Saw 6

Even though I got my start writing about horror by creating a blog called Horror's Not Dead, I don't jive with the idea that good horror is becoming an endangered species. Sure, who is actually making and delivering good horror is always in a state of flux, but considering the sheer crop of films to choose from is constantly on the rise, there will always be gems to found. Now before getting to the list proper, let's explain my own personal criteria for what qualifies as a 2009 film.

Basically, what matters is if the film was given its widest release during the course of the year. For example, despite being first shown publicly years ago, I consider Trick 'r Treat an eligible title, as 2009 finally found it going wide (albeit straight-to-video). Daybreakers, on the other hand, played a few festivals in 2009 but will not have its wide release until 2010. Conversely, most people in America won't see [REC] 2 until 2010 or beyond, but it went wide in its native Spain in 2009, thus it is eligible. Make sense? On to the show!

10. Paranormal Activity
I went back and forth on excluding Paranormal Activity from my Top 10 list because, really, it didn't do much for me in the scare department. I found it pulse pounding to watch for the first time, but it has scarcely popped into my brain since then. However, I do remain in awe of what Oren Peli accomplished with a mere $15,000. I have a lot of respect for the process that goes into engineering any thrill ride, so to speak, so even if it didn't severely impact me, it still commands a placement.

9. Thirst (my review)
Chan-wook Park's Thirst is, hands down, not only the best vampire film of the year, but I'd put it in league with another similarly atypical fang-set film, Let the Right One In. It's not particularly scary, but it is a deft, engrossing blend of lust and violence that gets back to the eroticism of the vampire that no film (or TV show) has properly explored in years. If you're feeling burned out on vampires these days, and that would be perfectly understandable, at least put this in your Must Watch queue simply because it's another brilliant film from the mind of the man who gave the world Oldboy.

If it's October, it's Saw time. And the Lionsgate guys always seem to come up with new and nefarious ways to remind you of the fact. (Hey, the series has helped out big-time with its annual blood drives, and I still say that was a darn clever idea.) So here's something sick, tricky, and a little twisted for all you Saw-lovers who are also knee-deep in the pages of Facebook.

The Jigsaw Game!

It asks you a few questions, commands you to pick a pair of friends, and then ... forces you to use a cluttered keychain to unlock the now-legendary "jaw trap" from your face. My friends Brian and Luke killed me in no time flat, despite the fact that they weren't even logged into Facebook at the time. Next time they sign in, they'll probably have a message from Jigsaw saying that they killed me. Poor guys. So maybe this way I can guilt them into paying for my ticket to Saw 6, which opens on October 23.

There's no need for a spoiler alert here, even if you haven't been keeping up with the Saw franchise it's common knowledge that it's villain Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) died a few entries ago. How they're going to incorporate the long dead trap-setter is actually the only thing that keeps me interested in the series. I'm just hoping that writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan break out Jigsaw's twin brother at some point.

The sixth entry is only a few weeks away and we're still without a full length theatrical trailer, but fans now have another 30 second spot to pour over. And surprise, surprise, the short trailer shows us that Jigsaw is still milling around, droning on in his sinister old man voice. Is it just another in the never-ending list of Jigsaw's vlogs? Is Saw 6 a prequel that takes place before he was on an autopsy table? Will theaters hand out motion sickness pills for the spinning camera?

Find out on October the 23rd!

I do truly love having a seasonal horror franchise, even if I'm not the biggest fan of the last few Saw films. Now that we're getting closer to October, AKA the horror genre's month long birthday party, all the marketing materials have begun emerging from their hatcheries, and there is once again little doubt that the loudest baddie of the month will be Lionsgate and Twisted Picture's torture-cherishing Saw VI (opening October 23rd).

Things are cryptic on the plot front, as per usual, but recently a new poster and the first TV spot have found release onto the Internets. I have no idea what's going on in the poster, except that it retains the tradition of forming the series' current roman numerals out of (presumably) deadly trap. Once again Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan have returned for writing duties, but Saw VI will be making a brand new director out of the series' long-time editor Kevin Greutert. According to the cast list, series regulars Shawnee Smith, Costas Mandylor, and, of course, Tobin Bell will be returning, but beyond that trap-setting trio this latest adventure into bondage and torture has a relatively unknown cast.

So click on to see a larger version of the poster to the right as well as the aforementioned TV spot, courtesy of Dread Central. Oh, and if you happen to live in Orlando, you might be interested on clicking over here for a behind-the-scenes look at how you can step into the haunted house world of Saw at Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights.

Yesterday Bloody-Disgusting provided the net with a look at the first official poster for Lionsgate's sixth trip to the money factory/torture well started by James Wan and Leigh Whannell back in 2004. The poster is a cryptic image of six people fixed to a child's merry-go-round with the slug, "The game comes full circle." No doubt such an enigma has been torturing the imagination of Jigsaw's rabid fanbase since its release. After all playground equipment is generally quite safe, no? How could it possibly be a sinister trap?

Now less than 24 hours later we've got an official clip from Saw VI that helps clear up the merry-go-round bit of the poster. Having watched said clip I'm shocked to report that, surprise, all is not well in the playground. Turns out a spinny-ma-jig in Saw VI land is not a source of glee. It looks like it sucks. A lot. I got a headache just watching the thing whirl around, can't imagine what the poor schmoes on it are feeling. But, hey, I'm sure they did something really horrible to deserve it. Some sin so devilish as to warrant hellish torture like, er, denying someone a loan.

The clip is actually quite long and contains enough premise establishment that I'm left wondering what Lionsgate has in stow for the trailer, which I will be premiering later today. Then again, the mystery of exactly how or why 'the game' is now coming full circle is still up in the air. What geometric shape was the franchise before? An ellipse? Perhaps a rhombus? Guess we'll all have to wait until October 23rd to find out.