Top 10

10. Lords of Salem
I'm told that the book Rob Zombie "co-wrote" helps clarify a lot of the plot holes of the movie -- although I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. That said, this was Sheri Moon's best performance yet and visually the movie was awesome. I'm all about Salem and witches and the sort, so I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was pretty creeped out by the weird tentacle baby and the humping montage -- but it was at the end, so I had kind of selectively checked out by then.

9. Room 237
Look, I'm one of the first people to dig up a conspiracy theory and run with it and this does an awesome job of bringing up some good ideas but they often lack actual or even theoretical evidence. The symbolism and backstory of the filming is interesting and engaging but it kind of lead to me investigating things other than The Shinning.

8. Insidious: Chapter Two
Was I the only one that thought all of the characters were a little less annoying and more believable this time around? Regardless, James Wan and Leigh Whannell are amazing writers and I'll see anything they put their names on.

7. Hatchet III
I don't feel the need to defend this choice with a plot description...I loved the first two and the third included Scream Queen Danielle Harris. Yeah, this one isn't as crisp as the first two and it drug out a little long in parts for me, but I'm a fan of Victor Crowley. I'll watch all the blood dumped from buckets off screen they can throw at me.

6. American Mary
I loved Katharine Isabelle as Mary; she commits wholeheartedly and delivers an impressive character. The Soska Sisters direct a darkly beautiful film and I want to see more of their work.

5. The Conjuring
Maybe it's because I had a soft spot for Lorraine Warren back when I started seeing her cameos on Paranormal State, but I thought this was enjoyable. Some of the effects were a little hokey and the plot ran thin at times, but I appreciated the homage to "The Exorcist"'s make up effects when the mother gets possessed.

4. V/H/S 2
I wasn't a fan of each individual short as much as I was the first time around, but I'm excited that this is a sort of franchise that is taking off. At least it's still supporting creativity and doing new things. Also -- the end of the world cult and the demon baby jacked my sleeping schedule up for a few days. I can't lie about that.

3. Evil Dead
I could gripe about some differences between the original and what should've been done differently, but overall I thought it was clean and clever and super well done. The characters were developed almost enough for me to care about them, but not too much for me to not think they were stupid for opening a demonic book in the woods. Also, the gore was so intense and impressive without being just unbelievable and ridiculous. Except for the part where she's peeling her own face off with a mirror... although that might happen to you on meth.

2. This is the End
I want these guys to be my friends. Such a clever take on the over saturated Apocalypse/End of the World movies. Yes, the majority of the film was more of a comedy but the trepidation and death scenes are so worth it. Do I need to mention that Jonah Hill has a wild night with a demon? Who doesn't want to see that pan out?

1. Maniac
I first pirated this movie when I heard about it and for some reason had to watch it in French. Regardless, I still loved it and even more so when I actually watched it in my own language. Elijah Wood is creepy as hell in this even though much of the movie is shot from his POV and you don’t actually see him on screen much. The film itself was gorgeous and the effects were well done throughout. I even could appreciate the female lead without any eye rolls. Definitely a worthy remake.

Bottom 3

3. Oz: The Great and Powerful
I think this is scary because James Franco is doing whatever he wants ... and people are following him. I'm looking at you Mila Kunis. Why was this made either? Return to Oz sucked too. There's a trend here people, obviously no one is listening.

2. A Haunted House
I didn't even see this. It's on my list because I'm so mad that these movies are even still being made. It wasn't funny the first time and it's not getting any better.

1. R.I.P.D.
I thought it could be funny; to my defense it had The Dude in it. I was disappointed and embarrassed.