the quiet ones

Top 10 horror movies of 2014

# 10 AFFLICTED

Afflicted

This indie horror is in the list for two reasons. First both the directors Derek Lee and Clif Prowse played the lead roles in the film and that too very well, which is really exceptional. The other reason is its stylish and creative use of found footage, shooting brilliantly on so many foreign locations without any permission. Two friends on a global backpacking tour are having fun until one of them get afflicted after meeting a female. Soon his position worsens and now in a foreign country both the friends needs to discover the source of this before it is too late. The film got a limited release and thus earn only around $121000 but holds a 79% rating on rotten tomatoes.

 

# 9 WHAT DO WE DO IN SHADOWS

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This one really is an altogether a different take on vampires. The three vampire protagonists of the film continuously struggle in the film to pay the rent, managing the house chores and hiding their identities as well. These hundred year old vampires are now fade up with the sun light catastrophes. Again both the directors Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi star in the film. The film did a business of around 2 million dollars with extremely positive reception by critics.

 

# 8 OUIJA

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This film went into production in 2008 and was supposed to be a big budget supernatural action at par with Pirates of the Caribbean. The final product is relatively made on a lower budget though with names like Jason Blum and Michael Bay involved. After the tragic death of Laine’s friend possibly because of an Ouija board, she decides to summon her spirit by using the same board. Her friend is not invoked, however a dark spirit comes out only to make things worse. The film was critically panned but a financial success making around 74 million US dollars on a budget of just 5 million.

 

# 7 THE GREEN INFERNO

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After 5 years we get to see Eli Roth directing again and the results is superb. This Cannibal Holocaust meets Hostel is a treat for gory lovers. A group of students travel to the amazon for protection of a native tribe but after their plane crashes, they found themselves victims of the very tribe they were trying to save. The film is shot in actual locations with real tribal people as extra. Sadly the film is yet not released worldwide. The film holds a rating of 63% on rotten tomatoes.

 

 

# 6 THE QUITE ONES

the quiet ones

This British supernatural horror tells the story of a professor who doesn’t believe in ghosts and to prove this, he performs an experiment on a young woman. He had never imagined that he is going to invoke a terrifying dark, unexpected and very powerful force from it. The film directed by John Vogue has some brilliant jump scares., powerful acting by the lead actor and a tight screenplay. Although the critics had mixed opinion for it with a rating of just 36% on rotten tomatoes, it did financially well making around 17 million dollars from the box office.

 

# 5 THE GUEST

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We all screamed, shivered and loved the slasher film you’re Next last year. The same director Adam wingard is behind our no 5. A soldier meets a family claiming he is their son’s friend who died at war. The family welcomes him but their teenage daughter is not quite satisfied with the soldier’s theory. She suspects something and at the same time finds out that after his arrival dead bodies are found every other day in the village. It qualifies as a thriller and a slasher with a suspenseful storyline and a terrific performance by the lead actor Dan Stevens. Critics hugely appreciated the film, although the box office figures were disappointing with just around 300000 dollars.

 

# 4 ANNABELLE

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This spin off of The Conjuring has no match with the original film but comes up as a complete entertainer. A man buys his expecting wife a vintage doll. On one horror night some satanic cultists invade their home. Annabelle, a woman among them conjures a supernatural force before dying and puts that dark soul into the doll. James Wan does not direct the film; instead his cinematographer John R. Leonetti has done the job and the direction is quite good. The cast is also new but they have also done a satisfactory job. It received only a 29% rating on rotten tomatoes. The critics said the film was too inspired from other horror films and periodically cheap, but it was a box office blockbuster. In fact it is the most successful film of 2014 making about 252 million dollars on a budget of just 7 million.

 

 

# 3 THE PURGE: ANARCHY

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The number 3 goes to the sequel of The Purge. This part called The Purge: Anarchy was slightly better than its predecessor. Director James Demonaco who made the first part too, has done a fair job. While the original part was based in a house, this part the story is placed in the city. The annual purge day when anybody can commit a crime without the fear of punishment is more gritty and grisly in the sequel. The film got a 56% rating on rotten tomatoes and did a business of around 110 million dollars on a budget of just 9 million.

 

# 2 THE BABADOOK

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The only film in this list, which is directed by a female. This Australian psychological horror was remarkable not for one but many reason. A single mother is trying her best to raise her only son after the tragic death of her husband. But after the mysterious appearance of a book called Babadook, the boy starts behaving strangely. While the mother thought it to be just the stubbornness of children, it proves something more horrible way beyond her imagination. The film directed by Jennifer Kent showcased the emotion and fear of a mother in a very moving way. The screenplay is not based on jump scares and cheap thrills, instead the atmosphere-the characters and their inner conflicts brings us one of the best horror of 2014. The critics hugely appreciated the film; currently holding a 98% rating on rotten tomatoes with a decent box office figure of around 5 million dollars on a budget of 2 million.

 

# 1 OCULUS

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The debutant director Mike Flanagan made a short horror film titled Oculus: chapter 3, the man with the plan. This 30 minute short horror rocked the fans and the festivals and he later got to convert it into a full-length feature. The film is about an ancient mirror which is the home of a dark soul living inside of it for hundred of years. This entity is not a normal ghost; it is smart, clever and merciless. A boy, who witnessed the mysterious deaths of his parents, comes out from a psychiatric hospital after years, looking for a peaceful life. But his sister believes that the reason behind the death of their parents was the ancient mirror in their house. She has a plan that includes installing cameras all over the house to bring out the secret hidden in the mirror. The siblings start their experiment only to find out that the mirror is powerful way beyond their imagination. The film is told in two different storylines happening at two different times. The first one when the parents brought the mirror into the new home, and the other at the current time when the siblings are doing this experiment. The film is absolutely fresh, original and tells these two different stories in a superb way. It holds a 74% rating on rotten tomatoes and did an impressive box office business of 44 million dollars on a budget of 5 million.

 

Honorable mention, who couldn’t make it in the top ten 

# Devil’s Due

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Another found footage horror on the line of Rosemary’s baby.

 

# Deliver us from evil

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Story of a cop meeting a priest to solve the mystery of murders, from Scott Derickson, director of horror blockbuster Sinister.

 

#Housebound

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A New Zealand horror about a haunted house and a mother daughter living together there.

 

#Dead Snow Red Vs. Dead

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The sequel of zombie horror Dead Snow. The Nazi Zombies are looking for more in this part.

 

#The Sacrament

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One more found footage horror by Eli Roth as producer and Ti west as the director.

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