The Top 13 Films of 2013 (Yes, I Know...)

I have my eyes trained on a good number of upcoming genre films as we head into 2013.  Some unreleased, some soon to be released, some I missed (for one reason or another)  in 2012, and some that (even though I'm hopeful) might never, ever see the light of day. Movies like THE LORDS OF SALEM, THE PROFANE EXHIBIT, SAVAGED, THIS IS THE END, THE HARVEST, and SEPARATION are all still "kind sorta" on my radar. However, in the interest of being... well... interesting (or utterly cliched, depending on where you're standing), I've decided to highlight 13 films that I'm quite hopeful I will see and enjoy (A LOT) sometime in the next 358 (or so) days. So, here they are, in alphabetical (because I don't want to commit to ranking them in any particular fashion) order:

EVIL DEAD
DIRECTOR: Fede Alvarez
STARRING: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, and Jessica Lucas

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: Remakes like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (not the latest 3D affair), THE HILLS HAVE EYES, and DAWN OF THE DEAD were all top notch outings.  Although the original EVIL DEAD has an avid fan base and many are opposed to this retelling, I'm excited on a few levels. Having Raimi and Campbell involved is certainly a plus and all the footage has looked absolutely brutal thus far.  I fear that the theatrical release will be a severely cut R version. Hopefully we get to see all the grue upon its DVD release.  All I'm asking for is an intensely graphic, subversive, "no holds barred" entry in the horror cannon. [TRAILER]

HYBRID VIGOR

DIRECTOR: Brandon Fowler
STARRING: Velta Buka, Jevgenija Mirosnicenko, and Mike Altmann

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: HYBRID VIGOR'S tagline calls it: A film about life, death, violence, morality, immortality, love, and loss in the USSR during Soviet times and in present day Latvia. What it turns out to be is a completely crowd funded (via KICKSTARTER) Latvian genre film shrouded in a fair bit of mystery. Hybrid Vigor is defined by Oxford as "the tendency of a cross-bred individual to show qualities superior to those of both parents." I know, it's not much, but the footage is gorgeous and has made this one my "white whale" for 2013. [TRAILER]

KID IN THE BOX

DIRECTOR: Gabriele Albanesi
STARRING: Andrea Magro, Andrea Pittorino, and Matteo Pastore

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: In 2006, Albanesi gave us THE LAST HOUSE IN THE WOODS. It was an abundantly derivative homage to splatter. And I loved every minute of it. The director was able to create something wholly enjoyable, bloody, and timeless without making it feel forced or disingenuous.  KID IN THE BOX is the story of what happens after THE LAST HOUSE IN THE WOODS. If you have yet to see it, I recommend a watch. The footage for KID looks fun, intense, and quite sinister at this point; putting it high up on my curiosity scale for 2013. I can't go into specifics without spoiling the first movie's spine tingling finale.  There's no reason to think that this one will be a letdown and I'm gleefully certain that there will (in fact) be a kid in a box. [TRAILER]

MANIAC

DIRECTOR: Franck Khalfoun
STARRING: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, and Sammi Rotibi

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: The original MANIAC is one of my favorite films of all time.  I continue to feel terribly guilty for my anticipation for its retelling.  Elijah Wood is inspired casting (I find him to be quite frightening under certain circumstances) and the whole thing looks and sounds brilliant thus far.  Early festival reviews suggest that everything here is top notch sleaze and does not gloss over the hyper-sexualized stalk and slash narrative. The first person camera work will either come off as horrifically immersing or as tiresome gag. Another 2013 entry that will most likely be heavily cut for its theatrical run. Regardless, it has all the signs of a remake that will make it difficult for the "haters" to hate. [TRAILER]

NYMPHOMANIAC

DIRECTOR: Lars von Trier
STARRING:  Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, and Stacy Martin

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: Can Lars von Trier do no wrong? Can he do nothing right? A visually arresting man who dabbles in sights and subject matter often ripe in controversy, NYMPHOMANIAC may just be his most divisive work to date. A woman recounts her sex addiction to a man who has just saved her from a brutal beating. Think ANTICHRIST, MELANCHOLY, and DANCER IN THE DARK and we may just have the most quietly taboo schlock-fest of the last decade on our hands. 

ONLY GOD FORGIVES

DIRECTOR: Nicolas Winding Refn
STARRING: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Tom Burke

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: I could stop at the names Refn and Gosling and say nothing more.  DRIVE was an absolute gem that allowed for the Danish filmmaker to kick down the "Hollywood" door and go "mainstream" without losing any of his genre credibility or film making mojo. He's been making ground shaking genre movies that highlight style and substance in equal parts for years already.  This one should be no exception. ONLY GOD FORGIVES looks to be a testosterone driven, blood soaked, skull fuck of a revenge film. I have no worries recommending it as a must see and will be there on opening day imagining that in some alternate universe I'm just as cool and handsome as Mr. Gosling. [CLIP]

RED KINGDOM RISING

DIRECTOR: Navin Dev
STARRING: Emily Stride, David Caron, and Silvana Maimone

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: I know, I know... It's already been seen and reviewed by many, just not me. Watching a troubled young lady confront the horrific truths of her past while traveling through the fantasy world known as The Red Kingdom sounds like a fun enough time to me. Hopefully more Alice In Wonderland via DMT than a clear cut hallucination. I'm looking forward to a very frightening adult take on how one's troubling past is reconciled within the broken psyche. [TRAILER]

SPRING BREAKERS

DIRECTOR: Harmony Korine
STARRING: James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: There really are very few filmmakers working today that are more peculiar than Harmony Korine. I want to believe that his off beat sense of humor and subversive subject matter appeal to me for some reason other than the fact that he is clinically insane. SPRING BREAKERS caught my eye largely because of his name, due to the fact that it's getting mainstream-ish buzz, James Franco's character, and the whole Disney Princesses gone bad angle. Only time will tell if those odd ingredients can become greater than the sum of their parts. [CLIP]

TAETER CITY

DIRECTOR: Giulio De Santi
STARRING: Monica Muñoz, Riccardo Valentini, and Santiago Ortaez

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: If this is half as much fun and even a fraction as gory as ADAM CHAPLIN, I'll be all good. Utilizing new practical blood spatter technology and a clear reverence for anime, 80's cheese cinema, and hyper violence; the NECROSTORM team is on the cusp of being the purest and most ridiculous production house in the modern day exploitation film world. Sci-fi meets horror, meets action adventure, head exploding goodness. [CLIP]

THALE

DIRECTOR: Aleksander Nordaas
STARRING: Silje Reinåmo, Erlend Nervold, and Jon Sigve Skard

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR:  It's a story about a woman with a tail for Christ's sake! THALE gets it US Release in March, and although it's been on my radar for a very long time, my desire to see it has not waned. Based on Norwegian folklore, I'm quite looking forward to having some fun while at the same time getting a glimpse into another countries mythology. [TRAILER]

THE ECSTASY OF ISABEL MANN

DIRECTOR: Jason Figgis
STARRING: Ellen Mullen, Nicole Bermingham, and Kevin Buckley

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: After 2012's RAILWAY CHILDREN, I'm more than a little jazzed to see what Figgis has up his creative sleeve. It's a vampire (possible coming of age) movie that promises its viewer "no sparkling." It's difficult in today's would to focus on the life and times of a teenage blood sucker with drawing the comparisons to a certain franchise of similar ilk. However, I'm confident this one will be rooted in a much more real universe and the recently released production stills promise lots of blood and pathos.

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 
OF ROSALIND LEIGH

DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Gudino
STARRING: Aaron Poole, Vanessa Redgrave, and Julian Richings

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: A movie with a really long title from genre vet Gudino. Focused on an antiques dealer who inherits his mother's old house and finds that she may have been linked to some kind of awful cult; this one has creepy written all over it. Why you say? Because mom has not yet left the building and is apparently still trying to complete some unfinished business from the great beyond. The founder and editor of RUE MORGUE magazine might just put all that horror loving knowledge to good use here. We shall see. [TRAILER]

YOU'RE NEXT
DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard
STARRING: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, and AJ Bowen

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR: The follow up to Adam Wingard's A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE. With each successive outing the director rises higher on my must watch list. This one has sat for a bit, but buzz is very good and it promises to balance the visceral with sincere emotional gravitas. All things being equal, I look for YOU'RE NEXT to be a movie that's talked about long after its release and one that further cements Wingard's place as a genuinely gifted visual storyteller.