Top 10 Horror Films of the Decade

The Second Horror Renaissance

Catching up with the times...

While the decade started out slow, finding the conclusion to many film series that should've died off years prior by way of excessive sequels, there was something magnificent happening behind the scenes, that would eventually give way to what some could argue, was the best decade in horror cinema.

Yes, eras like the 70s & 80s brought about many popular horror icons (such as Freddy, Michael, and Jason), but many were shallow, and lacked anything more than cheap thrills. When considering the later years, as horror lost it's popularity, and PG13 fun flicks took the stage, an occasional gem would spring up amidst the cesspool of shallow schlock, but the majority were uninspired carbon copies, or remakes. Films like Scream & The Blair Witch Project worked to keep the industry alive, commenting on the culture that had sprung up around the fandom, and subverting expectations; but it was ultimately not enough to fully resurrected the Golden Age of horror.

As each series progressed, they strayed further and further from the material that made their beginnings so important. Not long after, every horror movie was made with goal of creating a franchise in mind, and it ultimately lead to the dark ages of horror, the LATE 90s, and the first decade of the new millennium. During that time, it felt like every new movie was a budget quick drop, just trying to find an idea that stuck, and when it did, the machine would just pump out as many sequels as it could before the hype died down.

This continued on until sometime around 2013, when the majority of franchises like Saw and Paranormal Activity began to lose the audiences' interest, and tried to end their franchises with nothing more than a whimper. While Hollywood's big names were scrambling to ditch the horror genre, new companies began picking up many avante-garde independent films, and started to treat horror as a legitimate genre deserving of the same respect it's peers received. Blumhouse, Monkeypaw, A24, and a number of small foreign companies began seeing great success in the festival circuit, and it wasn't long, before the industry took notice, with many of their films hitting the big screen.

It was during this time that the line between genres began to blur; combining elements of horror, mystery, drama, and suspense. Horror movies began to transform, and from them, came some of the best titles to EVER grace the screen.

Top 10 of the 2010s

The VVitch (2015)

The Babadook (2014)

Midsommar (2019)

Hereditary (2018)

Us (2019)

Get Out (2017)

Don't Breath (2016)

The Lighthouse (2019)

Suspiria (2018)

Parasite (2019)

25 Honorable Mentions (By Year)

• Black Swan (2010)
• I Saw the Devil (2010)
• Attack the Block (2011)
• Detention (2011)
• American Mary (2012)
• The Bay (2012)
• Cabin in the Woods (2012)
• Rigor Mortis (2013)
• Evil Dead (2013)
• The Sacrament (2013)
• Late Phases (2014)
• It Follows (2014)
• A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
• Spring (2014)
• Starry Eyes (2014)
• Bone Tomahawk (2015)
• The Nightmare (2015)
• Crimson Peak (2015)
• Neon Demon (2016)
• Raw (2016)
• I am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
• It: Chapter I (2017)
• The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
• The Ritual (2017)
• A Quiet Place (2018)

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RTSC Art Fest Short Story

Justice League: Aftermath

If life was a movie, this would be my opening sequence for the next chapter. I imagine myself watching my children playing in slow motion, like something from a dream. Shimmering sand careens down around my daughters hair, as she gleefully tosses it into the air, embracing the bright warm day. Winter overstayed its welcome, it’s tenants cold and hunger as well. At this moment, the darkness recedes before us, and I feel something like hope.

Hope, Hope is fleeting but for in these small moments we are at peace. Even if it doesn’t last, my little soldiers are once again children, and I, just a mother. Nothing more, nothing less.

Laughter fills the air, and breaks the silence, as my son plays just within earshot with the neighboring camp children. Our humble sanctuaries don’t lend themselves to much more than survival, let alone social gatherings. Instead, we cower in silence, buried deep beneath the desert sands in our makeshift catacombs, keeping a vigilant watch for predators just like the slithering and creeping inhabitants of the wastelands.

Just beyond the horizon, the smoldering fires of another group rise high into the sky, likely burning the waste, or bodies, from those who did not survive the winter. Beyond that, the sky is clear, it is a welcome sight. 

I had let my guard down. A glint in the distance, and the sonic blast like a gunshot that followed, shatter the serenity, and I realize we have been careless. I can only hope that my family is spared our deserved fate, by the sacrifice of those even more foolish to reveal their location in such unregulated measures. I am grateful that they should die, so my children may live. 

A blast erupts from the nearby camp, but it doesn’t drown out the screams. He is looking for new slaves, new soldiers. Reflexively, my son darts to my side, and I sweep my tiny daughter up into my arms. The sand is soft beneath my steps, and threatens to engulf me, but my will is iron, and my haven is within reach.

The hinges creek and scrape beneath the weight of the door, grinding the glimmering sand as it opens, offering hope of survival to its inhabitants. There is no time to be concerned with stealth, and it’s too late to apply our sound dampening pillows and blankets, instead, we recede deeper still, as the heavy iron door crashes cacophonously closed at our backs, a metallic cry rattling our concrete tomb.

And, as so many nights before, the light dies. My daughter softly extinguishes the candle in an effort to conceal it’s soft glow from escaping the minuscule circulation duct that breathes us life giving air. For a moment, all is still, all, is silent.

Then, like the sound of bunker piercing mortar fire we can hear his fists pummeling away at the thick concrete surface above us. His fists, like sledgehammers chiseling away to find the mysteries contained within the hidden places of our world. When the Devil's herald calls for you there is no resistance against his mighty strength, a Demi-god unrelenting in it’s pursuit, and full of righteous wrath, corrupted by the tendrils of our New Gods that have claimed this Earth as their own; and every king needs subjects, and every god, worshipers.

Like plague locusts, his subjects flutter about the landscape and devour. Once my brothers and sisters, now, nothing more than mindless hordes, those whose minds, and bodies, were distorted into forms from nightmares, and these are the lucky ones. The rest, whom God could find no use for, slave away at the Devil’s furnace, stoking the flames of his engines, and offering tributes of servitude to their king.

Cowering in the dark corner of our bunker, the pounding stops, and the red glow pierces the darkness as molten concrete and lead pour from the wound in the ceiling. His emanating light flits about, as he begins to carve his way into our sanctuary.

Before me, the beast of our damnation, in my arms my children, and to my side, the rifle of our deliverance. I feel the warm tears stream down my face, and the shiver of my babies, and I can no longer bear the thought of mortal servitude to such a monstrosity. If it means their eternal rest at the expense of my own damnation, then my immortal soul for theirs seems a small price to pay. Forgive me Father, and deliver my children to your throne. 

His figure is distorted in my tear blurred vision when he breaks through the barrier, and the trigger is tight and cold in my hands. I’m sure he heard the first two shots, but I’ll never know if he heard the third. 

The Sludgelord: ALBUM REVIEW: Suicide Silence, “Become The Hunter”...

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The Sludgelord: ALBUM REVIEW: Exhumation, “Eleventh Formulae”

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Best Metal 2019

Top 25 (Ranked)

1-10 Reviews

1. Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas

Cattle Decapitation return with their 7th full length studio album, unveiling to the world, what may be the single most important release of our generation. As the Earth burns, plague descends upon the masses, and species diversity is reduced exponentially, Death Atlas paints a bleak reality in which humankind finally brings the Anthropocene epoch to its tragic end. This is the conclusion to a three part concept focused on the negative impact humanity has had on their ecosystem, and this is every bit the epic finale fans desired. It's a culmination of all their previous albums, and shifts seemlessly between grindcore, brutal death metal, and slam.

2. Abbath - Outstrider

Black Metal ambassadors Abbath once again assault the listener with their frosted blend of Norwegian extreme metal. Featuring all the theatrical sensibility, and catchy riffs one has come to expect from this group, Outstrider is the Black Metal equivalent of hair metal, but with a much more ferocious edge. Every bit as epic as it is brutal.

3. Mayhem – Daemon

The godfathers of "Trve Kvlt" Black Metal, Mayhem return after a long hiatus to once again crawl out from the darkened depths, and weave an atmosphere of "Daemon-ic" terror. Featuring all the expected stylings of a band known for bringing the genre into the mainstream, it's refreshing to find such a familiar sound. Deamon has much higher production value than previous records, but somehow keeps the recorded in a catacomb sound they've come to be known for; a feat only Mayhem can make actually work.

4. Darkthrone – Old Star

Another original contributor of the extreme metal pantheon, Darkthrone make a brutal comeback, but instead of showcasing their old bag of tricks, Old Star livens things up a bit, with an almost Blackened Thrash dynamic. Every bit a headbanger album as it is a dark and grim exploration of occultism and anti-theism, Darkthrone's newest venture is a solid gateway drug for those seeking something a little more on the blackened side.

5. Belzebubs - Pantheon of the Nightside Gods

Speaking of Pantheons, Belzebubs debut album Pantheon of the Nightside Gods is a love letter to many of the other classic bands on this list. Featuring riffs, hooks, and choruses, Belzebubs' unconventional approach to Black Metal has caused a stir in the "trve kvlt" community. Don't believe the negativity, the only people who could hate this album are jaded elitists who simply hate quality song writing, and intuitive production...and maybe cartoons. Every. Single. Track. Could exist as a single, and would fit just as well among the black metal heroes, as they would the extreme metal chart toppers.They have no business being THIS good, but here we are sitting pretty at #5.

6. Sacrilege – The Court of the Insane

Thrash and Heavy Metal veterans Sacrilege are yet another pre-millenial outfit making a return to the charts with the release of The Court of the Insane. Featuring a variety of metal influences, they manage the pacing well; raucous fist pumping head bangers, and driving hard rock jams abide.

7. Wilderun - Veil of Imagination

Boston based "Symphonic/Progressive/Folk-Metal" outfit Wilderun brings a unique approach to folk metal, showcasing their expansive musical influences, and expressing a deeper artistic nature than many may be ready for. With themes of nature, and folklore, Veil of Imagination is an introspective examination of one's self in the universe.

8. Venom Prison – Samsara

If it wasn't clear yet, 2019 was the year of Black Metal. Venom Prison unleash a vitriolic force of feminine rage, and social awareness not usually seen outside the realm of anarchic punk rock, but any dissenters are dared to speak out against this fury. Whether or not you agree with their approach to comparing the female body to a bloody child factory, or assuming that child rearing is a form of enslavement, Samsara is an unrelenting audio assault against the patriarchy.

9. Swallow the Sun - When A Shadow is Forced Into the Light

Poetic from title to composition, Swallow the Sun's - When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light is the type of dreary Melodic Death Doom than fans of emotional gravitas have longed for. Heavy as hell in some sections, Swallow the Sun never sacrifice quality for brutality, nor the other way around.

10. November's Doom – Nephilim Grove

Novembers Doom has a long history of top notch Death Doom releases, and the concept album Nephilim Grove is a narrative woven deeply in the realm of supernatural darkness and death. While rounding out the top 10 list, there are several tracks featured on this record that could easily outshine (shadow?) even the best offering from the rest of the pack. When taken as a complete composition, Nephilim Grove may not be the highest ranking, but it's an absolute favorite.

11-25 List

11. Saint Vitus – "Saint Vitus" (Doom)
12. Vale of Pnath – "Accursed" (Technical Death)
13. White Ward – "Love Exchange Failure" (Experimental/Post-Black)
14. Dawn Ray'd – "Behold Sedition Plainsong" (Black)
15. Fit for An Autopsy – "The Sea of Tragic Beasts" (Deathcore)
16. 1349 – "The Infernal Pathway" (Black)
17. Full of Hell – "Weeping Choir" (Noise, Grindcore/Power-Violence, Death)
18. Nailed to Obscurity - "Black Frost" (Melodic Death/Doom)
19. Devourment – "Obscene Majesty" (Slam, Brutal Death)
20. Nile – "Vile Nilotic Rites" (Technical Death)
21. Grief Collector – "From Dissension to Avowal" (Doom)
22. Cellar Darling - "The Spell" (Progressive/Folk)
23. Abigail Williams – "Walk Beyond the Dark" (Atmospheric Black)
24. In Mourning – "Garden of Storms" (Gothic, Death)
25. No One Knows What the Dead Think – "No One Knows What the Dead Think" (Technical Grindcore)

"Best Metal 2019" on Spotify / Best Metal 2019 on Apple Music

Honorable Mentions (Unranked)

· Lethvm – Acedia
· Signs of the Swarm – Vital Depravation
· Batushka – Hospodi
· Shock Narcotic – I've Seen the Future, and It Doesn't Work
· Helevorn - Aamata
· GROUND – Mourn Innocence
· Yatra – Death Ritual
· Le Chants Du Hasard – Livre Second
· Wormwitch – The Heaven That Dwells Within
· Mystifier - Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia

Singles, EPs, & LPs (Ranked)

1. Lorna Shore - "This is Hell" Single, "Darkest Spawn" Single 
2. The Dark Prison Massacre – Overtreated Cause Opposited EP 
3. At the Gates – With the Pantheons Blind EP 
4. Man Made God – Man Made God EP 
5. Signs of the Swarm -  "Malevolent Enslavement" Single, "Crown of Nails" Single 
6. OhCult – Occult EP 
7. Beastmaker – Eye of the Storm EP 
8. To Obey a Tyrant – Conjuring Damnation EP 
9. Within Thy Wounds – Demo  
10. Corpseflesh - "Re-Arranged with a 12-Gauge Shotgun" Single, "Grotesque Inbreds" Single