The Conjuring 2 | New Line Cinema
2016 was a damn good year for fans of horror.
There were a number of solid horror movies among that years many superhero blockbusters, animated hits, crude comedies and high-brow dramas. Wether they be franchise films, nasty Spanish-language entries, or slow-burn creeeepfests, established genre filmmakers and newcomers alike delivered some terrifying, deeply unsettling pictures that had us biting our nails, covering our eyes, and losing hours of sleep.
In no particular order, here are ten great horror movies from 2016:
Master South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin (The Chaser, The Yellow Sea) delivered quite the multi-layered horror film with The Wailing, a film that becomes progressively more startling with every new development. It tells of a strange sickness that hits a small town; a sickness that may be connected to a mysterious Japanese man that lives in the mountains. Theres atmosphere to burn in this tense-as-hell outing, which manages to infuse a good bit of humour and drama for good measure. Get to it.
Based on a viral short film, Lights Out was just the right type of project for James Wan to jump on and produce. Not only was it a surprise financial hit, it was a fun, creepy and jump-filled little pic that had us aching for our childhood night lights. The feature film debut of short filmmaker David F. Sandberg was effectively made, nicely directed, well performed and offered up a few new scares thanks to the stay-in-the-light narrative.
Geez, what in the bloody hell. One of the most messed up horror films on this list has to be The Night of the Virgin, a Spanish film that tells of what goes down when a nerdy young guy heads to a mature womans cramped apartment in the hopes of losing his virginity. What follows is a bloody, fluid-drenched, utterly disgusting film and a film that is as imaginative and effectively claustrophobic as it is shocking. You wont be forgetting this body horror entry in a hurry.
Content Warning with this trailer:
James Wan delivered a fantastic follow-up to his 2013 horror hit. The Conjuring 2 finds Lorrain and Ed Warren (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, respectively) heading to London to help out a single mother and her four children who are being plagued by a malicious spirit. Its another slick, scary-as-hell feature from Wan, who certainly knows how to structure some downright unnerving sequences. That freakin nun still haunts me. Shame about her spinoff.
Who would have thought? 2014s Ouija was a less-than-mediocre horror film; cliche-filled, dull and poorly executed. Eyes rolled when it was announced that Ouija: Origin of Evil was on the way, and understandably so. But director Mike Flanagan was at the helm of this one. Flanagan, known for Oculus, Before I Wake, The House of Haunting Hill, and another film on this list, gave us a surprisingly nerve-wracking, psychologically complex prequel that told of a family dealing with the possession of their youngest daughter.
A potent, atmospheric and oh-so unsettling exploration of how evil works its way into a New England family in the 1630s, The Witch is one that needs to be seen by horror fans and film fans overall. Its expertly crafted, with meticulous attention to detail, fantastic performances, and a true sense of evil creeping its way towards the surface as the film goes along. This one gathered acclaim throughout the festival circuit in 2015, leading to an impressive distribution roll-out throughout 2016.
Fede Alvarezs follow-up to his well-received 2013 Evil Dead remake was Dont Breathe, a nail-biter that flipped the usual home invasion narrative on its head by making the intruders the victims. Stephen Lang gave us an awesome horror villain with The Blind Man, a blind Army vet whos not too pleased that three young hoodlums are after his cash. Suspense is the name of the game here, the film making good on its title with scene after scene of tension and plot twists. Great stuff.
Available to watch on Netflix Australia right HERE.
Another home invasion horror-thriller with a bit of a twist. Whereas Dont Breathe gave us a blind villain, Hush gave us a deaf victim. This is another film from director Mike Flanagan (he had a very good year), who racks up the anxiety by giving us slickly designed sequences of pure tension, ramped up with point-of-view audio we often cant hear where the bad guy is either. The villain may not be very memorable, but the confidence and high energy on offer through much of the film makes up for a few exhausted tropes.
Available to watch on Netflix Australia right HERE.
The second South Korean picture in the list is this ambitious zombie movie that juices its fun concept for all its worth. We follow a self-absorbed businessman and his daughter as they travel by train from Seoul to Busan. When zombies overrun their train, well, its on. Train to Busan is exhausting, thrilling and surprisingly emotional, ticking off the necessary zombie movie checklist while keeping a close eye on characterisation and scope. If you havent seen this one by now, be sure to get on it before that sequel arrives.
Available to watch on Netflix Australia right HERE.
An under-seen gem, Under the Shadow is an internationally co-produced horror film set in war-torn 80s Tehran. The film follows a mother and daughter as they deal with the terrors of post-revolution Tehran of the 1980s. Its all hard enough, but its about to get a lot worse: a mysterious evil entity begins to haunt their home. The feature-length debut of Iranian director Babak Anvari (Wounds) is impressive, juggling more drama-common themes of femininity and suppression with a heavy dose of creep-out, psychological horror. This one deserves much more attention.
Available to watch on Netflix Australia right HERE.
Author:
Guillermo, Founder and Manager of Screen Realm, lives and breathes all things screen and pop culture. He has over eight years' experience in the media landscape in a career that has encompassed television, radio, and the online space. When he's not working hard on Screen Realm, you can find him at a local Sydney cinema or catching up on his ever-growing list of must-watch TV shows. He's also started a video podcast with his wife, Cassandra. Find the LOUD OBSERVERS right HERE.
Continue reading here:
10 of the Best Horror Movies from 2016 - Screen Realm
- 25 Best Horror Movies Set In The Woods - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- The 20 best horror movies on Hulu (March 2024) - Entertainment Weekly News - March 24th, 2024
- The best zombie movies, ranked - can you survive the zombie apocalypse? - The Manual - February 11th, 2024
- The Best Zombie Movies and Shows on Netflix The Best Zombie Movies and Shows on Netflix - Paste Magazine - February 11th, 2024
- Peacock Now Streaming One of the Best Zombie Movies Ever - ComicBook.com - January 18th, 2024
- Top 7 Best Zombie Movies To Binge Watch On OTT! - HerZindagi - January 18th, 2024
- The 20 Best Movies on Freevee (January 2024) - Paste Magazine - January 9th, 2024
- 13 Bloodiest & Goriest Horror Movies of All Time The Crypt - crypt.creepycatalog.com - January 9th, 2024
- Brave Citizen and other Korean movies and shows Cha Chung-hwa has acted in - Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur - November 25th, 2023
- Top Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com - January 25th, 2023
- Top Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster - January 17th, 2023
- Top - Wikipedia - January 17th, 2023
- top - Wiktionary - January 17th, 2023
- Top best and worst, top in uk, top in US, top in the world - KnowInsiders - January 17th, 2023
- [Top 15] 7 Days to Die Best Seeds (Alpha 19) | GAMERS DECIDE - November 19th, 2022
- [Top 10] 7 Days To Die Best Base Designs | GAMERS DECIDE - October 19th, 2022
- 'Terrifier 2' has people passing out and it's playing in NJ - New Jersey 101.5 FM - October 19th, 2022
- 10 Best Horror Films of the 1970s - High on Films - October 19th, 2022
- Look at the detail! Pics from The Amazing Pumpkin Carve 2022 in Titusville, NJ - New Jersey 101.5 FM - October 19th, 2022
- You Won't Find "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" on TV This Year: Here's How to Watch - wcrz.com - October 19th, 2022
- 10 'Scooby-Doo!' Episodes and Movies That Are Perfect for Halloween! - Bloody Disgusting - October 11th, 2022
- Box Set Review: The Incredibly Strange Films of Ray Dennis Steckler (1962 - 1986) - HorrorFuel.com: Reviews, Ratings and Where to Watch the Best... - October 11th, 2022
- 35 Best Entrance Themes In Wrestling History Ranked - Wrestling Inc. - October 11th, 2022
- South Korean Movies That Have Left Global Audience Asking For More - Outlook India - September 16th, 2022
- Rob Zombie - IMDb - August 31st, 2022
- Sci-Fi Movies That Made The Cast Do Gross Things - /Film - August 31st, 2022
- Top Ten Most Beautiful Blond Models - ReelRundown - August 31st, 2022
- The Keymaster And The Gatekeeper 105.7 The Point - 105.7 The Point - August 31st, 2022
- Carter and the best Asian martial arts movies on the Internet right now - Entertainment News , Firstpost - Firstpost - August 22nd, 2022
- [Top 25] Best Zombie Games for PC | GAMERS DECIDE - August 14th, 2022
- [Top 5] Minecraft Zombie Apocalypse Mods That Are Awesome - August 14th, 2022
- New Netflix Zombie Movie Debuts on Top 10 List - Horror - August 14th, 2022
- Ten Different Ways to Start a Zombie Apocalypse Story or Novel - August 14th, 2022
- 'The Gray Man' Has Massive Debut on Netflix - ScreenCrush - July 28th, 2022
- 50 Most Memorable Danny Glover Movies Ranked Worst To Best - Looper - June 14th, 2022
- 5 best movies and shows on Prime Video this weekend: The Boys - Amazon Adviser - June 5th, 2022
- Poll: What's the Best Korn Album? - Vote Now - Loudwire - June 5th, 2022
- Stories of the subcontinent: Films from India, Pakistan, Nepal illuminate 75th anniversary line-up of Cannes Film Festival - The Financial Express - May 17th, 2022
- Selling Sunset's Christine Quinn Has Officially Exited The Oppenheim Group, But Is That A Good Thing? - msnNOW - May 4th, 2022
- Ten Movies That Were Saved by Their Ending - 25YearsLaterSite.com - April 8th, 2022
- Top 10 movies from 2021 that take your breath away! - Financial World - April 8th, 2022
- 15 Years Ago: The Failure of 'Grindhouse' Heralds a New Era - Ultimate Classic Rock - April 8th, 2022
- Lzzy Hale + Katie Daryl Return for New Seasons of AXS' 'A Year in Music' + 'Top Ten Revealed' - Loudwire - April 8th, 2022
- Crack At it Again - Brewster Suspect Arrested in Danbury, Again - i95rock.com - April 8th, 2022
- Top 5 Zombie Base Building Games (Build, Defend, Survive ... - March 27th, 2022
- Top 10 Reasons the Zombie Apocalypse Could Really Happen ... - March 27th, 2022
- HORROR TEN SPOT: Top 10 Asses - March 27th, 2022
- 60 Best Zombie Movies of All Time | Stacker - March 27th, 2022
- All time best end-of-the-world movies to watch in 2022 - Digital Boom - January 23rd, 2022
- 2022s big TV and movie anniversaries - Polygon - January 9th, 2022
- The George Romero-Helmed Stephen King Adaptation We'll Never Get To See - /Film - December 14th, 2021
- The 15 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of 2021 Ranked - /Film - December 14th, 2021
- Google Has Revealed All the Movies and TV Shows We've Been Searching for in 2021 - Concrete Playground - December 14th, 2021
- How Shaun of the Dead Got a Boost From Hollywood and Comic-Con Geeks - Gizmodo - November 29th, 2021
- A Kickass Zombie Movie Is Back From The Dead To Terrorize Netflix - We Got This Covered - November 13th, 2021
- Fans Go Wild As Shang-Chi Arrives On Disney Plus - We Got This Covered - November 13th, 2021
- Day of the Dead interview with star Christopher Russell - 1428 Elm - October 20th, 2021
- Best Zombie Movies Streaming on Hulu, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime - IndieWire - September 5th, 2021
- James Gunn and Craig Mazin made The Boys six years before the comic - The Digital Fix - August 10th, 2021
- Michigan Congressmen and Women Can Work Together, Some Times - wbckfm.com - wbckfm.com - July 11th, 2021
- Netflix's 'Resident Evil' Anime Shows Off Exactly Why People Love the Franchise - Thrillist - July 11th, 2021
- The best TV series to watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Now, BritBox and more this July 2021 - iNews - July 11th, 2021
- No Hands Clapping - by Jonah Goldberg - The Remnant - The Dispatch - July 11th, 2021
- 50 Best Zombie Movies of the 21st Century - Cultured Vultures - July 1st, 2021
- Fewer in NJ getting COVID, and most are unvaccinated, Murphy says - New Jersey 101.5 FM - July 1st, 2021
- In Between The Poop And The Pope 105.7 The Point - 105.7 The Point - July 1st, 2021
- How many Halloween movies are there ? The complete Michael Myers timeline to watch before Halloween Kills arrived - Sportskeeda - July 1st, 2021
- Lucifer And Army Of The Dead Top Nielsens As Cruella Debuts On Disney+ - Forbes - July 1st, 2021
- What to watch on Netflix Top 10: Most popular shows May 28 - Tom's Guide - June 1st, 2021
- Box Office is Back Thanks to A Quiet Place Part II and World War Z - Film School Rejects - June 1st, 2021
- Army of the Dead Is One of Netflix's Biggest Hits with 72 Million Account Views and Counting - MovieWeb - June 1st, 2021
- New from Netflix in June: series, films and documentaries Explica .co - Explica - June 1st, 2021
- 10 greatest movie trilogies of all time - The Independent - May 21st, 2021
- Army Of The Dead (2021) - Rotten Tomatoes - May 21st, 2021
- The 10 Best Alien Invasion Movies - Cinelinx - May 8th, 2021
- 40 Years Ago: 'Friday the 13th Part 2' Makes Jason a Killer - Ultimate Classic Rock - May 8th, 2021
- Underappreciated Gems The Top 10 Most Underrated Movies of the Past 5 Years - Hollywood Insider - April 23rd, 2021
- If Browns Take a Wide Receiver in Round 1... - Yardbarker - April 23rd, 2021
- Former Bengals Great Gives His Thoughts on Penei Sewell and Ja'Marr Chase Debate - Yardbarker - April 23rd, 2021
- Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson are showing us why early-season stats can be meaningless - Yardbarker - April 23rd, 2021
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero