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FILM
HK Magazine’s Best Scary Flicks
Spending the weekend indoors? Evelyn Lok and Katie Kenny pick their top terrifiers.
Best Horror Classic
We’re going with two devilishly sinister psychological greats. Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”
(1980) is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, in which a seemingly normal family man
takes a position as hotel caretaker, at a deadly quiet hotel during the winter months. And in
“The Omen,” (1976) everyone surrounding an American diplomat’s freaky-looking son seems
to be dying a horrible death. Could the child be the spawn of Satan? Spoiler: yeah, probably.
Best Ghost Hunters
Real-life Amityville Horror-solvers Ed and Lorraine
Warren showcase their ghost-busting skills in “The
Conjuring,” (2013) a 1970s-style horror from “Saw”
director James Wan. Haunted-house movies don’t
usually get us, but Wan’s suspenseful Hitchcockian
shots left us shaking in our seats. Not even the dog
would go in the remote farmhouse! Listen to the dog!
Best Spoof
Lazy afternoons and cold beers go hand-in-hand while
watching Simon Pegg’s “Shaun of the Dead” (2004)—
its one-liners and silliness make it the King of zombie
parodies. A very different kind of spoof comes in the
form of Joss Whedon’s “The Cabin in the Woods,”
(2012) who turns every single horror trope on its head,
to freakish yet hilariously satisfying results.
Best Gory Flick
Fruit Chan’s most iconic 2004 flick “Dumplings” isn’t
one of those boring films where blood and guts get
flung around the screen. Instead it’s a slow, agonizing
gorefest based on a Chinese urban myth, which claims
that eating a fetus will preserve your youth. We dare
you to eat a bowl of wonton noodles after seeing it.
Best Found Footage Horror
“The Blair Witch Project” (1999) was the “Jaws”
of camping: ain’t nobody going to pitch a tent after
watching that. We’re still waiting for a horror-slashlost-footage
flick which can hold a flame to the OG
of the genre.
Best Kid-Scarer
Roald Dahl’s original book was an amazing work
of storytelling, but it was the 1990 adaptation of
“The Witches” that really scarred us for life.
Ju-on: The Beginning of the End
(Japan) The “Ju-on” horror franchise
continues with its seventh installment. The
series revolves around the same cursed
house in Nerima, Tokyo, where an enraged
husband suspects his wife of having an affair
and murders her, their son and their pet cat.
“The Beginning of the End” tells the original
story of how the curse came about.
This sounds like the beginning of a
new beginning, doesn’t it?
The Judge
(USA) Robert Downey Jr. plays a hotshot
lawyer (asshole; what RDJ does best) who
returns to his rural hometown for his mother’s
funeral, and is forced to make contact with his
estranged father (Robert Duvall)—the town’s
revered judge—who he finds is suspected
of murder. He becomes determined to find
the truth, while awkwardly bonding with his
folks again. A sappy plot, saved by great lead
performances. PPP
36 HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, October 24, 2014