TBHMManiacs,
2016 must have been one of the most fruitful years in psycho thrillers meet supernatural galore. Without further ado, here are our juicy top 6. Leave your feedback!
SPOILER ALERT!
I
The Witch (19 February 2016)
Director: Robert Eggers
Writers: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
Synopsis: This movie can be interpreted in so many different ways. Either that the witch is purely fictitious or alive only in the puritanical minds of this family of six. It was a masterpiece in my eyes as it explored family dynamics in the 17th century and folkloric themes. A puritan family is expulsed from the plantation and have to go beyond the secure walls to start a new life, and that is where all hells break loose. The main question I have, do you think that Thomassin, the eldest daughter, was a witch all along or did the incessant persecutions of her family pushed her gradually into this inevitable descent to witchy means? I felt like I was watching something forbidden throughout the whole movie. It was so beautifully raw!
Scary as fuck!
II
Lights Out (8 June 2016)
Director: David F. Sandberg
Writers: David F. Sandberg, Eric Heisserer
Starring: Maria Bello, Billy Burke, Teresa Palmer
Synopsis: This premise was the talk of 2016, as it was a box office success against a very modest budget. It fleshes out the story of vampiric friendships, how a perturbed friend can attach herself or himself to another to the point, their very own existence depends on their close proximity to the other. It was ten times incredibly scarier because of Diana's background, as she was not some aged demon but this spooky figure that lingers in the dark and would kill anyone that threatens her bond with Sophie even her husbands.
Tethered forever!
III
Raw (14 May 2016)
Director: Julia Ducournau
Writer: Julia Ducournau
Starring: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Laurent Lucas
Synopsis: This French movie is the big sister to "Teeth". It's definitely a coming of age movie. It centers on two sisters Justine and Alexia who were vegetarians up until they went to college. Raw is not just about greek like and this family condition but also this family dynamic and how they accept and protect each other no matter what.
Fleshed out cannibalism!
IV
Don't Breathe (26 August 2016)
Director: Fede Alvarez
Writers: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues
Starring: Jane Levy, Dylan Minette, Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang
Synopsis: Don't Breathe was so unexpected. Three delinquents planned and invaded the house of this seemingly blind and helpless guy to steal his money. What happened next, I could have never predicted. As it became so compulsively engrossing. I felt forced to breathe for them at times. Honestly, none of the characters were likeable but had strong reasons to be the way they were and most could relate.
Earring and running are essential!
V
Hush (8 April 2016)
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writers: Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel
Starring: John Gallagher Jr, Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco
Synopsis: Hush was beautifully shot in one location with just four actors, sometimes that's all you need to bring in a good fright. Maddie is a deaf author who is being stalked by a masked killer unbeknownst to her. It's an endless game of cat and mouse where the killer keeps taunting her as he assumed that her deafness might make her an easier target than her neighbor. Maddie plays on the killer's ego to survive.
Being deaf mute does not mean the end!
VI
10 Cloverfield Lane (11 March 2016)
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Writers: Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken
Starring: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr
Synopsis: OMG, this movie was actually my favorite twisted ending story of 2016. It was the most original trope so far, as it triggered so many questions, so many WTFs and I could not stop shrieking. Michelle's story starts out very typical with her breaking up with her boyfriend, Ben. But few minutes later, she gets pushed off the road and wakes up in a dirty basement in cuffs. When we think that's all there is to it, Michelle manages to escape as she is super clever but only to find herself fighting for her life against alien lifeforms.
Aliens and kidnapper takedown to the max!