Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here. Happy Birthday to AICN HORROR which celebrates its second year in October! Always hoping to pass on new and exciting films for all of you ravenous readers in search of worthwhile horror, I decided to compile a list counting down to my favorite horror film released since last October and covered in this here AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. Some of these films might be new to you since there isn’t a lot of horror in theaters these days that aren’t toothless remakes or watered down sequels. Theaters aren’t where the horror is at these days, I’m afraid. Some of these films have only seen the light of day on Video on Demand or simply go straight to DVD/BluRay. I’ve also compiled quite a few films I’ve seen advance screenings of at festivals and other outlets, and I’ll try to update you when you can see these films.
As far as how I compiled this list? Well, I simply looked over my AICN HORROR columns over the last year after October 1st (which happens to be the birthday of this little column two years ago!) and worked and reworked a list until I had 31. No real method to my madness. We’ll be counting down every day until Halloween toward my favorite horror film of the year. I’ll also provide a second film suggestion for those who can’t get enough horror that has something to do with the film I chose that day.
So let’s get to it! Chime in after the article and let me know how you liked the film I chose, how right or wrong I am, and come up with your own list…let’s go!
NUMBER 6!

LA PIEL QUE HABITO (2011)
aka THE SKIN I LIVE INDirected by Pedro Almodovar
Written by Pedro Almodovar & Agustín Almodóvar, from the novel TARANTULA by Thierry Jonquet
Starring Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Marisa Paredes, Roberto Álamo, Blanca Suárez
Find out more about this film here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Though it looks pristine and proper throughout the film, this modern day big budget Frankenstein tale is one you won’t be able to shake. While Kenneth Branaugh and Robert DeNiro tried to modernize Mary Shelley’s tale as a blockbuster twenty years ago and failed, award winning director Pedro Almodovar does so my shedding all of the correct names and story beats, but still manages to capture the essence of that classic tale of a man powered by hatred and obsessed with being a god and his love for his creation.

I am trying to be as vague as possible in describing specific plot points of THE SKIN I LIVE IN because I think going into it blind is going to dazzle and befuddle you all as much as it did me. The film starts out with Antonio Banderas as an accomplished doctor in the field of skin grafts and cellular manipulation. In a treatment room, he looks over a young woman who seems quite happy in her solitude in a sterile room. But as director Almodovar zooms in closer to examine these characters, they are far from normal.

THE SKIN I LIVE IN is not your typical horror movie, but I’ll be damned if you don’t feel a horrific wave of unease as you watch it. Blurring lines of morality and good taste, biting hard into any and all belief in what you’re sure of is real in the universe Almodovar builds one sterile brick by brick, and expertly constructive in terms of narrative, THE SKIN I LIVE IN may not have ghosts, dark castles, and walking corpses, but it is very much a horror film that will sneak up for you and slice you deep before you even know it.

The Countdown so far…
#7: ENTRANCE#8: RABIES
#9: MASKS
#10: CABIN IN THE WOODS
#11: BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW
#12: JUAN OF THE DEAD
#13: MIDNIGHT SON
#14: BLOOD JUNKIE
#15: V/H/S
#16: THE DIVIDE
#17: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3
#18: LITTLE DEATHS
#19: THE TALL MAN
#20: KILL LIST
#21: MOTHER’S DAY
#22: THE INNKEEPERS
#23: THE SNOWTOWN MURDERS
#24: THE PACT
#25: THE WRONG HOUSE
#26: SATURDAY MORNING MASSACRE
#27: SPIRIT STALKERS
#28: THE MOTH DIARIES
#29: THE SLEEPER
#30: THE AGGRESSION SCALE
#31: SICK BOY
See ya tomorrow, folks, with number 5 of the best of the best covered in AICN HORROR since last year!


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