FILM GUTTER – THE ANNUAL TOP TEN! PART TWO

31/12/2018

Last week we began our top ten with an absolute slew of brutality – in fact it probably chimed pretty nicely with the five most distressing films of the year, apart from Green Elephant that is...

Thankfully the top five of the year aren't quite that remorseless, although this shining quintet certainly have their moments. So let's dive right into to the crème de la crème of the movies we watched in 2018...

5) Postal (8.5/10)

Our Octo-Boll month certainly brought us to plenty of interesting movies by Uwe Boll, many of which were absolutely brutally bleak. However the exception to that rule was the hilarious Postal, which took all the dark, edgy and base humour from the game and planted it fantastically into movie form. One of those comedies that won't be for everybody but spoke wonderfully to everything I like in humour, pushing the boundaries to deliver moments where you don't really know whether to gasp in shock or laugh out loud.

4) Masks (8.5/10)

I’ve got to come clean and say that Giallo doesn’t always float my boat. There are a few notable exceptions, but generally it’s a subgenre I can happily take or leave. So Andreas Marschall’s German Giallo feature came as a pleasant surprise. Very well acted, with some fantastically intense moments – including what was for me probably the longest I ever held my breath during a film – this one has some original and quirky ideas whilst also paying a homage to what has come before it. Well worth a look as a fine slice of modern Giallo for fans of the field.

3) Human Form (9/10)

Not wildly common that a short film scores this highly, so you can be confident that the Korean Human Form left an impression on me. Certainly more subtle than some of the entries here, the movie uses a lot of strange and bizarre imagery to make its point rather than ladling on shock or gore. It’s a clever but slim idea very well delivered, with a genuinely haunting ending, which earns it no 3 in the year’s ratings.

2) Tears of Kali (9/10)

It's that min again. Andreas Marschall emerged as a favourite name in the field for me in 2018, and his anthology horror movie certainly hit all the marks for me. Based loosely on a fascinating real-life cult leader, and divided into three parts based on Indian mythology, this one brings plenty of genuine scares as well as lots of fascinating ideas to the mix, with a very solid framing device running all the way through. A great movie that once again cemented just how good the anthology horror film can be.

1) When Black Birds Fly (10/10)

I don’t give out top marks cheaply, and in fact I only gave it out once in 2018 – to Jimmy ScreamerClauz’s staggering, horrific, psychedelic magnum opus, When Black Birds Fly. Sometimes there is a sense that a director just knocks something out of the park, absolutely nailing their vision perfectly, and this is the one. I liked Where The Dead Go To Die plenty, but this offering takes all the best elements of that and expands on them whilst adding new, fresh and exciting content. This dystopian nightmare in both black and white and lurid colour is absolutely something to behold – you’ll never look at Heaven quite the same again…

We look forward to lots more reviews in 2019, and thanks to all for reading throughout 2018!