Heather’s Favorites of 2014

Starry Eyes

A blood-soaked cautionary tale about the price of fame and sacrificing your own identity in the name of ambition, Starry Eyes is yet another fantastic reminder that the indie genre world is truly the best (and generally only) place fans can find ambitious and challenging horror tales these days. Anchored by a breakout performance by Alex Essoe, Starry Eyes is by far one of the more captivating and unforgettable horror movies I’ve seen this year and I cannot recommend it enough.

Snowpiercer

For Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho ventures into the sci-fi realm resulting in an experience that’s relentless, exhilarating, emotionally devastating and wholly unlike anything else released this year. A masterful blending of genres coupled with timeless political allegories, a hint of social satire and a star-studded cast who all deliver tour de force performances. Snowpiercer may not necessarily be the biggest movie that was released this year, but it is undoubtedly one of the most original and compelling film experiences you’ll ever have.

Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut

After almost 25 years, fans of Clive Barker are finally getting to experience the visionary storyteller’s Nightbreed the way that the director had always hoped we would, thanks to Scream Factory’s breathtaking Blu-ray of The Director’s Cut. This new version works so much better in a few different ways, as not only do we get a better sense of the relationship between Nightbreed’s hero and his love interest (Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby), but we also get a much better resolution to the film’s story and more of Barker’s wonderful and beautifully haunting monsters to enjoy.

Guardians of the Galaxy

I don’t think there’s a single frame of Guardians of the Galaxy that I didn’t absolutely adore. With his keen sense of off-beat visual storytelling front and center, director James Gunn crafted a truly transcendent cinematic experience that skillfully blended together an unconventional sense of humor, vivid worlds filled with memorable characters and creatures as well as a kickass soundtrack. Guardians of the Galaxy is a penultimate achievement in filmmaking by Gunn and truly the best film to date from Marvel Studios.

The Raid 2

It may come off a bit hyperbolic, but I’d confidently say that The Raid 2 is to the action genre what The Godfather II became to the mob drama subgenre- pure cinematic perfection and an epic follow-up that somehow manages to surpass its already impressive predecessor in both scope and storytelling. The Raid 2 is pretty much everything you could want from a sequel and filmmaker Gareth Evans has raised the bar for directors in every genre with his precise and meticulous approach while crafting his action/crime thriller masterpiece.

The Sacrament

The Sacrament is a fiercely provocative and relentless slice of horror gold that takes no prisoners, showcasing the always forward-thinking Ti West’s ability to take his storytelling approach in new and unexpected directions. An unforgettable, chilling and often uncomfortable exploration of blind faith and the idea of self-sacrifice in the name of your own beliefs, The Sacrament is easily one of the most effective horror movies of this, or any, year with one of the most gut-punch finales I’ve witnessed in some time.

Halloween 6: The Producer’s Cut

I’ve always been an apologist for the theatrical version of Halloween 6 (maybe because I saw it had these really fantastic glimpses of genius buried deep within it), but The Producer’s Cut version that was included in the stellar Halloween box set this year is undeniably a much stronger and far more atmospheric sequel. Not only does The Producer’s Cut give Donald Pleasence’s iconic Dr. Loomis a much more fitting sendoff, but also treats the character of Jamie Lloyd with more reverence than the hack-and-slash death she receives in the original version.

Nick Damici in Late Phases

One of the best and underrated actors working today is undoubtedly Nick Damici (Stake Land, We Are What We Are). The performance he delivers in Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s Late Phases is a master class in subtlety and nuanced square-jawed toughness. Portraying a war veteran stricken with blindness who’s unwilling to let his circumstances slow him down in his final days, Damici proves that less really is more with one of this year’s best and truly transformative performances. Let’s hope this leads to more movies starring the always versatile Damici in the future as he proves in Late Phases that he has the chops to get the job done.

Edge of Tomorrow/Hercules 3D

Two of the biggest surprises for me this year were Edge of Tomorrow and Hercules 3D, two movies that probably could have done gangbusters box office-wise had they been properly marketed by their respective studios. Edge of Tomorrow was just plain ol’ zany sci-fi/action fun and co-star Tom Cruise gives his best performance here in the last 10 years. Hercules 3D probably suffered from the White House Down/Olympus Has Fallen syndrome, which is a shame because the script was hella fun, the action was great and it was way more entertaining than Renny Harlin’s Legend of Hercules flick from earlier this year. Here’s hoping both Edge of Tomorrow and Hercules 3D continue to get discovered by genre fans now that they’ve made their home release debuts recently since they certainly deserved better while they were in theaters.