It’s been a tough year. To put it mildly. Hardly “perfect vision”. More like dazed and confused. As many have remarked, if 2020 was a movie it would be like a risible disaster flick, too ludicrous to be taken seriously because of its implausible plotting, chaotic direction, and over-the-top performances.
But, it delivered a bunch of great movies, none-the-less. Many of them were in the can before the pandemic shut down productions. The true level of “damage” won’t be felt until next year and beyond. No doubt film festivals will be struggling with programming in 2021. Which includes me.
Back in March I saw my last movie in the cinema before COVID-19 caused the closure of cinemas. It wasn’t until late September that I was back inside an auditorium, and that was as one of the directors of A Night of Horror International Film Festival, one of the first festivals to embrace the precariousness of a physical festival in the wake/midst of the pandemic ruin.
I’ve been back inside a cinema since then, but only a couple of times, and more recently, with the NSW restrictions returning as Sydney deals with a new and potentially ruinous Northern Beaches outbreak, it doesn’t feel as safe to venture inside a cinema - even with social distancing in place - as it did a few weeks back.
Most of the movies included in this year’s favourites - and there were quite a few feature debuts - I have watched on my television screen or my home computer, and many films I had intended to see slipped between the cracks. As a result, due to a combination of time constraints and, admittedly, a lack of motivation and/or commitment, I have reviewed far fewer films this year (less than half the movies in my year’s favourites, I’m afraid). I feel bad about that, apologise for my lack of effort.
So, I have chosen to compile my list of favourites from a wider playing field. A crazy year holds no frontiers. Included are films completed as early as 2018 that finally popped up on streaming platforms this year, films that had only a single screening at a small film festival, films that went straight to VOD, and films that should have got a release down under, but had limited international distribution.
I was still surprised that when it came to putting my list of twenty together I had more than enough movies to choose from, and many were battling for inclusion. There was a clear top favourite, which happened to be one of the last movies I saw in the cinema before the initial cinema closures. No other movie has come close to touching it. It joins a small clutch of movies from the past twenty years that have edged their way into the pantheon of my all-time favourites.
So, without further adieu, here are my twenty favourite movies I watched in 2020, with another twelve close contenders.
Saint Maud
Writer/Director Rose Glass’s debut feature is a work of blistering art, dangerous and dark like the shadows of one’s crippling anxieties, yet exquisite in its restraint, its suggestiveness. This is a masterful portrait of madness, soaked in the brine of despair, blinded by the light of redemption, shocking in its denouement. A kind of first cousin removed of Joker. It ramifies how curiously flawed the human race is; “humankind”, a kind of anomaly, as we’re so embroiled with power, manipulation, corruption, yet so desperately fragile and frightened, searching, clutching, searching, clutching.
The Painted Bird
Jerzy Kosinski’s controversial novel/autobiography about the horrors of the Holocaust, as seen through the eyes of a young Jewish boy, finally gets adapted into a tour-de-force of direction, cinematography, and performance. The screenplay is by Czech director Václav Marhoul, and it is quite faithful to the book, which views like a nightmare travelogue, shot through with a brutal, piercing poetry. A difficult film to recommend, as it is close to three hours long and there are many confronting scenes. But, like Come and See, it is a powerful study of both humanity and inhumanity. Peppered with small, but terrific support from Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands, Udo Kier, and, even Aleksey Kravchenko (the boy from Come and See).
Possessor
Brandon Cronenberg’s second feature is a shocking work of art, a rupture and a rapture of ultraviolence, unlike anything you’ve seen in recent years. Taking inspiration from his father’s virtual reality game thriller eXistenZ and the techno-horror of Shinya Tsukamoto’s nightmarish Tetsuo: Iron Man and Body Hammer movies, Possessor ends up a tragic tale of human error in a world of increasing corporate possession and manipulation. It’s a mind-rape about the primal senses; rage and the libido, but also about memory, empathy, and rejection.
The Dark and the Wicked
Bryan Bertino delivers, easily, his best film to date and the creepiest movie of the year. It’s a real shame I didn’t get to see this on the big screen, but it sure as hell provided genuine thrills on the small screen, and in many ways, that is a much harder feat to achieve. Superbly shot, edited, and scored, with great performances from the husband and wife, but also the few support players, as this is almost a chamber piece, set on a small, terrorised farm. Keep your eyes peeled, as they say.
Color Out of Space
Richard Stanley returns to the feature director’s chair with a stunning adaptation of one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most beloved short stories, and allows Nicolas Cage the perfect platform to let loose his inner cosmic crazy. Fantastic cinematography, production design and special effects and a terrific cast and support performances - especially Madeleine Arthur as the teenage daughter - make this hugely anticipated addition to Stanley’s oeuvre an instant cult classic. We wait with bated breath for his promised next Lovecraft adaptation.
The Golden Glove
This is a German true crime horror movie dressed as a period piece character study. It’s as sordid, nasty and hideous as Mike Leigh’s Naked, and also just as provocative, fascinating and truthful. It is also exceptionally well made; meticulously recreated, decorated, and retro-fitted. A chipped and cracked mirror held up to the depths of depravity the human condition can sink to, a true reflection of darkness. Jonas Dassler’s performance is one of the standouts of the year, if you can handle it. But, it’s not just Dassler, the entire cast are uniformly excellent.
Relic
A stunning debut feature from Aussie Natalie Erika James, and it is her direction, both mise-en-scene and the performances of her small central cast, that really stand out. It’s a slow-burner, but it emanates strong from the start, the dark embers smouldering, keeping much of the nightmarish essence, whilst providing intrigue and appeal to those that normally wouldn’t watch a horror movie. If an atmosphere is powerful enough, it informs the narrative, permeates all themes, and lingers long in the cracks of the mind.
Swallow
First feature from Carlo Mirabella-Davis is the kind of nightmare where everything appears to be normal, perfect even, yet something is horribly, horribly wrong. Pica, the compulsion to consume inedible, often sharp, objects, is very real. As bizarre and horrendous as it sounds the director treats the condition and its effects on those around the victim with elegance and formalism, yet the infuses it with just enough stylisation as to create a similar sense of unreality, similar to a David Lynch study of fetishism and perversity. Haley Bennett shines in the lead role.
The Nest
Sean Durkin finally follows up his brilliant sect thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene with another superbly made exploration of family dysfunction, in this case a nuclear family imploding within the confines of a crumbling English mansion. Jude Law and Carrie Coon are exceptional as the troubled husband and wife. It’s a fascinating and enthralling portrait of greed and deception, directed with consummate skill. Durkin’s screenplay plays with audience’s expectations, flirting with the supernatural, creating something akin to a merger of the atmospherics and aesthetics of Nicolas Roeg and David Fincher.
Uncut Gems
The Safdie brothers give Adam Sandler, arguably, the best role of his career, thrusting him into a Scorsese meets De Palma meets Cassavetes urban crime flick that builds tension with the precision of an architect. A brilliantly executed portrait of an inherent loser struggling to break free of his shackles, and how his behaviour effects his relationships and dealings. Rambunctious and utterly compelling, capturing a sense of urban, material despair that permeates every frame. Julia Fox as Sandler’s wife is equally as memorable.
Gretel & Hansel
Osgood Perkin’s third feature is as striking and unique as his first two features, even with an adaptation of a famous Grimm fairy tale. As rich and ornate as it is dark and mysterious, the twisting of the story’s characters add a powerful contemporary element, lifting the juvenile innocence into something more adult, intricate and affecting. Amazing performances from Sophia Lillis as a teenage Gretel, and Alice Krige as the elder Witch, with Aussie actor Jessica De Gouw delivering a striking, silent turn, as the Witch in younger form. Perkins’ imagery continues to mesmerise.
We’re Not Here to Fuck Spiders
We’ve all seen the spiralling descent of junkies splashed across the screen in all their hideous squalor. But you’ve never seen anything quite like the razor sharp portrait of suburban hell that is Josh Reed’s “found noir”. The results are shocking and addictive like watching a train wreck. Essential viewing for contemporary horror fans, and those that admire unorthodox filmmaking methods. This is a nightmare like the urban disease and decay of Bad Lieutenant, with shards of Dogs in Space moral destitution and chaos, a vicious, ruinous slap in the face of humanity, right here, right now.
The Trouble With Being Born
A challenging journey through fabricated truths, unreliable memoirs, and the deep scars of loss and guilt. It deals with a fractured, corrupted psychology, and it refuses to piece all the parts of the jigsaw. Beautifully made, it is subversive, transgressive, even. A strong dream-like atmosphere, Lynchian in its creepiness. The starkness and desolation of Ulrich Seidl and Stanley Kubrick’s films, the slow-burn tendrils of Andrei Tarkovsky, and the tenebrous mood of Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. Powerful, thought-provoking stuff for those prepared to unplug their knee-jerk sensibilities.
He Dreams of Giants
This is a fabulous portrait of the artist. Terry Gilliam’s plight to complete his pet project: the story of Don Quixote. Beautifully put together, and cleverly juxtaposing scenes of the younger Gilliam, the earlier attempts at filming the novel, behind the scenes and on location as Gilliam struggles, perseveres, resigns himself. A delightful study of the creative process, with all its hurdles, is essential viewing for anyone remotely interested in how making art is not just about the big picture, it’s about keeping keeping a sense of humour, no matter how dark it gets.
The Rental
Actor-turned-director Dave Franco (younger brother of James)’s debut feature. A screenplay co-written with indie stalwart Joe Swanberg. It doesn’t try and invent the wheel, instead delivering an engrossing psycho thriller based on a well-worn, but truly frightening scenario: the weekender from hell. The protagonists are well-written - yes, we’re all capable of making stupid decisions - and all performed very convincingly. Despite the movie’s far-fetched development in the second half, and the villain’s identity kept a secret, the suspense is handled superbly, Franco proving he is surprisingly good at delivering the necessary horror chops with terrific pace and execution.
The Beach House
The best horror surprise of the year. Location manager-turned-director Jeffrey A. Brown tackles the concept of virulent infection with a genuinely fresh perspective. The kind of small movie dumped on a streaming subscriber platform and is disregarded by most as filler, but on closer inspection turns out to be a creepy, weird apocalyptic thriller reminiscent of the coastal desolation found in cult fave Messiah of Evil. An American movie with solid performances - especially Liana Liberato in the central role - and an increasingly surreal Euro vibe, I love these kinds of random discoveries.
Underwater
Love me a good Lovecraftian monster flick, and William Eubank delivers the goods. Haters will hate, but Kristen Stewart is terrific, and the production design is worth the price of admission alone, Eubank has such a spectacular eye for detail and authenticity. This is a consummate Hollywood production, with some serious “Yikes!” Was awesome on the big screen, at the start of the year, and, although not horrific, it’s a much better horror movie than those trashy, gory late 80s ones that come to mind, Leviathan and Deep Star Six.
Marlene
The apartment building psycho neighbour. Yep, it’s a classic thriller scenario, but this one transforms existing tropes into a horrifying, all-too-real nightmare. Directed with gripping skill, and superbly acted, in particular Cordula Zielonka in the titular role, Andreas Resch’s debut feature is part of an emerging European slow-burn horror movement and presents the all-too-real horror with a surprising and most curious twist in the tail.
Rot
Riffing on David Cronenberg’s Shivers, this astute, dysfunctional relationship drama takes rejection and the fear of strangers and plunges it into an alarming - and outrageously topical - pandemic scenario, with a truly shocking denouement. Indeed, the working title was “A Place Called Hell”, and that’s putting it mildly, as what unfolds with straight-forward dramatics soon escalates into an apocalyptic threat, and finally explodes into horrifying confrontation. A seemingly ordinary low-budget indie flick that lingers long after the final scene.
Druk (aka Another Round)
One of Denmark’s great directors, Thomas Vinterberg, continues on from his exceptional Mads Mikkelsen-starred The Hunt with another powerhouse drama, albeit with a more effervescent edge, with Mads upfront again, and once again delivering all the goods. Four teacher friends initiate a study of the effects alcohol has on their productivity and temperament, with suitably damaging results. Vinterberg certifies he is a master of authentic inter-relationships on screen. And what an ending!
Honourable mentions: Ema, Babyteeth, The Other Lamb, The Mute (aka Sword of God), Climate of the Hunter, Suicide Tourist (aka Exit Plan), Nobadi, Vivarium, The Dead Ones, A True History of the Kelly Gang, Fisheye, and Soul.