The Devils Backbone (Spain/Mexico: Guillermo del Toro, 2001)
Guillermo del Toro is considered one of the great contemporary filmmakers making dark fantasy/horror films (his film Pan's Labyrinth, which will be an option later, is one of my favorite films of the 21st Century) "One of the most personal films by Guillermo del Toro, The Devil’s Backbone is also among his most frightening and emotionally layered. Set during the final week of the Spanish Civil War, it tells the tale of a twelve-year-old boy who, after his freedom-fighting father is killed, is sent to a haunted rural orphanage full of terrible secrets. Del Toro expertly combines gothic ghost story, murder mystery, and historical melodrama in a stylish mélange that, like his later Pan’s Labyrinth, reminds us the scariest monsters are often the human ones." - Criterion Collection
The Others (Spain/USA/France: Alejandro Amenábar, 2001)
If I remember correctly, this film was championed by Guillermo del Toro, and has since been considered to be one of great ghost films of the 21st Century. If you choose this film, do not read anything about it, it will be a better viewing if you let the mystery unfold naturally.
"Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions."
The Ring (USA/Japan: Gore Verbinski, 2002)
[This is a rare example of a good American remake of a foreign horror film. The original is Ringu (Japan: Hideo Nakata, 1998) and it set off a flood of Japanese ghost films that took the world by storm for a time. The Ring is a very timely film that explores our relationship with technology and provides some truly creepy feelings and jump scares.]
"It sounded like just another urban legend: A videotape filled with nightmarish images, leading to a phone call foretelling the viewer’s death in exactly seven days. As a newspaper reporter, Rachel Keller was naturally skeptical of the story, until four teenagers all met with mysterious deaths exactly one week after watching just such a tape. Allowing her investigative curiosity to get the better of her, Rachel tracks down the video… and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring. "
Tigers are Not Afraid (Mexico: Issa López, 2017)
[Issa López's film explores some of the contemporary socio-political issues/problems in Mexico and expands/examines it through a magical/mystical lense. How do traumatic events haunt a society? You might want to check out this video essay on Magical Realism for thinking about this film AFTER you have watched it.]
"A haunting horror fairytale set against the backdrop of Mexico’s devastating drug wars, Tigers are Not Afraid follows a group of orphaned children armed with three magical wishes, running from the ghosts that haunt them and the cartel that murdered their parents. Filmmaker Issa López creates a world that recalls the early films of Guillermo del Toro, imbued with her own gritty urban spin on magical realism to conjure a wholly unique experience that audiences will not soon forget."
Candyman (USA: Nia DaCosta, 2021)
[A remake of Bernard Rose's classic and influential 1992 Candyman, Nia DaCosta integrates contemporary concerns of gentrification and the Black Lives Matter movement to bring this powerful tale to a new audience] "Anthony and his partner move into a loft in the now gentrified Cabrini. After a chance encounter with an old-timer exposes Anthony to the true story behind Candyman, he unknowingly opens a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence."
If you watch this film, you should check out this article (which serves as an introduction to many of the films we will be watching throughout the semester) How Black Horror Storytellers are Using Horror to Battle Hate
Talk to Me (Australia: Michael Philippou and Danny Philippou, 2022)
[This film may still be in the theaters near you. It is not only my favorite horror film of the year, but currently it is my favorite movie of the year. This is the debut film from these brothers, but they brought a lot of experience producing short videos for their very popular Youtube channel. I believe they artfully capture the energy and perspectives of the current generation, the concerns about viral technologies and their effect upon our psyches, and some good old horror genre tropes. I walked out the theater very excited by what I had seen.]
"When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces." Here is an interview with the directors, for after you watch the film "Terrifying Twos: Danny and Michael Philippou on Racka energy and Talk To Me."
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