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Friday, March 20, 2015

OCTOBER 14, 2013 11:03AM

Day 14: Favorite Indie Horror Movie

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30 Day Horror Movie Channel

Oct 14: Favorite Indie Horror Movie

Meh. "Indie" just doesn't stick out to me as a category worthy of much thought for this genre.

That said, I give this one to The House of the Devil , a fun retro effort by director Ti West who is making his name in horror ( and also is in the You're Next cast and directed my favorite short feature in V/H/S , "Second Honeymoon"). HotD is set in the 1980's, complete with an era soundtrack and a satanic panic theme. it is a slow burn film with a great payoff, and features none other than Warhol star and Ramones-buster Mary Woronov at her creepy best!

Did I care for the ending? Not really, but it's still a good time. Check out the opening credits, among the most fun I've ever seen.

Honorable mention goes to a mockumentary for the mother of all indie horror films, The Blair Witch Project. The 44 minute mockumentary Curse Of The Blair Witch was a clever way to provide more background on the film's mythology. And a frightening, rich mythology it is; it adds a lot of depth to the hysterics of the campers in the main film. There is a sequence with the character of Rustin Parr, a convicted child killer who claimed to be under the influence of the Blair Witch, that will leave your hair standing on end, all on the strength of the actor's disturbing, faraway eyes.