15. “Unfriended: Dark Web”
Of all the slashers in 2018 horror, were any as uniquely disturbing as the internet in “Unfriended: Dark Web?” Indeed, it was the world wide web that brandished death in its hand in the Blumhouse sequel to the 2014 sleeper hit “Unfriended.” The sorta-sequel establishes this series as a grim anthology about the malevolence of online culture. Director Stephen Susco takes us on a most unpleasant journey into the more salacious parts of the internet to weave a cautionary tale about the evils that anonymity can allow. It’s not just about unsuspecting millennials getting virtually doxed or hacked off by the fearful forces that be; it’s a film about just how important it is that we all treat each other with kindness and compassion in the age of cruel connectivity. Because, as ‘Dark Web’ argues, the wolves of the dark web prowl when we don’t, and they’ll get their kills without ever showing their fangs. – Cory Woodroof
14. “Cam”
Daniel Goldhaber’s debut feature “Cam” is refreshing, both in its empathetic, but yet normal treatment of sex workers and as a techno-horror film that doesn’t feel the need to come with the habitual cruel and pessimistic worldview of said technology. The film does not shame Alice (a terrific Madeline Brewer) for her job as a “cam girl,” nor does it finger-wave when it her account is hacked and taken over by a doppelganger (and truthfully, is there a greater modern fear than being locked out of *any* of your web accounts?). Alice loves her job, the film loves that she loves her job (and if anything, it’s more a statement on the kind of taboo fetishes people are into when hiding behind a keyboard. Even then, it’s not really shaming in that regard, either), and she’s immediately getting back to that job as soon as the conflict can be resolved (*if* it can be resolved). “Cam” takes sexuality as an empowerment, and the film’s base fears revolve around hacking, manipulation, impersonation and the upending of life through technology, not because of the job. Despite occasional lapses in logic, “Cam” is an efficient, fresh little thriller, and film’s thrilling, unexpected final moments will leave you holding your breath. – RO
13. “Overlord”
It makes sense that after “The Cloverfield Paradox” debacle Paramount would want to drop the Cloverfield Cinematic Universe (CCU) connections from Julius Avery’s strong war/horror film mashup (though maybe the billing would have helped the box office prospects). Or, maybe releasing a strong genre picture *before* Halloween instead of at the beginning of award season would have been a better play. Whatever the case may be, “Overlord” deserved much better. From the opening and thoroughly thrilling plane crash sequence to the explosive compound finale, Avery’s film is a textbook example of efficient storytelling, character development through action, and gut-wrenching tension. Wyatt Russell has (rightfully) earned praise for essentially channeling his father in Carpenter’s “The Thing,” but it’s Jovan Adepo (“Fences”) who is the film’s heart, and a heart that plunges headfirst into the darkness. The dichotomy of a hardened soldier who’s seen it all and a young private forcefully drafted and not cut out for war is hardly a new dynamic. But that barrier broken down by unspeakable horrors neither could possibly imagine, and banding together to take down evil is an exciting angle that rewards the characterizations and makes us care all the way through the movie’s brutal and bloody third act. – RO
12. “Revenge”
If a Slim Aarons photoshoot turned into a bloodbath, you’d have this gorgeous piece of pop art from first-time director Coralie Fargeat. But “Revenge” isn’t all style and no substance; instead, Fargeat’s script takes what could have been a standard rape-revenge drama and gives it a slickly feminist spin. A trip to a remote desert with her boyfriend (Kevin Janssens) goes wrong for Jen (Matilda Lutz), and soon she’s in the midst of a peyote-fueled neon nightmare where she takes vengeance for an act of violence committed against her. But it isn’t just Jen’s refusal to be a victim that makes “Revenge” so powerful, it’s how it treats her and the men in the film. She isn’t judged – or blamed – for her choices, and the movie is surprisingly sex positive given its subgenre. But Fargeat also offers the rare female gaze in horror (as well as in the medium as a whole); though her badass heroine is clad in almost nothing, it’s men and their bodies who are the objects – and the prey – in this gloriously gory take on the trope. – KM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QshOhQ5lkmU
11. “Upgrade”
Look, we hate to make anyone feel guilty for the things that they enjoy, but we need to have a serious talk. It’s difficult to accept anyone liking “Venom” in an ironic sense when “Upgrade”— a similar, far superior film that centers around a similar relationship between a guy and some kind of force that relinquishes control over his motor skills— exists. A mashup between “The Terminator” and Frank Henenlotter’s gonzo 1988 masterwork “Brain Damage,” “Upgrade” starts out like a straightforward revenge film with a cybernetic twist. A car accident leaves Grey Trace (a terrific Logan Marshall-Green) a quadriplegic and kills his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo), until he is implanted with an experimental chip (STEM) that turns him nearly superhuman. The interaction between Green and his implant is darkly humorous (very akin to “Brain Damage”), until the horror kicks in and the film takes on a nastier edge. We’ll avoid spoilers, but the “Upgrade” enhances itself from a simple revenge narrative to a drastically terrifying horror film, akin to an excellent “Twilight Zone” episode, with a non-preachy message and a twist of irony. Made for $5 million, “Upgrade” looks better and more well-realized than films made for 20x its budget like, say, oh you know, “Venom.” – RO
