13) Nina Forever (dir. Chris and Ben Blaine)
Nina Forever was my first SXSW screening back in 2015. I knew zero about it, and walked in on tagline alone. A three-way love triangle between a man, his new girlfriend and the corpse of his ex that pushes through the bed every time intercourse begins? You had me at jealous, bloody ex-girlfriend, and thankfully, the Blaine brothers (Chris and Ben) make good on their lusty, seductive promises of scintillating chills (what Burying The Ex fails to do).
For a first-time feature, Nina Forever weaves romantic offerings and pale-skinned corpses with steely focus. The relationships work between all three characters, while Nina’s entrances are like a demon pushing through a small opening in Hell’s gate. Performances are intoxicating (Abigail Hardingham and Fiona O’Shaughnessy explore psychological descents that decadently blur lines between life and death), while the brothers Blaine express lyrical visions that play on a fantasy angles more than straight-forward horror. I mean, it’s certainly dark material – but it’s vastly more fulfilling than a cheap skin flick with undead overtones.
12) Blair Witch (dir. Adam Wingard)
So, is this where I lose you already? Maybe my midnight TIFF screening of Blair Witch lendt itself to a different experience than most. Everything starts in generic found footage fashion, but Wingard and Barrett go full-on psychotic haunted house come an “illuminating” finale. Barrett’s story hearkens back to the roots of Black Hills Forest mythos, and Wingard’s direction is simple yet savage in executing thrills. Kids wander around the woods, a witch story haunts their trek and we learn what may or may have happened to Heather Donahue – plus there’s plenty of screaming along the way.
Wingard’s Blair Witch sequel is well-intentioned, and plays exactly into the same found footage norms that so many horror films have similarly fumbled. Multiple scenes find terror by exploiting nothing but natural aesthetics like darkness and silence. The cast plays their victimized roles well enough for Adam Wingard to work his traumatizing magic, as his Blair Witch continuation transports us to an edgier version of Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale’s overnight horror success. Think of this one as Blair Witch 2.0; new in tech, familiar in tone and terrorizing in nature.
11) Always Shine (dir. Sophia Takal)
Always Shine had a lot to say about gender equality before this year’s famed election, but now with a Trump presidency looming, boy do these themes pop like beaming hazard lights. It was impossible for Sophia Takal to know just how relevant her female-led Hollywood thriller would end up becoming, but its post-vote release date couldn’t have come at a better time. Part jealousy thriller, part claws-out backlash against female oppression, Takal lays all her cards on the table. Good thing it’s a loaded deck full of aces, all of which play towards an incendiary gaze into male-dominated worlds.
Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin FitzGerald stun as Takal’s head-butting actresses. Friendship means nothing when one is proclaimed the next big thing while the other can’t even afford a car repair. Their chemistry stings with each cockeyed glare, diving deeper into a pool of masked resentment that boils over with fangs-out rage. It’s easily one of the year’s most volatile, dangerous relationships, steeped in psychological horror derived from objectification, jealous attention and a recurring theme of men who drive a wedge between the two besties.
