Book Review: "The Staircase in the Woods," by Chuck Wendig

     

     Chuck Wendig's The Book of Accidents blew my mind a few years ago. It was scary, relentlessly paced, and was one of several titles that reinvigorated my love for horror novels, hence the many stacks of them covering most flat surfaces in my home. His latest, the intriguingly titled The Staircase in the Woods, might be even better. 

    Anyone that has spent some time reading "creepy pastas" online or generally browsing r/creepy has probably heard of staircases in the woods. You can find photos both fictional and real (abandoned homes, typically) of such all over the web, and even some physical tourist attractions if you want to see one in person. I would advise you don't try to find the staircase featured in Wendig's new novel, though. This book tells the story of a friend group -- five youths who have formed what they call The Covenant, in which they swear to always have each other's back -- and the thing that happened during their teen years that haunts them, now down one member, for years to come.

    You see, one planned trip to have some fun away from the world in their local woods ends terribly when Matty, the well-liked school/sports/social standout of the group, climbs a mysterious staircase they've unexpectedly stumbled upon. He gets to the top and steps/jumps off... and disappears. The other friends panic. They search for him, thinking he's playing some sort of joke. They eventually stage it so people will think he has maybe fallen off of a cliff, and, this being the 1990s, the community blames them for the popular kid's disappearance, anyway. They're kind of strange kids, after all -- maybe this is one of those Satanic things!

    It's not, of course. What it actually is for the group is a friendship-fracturing disaster that follows them around forever. Owen, a nervous, self-doubting teen with a deadbeat dad, was jealous of Matty's relationship with Lore. Lore, who was mad at Matty the night of his disappearance, carries that burden around. Nick, the clown but also the hothead of the group, willingly takes most of the heat for the disappearance by admitting to the police that there had been drugs and alcohol involved that night and gets sent off to juvie. Hamish, who struggles with his self-image, turns to religion and fitness and, well, Republican politics. 

    Years pass and Lore has made a name for herself in the world of video game development. She has done so by perhaps abandoning Owen on a project they had dreamed up together, which has left him deeply resentful. Hamish has made himself successful and fit and has gotten married and had kids, but bickers with Lore about politics and has a few secrets of his own. Nick has spent years emailing everyone asking them to come back to their hometown to help look for Matty again, often including online posts about similar staircases in the woods. Now, though, something forces everyone to finally return: Nick has informed them that he has cancer and doesn't have much time left. 

    Owen finds the courage to hop on a plane. Lore is struggling with her game and her guilt over her final night with Matty, so she's in, too. Hamish seems excited to see his friends despite the somber occasion. And Nick? Well, he might have some surprises in store. He gets everyone back home but hasn't arranged hotel rooms for them like they expect. No, he's got something else in mind. A trip into the woods. Into the woods where he has once again discovered a strange staircase standing all on its own. And this time, everyone is climbing it. Once they do, all hell breaks loose... or does it surround them? 

    You see, at the top of that staircase is a house. It's a strange house. The rooms don't make sense and the doors shift. There are horrors to be found everywhere. Grief and terror seep from the very walls. And every passing room is going to push Owen, Lore, Hamish, and Nick further into the dark depths of their "Covenant," their minds, and their very understanding of reality. To talk much about the labyrinth they find themselves in would be to spoil the sweat-inducing and nightmare-fueling brilliance of Wendig's novel, so that's all I'll divulge here.

    Chuck's prose, as ever, is clear and concise and will have you flipping through pages and chapters with horrified joy. The sign of any good book is that constant feeling that you just have to read one more page, and The Staircase in the Woods doesn't disappoint on that front. I may have extended one (or two... ) of my lunch breaks at work to tear through another few chapters. Just when you think you have a handle on what Wendig's shifting house at the top of the stairs is really about, he twists things on you again. The scares aren't limited to sights and sounds. Deep-rooted anxieties, repressed memories, and relived traumas are all fair game once the friends climb those steps. It's riveting stuff that I thoroughly enjoyed and plan on bugging all of my reading friends to check out as soon as it hits shelves next year. This one's a new favorite.

 

5/5


I received an advance copy of this book for review. It will be released April 29, 2025 by Del Rey Books.

 

2024 is Ending. Here's to 2025.

I'm going to start writing again. Maybe not much, maybe not anything good. I'm hoping to start posting some book reviews (advanced ones, when possible) as well as some best-of-2024 lists and things.

See y'all soon.

Book Review: "My Heart Is a Chainsaw," by Stephen Graham Jones

 

    A new book from Stephen Graham Jones is always a joy, as far as I'm concerned. Luckily for me, his imagination never seems to slow down for too long, so those new books tend to arrive frequently. The Only Good Indians was the best horror work of 2020 for many, myself very much included. It was terrifying and heartbreaking and unlike anything else the genre had offered up in quite some time. 

    His newest, My Heart Is a Chainsaw, is equally as strong. It's the story of Jade, a horror slasher fan stuck living with a deadbeat dad as she goes through the motions to graduate from a high school she hates in a town, Proofrock, that she hates even more. When a fascinating new girl named Letha shows up and corpses start to be discovered, Jade realizes that she might be living through one of the slashers she loves so much... and that Letha might be the final girl such a story requires. 

    Of course, it's all delightfully more complex than that. Letha's father is part of a group of fellow rich men building themselves a fancy new housing development out across the water, and the townspeople aren't all fans of the situation. As for Jade, she might want to be done with school once and for all, but she might be more attached to Proofrock than she lets on. She's particularly fond of her history teacher, Mr. Holmes, and Jones cleverly weaves in some of the papers Jade is writing for this history teacher throughout the novel. Each one of her papers is about slasher movies, of course, and while they might not be exactly what her teacher wants from her, they give us as readers great insight into Jade's life -- her expectations, fears for the future (and from the past), and hints of the carnage to come if she really has found herself smack-dab in the middle of her own slasher flick. 

    Letha seems to know there's some hidden complexity driving Jade's actions, but can Jade manage to convince Letha of her own important role to play in the unfolding horror? The town sheriff, Hardy, also dedicates himself to trying to steer Jade right... when he's not actively getting in the way, of course. I have no interest in spoiling the ways that the stories of the new housing development, the aging sheriff, Jade's father, and a major trauma hiding in Proofrock's past begin to intersect, but I will say that Jones doesn't skimp on the one element of the slasher that we've all come to expect: Violence. The final third of this book is impossible to step away from. It is page after page of chaos and gore working to bring some truths into sharp focus while tearing many other parts of the story -- people included -- apart. 

    What Jones has pulled off here is a slasher about slashers, then. A story that will pull at your heartstrings, get you to chuckle at some bleak humor, and then surprise you about fifteen separate times before the dust settles. If you're not already a fan of the same movies that Jade is, this book will walk you through a history of gems and misfires, madmen and final girls. It's not referential for the sake of being referential or some winking slice of meta fiction, though. It's a story of a girl rationalizing her own existence through the genre she loves, a genre that Stephen Graham Jones obviously cares deeply about himself.  

    It's a horror story for horror fans, but it never feels exclusionary because of its greatest strength: Jade. She's one of the best horror protagonists in recent memory. Excellent work once again, Mr. Jones. 

4.5/5


I received an advance copy of this book for review. It will be released August 31, 2021.

 

My 100 Favorite Films of the 2010s, Part Four: 25-1

This is the fourth and final part of my list. Follow these links to see the earlier parts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three.

 25. The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2019)
Henry Dunham's debut feature is unlike anything I've seen before. After a shooting at a police funeral, a local militia meets at their compound fearing that they'll be blamed for the attack. Upon assembling, they notice that one of their assault rifles is missing. Could the shooter be among them? This is as tense a thriller as the decade had to offer -- there's an inescapable sense of dread hanging over every conversation. The cast is filled with great character actors, with James Badge Dale in the lead role as former police officer Gannon. As he begins to question the other members of the militia, the stakes continue to rise. The movie will have you holding your breath long before the shocking conclusion arrives.

24. The Lost City of Z (2016)

James Gray's take on Percy Fawcett's search for a mythical lost city in the Amazon is a spellbinding, David Lean-esque adventure film the likes of which we simply never get to see these days. The obsessive quest digs its claws into Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), his right hand man Henry Costin (a remarkable Robert Pattinson), and even Fawcett's young son Jack (Tom Holland), and fully changes the course of their lives. Gray's direction truly feels as though it's from a different era, with time split between sun-drenched jungles and stuffy British manors. It's a deliberately paced, character driven exploration of how a yearning for adventure and glory can cost you everything... but somehow still be worth it. The final shot left me speechless. Perhaps we're all lost in our own personal jungles, when all is said and done.

23. Looper (2012)
Every decade needs a great time travel movie, and thankfully Rian Johnson was fully capable of delivering this one, the aggressively unique Looper. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Joe, an assassin for the mob in 2074, better known as a "looper." The mob is sending men back from a further future to be killed, disposing of any evidence of the crime in their time. Eventually, the future selves of all loopers are sent back to be killed, "closing the loop" and ensuring that all evidence is truly eliminated. When Joe's future self (Bruce Willis) arrives, though, he knows what is about to happen and manages to escape. A chase ensues, of course, but we quickly learn that both Joes have their own agendas, and the unexpected turns the story takes kept me on my toes the whole time. This is sci-fi storytelling at its cleverest.

22. Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan has always enjoyed playing with the concept of time in his films, and Interstellar is no exception. In a not-so-distant future when the world is short on food and in desperate need of something to change, a wormhole is discovered far out in the solar system that may lead to a planet with all of the resources Earth needs to survive. Matthew McConaughey's Cooper, himself a struggling farmer with two young children, joins the crew of explorers taking the interstellar trip to (and through) the wormhole in an attempt to save humanity. The story is balanced between showing Cooper's journey (alongside fellow travelers including Anne Hathaway's Brand and Bill Irwin's hilarious robot companion TARS) and the struggles of his children back home. As Cooper gets further out into the universe, where time works differently and his aging slows in comparison to Earth, we see his children reach adulthood and struggle with the thought of never seeing him again. It's a heartbreaking story, but it's also visually thrilling and contains a stunning third act that swings for the fences and, as far as I'm concerned, delivers the goods in a big, big way.

21. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi is the best film the Star Wars saga has ever offered. I'm not here to argue that point, so if that statement upsets you, move on with your life. Stunningly photographed and truly daring, this was the first time since The Empire Strikes Back that Star Wars had felt surprising and maybe even dangerous. It's the story of Luke Skywalker, struggling in his solitude with personal failures and doubts before ultimately overcoming them in beautiful fashion and, for the first time in the series, showing the full, empathetic, graceful power of the Jedi and their true purpose in action. He has to come to grips with what it means to teach a new generation, but that new generation also has something to teach him. It's a lesson on how people, even space wizards with mind-powers, aren't perfect, and how our failures can define us and help us grow. It's filled with exciting action and moment after moment of humor and heart. It's Rian Johnson giving the series he loved since childhood an unpredictable and deeply rewarding new entry that moved the story into a more inclusive, hopeful future... and gave Mark Hamill his greatest live action role. I could, and have, talked about this movie for hours on end, but I'll stop here (for now). And I didn't even mention the incredible work by Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, or the huge gains that Oscar Isaac's Poe makes as a potential leader, or... okay, okay, I'm done. I adore this film.

20. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Toy Story 3, much like The Last Jedi, is a film about coming to terms with the past ending and the future beginning, and how that is a vital part of life and not something to fear. It's hilarious (would any other studio have even attempted the prison escape film structure?), it's gorgeously animated, and it left its characters in a new place both physically and emotionally, a place so perfect that I, at the time, was content to never see them up on the big screen again. Thank God Toy Story 4 proved me wrong on that front, but Toy Story 3 finds itself higher on this list if only for the major impact it had on me on first viewing. It might just be the biggest gem on the whole Pixar crown (and what a crown that is).

19. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Tomas Alfredson brought John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to life in tremendously successful fashion in 2011. This is a cold, realistic espionage story, requiring viewers to pay attention to even the most minute details to piece together the mysteries as they unfold. The cast is absurdly stacked -- including Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, and Mark Strong, to name just a small chunk (seriously) -- and the efficient, at times almost sterile, cinematography and sound design give the story enormous room to breathe. 

18. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
No explanation needed.

17. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
My two favorite filmmakers in the world, Joel and Ethan Coen, making a Western anthology? Loving this one was inevitable, but, to be fair, they also delivered the goods. Covering the gamut of Western subgenres, from the "singing cowboy" stories of the 1930s and 40s to heartbreaking tales of loss and even existential questioning of life, death, and what comes next, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is unlike anything else released in the 2010s. In typical Coen fashion, it's loaded with the best actors in the business (Tim Blake Nelson, Brendan Gleeson, Zoe Kazan, Tom Waits), great music (from the original songs to the gorgeous score by Carter Burwell), is frequently laugh-out-loud funny, and rewarding on both a visual and emotional level. 

16. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's What We Do in the Shadows is the smartest, most genre-redefining comedy to come along so far this century. A mockumentary about the lives of a group of vampires living together in a home in New Zealand, this features more clever dialogue and outrageous situations than multiple seasons of any of your favorite sitcoms combined. It also, on occasion, allows its vampires to be vampires and doesn't shy away from blood -- something many horror comedies forget to leave room for-- but even that is used to huge comedic effect. Rest in peace, Petyr. And, hey, while you're here, let me give a little shoutout to the American television spinoff. Usually those sorts of things are disastrous, but with Waititi and Clement lending a hand (and the smart decision being made to not remake the movie but expand its universe), it turned out to be one of 2019's best surprises. 

15. Doctor Sleep (2019)
I've been stuck in a bit of a conundrum for most of my Stephen King-loving life. You see, I've always viewed Stanley Kubrick's The Shining as an outlandishly bad adaptation of King's novel, one that misses the point so instantly and so severely that it baffles the mind. That being said, I also think it's one hell of a movie, featuring one of Nicholson's greatest turns and more cinematographic genius than you can even keep up with. I also deeply love King's original novel, a very sad story of a man losing the battle to his demons in that long winter in the Overlook Hotel.

It's safe to say I was apprehensive when King's Doctor Sleep was announced, but the book blew me away. Telling the story of an adult Danny Torrance some 30 years after the horrifying events of his childhood, King was able to tell an epic story about the lingering effects of fear, grief, substance abuse, and trauma. I knew an adaptation would be coming, and I was curious to see if anyone could wrestle the story to the big screen in a way that was true to the novel while also admitting that Kubric's unfaithful Shining is more familiar to the public than King's book. Man, oh man did Mike Flanagan knock it out of the park.

I should have seen it coming, I suppose. Flanagan had just managed to turn the one King book I truly dislike (Gerald's Game) into a very good, brutal little thriller for Netflix. Still, though, I feared the combined weight of King's great books and the public's misconceptions of the original story would provide too big of a challenge. Instead, Flanagan delivered 2019's best horror movie, one that accurately depicted all those personal issues Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) was dealing with while expanding the mythology of what the "shining" is and giving us the best villain in any King adaptation, Rebecca Ferguson's incredible depiction of Rose the Hat. The most satisfying adaptation imaginable, I hope Doctor Sleep finally finds its audience when it hits home video this month.

14. Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
The 2010s were an interesting period for Quentin Tarantino. He made the widely loved Django Unchained, which narrowly missed this list, but then followed it up with The Hateful Eight, the first and only of his films that I've ever actively disliked. When I heard he was making a movie set in 1969 featuring Sharon Tate, I'll admit I was worried. After all, I found his previous film to be mean-spirited and often downright ugly, his always excellent dialogue and casting not making up for the film's true nature. I didn't want to see that tone carried over to the story of the tragically murdered Tate. Not only did Tarantino not do that, he actually ended up making his most upbeat, optimistic film ever. He puts his rewriting history trope to use again, but by that point, you'll be so in love with these characters that you'd accept almost any conclusion. That he gives this one such a poignant, kind ending is just the icing on the cake.

Margot Robbie makes for a wonderful Sharon Tate, her joyous performance not even necessitating much dialogue to tell you why Tate was special. Through this film, Tarantino, in a way, allows her to live again, if only for a little while, in the very special Hollywood that Quentin remembers youth -- accurately or not, and who cares if it is. The fact that I've written this much without even mentioning Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton or Brad Pitt's truly incredible Cliff Booth should tell you everything you need to know about how truly special this movie is.

13. True Grit (2010)
Well, what do you know, it's another Western from Joel and Ethan Coen. This one, a more faithful, far more entertaining adaptation of Charles Portis' True Grit than the 1969 version, is a massively enjoyable film. Hailee Steinfeld's performance as Mattie Ross launched her into stardom, and for good reason. She's confident, smart, and refuses to let two middle-aged men (Jeff Bridges' Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon's Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf) who are more concerned with their egos than the law they're supposed to uphold from interfering with her quest for justice for her recently slain father. It's a pure joy.

12. Inception (2010)
Another mind-bending genre film from Christopher Nolan, Inception is maybe the most daring blockbuster of the modern age. It asks a lot of the audience, with multiple timelines, multiple versions of characters, and slowly unraveling mysteries all in play, but it keeps everyone engaged via huge set pieces and practical effects work, a charismatic cast, and a truly bombastic score from Hans Zimmer. Credit this one with Tom Hardy's sudden jump onto the A-list, because his Eames absolutely steals the show. Of all the movies on this list, this is the one I most wish I could experience for the first time again, preferably on the biggest theater screen in existence.

11. Ex Machina (2014)
Alex Garland's been hitting home runs on a consistent basis since he first released his novel The Beach way back in 1996. It was his work with Danny Boyle (scripting 28 Days Later and Sunshine) that brought him to my attention in a big way, and he continued his hot streak with Dredd (which he is rumored to have also directed). Ex Machina was his credited debut in the director's chair, and, wow, what a debut it is. Starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, and Oscar Isaac -- all incredible -- this is inventive, challenging sci-fi, unafraid to ask the big questions. And, without spoiling anything, it's not afraid to give big answers to those questions, either.

10. Parasite (2019)
What is there to say about Bong Joon-ho's masterpiece that hasn't been said elsewhere online already? Everything you've heard is true. It's funny, it's dark, and it will surprise even the most experienced moviegoers on multiple occasions. Every single time you think you have a grip on the unfolding story, it pivots into unexpected territory, and it all seems effortless. Bong Joon-ho has always delivered, but this is easily his best yet. I hope like hell that Park So-dam and Song Kang-ho get the recognition they deserve for their work in this film.

9. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
How the hell did this happen? How, 35 years after the fact, did a studio have the guts to give someone as unique as Denis Villeneuve total control to make a lengthy, existential, contemplative film that required such a high budget? Sure, the box office numbers were a disappointment. But the fact that there's a sequel to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner that not only lives up to its reputation but may in fact surpass it is truly miraculous. I have never been more satisfied with a sequel to anything. Also, what a joy it was to see Roger Deakins finally bring home an Oscar for his work as director of photography.

8. Knives Out (2019)
Is there anything more enjoyable than a well-crafted whodunnit? Rian Johnson's Knives Out is one of the genre's brightest moments ever, with a script that is so intricately put together that it manages to turn expectations on the audience's head multiple times without losing steam. The key to the whole genre has always been the big reveal at the end, the moment when whoever the investigator at hand is gets to explain how all the disparate pieces form together to answer the central question. Let's face it, usually the author/director/game designer has to cheat a little. They have to stretch reality, sometimes just a bit and sometimes a whole lot, to make sure the last two pieces click together properly. Rian Johnson has not cheated here. Knives Out is the work of someone who clearly loves the genre so dearly that he went the extra mile to make sure that every single clue and every line of dialogue is important and will come back into play when needed. Not one thread is left dangling, not one moment out of place. Tack on one of the great ensembles in recent memory -- Daniel Craig's zany Benoit Blank ( a classic private investigator with a delightfully odd southern accent) and the extended Thrombey family, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, and Katherine Langford -- and the truly transcendent Ana de Armas in the lead role as Marta, and you've got one of the decade's finest films on your hands.

7. The Shape of Water (2017)
I'll be a bit lazy here and quote a bit of what I wrote when naming this my favorite film of 2017:

"This is a love story. A love story about a woman seeking meaning in her life, yes, but also a love story between Guillermo del Toro and his monsters. It's a monster story for the outcasts who always related to the monsters more than the people chasing them.

It has often been said that Guillermo's best work has been in his native tongue, an argument that was easy to make considering the quality of The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, but I've never really bought into that. For starters, he's not had the level of freedom in his American studio efforts and has still managed to deliver some of my favorite films. But, more importantly, I wouldn't say that Spanish is his true native language. Cinema is. He speaks it more fluently than perhaps anyone else ever has. This is an unforgettable masterpiece."

6. Green Room (2016)Jeremy Saulnier's Green Room is a nerve-fraying, horrifying, brutal experience, but it's absolutely mesmerizing, in large part due to the late, great Anthony Yelchin's electrifying lead performance. The story of a punk band accidentally witnessing a murder after playing a show (much to their dismay) at a Neo-Nazi compound in the Pacific Northwest, this is a lean, oh-so-mean thriller that will have you flinching in your seat and hoping as hard as you can that the band will somehow make it out alive. The fact that it's villains are so sadly believable and relevant in our modern age only adds to the terror.

5. Annihilation (2018)
Alex Garland was quoted somewhere during the production of this film that he wasn't trying to literally adapt Jeff Vandermeer's novel of the same name. Instead, he was trying to capture what it felt like to experience that book for the first time. Garland said he only read the book once, but the nightmarish descent into the unknown depths of "Area X"  lingered in his mind for long after he read it. As far as I'm concerned, his unique approach was the correct one. Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy would have been impossible to adapt in a traditional way. Garland managed to capture the disturbing questions and horrors of Annihilation in a completely bold but successful way. The ending, in particular, is one of the most audacious, haunting pieces of cinema I have ever witnessed. Clear your mind and give this one a watch, whether for the first or tenth time. You'll find the journey worthwhile, even if it leaves you shuddering.

4. Calvary (2014)
What a remarkable accomplishment John Michael McDonagh's Calvary is. A movie about what it means to be a good Catholic priest in a world that has moved past Catholicism (and certainly the idea of "good" priests), this melancholy but uplifting (and darkly hilarious) movie might be the highlight of Brendan Gleeson's remarkable career. You'll laugh a lot watching it, but I guarantee you'll cry before it's over. A far better movie about faith and belief than has ever been made by any so-called religious group or "faith-based" production company, this was the decade's great unsung masterpiece.

3. Take Shelter (2011)
Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter absolutely blew me away the first time I saw it. It might be the best movie ever made about mental illness and its legacy throughout a family (and what it can do to the people you love). Michael Shannon gives the performance of the decade as Curtis LaForche, a man having visions of a quickly-approaching apocalypse who decides to build a surival shelter in his backyard. He struggles to explain what's happening to his wife (an amazing Jessica Chastain), his young, deaf daughter, and his seemingly only friend (Shea Whigham). Between visits to his psychiatrist and his elderly mother, whose own mental struggles devastated the LaForche family when Curtis was young, the movie (and Nichols' excellent script )keeps us guessing as to whether there's any truth at all to the visions. The final shot is one for the ages.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
What else is there to say? George Miller's Fury Road is a relentless, massive spectacle, an absolute miracle of a film that completely changed the way we looked at action films forever. More world-building and storytelling is done on a frame-by-frame basis during the opening minutes, often without any dialogue whatsoever, than most films accomplish in their entire running time. What a lovely day, indeed.

1. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Joel and Ethan Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis is as much folk song as it is film. It's devastating and beautiful and hilarious and frustrating and so very, very well-written. Llewyn Davis, played by the insanely talented Oscar Isaac, is a struggling folk musician just trying to get by in New York. His musical partner has died. He has gotten another man's wife pregnant. He has accidentally let the cat of some of his only benefactors loose on the streets. He can't control his attitude. In other words, he's a real person, and frankly, he's a bit of an asshole. You love him all the same, though, and you wish he could get things together, just this once. He almost always disappoints you. That's how the cycle goes, and the remarkable soundtrack and intricate world that the Coens built here will keep you enthralled from beginning to... end? Beginning?

No scene from any movie sticks with me more than the one that comes close to the end of this film when, after a brutal, bizarre road trip to Chicago, Llewyn finds himself in front of a producer who has the power to finally make an impact on his career. He's gone through hell to get here, and all he has to do is play a song to impress this man. Llewyn, though, chooses to play "Queen Jane," a song describing the death of the titular queen during childbirth that left her husband decimated. The producer, of course, passes. Llewyn, so determined to stay true to himself and his artistry, has let another opportunity die. If you can't succeed as yourself, is success even worth it? Do you even want to achieve that goal you're chasing? Will any of it make up for the loss of a friend, or all the mistakes you've made along the way? The Coens leave that up for their character, and, as an extension, their audience to decide. We're all Llewyn Davis, in some way or another. Which is why this was beyond any shadow of a doubt my favorite film of the decade.

My 100 Favorite Films of the 2010s, Part Three: 50-26

This is the third of four parts of this list. Find the first two parts at these links: Part One, Part Two.

50. The Lighthouse (2019)
This might be the weirdest movie on this list. Robert Eggers managed to follow-up The Witch with a movie equally devoted to capturing the look, sound, and feel of a specific place at a specific time, but this time focuses less on pure horror and instead delves into the bizarre and existential. With only two actors, Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, both incredible, The Lighthouse immediately throws you into its isolated journey into madness. Shot on 35mm black and white film in a silent film era 1.19:1 aspect ratio -- mostly with lenses from the 1930s (and one from 1912!) -- Eggers and his team have made the most unique visual experience of 2019, certainly, and likely the decade as a whole.

49. The Social Network (2010)
David Fincher's heavily-stylized biopic of Mark Zuckerberg and the early days of Facebook was one of those movies that, upon first hearing about it, sounded like an odd prospect. Fincher, one of our best, most unique filmmakers, tackling the story of a profoundly unlikable billionaire? Sitting down to watch it for the first time, though, the opening scene alone declared this one as a new classic. Aaron Sorkin's script is relentlessly quick, and the cast (a career-best Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer) makes it all sing. Plus you get the Oscar winning score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and one of the best bits of dialogue in any film ever, delivered by Rooney Mara's Erica Albright: "You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole." How true does that ring for so many online these days, huh?

48. Nighcrawler (2014)
The less I say about Nightcrawler, the better. If you haven't seen Dan Gilroy's nightmarish Los Angeles pseudo-noir by now, stop reading this list and go buy it. Featuring Jake Gyllenhaal's best ever performance (which is really, really saying something), this one is both deeply rattling and truly unforgettable.

47. Hereditary (2018)
Has there ever been a more extraordinary opening salvo from a horror director than Ari Aster's deeply terrifying Hereditary? This dark, unpredictable family drama contains some of the most creative, totally unexpected horror imagery the genre has offered in many, many years (if you've seen it, you know exactly the things I'm hinting at). Toni Collette's go-for-broke performance was likely the best 2018 had to offer, and the awards circuit's predictable anti-horror bias keeping her out of the major competitions was truly frustrating. Go into this one blind if you've yet to experience it, and prepare to see a family wrestle with loss more openly  than most films would ever dare portray. A truly incredible film.

46. BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansmen pulls off one of modern films greatest balancing acts. The movie, about a black police officer and his Jewish partner going undercover with the KKK in 1970s Colorado, is consistently hilarious while remaining open and honest about the horrors of racism and bigotry. John David Washington and Adam Driver are both incredible in this movie, maintaining the comedic tone throughout but nailing the dramatic moments as they come along. I don't know that I'll ever shake the theatrical experience I had with this film. Even in rural Iowa, which, let's face it, has some diversity and inclusion issues, Spike Lee's coda to this film hit like a sledgehammer. People were sobbing in their seats, and walked out of the theater as though they had really learned something. Here's hoping they had.

45. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods is perhaps the most aggressively "meta" take on the horror genre ever crafted. Its opening act starts to set up what one expects to be a traditional teens-get-slaughtered horror flick before the twist hits, and hits HARD, right before the title comes on screen. The concept is so high-brow that you can almost feel it straining to hold itself together as time goes on, but Goddard's direction keeps everything running smoothly until it fully sticks the landing. As clever as they come and a crazy amount of fun, The Cabin in the Woods has earned a place on many all-time favorite horror lists.

44. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Following up 2008's The Dark Knight was never going to be an easy task for Christopher Nolan, and plenty of folks out there will tell you that he dropped the ball with the conclusion to his Batman trilogy. The truth, though, is that he did a wonderful job. The Dark Knight made such big waves for several reasons, including an amazing performance by Heath Ledger (whose sudden death before the film's release likely made the portrayal more popular than it otherwise ever would have been) and a new spin on the genre that was more similar to Michael Mann's Heat than any previous "traditional" Batman film. Just because The Dark Knight Rises supposedly doesn't reach the same heights as it predecessor -- I'd argue it absolutely does -- doesn't make it a bad film, though. In fact, it's far more of a true Batman story than the heavily politics and villain-focused 2008 film, giving Christian Bale more screen time and a more complete story arc. Gary Oldman does his best work as Jim Gordon here, Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle might be the best character in the trilogy, and Tom Hardy's Bane is honestly incredible (if you can get over the voice, the response to which has always baffled me). As a lifelong, diehard Batman fan, The Dark Knight Rises is everything I could have wanted out of the trilogy capping blockbuster, especially in its powerful closing minutes.

43. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Edgar Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is endlessly entertaining. It's packed front-to-back with great music, a wide array of talented actors giving it their all, and some of the most visually dynamic fight scenes you're going to find anywhere. It's hyper-energetic, superbly edited movie magic. What else would you expect from Edgar Wright?

42. It Follows (2014)
The central metaphor has been explained to death, and that's okay. It was always meant to be understood, and it's no less effective for being openly discussed. David Robert Mitchell's It Follows is a horror classic not because of its smart concept but because of Mitchell and co.'s genius camera work, subliminally setting up for us where the scares will come from and then subverting those expectations with unexpected pauses and clever framing. It's a masterclass in building and sustaining dread, the evil entity's relentless, straightforward (literally) pursuit of our protagonist (Maika Monroe) and those trying to help her never giving the audience a moment to rest. I've always been a firm believer that, when it comes to horror, less is more. Few films provide a better look at the of the strength of that idea than It Follows.

41. The World's End (2013)

The "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy from Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz/The World's End) have more than earned its beloved reputation. It was always the loosest of trilogies, a group of films linked merely by who was making them and their style: A Romero-loving zombie comedy with all kinds of heart in 2004's Shaun of the Dead, an action comedy with echoes of The Wicker Man in 2007's Hot Fuzz, and, finally, a... sad look at getting older and losing friends along the way? It's safe to say that Edgar Wright's third major pairing with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, The World's End, wasn't exactly what the trio's biggest fans were expecting. It's still a very funny film with plenty of genre elements (a semi-Invasion of the Body Snatchers sci-fi tale with robot baddies), but there was clearly an effort made to make the emotional beats hit harder this time around. The common response I've found when discussing the film with other Wright fans is that, at first, the movie threw them off, they didn't like it as much as its predecessors in the "trilogy." Upon revisiting it, giving it a second, third, fourth look... it often becomes the favorite film of the series. Let's face it: We all miss being younger and the friends we had and things we did. Only a supremely talented group of filmmakers could tell perhaps the decade's most essential version of that story without losing the comedy and stylistic flair that made their films so damn popular in the first place. Cheers to you, Wright, Pegg, and Frost. 

40. The Rover (2014)

A desolate Australian landscape after some type of societal collapse. A man (Guy Pearce, powerful as always) driven by some unknown motivation, tracks down a group of men who stole his car and left one of their own, injured and presumed dying, behind. The injured man (Robert Pattinson, who you have probably noticed is all over this list) isn't dying, though, and one of the car thieves was his brother. He joins Pearce's character in tracking them down. I won't spoil why Pearce's Eric is so desperate to get the car back -- I'll simply say that the revelation was so stunning in its simplicity and heart that I couldn't stop thinking about it for days after the credits rolled. The highlights of the film, other than its alarmingly convincing, bleak look, are the quiet, slowly unraveling conversations between Pearce and Pattinson. It's a gut-wrenching film at times, but the story, by director David Michôd and the great Joel Edgerton, is extremely engaging. The Rover is without doubt one of the underappreciated gems of the decade. 

39. Ad Astra (2019)

After The Lost City of Z, I somewhat expected James Gray to return with a simpler, less devastating story. Thankfully, I was way off. Ad Astra, featuring one of two possible career best performances by Brad Pitt in 2019 (more on that in the next part of this list), is a complex story about fatherhood and expectations. Interestingly, that complicated emotional journey is told in a rather straightforward sci-fi mold: Pitt's Major Roy McBride is informed that his father, a famous astronaut long thought dead (Tommy Lee Jones), appears to be alive on the other side of the solar system and responsible for a series of electrical surges that have been wreaking havoc back on Earth. The film on its surface revolves around McBride's journey to his father, a trip filled with your expected sci-fi action sequences (including a stellar buggy chase on the Moon, one of 2019's most thrilling sequences), but it's the deeply contemplative third act that will stick with me for a long time to come. 

38. Ready or Not (2019)
I've admired the hell out of the guys that form the group Radio Silence since I first found out about them via their terrifying but oh-so-fun short segment in the first V/H/S film, called "10/31/98." They made some other contributions to anthologies and one mostly unsuccessful feature film (Devi's Due) in the time since, but finally have returned in a big, big way with Ready or Not. A brilliant idea executed to perfection, this is the story of a bride (Samara Weaving, always great but never better than here) marrying into an extremely wealthy family that made their fortune via games. Family tradition insists that any newcomer to the family must play a game, chosen via a card presented at random from a strange box, with them at midnight on their first day. Weaving's Grace soon finds out that she drew the one bad card: Hide or seek. To spoil any of the glorious scenes of comedic horror to follow would be a crime, so I'll just say this: The ending rules, and you should watch this film immediately... and badger everyone you meet to do the same.

37. Guardians of the Galaxy & Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2014/2017)

Okay, so I'm cheating. I'll tell you now that this won't be the last time. I originally had these both on the list separately, a few spots apart, but the truth I inevitably kept coming back to was this: James Gunn's genre-redefining, nonstop entertaining Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel really do function as one larger piece. They're the story of a kid from Earth stranded way out in the universe on his own, finding friends and ultimately family of his own choosing. They're a heartbreaking story of fatherhood and the many shapes it can take -- some good, some very bad. They're hilarious, they'll make you cry, and they'll leave you desperate to see this ragtag team of well-meaning scoundrels on more adventures. Luckily, between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, we already got a bit more. I couldn't be happier that James Gunn will be getting back to work on Vol. 3 soon. The world is a better place with these films (and their amazing soundtracks) in it. 

36. The Witch (2015)

Robert Eggers' debut film The Witch is a remarkable period piece, its hand-crafted (with era accurate tools) sets effortlessly pulling the viewer fully into its quiet, haunting world. I've always loved the tagline -- "A New England Folktale" -- a statement so simple and honest that it almost lulls you into thinking the movie won't go as far into unspeakable horror as it ultimately has to. If you, like me, enjoy tales of supposed witchcraft in early America and can stick with the film's Middle English-by-way-of-Shakespeare dialog, The Witch will offer plenty of intrigue and terror. Black Phillip should have received an honorary Oscar. 

35. The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Taika Waititi's The Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the story of a foster kid looking for his place in the world. It's uproariously funny, it's absolutely packed with great actors, and it will warm even the coldest of hearts. This was one of a string of massively successful films from Taika Waititi in his native New Zealand that led to him getting the biggest job of his life with Thor: Ragnarok. Luckily, his work on massive franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the new Star Wars series The Mandalorian hasn't overshadowed his earlier work. Instead, it seems to have made people seek these smaller scale stories out. I highly doubt that anyone who does so will regret the time they spend with Ricky Baker, played to such great effect by breakout star Julian Dennison. 

34. Ford v Ferrari (2019)
James Mangold showed himself to be a master of the biopic with Walk the Line back in 2004, and he finally turned his talents back to that genre with the immensely satisfying racing drama Ford v Ferrari, starring Christian Bale (incredible as usual) and Matt Damon (ditto). The story of the efforts made by Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles for the Ford Motor Company in the buildup to the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford v Ferrari is full of expertly recreated racing sequences and equal parts heartbreaking moments of defeat and heartwarming successes. If you don't know the story of Ken Miles, in particular, you'll be blown away by this incredible man and what he could do (when Ford wasn't getting in the way, that is). Few movies in recent memory made such good use of theatrical exhibition as this one. When you get the chance, watch it LOUD.

33. Slow West (2015)
John Maclean's Slow West is one of the quirkiest Westerns ever made. The story of a Scottish teen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) coming to America to track down the girl he thinks he loves (on the run with her father for a crime in their native land) and teaming up with a bounty hunter with questionable motives (Michael Fassbender), this one is short but supremely effective. It's funny and it's totally original, and the supporting cast is loaded with great character actors (the immensely talented Ben Mendelsohn steals the show, of course). It also contains one of the great visual jokes ever committed to film. I seriously love this movie.

32. Marvel's The Avengers & Avengers: Endgame (2012/2019)
I told you I'd cheat again! In 2012, Marvel's The Avengers changed the blockbuster landscape forever. The long-awaited team up of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and the Hulk defied all expectations, deftly weaving together their various skills and personalities in a heartfelt, hilarious action spectacular. For a lifelong comic nerd like myself, it was a dream come true. And then, with each successive Marvel film, the story didn't splinter off, but continued to build. The first Avengers film wasn't the climax of the story, but only the end of its first act. Seven years later Marvel blew almost everyone's minds with the culmination of a decade plus of work in the form of the massive, bombastic Avengers: Endgame. Held together by the strong direction of Joe and Anthony Russo, the end of Marvel's "Infinity Saga" featured dozens of beloved characters and somehow managed to do right by all of them. Quite frankly, a movie of such scale was unfathomable, even in the superhero genre, before Marvel Studios started their journey. It's popular in the film world to take shots at the MCU for being too loud and too flashy, but that's to be expected, and I couldn't care less. If I could show 8-year-old me Avengers: Endgame, it would make him incredibly excited for the future of the characters he loves. It's done the same for the modern me, to tell the truth.

31. Snowpiercer (2013)
Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer, based off of a French graphic novel, is a propulsive story of class warfare set on an always-in-motion train plowing through the snowy landscapes of a bleak apocalyptic world. It has echoes of Bioshock and J.G. Ballard's High-Rise, but at the end of the day it's utterly unique. Powered by a strong performance by Chris Evans, our journey from the back of the train to the front is filled with inventive action sequences, exquisite set design (totally new from car to car), and all kinds of surreal twists and turns. Snowpiercer is without doubt one of the greatest sci-fi films of the modern era.

30. It & It: Chapter Two (2017/2019)

This one isn't a cheat, damn it! Andy Muschietti's modern spin on Stephen King's masterful It is, at the end of the day, one giant story, covering two eras and doing great justice to both. The casts, both the younger and older versions, are perfect all the way through. The scares are plentiful, creative, and always serve to propel the story forward. I've always found it to be true that capturing the tone of a King story is more important than attempting to adapt the stories word-for-word, and Muschietti's films are now my strongest defense for that belief. This is sprawling, complex horror that values the human element and character above all else, and, as someone who first read the book in 6th grade and loves it dearly, I couldn't be happier with how this turned out. I can only imagine how many nightmares Bill Skarsgaard's Pennywise has caused out there in the world. 

29. Animal Kingdom (2010)
One of the best crime dramas ever made. Ben Mendelsohn is absolutely transcendent. Don't read about Animal Kingdom... go watch it.

28. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
What the hell kind of action franchise is still getting better by the time its sixth entry rolls around? Christopher McQuarrie, in his second outing in the M:I franchise, takes the series to new heights (quite literally) with the absolutely jaw-dropping Fallout. Cruise has always been a little nuts, but he does things in this movie that I imagine had his agents quaking with fear. The huge stunts are cool as can be, of course, but the story, picking up from where the previous film, Rogue Nation, left off, is the best the franchise has ever offered, and that's what ultimately so impressive. Henry Cavill is great as Cruise's rival, and the supporting cast assembled over the last few films (Simon Pegg, for one, as well as the real standout, Rebecca Ferguson) continues to give these films more heart and soul than an action movie theoretically needs to get by. McQuarrie is gearing up to shoot M:I 7 and 8 back-to-back for release in 2021 and 2022, and you should all be as excited about that as I am.

27. Logan (2017)
"A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mold. There's no living with the killing. There's no going back. Right or wrong, it's a brand. A brand that sticks. Now you run on home to your mother... you tell her everything's alright. There are no more guns in the valley."

With those words, from George Stevens' 1953 classic Shane, we say goodbye to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, perhaps the most beloved character in any long-running franchise the world has ever seen. Over the course of nearly 20 years, Jackman continued to evolve his take on the character, finding new depths when he needed to, more ferocity when the movies called for it, and plenty of emotional turmoil. James Mangold's Logan, an R-rated, gut punch of a Western that takes place in a distant, harrowing post-X-Men future, is the perfect final statement for Jackman's career-defining role. It will probably break your heart, but it will certainly have been worth the ride.

26. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (2017)
Martin McDonagh's latest is a dark comedic drama about loss, grief, racism, cancer... all the kinds of things you aren't supposed to use to make people laugh. When you have Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell doing career best (and Oscar winning) work, though, you have to give them something worthy of their talents, and McDonagh certainly did. Only with this cast could you pull this story off and not have it feel mean-spirited or misguided. This is a movie about struggling people in tough situations, some self-created and some via tragedy, trying to better themselves and possibly failing. Ultimately, that's about as human as it gets, right? It's truly extraordinary.




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