Movie Review : Split

Not too far removed from "Silence of the Lambs" in terms of the depth of horror. It is a much more intense character study than the Hannibal films. The intent is unclear where Hannibal is more calculated and some of this uncertainty is what makes the movie more unnerving.   M. Night Shyamalan comes pretty close to breaking away from the Rubix cube like formula we find in most of his films and finally delivers a horror movie. He got scary with "the 6th Sense" but takes it in a more disturbing direction that could have easily gone the way of torture porn, which at times I hoped for. It was very reserved when it comes to the violence. In truth the movie really hangs upon James McAvoy's career defining performance that has changed the game as to how you will see him going forward. Insanity is a key component to his character who has a multiple personality disorder . We mainly see the more dominant ones.

Until the end he really doesn't use much in the way of make up to change personalities, in fact he might wear a woman's clothes , but it is all in how he uses the nuances of her personality to transform him self. He captures the energy and innocence of a child and really makes you forget about Professor X or any other of his roles. They get right to the dirty work and prove you don't have to waste too much time trying to make you sympathetic to the victims in order to make you feel the danger. Even the more don't go in the basement escape moments are fluid and make sense given the protagonists are mainly teenager's aside from his therapist.

One thing I feel separates great horror movies from mediocre is the ability to make the most out of beautiful shots and create something more compelling than a blood bath.  Shyamalan proves that "the 6th Sense" was not a fluke, and despite the movies pg-13 rating creates something that draws you in visually as well as emotionally. Sure it was a little cheesy to tie it into "Unbreakable". Some times the over the top transformations McAvoy makes are even a little funny though it is disarming to the character in the story being told. If you like the more suspenseful side of horror , I think this movie will be dark enough for you and if you like "psycho" characters then this is a must see.

the Top 10 Horror Movies of 2016

Here are my top 10 horror movies of 2016. This year the terror was much more human. Also there is some hope for the genre as last year was not able to scrape together enough movies to even make a list, so while the small screen is still more dominant there might be some hope for the years to come.

10 - 31

This movie was fun , which is much more than you can say for "Lords of Salem". I sat and watched this all in one sitting and like the fact the ending did not play by the rules. Rob Zombie was starting to get his groove back, so here was his take on the Purge or Saw type films. 

9- Hush

The only thing I didn't like about this movie was how the maniac's motives were so unclear. Otherwise it took the home invasion trope and did some interesting things with it. Think it worked better for me than "Intruders". 

8- Jeruzalem- 

I liked how this movie updated the whole found footage thing. Sure some of the CGI needed some work when it came to the monsters. In many ways it owed more to "Hostel" than other horror movies , but some how it all kept me watching , which says more than the other horror movies I slept through this year. 

7- Under the Shadow

While nothing like "It Follows" it did follow the path that things are not going to work out so well for every one and created a looming sense of unease and dread, that went much further than some of the pop fare that worked out CGI and jump scares. 

6-Holidays

When this anthology worked it really knocked it out of the ball park, Christmas, Easter and St Patrick's day all earned it this place on the list. Halloween was one of the more disappointing moments. But overall it earned multiple feelings of discomfort which is what I want from Horror. 

5- Neon Demon 

If David Lynch had decided to re-make "Black Swan" with a few changes like, turning the ballet dancers to models in Hollywood, then I am sure the results would have been very similar. If you are getting compared to David Lynch you are doing something right. It didn't get into the more typical horror moods until the 3rd act, but earned it's spot here. 

4-the Purge : Election Year

This could have been a worse political statement. Instead it worked off what made 'Anarchy" work without trying to hard to re-create it or shove "Black Lives Matter" down your throat. It was hinted at , but despite the title handled in a very tasteful way. 

3- What We Become

The sole zombie movie on here, as predicted the zombie genre is pretty much dead in theaters with the Walking Dead as the only real source for that. This film did manged to breathe a little life into the genre and did something that we have not seen done to death. 

2- Southbound

This anthology was not done in the manner we saw in the VHS films. They tied it together much like "Pulp Fiction" . Sure the specter things could have been better , but all the other elements brought together the dread in a very creative manner. 

1- The Witch 

There was no contest here, this wasn't just the best horror movie , but the best movie. It measured up against anything I saw and could be more deserving of an Oscar than any of the movies we saw at the Golden Globes. Black Phillip was tremendous and better than most of the actors in Hollywood.