While I was in London, England for the Fighting Spirit Film Festival a few weeks back, I got to experience a chunk of what made London such a fantastic city. The food was pretty good and the people were absolutely wonderful and polite. Outside of the hostel I was staying at, my experience in England was an amazing one, and I have every intention of going back, because a week wasn’t long enough. I’m dedicating this particular post to the people of the United Kingdom and the friends that I made there. So, what makes a British film…well….British? It isn’t so much that a film is made by a British film company or film-makers. There are a number of things that differentiate British films from the rest. For one, they tend to focus on authenticity in their films, which lends itself to a degree of realism that you rarely see in an American film. This is why you really don’t see a lot of British science fiction films. They absolutely exist, but British film-makers want to make their movies more relatable to audiences. You really can’t do that with a fantasy or science fiction film. Having that element of realism is one of the reasons why British horror movies are far more effective than horror films that you see in other countries. For this post, I’m going to go over what I consider to be some of my favorite British horror movies. Let’s dig in, yeah?
28 Days Later
Even towards the end of the 20th century, zombie movies were almost a dime a dozen. It got even worse when the new millenium showed up. However, one of the most unique zombie pictures to show up was Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. The film follows Jim, a patient in a hospital who wakes to find out that London appears to be completely deserted. Soon after, he realizes that there are still survivors in London. What are they surviving? As it turns out, a zombie apocalypse. But these are no ordinary zombies. Oh, no. These suckers are mean and they are fast. It’s kind of hard to actually call this a zombie film, as the “zombies” in this film don’t follow proper zombie protocols. No, these guys are enraged. That’s because of a virus that was carried by monkeys which were released by animal rights activists. There is definitely some social commentary in this film. The way the film is shot, along with some of the more gritty visuals make this film a unique take on a sub-genre that has stagnated for years.
The Descent
Ridley Scott’s Alien is one of several films that have had an immeasurable impact on the industry and movies that have since been released. The influence of Alien can still be felt in a lot of horror movies today. One of the best horror movies to be directly inspired by Ridley Scott’s film was The Descent. The film follows a group of women who go on a cave-diving trip. They discover an undiscovered system of caverns just waiting to be explored. Shortly after, the entrance collapses and the women are trapped. Isolated in the dark several hundred feet below, they realize that they are not alone down there. I don’t know what’s scarier, being trapped with an alien monster in space or being trapped several hundred under the ground with monsters. If you thought Alien was claustrophobic, I present to you The Descent. This is a claustrophobe’s worst nightmare. You’ve got incredibly tight spaces and the only lighting is from torches, a night-vision camera mode and helmet lights. That’s pretty much it. This is easily one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in the last 20 years. Stay away from the shoddy sequel, though.
Dog Soldiers
The second Neil Marshall film on this list, Dog Soldiers is actually his first feature film, and it’s a doozy. Good werewolf movies are surprisingly hard to come by, because they are extremely hard to do. Obviously, the original Wolfman was an absolute classic, but werewolf movies since then have kind of fizzled. Enter Neil Marshall. Because of Neil, we have one of the best werewolf movies ever made. This was back in 2002, so American film studios would have been using CGI to do their werewolves. Not Dog Soldiers. Everything you see in this film is done practically. The creatures themselves are massive and they freaking move! The film doesn’t shy away from the gore either. Acting-wise, the film does have a few familiar faces. Most horror fans would recognize Sean Pertwee from his role in Event Horizon. Liam Cunningham has had a number of memorable roles, but he would ultimately become known as Ser Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones. If you’re looking for a werewolf movie with some real bite, Dog Soldiers will definitely scratch that itch.
Lord of Tears
This is absolutely one of my favorite horror movies period. Filmed on location in Scotland, Lord of Tears follows a man, James Findlay as he inherits a large farmhouse. What follows is a slow-burn creeper of a ghost story. There is a mysterious figure, Owlman, that shows up periodically and is flat-out creepy. There is a profound sense of foreboding throughout the entire film, and there is definitely a connection between the farmhouse and the guy that’s inheriting it. It’s one of those movies that really gets under your skin. There’s not a lot in the way of jump scares, but it is very atmospheric. If you can find the film, definitely check it out. It’s absolutely worth it.
The Borderlands(Final Prayer)
I’m going to be completely honest here: I usually don’t like found-footage films. Ever since The Blair Witch Project, people have been trying their own hand at crafting some pretty creepy movies using this kind of format and film technique. Most of the time it doesn’t work. It generally comes across as amateurish and non-threatening. Paranormal Activity, anybody? Leave it to the British to make something that’s actually worth the time and effort. The Borderlands, also known as Final Prayer here in the United States, follows a group of paranormal investigators as they search for a particular church that apparently is being used for pagan worship. This movie is pretty damned good, actually. As is the case with the best horror films, there is a proper sense of build-up and a dark sense of foreboding that just permeates the film. What seems like a typical found-footage film goes in a wildly different direction as the characters find themselves going up against a force unlike anything they’ve experienced. The Borderlands is a hell of a movie, and if you are a found-footage film fan, seek it out.
These are some of the more modern British horror films that I’ve found to be truly excellent. While they’re not all gory, there’s a definite level of intensity to a British horror film that you won’t get anywhere else. Some of you might say that I’ve left out some of the more important films like the Hammer Horror series. That’s a different list for a different time. I wanted to cover the more modern and recent films to come out of the United Kingdom. That being said, I’m a huge fan of British cinema and I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of horror films they’ve got planned. The Best of October will continue. Stay tuned.