The Horror Chamber's Top 10 Films of 2016 #1- #5

Welcome to part two of the horror chamber's Best of 2016. To view #6-#10, you can click here. Without further ado, the top 5 films of 2016.

1. The Witch

This was a great year for horror films but “The Witch” was the horror film of year which something for a film that was released back in March and doesn’t feature much action. What made this film great was its creepy tone and the performances. Whether it was Robert Eggar’s direction or the great performances from Anna Taylor-Joy and Ralph Innes, everything had a very dark and gloomy tone that made this film great. It’s the best acted and directed horror film that I’ve seen this year.

2. Don’t Breathe

Fede Alvarez continues to be one of horror’s fastest rising directors, as his latest film “Don’t Breathe” was great from start to finish. One of the things that he does very well is the way he brings a level of intensity to the action scenes. Whether it’s his direction or the screenplay that he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues, everything had an intense feel to it which kept me on the edge of my seat. This film also has great performances from Jane Levy and Stephen Lang which added to the intensity this film had. With the lead acting and direction, it helped made it “Don’t Breathe” the most suspenseful film of the year.

3. Synchronicity

This year, the horror chamber expanded it coverage to include sci-fi and exploitation films. “Synchronicity” was one of those sci-fi films that manage to grab me by the horns from start to finish. The film has very good visuals for its low budget along with a screenplay that manages to keep it interesting as everything from the time travel aspects to the love story is done in a way that it brings an interesting take on the time travel genre. It’s one of those thinking man kind of sci-fi films that is different from the standard mainstream sci-fi fare.

4. The Neon Demon

I might get some heat for this but I enjoyed “The Neon Demon” enough to consider it one of the year’s best. Yes, this film has a screenplay that goes in many directions but this was a return to form from “Drive” director Nicolas Winding Refn after his last film “Only God Forgive” was atrocious which led me to shut it off a third of the way in. His direction for “The Neon Demon” was great as the film was the most stylish film to be released in 2016. It also had the feel of an Dario Argento/Jess Franco/ David Lynch vibe to it. It also helped that it had great cinematography and great performances from Elle Fanning, Jean Malone and Belle Heathcote.

5. The Love Witch

“The Love Witch” was one a film that I reviewed as part of Film-Arcade.net’s coverage of the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival. This film was so hypnotizing from start to finish. From the look of the film to the direction from Anna Biller, everything had a Jess Franco/Jean Rollin retro vibe which give the film its uniqueness. The film also has a great performance from Samantha Robinson as the title character. She really makes that character very good from her performance as it made me interested in the character. Check this out when it hits Blu-Ray or DVD this coming year.

Film Review: Synchronicity

"Synchronicity" marks the first time that I review a film that has nothing to do about horror here in the horror chamber as part of the site's addition to cover sci-fi/exploration here addition all the horror coverage.

The film is about a scientist Jim Beale (Chad Mcknight) who invents a machine that can travel to the past. He soon discovers that his machine comes with a price as he finds out that a ruthless businessman (Michael Ironside) is out to steal his invention with the help of a mysterious woman (Brianne Davis). Finding out that fact, Jim decides to go through the wormhole and try to stop what is going to happen in the future to his invention.

Going into this film I was curious about it because the film is directed by Jacob Gentry, who was one third of the directing team behind the brilliant horror film “The Signal” that was released in 2008. What I got out of this film was nothing short of brilliants, as this is an early contender for my best of 2016 list.

Gentry does a very good job making sure the flow of the film moves at very good pace. It’s hard to do considering the time travel aspects and keeping track of everything that goes on, but he makes sure the scenes have a level of content whether its visually or the way that he shoots this film. It help makes the film move while exploring the main character and the whole time travel mystery that goes on. Gentry also very good job making sure the performances keep the action. Whether it’s the way he has his small cast approach their roles to how the chemistry between the cast is very good, it helps make an interesting film like this one more entertaining.

Speaking of the performance, it was the best thing about this film. Both Chad McKnight and Brianne Davis were great in this film. I liked, the way that each of them approaches their characters as it made some of the film’s pivotal scenes along with their screen time together work so well and keep things interesting. The film also has very good supporting performances from Scott Poythress (The Signal) A.J. Bowen (You’re Next, The Sacrament) as the two scientists working alongside McKnight and Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers, Turbo Kid) as greedy tycoon.

Before I go into the film’s screenplay, I can’t help but praise the score of this film from Ben Lovett. This was a brilliant score as it adds to the film. It captures the tone of the film that is needed to be in rhythm with the scenes while also having this retro feel to it that works so well. Would love to see this on MP3 or CD in the future.

The screenplay written by Gentry with story co created by Alex Orr was good and less confusing than I expected. That was one of the things that I liked about it as sometimes during time travel and alternate universes films everything feel confusing especially when the main character keep running back to time period where the film starts. It didn’t feel that way, because the pieces fit together easily that it made sense with the beginning. The other thing that this screenplay does very well was to make the action feel like it could work as a film noir. Whether it’s visualized in the screenplay or the way the story is conceived, everything that goes on here feels original and something that isn’t seen in many science fiction films. It’s what was able to pull me in from the first fifteen minutes to the very end.

“Synchronicity” is the first great film of 2016, as this is one of those films that you should go out of your way to check out if you're into films that deal with the seriousness of time travel and alternate selves. With its stellar directing and entertaining screenplay, “Synchronicity” is a time traveling noir that deserves to be checked out.

“Synchronicity” is currently playing in limited release and VOD.

Review Rating: Five Stars