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Nazis, Cheap Thrills, And Big Bad Wolves: The 13 Best Horror Movies Of 2014

While reflecting on an entire year's worth of horror movies may sound like a tremendous chore, there's no better feeling than reliving some of your favorite cinematic moments after the dust has settled and no more films remain unreleased. Sure, sifting through the worst of the worst may be not be an enviable task - which I did for my Worst Horror Movies Of 2014 feature already - but my "Best Of" work is where the movie Gods show their mercy. This is my exploration of the best horror had to offer this year, and my chance to tip my hat towards those horror films that remind me why a genre full of murder, mayhem, and spooky horrors provides the highest highs Hollywood can provide.

8) Housebound

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Horror movies are often the biggest offenders of terrible storyboarding when done wrong, but Housebound is a rare case when a writer discovers one unique gimmick that ties everything together – and it works. In the case of Gerard Johnstone’s New Zealand horror comedy, the filmmaker realized characters have no reason to stay inside a haunted house without sound reasoning, which is why he places his main character under house arrest. It’s easy to write-off stupid genre characters who refuse to leave a house that’s obviously haunted, yet when someone is chained there by an ankle bracelet, the story somehow comes together with a respectable intelligence – and PLENTY of humor.

Morgana O’Reilly plays a clumsy robber who hilariously gets caught mid-crime, forced to live at home with her parents, and she does a phenomenal job carrying this funky genre laugh-fest. There’s a security guard moonlighting as a ghost hunter, spooky suburban settings, and a perfect tonal balance of guffaws that leaves audiences in hysterics while O’Reilly fights her childhood demons. Housebound is a labor of love, and Johnstone’s patience ensures quality in every scene.