The Year of Horror

My last post dealt with the plethora of documentaries that were making a splash. Well they are no the only ignored category that is having a banner year. With the expansion to ten, the question remains whether that means different categories such as documentaries and science fiction will start to get some respect. Another category can be added to that list: horror. Of course these are the same people that never gave Hitchcock an Oscar so I'm a little hesitant. But this year we have had some well-reviewed/box office hits horror movies that I hope will not be ignored. Of course I don't think any of these will get Oscar nominations or anything close, I just wanted to point out that with the expansion of ten, categories that are usually ignored could be receiving another look, and why not?

Drag Me to Hell - Sam Raimi's return to horror was a glorious one. This summer hit was not only a crowd-pleaser, but critics ate it up, comparing it to the old days of Evil Dead. After directing the Spiderman movies, Raimi seemed to be itching to go back to horror, and his return was triumphant.

Paranormal Activity - The buzz for this movie exploded, taking an $11,000 movie and making it gross almost $85 million dollars to date, and rising. I personally found it fascinating and scary, and it definitely deserves any recognition it gets.

The House of the Devil - This 70's cliche movie is getting a lot of warm critical reception, and is RT's Guaranteed Fresh Pick. Unlike many unsuccessful attempts in this last decade to recapture the 70's B-rated horror glory, this one apparently is an exception in the sense that it rises above the mundane and is scary, convincing, and (Shock!) actually has a plot and characters that are interesting enough to sustain a story without the chopping up of body parts.