The Best And Worst Horror Films Of 2016

December 31, 2016

Written by Kelli Marchman McNeely

Kelli Marchman McNeely is the owner of HorrorFuel.com. She is an Executive Producer of "13 Slays Till Christmas" which is out on Digital and DVD and now streaming on Tubi. She has several other films in the works. Kelli is an animal lover and a true horror addict since the age of 9 when she saw Friday the 13th. Email: horrorfuelinfo@gmail.com

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THE BEST OF 2016

We saw a huge number of horror films released in 2016. There were a lot of great films, and a lot of bad ones too. Let’s focus on the good. Here’s our top 10 favorite horror films from 2016.

To learn more about the film or to watch the trailer click the film’s highlighted title.

 

 

10. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

It was nice to see women in a horror film that can take care of themselves. While a fan of zombies, I think many people have grown tired of the slow, shambling, dumb undead, ‘PPZ’ gave us fast, intelligent zombies with a mission.

Lily James and Bella Heathcote in Screen Gems' PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.

 

9. The Shallows

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and penned by Anthony Jasinski, The Shallows stars Blake Lively as Nancy, a woman surfing alone on a secluded beach when she is attacked by a Great White and stranded just a short distance from shore. Though she is only 200 yards from her survival, getting there proves the ultimate contest of will.

I really enjoyed ‘The Shallows’. We rarely get to see a serious shark film these days.

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8. Train To Busan

‘Train to Busan’ is set in the bustling city of Busan, which is plagued by a zombie outbreak. A group of survivors band together and board a train in hopes of escaping, but discover their differences may prove more dangerous than the zombies that they are facing.

Everything about this film was done right.

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7. Lights Out

The film centers on Rebecca who thought she left her childhood fears behind her. Growing up, she was never  really sure what was real and what wasn’t when the lights went out. Now, her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same terrifying events. Rebecca works to unlock the truth behind the entity, before the thing in the darkness gets them both.

‘Lights Out’ was a refreshing horror flick. It was unique (we don’t get much of that these days), well written and just all around great.

AP PROVIDES ACCESS TO THIS HANDOUT PHOTO TO BE USED SOLELY TO ILLUSTRATE NEWS REPORTING OR COMMENTARY ON THE FACTS OR EVENTS DEPICTED IN THIS IMAGE. THIS IMAGE MAY ONLY BE USED FOR 14 DAYS FROM TIME OF TRANSMISSION; NO ARCHIVING; NO LICENSING. In this image released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Gabriel Bateman, left, and Teresa Palmer appear in a scene from the horror film, "Lights Out." (Ron Batzdorff/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

 

 

6. Green Room 

A punk band find themselves trapped after taking a gig at a secluded bar. When they witness a horrifying act of violence, they become the focus of the bar owner and his goon’s rage. They’re surrounded by skin heads, pit bulls and blades and there will be blood. They’re in the wrong place at the wrong time and now they’ll have to fight to survive.

‘Green Room’ was fantastic in every way.

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5. 10 Cloverfield Lane

The sequel to 2008’s found footage film ‘Cloverfield’, was a good one. In the film a young woman, waking up after an accident, finds herself in the basement of a stranger. He says he’s saved her life from a chemical attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable, but the truth is much stranger.

This is how to do an alien film right.

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4. The Conjuring 2

The Warrens, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, returned for an investigation of a family tormented by the ghost of an old man. The film is based on the real investigation of the Enfied Poltergeist.

What is it about a horror film based on a true story that makes it 10x scarier?

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3. The Witch

A family in 1630’s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.

‘The Witch’ is simply brilliant. The way the tension was built, the intense feel of dread and the amazing script, cast, and execution was incredible.

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2. Blair Witch

A group of college students venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of their friend’s sister, who many believe is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch. At first the group is hopeful, especially when a pair of locals offer to act as guides through the dark and winding woods, but as the endless night wears on, the group is visited by a menacing presence. Slowly, they begin to realize the legend is all too real and more sinister than they could have imagined.

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1. Don’t Breathe

Jane Levy, who also starred in Alvarez’s Evil Dead, plays the role of Rocky, a young woman desperate for money who goes along with her boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovato) and their friend Alex (Dylan Minnette) on what they think is easy score. The trio target a blind man (Stephen Lang), but after breaking into his home they discover they have made a terrible mistake. Now, they are in fight for survival.

Fede Alverez’s ‘Don’t Breathe’ earns our number one spot. A fresh film that leaves you on the edge of your seat for the entire film. It is uncommon these days to find a horror film that takes an old idea, like home invasion, and stands it on its head. Bravo!

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THE WORST OF 2016

It is not too hard to come-up with a list of great horror films from 2016. It is however more difficult to whittle down the list of the worst films of the year. There were a lot of bad movies. However, we have managed to narrow it down to ten.

10.Ratter

This movie may be one of the most boring horror films I have ever seen. The film is 95% watching a young woman living her boring life. It was slow, uninteresting and a waste of time.

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9. Hush

I am fully aware that a lot of people will disagree with me, but ‘Hush’ was like watching paint dry. The only thing that set the movie apart from the other hundreds of home invasion films is that the main character was blind. Everything else was pretty standard. I was less than impressed.

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8. The Purge: Election Year

If you have seen one of the films in this franchise you have pretty much seen them all.

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7. They’re Watching

This film, about TV crew doing an update on a remote remodeled home, started out good and ended up being crap. Weak character development and bad effects killed any hope that the film would be decent.

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6. Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens

While I do like cheesy Syfy movies, most so are bad that they’re good, but I think we can all agree that the Skarknado franchise has gotten simply bad. A shark bouncing off of a stripper’s bulge? Really? The horrible, stiff acting was beyond terrible on the part of 99% of the cast. Come on, we deserve better.

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5. Rocky Horror Picture Show

Do I even need to explain all the ways this failed? First off, while I appreciated Laverne Cox’s portrail of Frank-N-Furter, (I’m actually a fan of her work), no one can ever match Tim Curry, EVER. While the cast were a group of truly talented people, the music, singing and acting just did not compare to the original. The production is a prime example of how executives are capitalizing on our nostalgia for profit without integrity.

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4. Cabin Fever

Travis Zariwny’s remake of Eli Roth’s 2002 gory extravaganza was horrible. In the original, we were emotionally invested in the characters, but in the remake that did not happen. It lacked the magic of the first film. The reduction in gore also didn’t help. The worst part, it was a needless remake.

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3. Ghostbusters

Before you say anything, my problem was not that the reboot had a female driven cast, but that the movie was just bad. I realize their characters were supposed to be funny, but they weren’t. The CGI heavy film should have never have been made. Here is another example of our nostalgia is being exploited. Some films are meant to never be copied, or revamped. This is one of them.

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2. The Forest

There was so much hype surrounding this film, about a woman searching for her sister in the legendary “Suicide Forest”. It was pitched as the best film of the year, all lies. There were so many missed opportunities with this film. No matter how badly the main character was written, the actress’ performance was worse. There was so much potential, but at the end of the day, it fell flat.

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1. Independence Day: Resurgence

The original ‘Independence Day’ was everything a major Hollywood blockbuster was meant to be, however the sequel didn’t live up to that standard. While it was filled with action and special effects, the story line was a bit dull. The characters failed at making us attached. It was simply a disappointment. Several of the the scenes were copied from the original, so it was nothing new. The whole movie just felt stale.

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