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This was the year so many things began clicking all at once, giving fans lots of options, and rebuilding the face of the genre in the process.
For example, 2002 gave us what very well may be the decade most well-crafted and impressively made horror film, Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. Not only was it a tense, fascinating and brilliant re-evaluation of the zombie genre, it's the kind of horror film that literally defines an era. In other words, looking back on the 2000s, we could very well call it the decade of 28 Days Later.
And speaking of zombies, it can safely be said that the 2000s was the decade those undead buggers really came into the mainstream after many years of existing underground and being somewhat out of fashion. And 2002 was the year it started. 28 Days Later was one major part of that, although "purists" will argue it's not really a zombie film since the attackers depicted are technically infected living people.
But this is an exercise in futile semantics. Technical details aside, the plot devices are those of the zombie movie, the setting, the structure, the methods of evoking fear--purism aside, 28 Days Later helped usher in a golden age of zombie films, with its depiction of manic, rabid, and--controversy of controversies--fast-moving "zombies".
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While not as good a horror film as 28 Days Later, it was just as popular, if not more so, owing largely to the vast popularity of the game. And while it gave us traditional, slow-moving zombies, it mixed things up a bit with an assortment of other bizarre mutated monsters from the game.
And most importantly, it reached a mainstream audience to a degree almost unheard of for a zombie movie, due largely to its lack of gore. While this didn't sit well with hardcore horror fans, it did expose middle-of-the-road America to the zombie phenomenon, and so may deserve even more credit than 28 Days for spawning the wave of ghoul cinema that continues to this day.
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For many casual horror fans, The Ring would become the benchmark of scary for the decade's fright films. The American version was able to assert a completely separate identity, which was a large part of why it became one of the decade's most memorable horror films. But meanwhile, overseas in Asia, more excellent horror was being created. Both Ju-On from Japan and Jian Gui from China would have a strong impact, and later be remade in America as The Grudge and The Eye, respectively.
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And another young director, Eli Roth, crashed on to the scene with Cabin Fever, a wicked little horror comedy that instantly got him the attention of fright fans. There's no question that film divides horror fandom, but I fall amongst those who found it to be a delightfully sick little laugh riot. A ballsy film that put Roth on the map, leading to the continued impact he would have on the genre as the decade moved along.
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Nevertheless, 2002 was indeed the year the decade came into its own. And there would only be more good stuff to come--including lots and LOTS of zombies.
Also from 2002:
- Blade 2
- Eight-Legged Freaks
- Ghost Ship
- The Mothman Prophecies
Part 1: 2000
Part 2: 2001
3 comments:
Am I nuts in thinking this is 2003? I swear i saw 28 Days Later and Cabin Fever when I lived in albany, and the only reason the year sticks out is it was the October of Aaron bleeping Boone
Dead on about the sheer awesomeness of the year though. It seemed like it was the first one of the decade to shrug off the smug, self aware films that had infected the late 90s
Very true that both those flicks did not open wide in the U.S. till 2003. But 28 Days was already a hit in Europe in '02 before coming here, and Cabin Fever made a huge splash on the festival circuit in '02 almost a full year before getting that coveting theatrical distribution thanks to Peter Jackson' influence.
But I completely agree, this was the year that, for me, started off the great decade of horror that we've had.
As much as I loved the Ring remake, I sorta give it a stink eye due to starting the remake genre of Asian horror movies. While the remakes after The Ring and The Grudge have been rather awful, they've at least opened up my eyes to other Asian horror films, a lot of them extremely excellent and a wonderful refuge when I want to escape some recent crappy American horror movies.
Signs was such a wonderful and fun experience seeing in the movie theaters along with a lively and respectable crowd, and it was even better when we got the DVD and I watched it by myself. Such a great, creepy film.
I've recently heard about Dog Soldiers. I hope to check it out soon.
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