Top Five Horror Films of 2010

The year in Horror for 2010, it was full of sequels, remakes and 3D. Among all the sometimes silly, many times entertaining and occasionally frightening films of the year, a number stood out of the crowd. Here are five of those films that made the biggest impression on Doc Rotten - the top five horror films of 2010.

5 - SPLICE
Making bold decisions along the way, Splice weaves a challenging tale of science, parenthood and sexuality all in the disguise of a well crafted science fiction horror hybrid. The performances were top notch and the creature was highly imaginative and visually interesting. For the most part more about spectacle than gore, the film does sport a very "Gallagher" moment when a cage containing two squabbling creatures overturns and splatters the audience in red gooey goodness. At its core, it’s a genetic take on the Frankenstein story infused with sexuality and parenthood. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the year, Splice is a fun, thought provoking, visually stunning monster film.

4 - SHUTTER ISLAND
All I really have to say is the director’s name, Martin Scorsese, and the inclusion of Shutter Island to a top 5 list is immediately understandable. Add in popular actor Leonardo DiCaprio and it’s impossible to ignore. Based on Dennis Lehane's 2003 novel, Shutter Island is a genre blending thriller weaving a haunting tale of U.S. Marshall investigating a missing inmate at a secluded asylum and dealing with his own demons along the way. Hanging on the fringes of the horror genre with its psychological undertones and revelations, Shutter Island illustrates the more fragile corners of one man’s mind and questions what is perceived versus what is real. Scorsese is in top form, displaying astonishing transitions and set pieces. He subtly drops in visual cues hidden in the narrative to cue the more observant viewers in on the story. All the actors are fantastic, riveting. Shutter Island is a mind challenging treat that deserves to be viewed - and enjoyed - multiple times.

3 - RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE
Last year, Dead Snow was the little independent foreign flick that could; this year, it belongs to the Finish film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, a confident gem of a twisted holiday treat. Never has the legend of Santa Claus taken such a devious little turn. In Rare Exports, an English archaeologist excavates a mysterious frozen block of ice out of the Korvantunturi mountains unleashing an unfriendly holiday threat the to the locals trying to keep their family business from bankruptcy. Impressively directed by Jalmari Helander with beautifully cinematography by Mika Orasmaa, Rare Exports a wonderful adult genre treat for the genre fan for the holidays. A must see.

2 - LET ME IN
A Hammer Films remake of a hit Swedish film Let the Right One In, Let Me In stars Chloe Moretz and Cody Smith-McPhee as Abby and Owen, a pre-teen vampire and an outcast lonely boy. Directed by Mike (Cloverfield) Reeves, Let Me In matches the haunting beauty found in the international success and creates a touching, emotional English companion. Moretz and Smith-McPhee deliver the best genre performances of the year with the rest of the cast equally stunning. Devoid of all the typical State-side genre tropes (over-aged teens, jump scares, jokey dialogue, and bad CGI effects), Let Me In is the most mature adaptation of a vampire tale the US theaters have seen in a long time. Well done.

1 - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2
Last year, a tiny budgeted shocker took America by storm and created a monster hit. Paranormal Activity touched on a common fear - what if your house is haunted. A sequel announced for October 2010 had most curious whether it would measure up or fall flat. Would it be an Aliens to Alien or a Blair Witch Project 2 to Blair Witch Project? Director Tod Williams follows the same formula originated by Orin Peli and brought only a few needed tweaks and changes to great effect. The most successful being the addition of a fleet of security cameras through out the house which allowed Williams to ramp up the tension allowing the viewer to see more than the residents in the home. Of all the movies seen this year, Paranormal Activity 2 was the best time I had in the theater. I jumped, screamed and laughed at all the right places. It may not have been the best crafted film (that would have been Shutter Island), but it was the film that resonated with me the most and has become, without a doubt - for me, the best horror film of 2010.

Doc Rotten's Movie Monsters of 2010: Dren in Splice

For each weekday throughout December, Doc Rotten will be looking back at 2010 examining 20 Movie Monsters of the year. Check back each day and rate how successful the monster worked on the big screen, DVD or BluRay. On December 31, we'll look at all 20 Monsters in order of their popularity. Let's take a look at today's Movie Monster of 2010.

In the science gone mad film Splice, geneticists Clive Nicola (Adrien Brody) and Elsa Kast (Sarrah Polley) manufacture a creature spliced together from the DNA of a variety of different animals and beasts, including human DNA from Elsa. Hiding the resulting creature from the rest of their research team, they raise the female beast who grows to an adult at an increase rate. Giving her the name Dren, Clive and Elsa discover she is omnivorous and amphibious and has a tail with a stinger full of lethal poison. Later, she is revealed to have wings and a growing affection for Clive. Toward the end, she unveils a surprising evolution that threatens Elsa, spells doom for Clive and sets the events up for a sequel. The film opened to generally positive reviews but still only made $25 million on a $30 million budget. The creature is well designed and marvelously executed. Actress Delphine Chanéac brings a broad spectrum of emotion to Dren, rounding out one of more unique and challenging creature brought to the screen this year.

Review: Splice (2010)

Splice (2010)   

Directed by Vincenzo Natali.   
Written by Vincenzo Natali and Antoinette Terry Bryant.

Starring Sarah Polly, Adrien Brody, Delphine Chaneac, Brandon McGibbon, Simona Maicancescu and David Hewlett.

"Science's Newest Miracle...Is A Mistake"

Science fiction and horror combine, as they often do, in this gene-splicing variation on the Frankenstein theme with extraordinary success. Two scientists, Elsa and Clive, have succeeding in combining a number of animals and plants to create a new species that will hopefully produce a valuable protein enzyme. Once they've created both a male and female version, their benefactors call for a shift to "phase two" which means Elsa and Clive have to abandon their plans to add human DNA to mix in hopes to find a cure for many of the diseases plaguing mankind. Elsa, unable to accept a halt in her experiments, convinces her fellow scientist and lover, Clive, in secretly continuing development. They succeed and Dren is born but they cannot share their success with anyone.

Vincenzo Natali's Splice is an effective and thrilling film. Elsa and Clive are well crafted and rich characters even if they don't seem to care about each other as much as they (and possibly the script) pretend. Science is their passion; it seems they are together more so they won't be alone - their relationship is strained and lacks compassion. At least, on screen, we're mostly presented with their professional interactions. Elsa is driven and rebellious, Clive is more professional but easily directed - he's a follower. As Dren is in the incubator, we learn that Clive would like a child one day and Elsa would not in a scene that, at first, seems trite and throw-away; however, later, it becomes more important and revealing. Once Dren is born, Elsa become very motherly while Clive remains distant, quite the opposite of the desires they previously expressed. Then, to twist it further, Elsa becomes more oppressive toward Dren, suggesting just below the surface that she's becoming much like how her mother treated her. And, Clive become more emotionally tied to Dren; so much, so he reveals that he loves her. Throughout the film, it slides little nuggets like this, thinly veiled.

Thankfully the film does not have to rely on the relationship between Elsa and Clive to thrive, it's the relationship Dren has with the two scientists - both together and separately that drives the narrative. It is compelling. When the script circles back to the political elements of the company financing the experiments, the film stumbles a bit. Clive's brother, and fellow scientist, Gavin and their managing scientist, Barlow are both dead weight, dull and slow the film when they're on screen. Other than financier, Joan Chorot who is oddly involving, there are no other characters important enough to mention. It is the focus on Elsa, Clive and Dren that help Splice to succeed.

Surprisingly, Splice has very little gore but is heavy on effects. Much of any horrific events center on the emotional affects adding human DNA to the experiment creates. It also bravely exposes some of the horrors of treatment of animals as Dren is treated like an animal but also expresses strong human qualities; while she can't speak, she is very intelligent and can later spell and draw and begins to show emotion. There are times Elsa is a horrific as Dren. However, there is a single standout gory moment in the film when Dren's predecessors (who lack human DNA), Fred and Ginger, are presented to a crowded auditorium and things go terribly wrong.

Splice is an enjoyable, solid, smart science fiction horror film. It treats the viewer with respect and never preaches, but still has opinions. The effects are strong and believable. Recommended.

7.5 out of 10

Splice International Trailer

 

Exciting international trailer for Splice (2010), directed by Vincenzo Natali and starring Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley and Delphine Chaneac.

Plot from IMDB: Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named "Dren", the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators - only to have that bond turn deadly.