Nicest & Nastiest of 2007

The so-called Best & Worst List at the end of the year is always a tough but exciting task for anyone who reviews films. Reviewing is a tricky business, and for those of you who aren't employed as such, our logic can be hard to relate to and our picks puzzling. Hopefully, the following paragraphs will give you a bit of insight as to where I am coming from.

In addition to writing for Horror.com, I also review for TV-Wire, Sci Fi Weekly, and Buzzine magazine. This means that I see a lot of non-fright flicks — and even some movies that haven't come out yet, such as the excellent documentary Dreams With Sharp Teeth, the exciting fantasy adventure Inkheart, and the thought-provoking ghost story Paranormal Activity.

While I do get some privileged sneak peeks, my beyond-busy schedule as an entertainment reporter and features writer also means that I cannot possibly see all the movies that are released. There simply are not enough hours in the day and night. I hear that No Country For Old Men, American Gangster, 3:10 To Yuma, Atonement, The Darjeeling Limited and Walk Hard are excellent. I have not seen them.

I often find myself buried in avalanches of DVDs. During certain retail-bait seasons (Halloween and Christmas, for instance) I will get as many as 20 screeners a week. In addition to the new movies, there are an awful lot of special editions and re-releases.

Many of these movies are direct-to-disk, low budget, and completely forgettable. In going through my 2007 folder of reviews for the purpose of this compilation, I would look at some of the titles and not recall which movies they were. In some cases, the movies were so unremarkable that I'd have to open the file, read a few lines, and only then would it come back to me. (Other movies were so generic that I'd read the review again, viewing it as if someone else had written it! That's pretty bad.)

Nice: Direct to Disc & Limited Release Features

10. Wristcutters: A Love Story

9.   Lonely Hearts

8.   Silk

7.   Hatchet

6.   Gravedancers

5.   Alone With Her

4.   Wrong Turn 2

3.   Behind the Mask

2.   First Snow

1.   Fido

Nasty: Direct to Disc & Limited Release Features

10. Undead or Alive

9.   Bloody Mary

8.   Dark Corners

7.   Unholy

6.   Stir of Echoes 2

5.   Arang

4.   Perfect Creature

3.   Final Move

2.   The Dead One

1.   Creepshow 3

= = =

Nice: Wide Release Features

10. Saw IV

9.   P2

8.   Bug

7.   30 Days of Night

6.   Hannibal Rising

5.   Halloween

4.   Grindhouse

3.   The Orphanage

2.   Sunshine

1.   Joshua

Nasty: Wide Release Features

10. Vacancy

9.   One M1ssed Call

8.   Them

7.   Disturbia

6.   Fracture

5.   Blood and Chocolate

4.   The Invasion

3.   Ghost Rider

2.   Premonition

1.   The Invisible

= = =

Also:

Best non-horror movies: I'm Not There, Eastern Promises, The Hoax, Sleuth, Interview, Lust Caution, Hot Fuzz

Worst non-horror movies: The Last Mimsy, Epic Movie, Rush Hour 3, Beowulf, Fred Claus, The Water Horse, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Most fun guilty pleasures: I Know Who Killed Me, Captivity, Illegal Aliens, Skinwalkers, The Number 23, Mr. Brooks, Primeval, Brave One, Death Sentence

Should have liked them better; need to see them again to make up my mind: Zodiac, Sweeney Todd, Jesse James, 300, Day Watch, In The Valley of Ellah

A few that could have made the Nice list, had they not gone for the CGI-saturated Hollywood ending: I Am Legend, 1408, The Mist, 28 Weeks Later

Best on TV: Dexter, The Black Cat, Meadowlands

[end]