think the two intertwining stories are going to eventually connect. The performances, particularly from Emma Roberts, and the two other female leads, are great, and carry things through even in the slower, possibly more confusing moments. It’s not particularly scary (more sad than that), but it does have a crazy ending and I was hooked enough to be thrown off by the twist.

#3: Under the Skin (2014)

I think this one is slightly a stretch in terms of horror but I’ll count it because it tries to copy that atmosphere and tone. Casual movie-goers may recognize this movie as “the one where Scarlett Johansson gets naked a lot”, but we’ll try to be a little more civilized here. ScarJo plays an alien that seduces men and takes them back to her…ship, I guess, where she kills them and, I guess feeds on them? I was never completely sure of that.

Scarlett is really good in this, it’s probably one of her best performances. The alien, in the process of killing strangers and being hunted by mysterious people on motorcycles, is also discovering its sexuality and all the consequences that come with it. It’s a complicated movie. The death scenes, for what they are, are bizarre and unnerving, particularly when we see the result of the people who are captured (it’s not pretty). If you’re watching this just for nudity, you’ll be disappointed. I mean, you won’t, it has plenty of that, but you’re not going to think it’s a good movie. It’s just an odd film I was fascinated by and one that I still haven’t really forgotten.

#2: Green Room (2016)

Of all the films on this list, this is the one that is the most straightforward. A punk rock band performs for a group of neo-Nazis, but things go wrong and eventually they’re targeted for death. There’s a lot of gruesome kills here as well as some fine performances from Anton Yelchin and Patrick Stewart. Stewart as the somewhat remorseful neo-Nazi leader is great, and he really carries ths scenes he’s in.

It’s more or less your standard kill-and-revenge horror movie. It has a lot of nasty kills, it has a lot of tension as the leads are generally likeable and you want to see them survive. Of course, considering their antagonists are Nazis, I guess that makes sympathy easier. But yeah, if you’re looking for a more standard horror film from this list, this is your best bet. The fact that it’s really good doesn’t hurt either.

#1: The Witch (2016)

While this wasn’t my favorite horror film of the year it came out (that was Train to Busan), The Witch is still a damn good horror film and one that still doesn’t get enough love today. Was it overhyped? Sure. But it was so unique and interesting that I don’t think it matters. The slow but sure fall of an innocent girl into witchcraft and devil-worship is both hard to watch and a little compelling. I know there were complaints about it (the pacing, the use of Olde Tyme English), but I was easily able to accept those by how invested I was in the story.

The movie gets really dark, particularly in the opening, and it deals with the fallout from that darkness through the rest of it. It’s about how even a seemingly tight-knit family can be torn apart by witches and how evil lurks where you least suspect it. Plus, it gave us Black Phillip, a surprisingly adorable demon-goat that will soon have his own Pop! figure later this year (yes, I have it pre-ordered).

Ending Notes:

That’s it for me. Leave some comments here, on my Twitter or my Facebook.

Closing Logo courtesy of Kyle Morton (get your own custom artwork and commissions at his Etsy account)

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