Nato And Remy’s Last Stand: Top 10 Horror Moments Of 2012

Do I really need to write an introduction after posting this GIF? Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford dancing - your argument is invalid. Alright, I guess I'll give a quick run-down on what's about to follow anyway, fighting to ignore the above GIF. Hey, you, PAY ATTENTION! Even though 2012 was admittedly a weaker year for horror, there were a few notable moments that stood out in the minds of both Remy and I. Sure, they might not involve horror icons or big names, but there were still plenty of goodies waiting for genre fans to discover last year. Now this isn't a Top 10 Horror Films of 2012 or anything, just our favorite moments of the year found in horror cinema. Like the above dancing they can be funny, sad, heartfelt, gory - you name it. As long as it comes from a horror movie, good or bad, the moment is in contention for our list. So come, join Remy and I as we countdown our Top 10 Horror Moments of 2012. Things are going to get weird, a little trippy, sometimes mechanical, and all parts awesome - although those sound in mind should see the #1 pick from a mile away. C'mon people, a definite no brainer. Nato: The Loved Ones/Cabin In The Woods - Hooray For Long Awaited Horror Releases Don't you hate reading some fanboy blog who sends a far flung correspondent to a random hole in the wall festival nowhere important, and then reports on finding the next big thing in horror? Sure, reading the news is great, but then comes the crushing realization that the previously mentioned film probably will take upwards of a year to get full distribution, causing nothing but impatient anxiety. Two major releases this year were on a much bigger scale than independent, and 2012 saw the long-anticipated release of two genre favorites - Cabin In The Woods and The Loved Ones. There's a reason these films were #1 and #3 on my Top 10 Horror Movies of 2012 article, and I still to this day can't understand why such amazing cinematic wonders take what seems like an eternity to reach mainstream fans while the next Saw can be produced and screened in less than a year. Moral of the story - the insufferable wait was worth it for these two, making their dwelling in distribution purgatory painstakingly worth it. Remy: Kill List - Last Fifteen Minutes Though there were many amazing horror moments in 2012, the final fifteen minutes of Kill List floored me in a way no horror film has done in a long, long time. First of all, there was a real sense of uncertainty at that point in the film, because up to the last fifteen minutes, it is pretty much just a hitman film, with some dreadful undertones. But then the last fifteen minutes happen, and even as a hardcore horror fan, I was sitting there slack-jawed. While I obviously am going to hold back on ruining one of the greatest horror films of the year, I can tell you that you NEED to see this film. And you need to stick with it. At times, it just feels like a gritty British crime flick, but you need to trust me when I say there is a great deal more going on here than it initially appears. That last shot of this movie will leave you twisted. It is also an incredibly violent film, with the hammer to the face scene being one that really stuck with me. I kept expecting the camera to look away, and it didn't. The whole movie sort of feels like that, come to think of it. Like a hammer to the face. Nato: Excision - The End There's a lot to talk about when referencing Excision, between AnnaLynne McCord's jaw dropping transformation into the character Pauline and the bodily horror Richard Bates Jr. creates, but nothing trumps how Bates chose to end his film. It's an event he hints at the whole time, building Pauline's background obsession with becoming a surgeon slowly with the intention of saving her sick younger sister. Obviously her skills only exist in her head and she's more just an unstable hormonal girl mistreated by neglectful and controlling parents (or is she?), but I didn't think Bates would actually go where he did right before the credits rolled. Even though I'm recapping and shouldn't hold back details because you've all had a chance to see the film, I'm still going to because I didn't know how to react the first time I saw Bates' ending. All I can say is the exchange between Pauline and her mother Phyllis (Traci Lords) sent chills up my spine and was left echoing in my thoughts well after the film had ended, striking an emotional level I didn't think possible. Remy: Beyond the Black Rainbow - Pupil Scene If you follow me on Twitter you know how much of a fan I am of Panos Cosmatos, who directed the stunning Beyond the Black Rainbow which was one of my favorite films of the year. I completely understand why some people do not "get" this movie. Simple fact is, it's not for everyone. This is a drugged out, highly visual ride that is unlike anything that has ever been released in the horror genre, with some exceptions being the great films that helped inspire it (look to the 1978 mindf@ck of a film, Blue Lightning, to get an inkling of his muse). He has visuals that are lush and stunning (Tron cum horror) and it is a movie experience unlike any I have ever had. No scene summed up my adoration for his style quite like the pupil scene in Beyond the Black Rainbow. Simply put, the floor is white, and a single, circular pool in the middle of the floor is solid black, like liquid ink. It looks like an eye because it is shot from above. But then we see the pupil moving a bit and realize it is not a pupil at all, but a pool that someone is emerging from. Visuals like that really drive the idea home that this is one visually stunning and utterly enthralling movie that deserves some more attention. Having said all that, I am "beyond" elated to see what this directorial visionary has in mind for us next. Nato: The Collection - Opening Rave Scene If you told me that The Collection would make my Top 10 Horror Movies of 2012, I probably would have erupted in laughter based on obvious information. Piranha 3DD bombed, Saw had run its course after stretching ridiculously thin, The Collector was an incredibly indie horror flick with great tone but didn't really scream for a sequel - essentially Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton had the world against them coming into their new "torture porn" flick. So what did they do? Start the insanity off with a body count amassing more kills and blood in a matter of minutes than the next ten goriest films of the year combined. Seriously, The Collection starts with this fun loving rave scene at some seedy underground club - lasers flashing, techno blaring, hot teens dancing - until the masked Collector shows his "face" and spoils the fun by means of total annihilation. How might you ask? Does he go one by one, snapping necks? Maybe raining poison acid on the drunk party goers? Nah, he'd rather lock all the doors and turn on this giant spinning lawnmower looking contraption that literally sweeps down and eradicates all life, magically making an entire club full of people into a pulpy red explosion of bodily innards. Yeah, The Collection had my attention after that scene. Remy: V/H/S - The "I Like you" bit The first real story you see in the movie V/H/S is a story called "Amateur Night," about some nasty frat boys who want to film some post-club coitus they are trying to engage in with young woman they picked up from said club. The thing is, you realize right away something is off with one of these girls. Again, I refuse to spoil just what that is, but you feel it the way she looks at the nicer of the boys and says "I like you", looking like a confused cat disguised as a human. And you KNOW something is off by this, and that it is not a good thing that she "likes you', but you sit there, heart hammering, waiting for the reveal, and when it finally happens, it's everything you could dream - plus more. Just the very idea that they could take an expression as harmless as "I like you" and turn into one of the best horror expressions of the year speaks volumes about this awesome anthology film. Matt and I will have much to say about the new V/H/S soon, so stay tuned. Nato: Silent Night - Woodchipper Whenever I think woodchipper, I think of three distinctive moments in Hollywood - Fargo, Tucker And Dale Vs Evil, and most recently Silent Night. Being such a bloodthirsty mechanical beast, I'm surprised more horror directors don't feed their victims head first into this dangerous tool, but thankfully director Steven C. Miller had the vision to use Mr. Chippy for a gore-tastic Christmas themed death. I mean sure, why in the hell would a naked young girl think running into a tree farm would save her from a murderous Santa in the first place - but I'm extremely glad she did. I'll actually include the whole kill scene on this list now that I think of it, because Miller's killer Santa starts the carnage by lopping a part of poor Maria's leg off, rendering her defenseless against a not-so-jolly Saint Nick. From here, Santa slings Maria over his shoulder, starts walking to the woodchipper, and turns the aspiring "model" into a bright red mist. As a really cool little exclusive, Steven C. Miller shot a tweet my way after he read my review and received my woodchipper compliment, and actress Cortney Palm (Maria) was kind enough to answer one of my questions personally! I mean, how cool/nice is that? https://twitter.com/cortneypalm5/status/275025667500949505 Remy: Prometheus - First Four Minutes I know this one if going to get me some shit, and I am fine with that. Yes, Prometheus had a great deal of holes in the plot, but in the same breath, its visuals, and the scale of the story itself, were mind boggling. While the overall arc of the story may have been disappointing, I can't lie and tell you that the opening shot of that film did not truly floor me, because it did. The shots of the Engineers crafting a planet (Maybe Earth, we do not know) is one of the best opening scenes I have ever seen in a movie, honestly. Truth be told, there was no way that the rest of the movie could have lived up to that one scene, so it makes sense that it didn't. In the scene I speak of, we see an Engineer get left on a barren planet, and he takes the "black goo" and falls into the water and dissipates, ultimately planting the seed of life onto this planet through his sacrifice. It is done with no dialogue, and the shots are breathtaking. Like I said, there was no way the next eighty minutes of the film could have even touched on that opening perfection, and though the movie was not horror in a horror sense, it is still on this list because it has a right to be. Stop hating on Prometheus unless you can write a better movie. Both: Cabin In The Woods - Monster Clusterf*ck aka The Monsterf#ck Alright, I lied, this is more of a Top 9 list because both Remy and I agreed instantly the last act of Cabin In The Woods was hands down the best horror moment of 2012. Hell, it might even be the best horror moment of the last who knows how many years, trouncing the competition with God like might. Once those elevators open and all hell breaks loose, it's literally just a full on horrorgasm for the next 10-15 minutes. Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon first introduce us to the large assortment of monsters being kept hidden under the cabin, teasing the idea of getting some of the monsters in the same room, but then answer our prayers themselves by delivering a moment fans could only dream of. You're practically about to say "You know how awesome it would be if all the monsters were let loose at once?" But before you can even finish your statement, Goddard and Whedon had unleashed their hellish party to the excitement of every single watcher - reading our minds and delivering 100%. In the first wave alone we see a SWAT member dragged away by the Angry Molesting Tree (Evil Dead reference!!!), another sawed to bits by a BattleBots type robot, another has his soul ripped out by some type of ghoul, zombies munch another, a flying bat-like creature picks one up and bashes him on the ground, a giant snake devours yet another, the Dismemberment Goblins get to work on another - it's just too much awesome to handle. Throw in the killer clown, Merman, Werewolf, The Dolls, The Scarecrow Folk, and the Unicorn?! Stop it - The Monsterf&ck is just too much to handle, easily winning top honors on our Top 10 Horror Moments of 2012 countdown. What do you think of our list? Did we capture the most awesome horror moments of 2012? Which were some of your favorites?! *A special thanks to Remy for stepping in to guest write! Feel free to follow either of us on Twitter for even more insanity and updates: Matt Donato Follow @DoNatoBomb Remy Carreiro Follow @RemyCarreiro Like what you read? Check out last week's article where we list our writing related resolutions for 2013!