Board 8 > Board 8 Ranks 2010s Horror Movies - The Final Chapter - *THE RANKINGS*

(+) Yeah! (+)

On to topic #3! I feel that went even faster than the first.

Previously, we just ranked The Quiet Place (#9) and The Lighthouse (#10), quite the controversial one.

And we shall continue tomorrow with the next set of two!

Until then, the rankings so far:
9. A Quiet Place (2018)
10. The Lighthouse (2019)
11. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
12. Us (2019)
13. Green Room (2015)
14. Ready or Not (2019)
15. Happy Death Day (2017)
16. You're Next (2011)
17. IT (2017)
18. Split (2016)
19. The Conjuring (2013)
20. Don't Breathe (2016)
21. Creep (2014)
22. Sinister (2012)
23. Halloween (2018)
24. Insidious (2010)
25. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
26. The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
27. Terrifier (2016)
28. Curse of Chucky (2013)
29. V/H/S (2012)
30. Bird Box (2018)

And the current outlier standings:
Tom Nook: 219
red13n: 162
Snake: 161
PrinceKaro: 151
Plasmabeam: 150
Suprak: 150
Inviso: 147
FFDragon: 130
jcgamer107: 121
fortybelowsummer: 115
rockus: 105
BetrayedTangy: 97
thesmark: 96
Johnbobb: 83
Lightning Strikes: 82

Suprak, I probably would've cut Terrifier & Creep for Black Swan and Bone Tomahawk.

If I wanted to include Love Witch as a personal pick, then it would be tough but I think I would cut Ready or Not.

I thought Ready or Not might be a bit of a marginal one just because it is somewhat redundant with You're Next on there and I'm not quite sure the impact its going to have long term. I loved it but I would also get it being cut especially in favor of Love Witch.

Other two make a lot of sense. Man, this list was almost even better somehow.

Other ones I thought might've been close to being cut were Curse of Chucky and Split

Curse of Chucky was actually a pretty solid lock just because I like including big franchise characters on these lists when I can and it was really quite the revival for the character (I did flip-flop between it and Child's Play 2019 right to the very end though).

Split would probably be the fourth film I would consider cutting though, yeah. Only because it is on the fine line of thriller vs. horror.

It's my 28 (and 25) still on the board.

End my suffering Snake, I beg you.

The greatest horror is ourselves.

#29
#23
#19
#9
#8
#7
#6
#2

Things are still looking up!

Dissenting voices get too loud for A Quiet Place, and wallmasterz and jcgamer make some noise on the leaderboard.

Vegas Odds on #8:
+750: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)
+750: Train to Busan (2016)
+1000: The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
+1000: Midsommar (2019)
+1250: It Follows (2014)
+1500: The Babadook (2014)
+3000: Get Out (2017)
+4000: Hereditary (2018)

Leaderboard:
jcgamer107 $4400 (Halloween 2000, Sinister 200, You're Next 700, A Quiet Place 1500)
wallmasterz $3500 (Don't Breathe 2000, A Quiet Place 1500)
BetrayedTangy $3250 (Insidious 300, Sinister 200, Don't Breathe 2000, Split 750)
Inviso/Espeon/Blaziken $2750 (Creep 250, Don't Breathe 2000, Happy Death Day 500)
Suprak $2000 (Don't Breathe 2000)
Corrik $700 (You're Next 700)
rockus $500 (Happy Death Day 500)
Lightning $500 (Happy Death Day 500)

Sticking with It Follows.

FFDragon posted...

It's my 28 (and 25) still on the board.

End my suffering Snake, I beg you.

The greatest horror is ourselves.

Ah, but wouldn't it be sweet to have one of those land at #6? Spoiling a movie's chance at the Top 5 is worth the additional couple days of torture IMO.

...Perhaps. But also no.

2.
4.
9.

11.
12.
13.

25.
28.

Even spread from all three tiers somehow.

What list was the love witch on?

Everything left is great but nothing left is as good as The Lighthouse

The top 8 are all in my top 11

I want to see who is responsible for tucker and dale vs evil making the top 8

I want names

Karo is coming for your bowling fingers.

Johnbobb posted...

What list was the love witch on?

It wasn't on any, I think that was just a misspeak.

1. ???
2. ???
3. Happy Death Day
4. It
5. You're Next
6. Ready or Not
7. Cabin in the Woods
8. A Quiet Place
9. ???
10. The Conjuring
11. ???
12. Split
13. The Purge: Anarchy
14. Us
15. Creep
16. Sinister
17. ???
18. Insidious
19. Halloween (2018)
20. Don't Breathe
21. Bird Box
22. ???
23. Green Room
24. ???
25. ???
26. Terrifier
27. Curse of Chucky
28. V/H/S
29. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
30. The Lighthouse

plasmabeam posted...

Ah, but wouldn't it be sweet to have one of those land at #6? Spoiling a movie's chance at the Top 5 is worth the additional couple days of torture IMO.

At this point I feel like its just better to see what you want to drop actually drop. Getting too close to the top where you start to have worrying if you were the only person here who actually disliked the movie.

I'm gonna guess VVitch.

I'm gonna guess Hereditary again for big points.

8. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (181 points)

Why I Chose It: One of the best reviewed horror parodies of all time, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil combined the slasher genre with a comedy-of-errors, to potent results. Tucker & Dale's perfect timing with the first wave of classic slasher revivals (with films like Halloween,Friday the 13th, My Blood Valentine, & A Nightmare on Elm Street) meant the film targeted the en vogue trend while ruthlessly mocking it - and with slashers still being revived today, this is a film that may never go out of style.

fortybelowsummer: 2
Johnbobb: 2
red13n: 4
BetrayedTangy: 9
Tom Nook: 9
rockus: 9
thesmark: 10
Inviso: 11
Plasmabeam: 11
Snake: 11
Lightning Strikes: 16
Suprak: 16
jcgamer107: 17
PrinceKaro: 26
FFDragon: 28

Fortybelowsummer - Its a suicide pact. These kids are comin out here and killin themselves all over the woods! Just when you thought all my top picks would be the artsier/psychological/atmospheric/whatever movies: BAM Tucker and Dale at #2. One of my favorite horror comedies, like top 2 or 3 favorite level. Its hilarious, gory, and original, but it also has a lot of heart. The bee-induced chainsaw charge, a few accidental impalements, guy diving into a woodchipper, among others, the whole thing is just super funny. T&Ds relationship is very genuine and wholesome, and I loved that they had to end up surviving against the archetypal teenage camper Chad who is also literally Chad.

Johnbobb - heh remember when snake said he didn't want to go hard on comedy horror on the horror list but then he puts the funniest goddamn horror comedy ever written on the list? good times

Red13n - Taking the generic horror film and turning it on its head, the dumb college kids are now the monsters, though they'll still get systematically killed off in mostly laughable ways. This is a fun idea and I am definitely left wondering how it ranks just for being so different from most of the list, but it definitely finds its way to at least justify fitting here. Could definitely be a tad predictable, but I think it does a good job playing itself up as a fun comedy satire of horror films.

BetrayedTangy - Of all the movies here T&D has spent the most time in my top 10 films overall; I even got a copy signed by Alan Tudyk! So yeah, Ill always have a good time watching this one. I love how at this point most people started becoming pretty jaded in terms of slasher deaths. Franchises like Saw and Final Destination thrived on finding the most brutal ways to kill characters and instead of making us horrified wed be entertained. Enter Tucker & Dale and they just turn it into a fucking comedy and I love it. I will say though despite my love for this movie, I think the reason its been falling off for me is how its only really skin deep. Dont get me wrong, the story with Dale and Allison have some nice moments, but lets be honest the real reason this gets so much praise is the subversion of tropes and comedic timing. Which is fine, weve just had an increasing number of horror-comedies as a result and it just makes this one feels a little less special, even if it did start the trend.

Tom Nook - It's nice to see a good-natured wholesome horror film from time to time. This is a fun change on the standards, swapping places with who the villains and who are the heroes are usually. Tucker and Dale are both super lovable dudes, who were excellently cast to make it all the better. While minding their own business living in the woods, a bunch of college kids come and ruin their life. Wacky antics happen as it plays with standard tropes. The movie goes for a lot of easy and obvious jokes at times, but it hardly matters with how enjoyable the leads are. I don't think it's as funny as 2002's Cabin Fever, which went wild with satire and surrealism, and I think most people still don't get that movie to this day. But this one was an easily digestible and wholesome film.

Rockus - I first saw Tucker & Dale vs. Evil a few years ago with little expectations and its dual leads in Labine and Tudyk easily won me over. What makes the film so endearing isnt just the clever lampooning of slasher tropes and biased expectations of character types but just how earnest Tucker and Dale come off. As their vacation spirals out of control with each escalating horror show and gruesome death it gets funnier and funnier having to see these sweet hearted boys go through so much. Was also just happy to see Katrina Bowden in something good other than 30 Rock. Kind of a shame her career didnt take off but I suppose she still has Ariss wealth to fall back on.

Thesmark - It sets up one premise weve seen before, college-aged douchebags in rural America being pitted against scary hillbillies in a creepy shack (and it is that from the college students perspective because of some misunderstandings), but subverts it by having it from the Hillbilliys perspective and having them be good, likable people. Its kind of one joke strung out for the entire movie, along with a romance between Dale and one of the college girls added in, but its a pretty good one and at under 90 minutes thats okay. The accidental deaths are entertaining as well. A very solid horror-comedy!

Inviso - Its weird that Tucker gets top billing, since Dale is the star and hero of the film. I mean, I suppose thats a bait and switch, but the whole concept of the movie is a bait and switch. It basically tells the story of a hillbilly horror movie from the perspective of said hillbillieswho really arent trying to kill anyone. Sure, the misunderstanding element is a bit nail on the head (or in the head, if you know what I mean), but its still amusing, and it leads to some comical subversions of horror movie tropes. The death scenes are all at least amusing in their executions, and the heart and soul of the movie (Dale and Allison being subversions of their respective archetypes) make for a fun watch. Plus, Tucker being exasperated by everything going on around him is pretty hilarious, since hes like, the most rational and level-headed person in the entire cast.

Plasmabeam - I saved Tucker & Dale for last because I thought Id hate it, but it turned out to be a complete joy. I rarely laugh out loud at horror comedies, yet this one had me rolling at least a half-dozen times.

The characters are simplistic and familiar, but the cast works well within a context of a comedy. And while much of the violence was contrived and/or luck-based, the sheer absurdity of the various kills had me in stitches. How can you not love when the firearm-ignorant college kid blows his head off while removing the revolvers safety? Or when the one guy runs into a felled tree and impales himself? Great stuff.

Hot take: Tucker & Dale does meta-horror better than Cabin in the Woods.

Snake - This movies fucking hilarious. Thats it. Thats the write-up.

I'm honestly surprised it lasted as long as it did. And now the bad movies left on the list officially outnumber the good. Boo.

Outlier
Tom Nook: 220
PrinceKaro: 169
red13n: 166
Snake: 164
Suprak: 158
Plasmabeam: 153
FFDragon: 150
Inviso: 150
jcgamer107: 130
fortybelowsummer: 121
rockus: 106
BetrayedTangy: 98
thesmark: 98
Lightning Strikes: 90
Johnbobb: 89

FFD & Karo take HUGE leaps in this doozy of a ranking. Some people just hate fun!

Next ranking tonight.

Thank Christ

How this finished above Cabin I literally cannot fathom. This is bad horror comedy.

Give me Tragedy Girls here and 8 would make sense.

Inviso posted...

I'm honestly surprised it lasted as long as it did.

Same. It was a true Cinderella (I expected it to drop somewhere around #18), and I'm gonna miss rooting for it to hang on.

Bettors were too busy throwing themselves into woodchippers to bother wagering on Tucker & Dale, so the house wins!

Vegas Odds on #7:
+500: Train to Busan (2016)
+800: The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
+800: Midsommar (2019)
+1000: It Follows (2014)
+1000: The Babadook (2014)
+2500: Get Out (2017)
+3000: Hereditary (2018)

Leaderboard:
jcgamer107 $4400 (Halloween 2000, Sinister 200, You're Next 700, A Quiet Place 1500)
wallmasterz $3500 (Don't Breathe 2000, A Quiet Place 1500)
BetrayedTangy $3250 (Insidious 300, Sinister 200, Don't Breathe 2000, Split 750)
Inviso/Espeon/Blaziken $2750 (Creep 250, Don't Breathe 2000, Happy Death Day 500)
Suprak $2000 (Don't Breathe 2000)
Corrik $700 (You're Next 700)
rockus $500 (Happy Death Day 500)
Lightning $500 (Happy Death Day 500)

Going to guess It follows next

Staying on It Follows

I'll say The VVitch next

Also not liking this dance me and lightning are doing

Still guessing Hereditary for big points.

I dont think its an all-timer because of the last act but that film is hilarious. The guy diving into the wood chipper may be the funniest scene of anything on this list.

Gonna go with Midsommar.

Lightning Strikes posted...

I dont think its an all-timer because of the last act but that film is hilarious. The guy diving into the wood chipper may be the funniest scene of anything on this list.

Gonna go with Midsommar.

When I first watched this film I literally had to pause because I was laughing so hard.

Dang I was going to guess Tucker & Dale next but I didn't get it in in time

Now I'll guess The VVitch

I still liked Tucker & Dale a lot, but it was definitely the bottom of the horror/comedies on the list for me. The joke kind of got old after a while, and that third act was a huge let down. I still laughed several times and I really liked the central conceit here, but it felt almost like a TV movie to me for some reason. I thought they were going to tie all these kids accidentally killing each other together in some clever way, but they didn't and you're basically dealing with variations of the same joke over and over for most of the movie.

Still, very enjoyable. Surprised it finished top of the horror/comedy list though especially with some of the other movies on here.

1, 5, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 are what I have left.

Changing my guess to Train to Busan

I'm surprised we have red and Inviso with their 1 left because I think most of what is still here falls into the "elevated" horror camp which they've been pretty vocally against. Maybe Get Out as that kind of transcends things a bit.

I still have 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 17, 27.

And I'll guess...uh...Train to Busan.

The VVitch feels like the right guess to me at this point.

I'm pretty sure one of the outstanding 30's is The VVitch (plasma) so that also wouldn't surprise me.

I do my best to purge my writeups of anything that might give away other rankings so I hope all my rankings are a surprise.

I thought for sure Tucker was your number one so at the very least youve left me surprised haha.

Saw Men tonight

Incredible 10/10 one of the most disturbing ending sequences ever

7. The Babadook (167 points)

Why I Chose It: An effective portrait of motherhood and grief, The Babadook may not have been an instant success, but through word-of-mouth and critical positivity, the film certainly made a mark on the decade, particularly as "elevated horror" continued to evolve and progress through the years. Eventually, the eponymous monster took on a whole new life as a surprising LGBT icon thanks to a few simple viral jokes, snowballing into becoming a full blown symbol of Pride Month, ensuring the film's legacy and The Babadook's status as an enduring horror figure for decades to come.

Lightning Strikes: 1
PrinceKaro: 1
BetrayedTangy: 4
fortybelowsummer: 4
jcgamer107: 4
thesmark: 4
Johnbobb: 5
Snake: 6
rockus: 7
Plasmabeam: 13
Tom Nook: 19
red13n: 23
Inviso: 24
FFDragon: 25
Suprak: 27

Lightning Strikes - If its in a word or in a look, you cant get rid of the Babadook.

A masterful depiction of grief and the trials of motherhood disguised as a creature feature. This just such a great exploration of what its like to lose a partner while parenting, not just the effects of loss but also the resentment that builds up. Then, at the end there is an enormous sense of relief and catharsis as the protagonist is finally able to overcome her grief and protect her son, leading to that beautiful final scene of them both together. Of course, loss never truly leaves you, hence why we see the Babadook locked up in the basement at the end rather than destroyed entirely. You will never truly eradicate grief, but you can learn to live with it and stop it from eradicating you. All of these themes are beautifully intertwined with the narrative to make an unforgettable horror experience.

Of course, it helps that the more traditional horror elements are exceptionally well done. The storybook is absolutely chilling, especially later on as we see more of its disturbing contents. The Babadook itself is not just thematically effective, its also a creepy design that is well deployed in the film, its movements and appearance bring to mind stop-motion effects of older films but with a decidedly modern aesthetic. This makes it seem even more ethereal. Most of all, when the mother is possessed and attacking her son, its a truly harrowing scene. This is underlined by a relative lack of jump scares, this film could be seen as the first in the current wave of jump scare light horror, which was highly refreshing at the time.

This is all brought to life through a terrific performance by Essie Davis, who gives a lead horror movie turn for the ages. There are some criticisms of the child, but frankly his performance, and the way he is written, are very much intentional. He is supposed to be annoying at first to make you feel what the mother is going through. Indeed a lot of his mannerisms and his appearance are reflected in the Babadook itself. Then when he is in danger it shifts and you feel a real affection for him despite everything. Even something like that just strengthens the themes of the film and makes it even better. Overall this is an amazing horror film, an outstanding piece of cinema in its own right and the best horror movie of the 2010s.

5/5

Biggest scare: While the films one jump scare is a good one, the entire sequence where she goes after her son is horrible in the best way.

PrinceKaro - A young mother is concerned when her rather eccentric child begins building weapons to fight off the bogyman and generally begins acting irrational even for a six year old.
As the story goes on the perception of who is really the crazy one changes, and you realize that the boy is not just a little fucking brat, but rather the only person in the movie who understands what is really going on. It is brilliant, frankly.

But the brilliance doesnt stop there, because the titular Babadook is a bit more than your standard monster in the closet. It is actually a personification of the mental illness in the mother, and her psychological decline is perfectly mirrored with the Babadook's increasingly aggressive and brazen behavior. When you realize that the monster's attacks are the result of her mental state and not the other way around, it is a whole new way to look at the story.

This... this is what I was looking for. In a project that is mostly safe stories told from cookie cutter templates this film towers above the rest. It challenges the very concept of horror by showing that real fear doesnt come from goofily designed monsters. In the Babadook's own words: 'once you see what's underneath, you're going to wish you were dead'.

It is certainly something that is worth a look, the movie called the Babadook.

BetrayedTangy - Its kind of surprising how much The Babadook and It Follows have in common. They both tackle themes of mental health through the lore of their monsters and how the scares arent just here for our entertainment. Theyre actually a look into the souls of these characters and what theyre going through. The way Amelias denial of grief and stress manifests itself into this horror that slowly creeps out while shes lying-in bed just thinking is fucking brilliant and hits really close to home. What I think makes it even better is just how fucking scary Mister Babadook is. You would think a name that stupid would ruin the tone of the movie, but no its the opposite in fact. The way he says his own name in that guttural voice gives me actual chills and add on that cracked out Mr. Hyde look hes got going on and you have one of the scariest monsters put on screen.

Fortybelowsummer - This is one of my favorite horror movies, and to me its a classic. The age-old fear of a folkloric monster coming to get you is (almost) always a good base to build on and this one does it beautifully. It doesnt rely on jump scares or gore but just builds up a lot of tension and suspense with some great shots and editing. The fact that this was written and directed by a woman makes all the difference, in my opinion. The psychological struggles of a mother with a disturbed child are just as harrowing as the monster itself. Speaking of the monster itself well, he just looks all kinds of creepy and the sounds he makes are literally the scariest thing Ive ever heard. Also, more often than not I dont like kids in horror movies because they either cant act or are too cookie cutter, but the kid in this one is great. Yes, the character is an annoying little butthole that you kind of wish the Babadook would kill, but hes portrayed with real raw troubled emotion.

Jcgamer107 - Some of the best psychological domestic horror you will ever see, with an Oscar-worthy performance from Essie Davis (the boy crushes it too). Most horror movies trying to use mental trauma or grief as a metaphor wish they could pull it off even half as well (The Ritual comes close). I am a proud owner of an authentic Babadook pop-up book, and while it hasnt brought about any hauntings or possessions (yet), it is one of my favorite pieces of movie memorabilia that I have. Jennifer Kent eventually followed this up with a strong historical drama called The Nightingale, with a few horror elements sprinkled in.

The swings here are pretty wild.

Babadook was excellent. As one of the writeups put it, there really was a lack of great "monster" type villains in this decade and to me this one stands out as possibly the best original creation (barring Pennywise from the discussion).

I think "grief is bad" isn't exactly the best takeaway you can get from the film. I think it more accurately portrays it as an emotion that's just an unfortunate part of life you have to deal with eventually. It's when you let it consume you for years upon years, to the point of desperation and constant anguish that is bad. And that part is what The Babadook represents to me.

Yeah I was being intentionally reductive there but my larger point remains the same.

Should be higher. Also the point isnt that grief is bad its about properly dealing with grief and the impacts of bereavement on parenting. The film also deserves credit for helping to start the new wave of female-directed horror films, as well as non-horror fans or directors turning to horror. If I recall correctly it was one of the films that inspired John Krasinski to direct A Quiet Place, that film does not exist without this one.

Also it isnt just that Babadook is so on the nose with its themes. You could say Get Out is also pretty heavy handed, but there is a great movie underlying it.