M.L. Miller here! As I go into the tenth year of reviewing horror films, I wanted to go back to the beginning and repost some of the films I loved starting with the year I began reviewing the genre officially October 1, 2010 through October 1, 2011. I have posted my best of lists in the past, but a lot of those old reviews haven’t seen the light of day since they were first posted many moons ago. Being the OCD person that I am, I have also reworked the list, looking back at my own choices and shifting them around a bit. I’ve even added a few that I might have missed or looked over from the year in question. So if you think you know how these lists are going to turn out, you don’t!
How did I compile this list? I simply looked through films released between October 1st 2010 and September 30, 2011 and worked and reworked the list until I had the magic number, 31. Again, I never call myself any kind of expert in horror. I simply watch a lot of horror films and love writing about them. Don’t forget to like and share my picks with your pals across the web on your own personal social media. Chime in after the review and let me know what you think of the film, how on the nose or mind-numbingly wrong I am, or most importantly, come up with your own darn list…let’s go!
Released on July 19, 2011. Available On Demand, digital download, DVD/BluRay!
#9 – THE REEF (2010)
Directed by Andrew Traucki
Written by Andrew Traucki, James M. Vernon
Starring Damian Walshe-Howling, Gyton Grantley, Adrienne Pickering, Zoe Naylor, Kieran Darcy-Smith
There is nothing more frightening to me than a shark. Maybe two sharks. Definitely three.
Maybe it’s something engrained in my primal back-brain. Maybe I was chomped in half by one in a previous life. No matter what the reason, merely seeing a shark on screen scares the piddle out of me. Director / writer Andrew Traucki is counting on this fear throughout THE REEF and delivers a nerve-shredding lost at sea masterpiece from beginning to end. Shot on a limited budget, Traucki makes-do with every trick he has and offers a convincing tale of survival pitting man vs. the most dangerous sea predator on the planet; the great white shark.
A quintet of beautiful people set out on a snorkeling cruise along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. When their boat capsizes and overturns after hitting a reef, the group must decide whether they want to die of dehydration on the boat or brave shark infested waters. Knowing what you know now about me, you know which I would choose, but this group chooses to take their chances in the water.
The cast, lead by impressive leading man with the coolest name I’ve ever heard of–Damian Walshe-Howling, are all impressive and they had better be because the film hinges on their performances as they swim along the open sea. Walshe-Howling commands the screen every second that he on it as a good intentioned sailor who convinces the group to swim to an island no one can see. Zoe Naylor is also very good in this as Walshe-Howling’s estranged girlfriend. The emotional core of the film rests on these two and the likeability of these actors makes it easy to root for them to make it to shore.
I hate director Andrew Traucki for making such an effective shark film. He pulls out all of the stops, taking full advantage of the fear of what’s below the surface of the water, focusing most of the time on the fearful faces of the humans bobbing above. Traucki cleverly uses the limitation that only one of the swimmers possesses a diving mask to look and see what’s swimming around down there. The audience only sees the flurry of shark activity underwater when Walshe-Howling does when he bobs underwater. By doing this, the viewer, much like the rest of the three swimmers are blind most of the time, only knowing what terror brews beneath in the splash filled frantic scans Walshe-Howling witnesses with the goggles. It’s a clever way to manipulate the viewer and I fell for it every damn time.
I guarantee you will have a fear-filled toe-curling good time being scared at this film. THE REEF will make you pull your legs up tight into you whether you’re in water or not. It is a film that had me out of my seat and literally screaming for the swimmers to get to shore. And the underwater scenes of the shark barreling toward the viewer reminded me of the stuff of my worst nightmares. THE REEF is an absolutely horrifyingly good time and one of the best shark films since JAWS.
THE 2010-2011 COUNTDOWN!
#9 – THE REEF
#10 – RED, WHITE, & BLUE
#11 – A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE
#12 – WE ARE WHAT WE ARE
#13 – DOGTOOTH
#14 – PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2
#15 – KIDNAPPED
#16 – INSIDIOUS
#17 – A SERBIAN FILM
#18 – TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL
#19 – HEARTLESS
#20 – ABSENTIA
#21 – BEREAVEMENT
#22 – RUBBER
#23 – GRAVE ENCOUNTERS
#24 – STAKE LAND
#25 – WAKE WOOD
#26 – LONG PIGS
#27 – HUSK
#28 – YELLOWBRICKROAD
#29 – MONSTERS
#30 – LA HORDE
#31 – THE VIOLENT KIND
M. L. Miller is a wordslinger/writer of wrongs/reviewer/interviewer/editor of MLMILLERWRITES.COM. Follow @Mark_L_Miller.
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