The Best Horror Movies of 2011

This years Best of list is going to generate some controversy. A few of the movies that we've included are ones that you won't find near anyone elses' "Best of" lists, and we didn't do that just to be different. Every movie on this list deserves to be seen because they genuinely affected us in one way or another, and more so than any others films that may have missed the cut. They also entertained the hell out of us.

You, our dear Horror friends, should do what you can to see these movies. Maybe they won't be something you'd put on your own Top 10 list, but we'd be surprised if most of them weren't.

If you see only one genre movie from 2011, it really should be this one. It's impossible to explain why this movie is so fantastic, especially in a short recap paragraph, but good lord we promise you that it is. When Asian filmmakers get their Horror right, they tend to nail it, and South Korea seems to be especially good at making, gritty, visceral Thrillers that stop you dead in your tracks and make you catch your breath. This is our pick for best flick of the year, and you need it in your Horror life! You could at least rent it to celebrate the fact that Kim IL Dong is dead. South Korea is best Korea! (Political commentary, we're edgy.)

This is Founf Footage done perfectly. You will gape at this movie, you will smile at this movie, and you will curse its ending! It made me actually wonder if maybe trolls were real, and if they did in fact roam the Norwegian countryside. This movie is pure enjoyment, mixing crazy lore, fun characters, and some fairly creepy/tense moments together to give us a movie that really is about as unique as it gets. Run, don't walk, and get a copy for you and your loved ones. Maybe even the neighbors.

No movie this year has been as talked about on this site as this one. 100k people have read our reviews, and hundreds have commented about it; we're talking comments of people who were genuinely disturbed and affected by this movie, and that says something. It may not be a better film than some of the movies that were left off of this list, but it certainly is a more important one, and should be seen by everyone. We will go on record as saying that the last 22 minutes or so of this movie were some of the most genuinely disturbing and terrifying that we've ever seen, and they will fuck you up. We just threw the gauntlet, didn't we? Watch this with your teenagers. Thank you Michael Goi, for making a movie that had a point and still managed to make us wet our pantaloons. *On a side note, MIM Director Michael Goi is not only the standing ASC President for 3 terms, but he's the guy responsible for the visuals of American Horror Story. Those facts alone should give him credibility with anyone, and they are reason enough to check out this labor of love project.

This is Horror comedy perfection. Well, maybe not perfection, but damn it all if it didn't feel like it. This movie should have sucked, because it's so simplistic and cheesy, but I will be forever damned if it it's anything but. The actors are what make this so good and funny. The script really makes no sense and goes nowhere, but what a great, amusing ride that trip to nowhere is. Can we call this the American equivalent of Shaun of the Dead? I think we can, kinda sorta. It was definitely on par with Shaun, albeit in a different way. Less "British-y." If you like your Horror funny, then you need to see this movie.

And here's where the true controversy begins... "What in the fuck is The Devil's Rock? And why does that poster look cheesy as hell?" Go on, you can say it. We can not judge you for doubting this movie. For some reason though, this movie hit the mark perfectly for us, and it's a shame that a lot of people probably think it's some shitty B-grade suck fest, because it's anything but. It's got a small cast, it takes place in a bunker during WWII, it involves the Nazi obsession with Demons and Black Magick, and it works extremely well for what it is. Top 10 of the year, though? It immediately stuck out in our mind when the time came to compile lists, so, yeah. Don't sleep on this one. Nazi's + Horror usually equals awesome, and in this case, it definitely does.

And the second WTF movie of our list is The Shrine. This was the biggest surprise of the year for us. It worked on so many levels that we sat through it a few times, and liked it more with each viewing. It's a slow burn for the first half, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but once it really kicks into gear, this movie is a creep-fest of the finest order. Not many movies truly give us a good scare these days, but this is one of the precious few that managed to. It's a neat, twisty little flick that ends up taking you to a place that you don't think it's going to... and that place is a creepy Polish farmhouse. Trust us, it's good stuff. Netflix this one if you can, and enjoy.

The last movie of 2011 that we had the pleasure of catching was also one of the best; to say this movie is intense is an understatement. Pants were shat. It seems to us that most movies that involve the dangers of mountain climbing tend to make us pucker-up (you know, down there), and this one was definitely effective in that department. What makes this movie interesting is that it changes gears towards the end, and almost becomes an entirely different movie. No matter, because from start to finish this was one hell of a fun movie. Also, Mmmelissa George is in it, and why would that not instantly make a movie more awesome? Good stuff.

Home, not House; the one with Daniel Craig was kinda meh. This movie came out of nowhere and kicked our asses. Josie Ho is a natural at playing a psychopathic, well, ho, and the things she does in this movie... let's just say that sht gets really nasty. You kind of sympathize with her character for a minute here and there throughout the movie, but it's impossible to like her. She kills everybody,and she's really messy and nasty about it too. This is a solid flick that will make Gorehounds happy, especially those that love that Hong Kong nastiness.

Maybe the best American Horror movie made in 2011, Stake Land is a flick that does Vampires right, and on the cheap. In this day and age, a movie like this deserves all kinds of love; no glitter; no fruity, awfully crafted love story; no vampire proms... this is a Vampire Apocalypse movie that paints a bleak and bloody picture of a PA world that sucks you in and doesn't let go until the end. This is truly one of the best Vampire movies we've seen in a long time, and it will be in our pantheon of bloodsucking greats for all of eternity.


Check the post below for the movies that didn't make the top 10, but that absoloutly deserve some Honorable Mention...