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 I SAW THE DEVIL: Whenever I saw the trailer for this movie I knew I had to see it, because I usually enjoy any genre movie that comes out of South Korea. Another bonus, Choi Min-Sik (the lead of Oldboy) was playing the antagonist. This movie grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. The violence and fight scenes in the film are so uniquely stylized and shot that they're as beautiful as they are grotesque. After watching this movie, you feel like you need to rest like you've gone on a long journey, which is a great reaction to have and a welcome feeling after this sub-par year.
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TROLLHUNTER: People are always so quick to come down on remakes and re-adaptations of films that when something comes along that takes an idea we're familiar with and makes it modern, people miss it. I love this movie. It takes trolls and places them in a modern and believable setting. This film proves that the market on found footage isn't completely cornered, and uses the style perfectly within the context of it's story. Also, the weaving in of Troll lore and legend just brings a great smile to your face when they speak about it, and makes you cover your eyes when you see it in action.
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 RED STATE: My controversial pick. Kevin Smith took a lot of crap for this movie. I'll admit it's not the most clean-cut movie out there, but it seems people were mostly judging everything surrounding the film and not the actual movie itself. This movie has such chilling undertones and you can't help but be mesmerized by everything unfolding in front of you. Not only is the uneasy feeling of the film great but Michael Parks delivers probably the most chilling and wicked performance I've seen in years. The raw and dangerous feel of Red State forced the film to be on my list.
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PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3: I might be in the minority on this, but I feel like with each entry this series, the films are getting better and better. They're taking the story the scares and the "found footage" motif and expanding it - improving it with each movie. This particular entry had the best scares and tricks of the entire series. I never go in to a movie starring children expecting a lot, but the two kids in this movie knocked it out of the park, playing the roles of the characters we've seen grown up already way better than I could have anticipated. A great fun flick.
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 INSIDIOUS: I can't think of a year in recent memory when two ghost stories were in my top five of the year, but I couldn't make this list without putting Insidious on it. I'm a huge fan of Wan and Whannel's films (yes, even the lackluster Dead Silence) but I feel like with this movie they've really delivered something special. Not only did we get to see them working with an original story, but they showed they actually were capable of making a compelling paranormal tale. And we saw them prove that just because a horror movie isn't rated R doesn't mean it isn't great. I heard a lot of chatter over how terrifying people found this movie, and I feel like it could end up being this generation's Poltergeist.
For more "Best of 2011": Ryan's Picks / Paul's Picks / Jeff's Picks
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