7 Festival Favorite Horror Flicks To Look Out For In 2015

After sitting through a year's worth of horror movies, it's time to start compiling my all-encapsulating "Best Of 2014" and "Worst Of 2014" awards lists, but before we get there, I'd like to highlight a few festival favorites that have yet to find a proper release. While most of the films I've loved have received public recognition in the same year they hit the circuit, like Stage Fright, there are a few PHENOMENAL films still waiting for their moment in the sun. While I can happily report most have reached distribution deals already, that still doesn't mean they don't deserve another bump to freshen your minds!

Matt Donato

Published: Nov 21, 2014 03:17 pm

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1) Spring

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US Distribution: Drafthouse Films and FilmBuff
Release Date: TBD

I don’t just dole out 5-star reviews to every romantic horror film that terrorizes a coastal Italian town, but Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s Lovecraftian fairytale affected me in ways no horror film should, and shocked me in ways no romantic drama ever has. I caught the film at this year’s Fantastic Fest and haven’t been able to shut up about it since, mainly because Spring defies our comprehension of certain genres by addressing a tender, fragile love through occult sacrifices and grotesque beasts. Isn’t your heart melting already?

This isn’t your typical “monsters and mayhem” creature feature though, as Lou Taylor Pucci’s character turns a mid-life-crisis into a dangerous European odyssey when he meets an enchanting seductress in Nadia Hilker’s mysterious character. We’re clued in early to her “beastly” affliction, so half of the fun of Spring becomes watching Pucci struggle to understand why his listless lover keeps acting so strangely, and their chemistry is wonderfully intoxicating as the cat and mouse game plays out.

But fear not, horror fans – the same guys who created VHS: Viral‘s “Bonestorm” segment bring another slew of practical effects covered in blood and slime. Spring is anything but a one-trick pony, drawing comparisons like “Linklater meets Carpenter” that commend a fine-tuned script and squeamish, memorably visual artistry.

Spring is the kind of movie I’ll proudly screen on a first date, and if she isn’t crying by the end, I’ll know she’s not a keeper.

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