BEST OF 2011: Joachim Andersson

Apollo 18 – Most people didn’t appreciate this little gem but I loved it! The reason? It felt like a slightly updated “Outer Limits” episode, hokey and wonderful.

Horror Express – Eugenio Martin classic train horror has an awesome cast, a great monster and a general feeling of fun! The Blu-ray/DVD was one of the best releases of the year.

Lunopolis – One of the best mockumentaries I have ever seen, period. I was really impressed that the filmmakers managed to pull off such an awesome concept on what was obviously a low budget.

Night of the Demon – My favorite guilty pleasure movie of all time finally got a dvdrelease in 2011 and while it may not be reference quality, it looks perfect in that cozy grindhouse way that it should. Bigfoot, tits and gore. All that you need for an evening with your loved ones.

Inbred – Alex Chandon returns with the wonderful gore fest that is Inbred, a movie that is full of superbly executed gore, good acting and an excellent sense of humor. A DVD release should coming in 2012 and I will be first in line to buy it.

The Shrine – It may seem a bit derivative in the beginning but it turns into a strong, supernatural shocker with a great plot. Not if you’re Polish I hear, the accents are supposedly awful but for the rest of us it is very well recommended.

Roger Corman’s Cult Classics Triple Feature (Attack of the Crab Monsters / War of the Satellites / Not of This Earth) – Attack of the crab monsters on DVD, thank you VERY much. Nuff said.

Gamera Trilogy – At the moment of writing you can get this for $6.49 on amazon.com. There has never been a greater bargain. Ever. These are among the best Kaiju ever made. Sorry Godzilla.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – The first truly feel-good splatter movie ever released.

Ratline – Eric Stanze pours swastikas, occultism, nudity and gore into a most delicious concoction. I wish that someone would give this guy some real money to make movies.

Cut Throats Nine – One of the darkest westerns ever made finally got a proper DVD thanks to Code Red.

The Thing (2011) – Matthijs van Heijningen Jrs prequel to John Carpenters movie is nowhere near as good as the original masterpiece, but it is still one hell of a monster movie. I just wish they had gone easy on the cgi and kept all those yummy practical FX.

Alien vs. Ninja – For a rubbermonsterfetishist like me, this is a wet dream. Ninjas in latex suits fighting rubber aliens. Heaven. Just plain old good fun.

Troll Hunter – More proof that Norway is a force to reckon with when it comes to genre film and Troll hunter is a movie that everyone should own!

Roger Corman’s Cult Classic’s Lethal Ladies Collection (Firecracker, TNT Jackson, Too Hot To Handle) – The topless fight in Firecracker makes this one of the most important releases in 2011.

 

Honorable Mention: Rituals (1976) – One of the truly great Canuxploitation flicks of the 70s, finally on DVD. Throw away that awful German bootleg now.