Best Movies of 2006

By Staci Layne Wilson

Much more than I should have, I really agonized over this list. Although some of these movies only came out in a few cities, I decided to make a separate "Best Of" list for movies that were in extremely limited release (like The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes, which I loved, but only came out for a few days in one movie theater in New York City).

As for the order of my Top 3, I actually got headaches trying to decide how they should fall. These were the only three movies I liked well enough to see more than once on the big screen, and they are so very different from one another, I didn't know how to say which was "better" than the other.

While I do think the #3 film is the most significant, and is certainly an instant classic, I put it there because #1 surprised me — it really swept me off my feet — and because #2 scared me — it is super-rare for me to be genuinely frightened by a movie anymore. So, the novelty of surprise and scares edged out my #3 pick, but I believe it will make more of a cinematic impression in the years to come. Only time will tell!

Although it feels like I see every movie ever released, even the ones that are homemade on consumer video cameras and acted out by the director's neighbors, I actually don't. I hear The Host is phenomenal, but I haven't seen it. I loved what I saw of The Dead Girl, but I only viewed about half of that movie, so I really can't judge it fairly until I see the rest. And so on. Consequently, if you don't see your favorite film of 2006 anywhere on my lists this year, it could well be because I somehow missed it.

Check out my other lists for the Best Indies and Direct-to-Disk, Worst of 2006, Best on TV, and much more. I'll be adding them in the days to come.

It's been a great, and very prolific, year for the genre of scares and suspense!

#10 Monster House

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: July 21

Directed by Gil Kenan

#9 The Omen

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: June 6

Directed by John Moore

#8 Running Scared

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: February 24

Directed by Wayne Kramer

#7 The Hills Have Eyes

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: March 10

Directed by Alexandre Aja

#6 The Illusionist

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: August 18

Directed by Neil Berger

#5 Perfume: The Story of Murderer

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: December 27

Directed by Tom Tykwer

#4 Hostel

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: January 6

Directed by Eli Roth

#3 Pan's Labyrinth

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: December 29

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

#2 The Descent

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: August 4

Directed by Neil Marshall

#1 Night Watch

U.S. Theatrical Release Date: February 17

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov

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Don't forget to look for the "worst of", "best quotes", "best on TV", & more, coming soon!