31 Days of Dread--Day 22

The Nightmare; 2015; directed by Rodney Ascher

Documentary director Rodney Ascher performs this wonderful cinematic trick where he can infuse even the most banal topic with a palpable sense of dread. 

His first film, the short-subject The S From Hell, explored the evil inherent in Screen Gems' mid-century animated logo. And for his second trick, the brilliant Room 237, he built a convincing maze of twisted logic from the theories surrounding Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining.

So imagine what he might do with subject matter that's legitimately frightening on its own?

In The Nightmare, Ascher uses a combination of first-person interviews, dramatic re-enactments, computer animation and existing footage to explore the phenomenon of sleep paralysis, or night terrors.

The result is a film that steadily develops a creeping sense of anxiety, and releases a series of jump scares that are even more effective due to the fact that you never see them coming. It makes for a terrifically good watch, as horror films go.

And then, once it's over, it pulls off a second, even more impressive feat: it follows you to your bedroom, and joins you beneath the sheets, and wraps its cold arm around your waist.

The Nightmare is available on Netflix and streaming rental.

31 Days of Dread--Day 21

The Cell; 2000; written by Mark Protosevich; directed by Tarsem Singh

I don't know why Tarsem Singh hasn't made another film that even comes close to his feature debut.

On its surface, The Cell is a serial-killer police procedural. The somewhat improbable cast stars Jennifer Lopez as as a child psychologist, Vince Vaughn as a detective, and Vincent D'Onofrio as the brilliantly twisted killer who's constructed an elaborate puzzle for the other two to solve before he claims his next victim.

But just beneath that surface is a science-fiction thriller about a technology that enables two or more people to share the same subconscious reality. Only it comes with a dangerous caveat: if you think something's real, it can have the same effect as reality, including the ability to kill you.

And still further down, there's the gorgeous and lurid heart of The Cell, a series of stunning visuals and bizarre set pieces unlike anything seen before or since--a brilliantly executed mix of Joel-Peter Witkin's grave-dusty S&M and David LaChapelle's high-sheen glamour. They make even the strangest stuff from the Davids Cronenberg, Fincher and Lynch look unimaginative in comparison.

Singh got his start with commercials and music videos (his work for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" was especially feted) and has gone on to direct Immortals, Mirror Mirror and NBC's series Emerald City. But none of his subsequent work has matched The Cell for its wealth of visual invention.

It's been 18 years since Tarsem Singh has let his imagination run wild, and that's too long. One of the premium channels needs to give him a blank check and the promise of creative control.

The Cell is available on Amazon Prime and streaming rental.

31 Days of Dread--Day 20

Circle; 2015; written and directed by Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione

Circle is one of those films in which the less you know about it ahead of time, the more you'll enjoy it.

Seriously. Stop reading right now, pull it up on Netflix, and thank me later.

No? Okay. Here's a bit more info.

Circle is an incredibly tense science fiction thriller in which 50 strangers find themselves playing a hellish "game"--though game is probably the wrong word for the life and death competition they engage in. 

This simple premise allows the filmmakers to deftly address some pretty heavy topics. Racism, sexism, ageism, classicism, homophobia, crime, punishment, and the dirty politics of survival are all laid bare and pretty much rubbed raw.

That might make Circle sound a bit preachy, though it's anything but. The film is a fleet 87 minutes, and chances are you won't relax during a single one. The talented cast delivers some amazing performances, and the fact that they're all unknowns only increases the film's sense of realism and anxiety.

Still not convinced? Then do me a favor. Watch just the first three minutes, and see if you can turn it off.

Circle is available on Netflix and streaming rental.

31 Days of Dread--Day 19

Cloverfield, 2008; written by Drew Goddard; directed by Matt Reeves

This is the film that kicked off a three-part franchise (and counting, some of which have been more successful than others), caused audiences to complain about motion sickness and inspired critics to draw comparisons to the trauma of 9/11.

And it's worthy of all that. Still.

The story should be familiar to anyone who's seen at least one Japanese city reduced to rubble by an atomic-era monster. Only this update sets the action in New York City and employs the found-footage technique that still hadn't been done to death by 2008.

After ten years, Cloverfield hasn't lost its ability to thrill, surprise and even shock. (Also, deliver the occasional bit of vertigo, even on a contemporary flat-screen.) Especially during the last 15 minutes or so, which boldly eschew Hollywood's insistence on a happy ending despite all the odds and instead go right where they've been going all along. 

Cloverfield is available on streaming rental.

31 Days of Dread--Day 18

Under the Skin; 2013; written by Walter Campbell & Jonathan Glazer, based on the novel by Michel Faber; directed by Jonathan Glazer

Under the Skin is, pardon the pun, a wholly alien experience. From the opening moments--a series of 2001-like shots, set to what sounds like a woman repeating fragments of words over an anxious string orchestra--it's clear we've entered an unfamiliar world.

The loosely jointed story follows an extra-terrestrial, played by a vacant and dead-eyed Scarlett Johansson, who preys upon men in Glasgow. With each successive capture she seems to understand a bit more what she is and exactly what it is she's doing, until the tables are finally turned in a scene of eerie and somber beauty.

The film's deliberate pace and elliptical style isn't for everyone. Fans of David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick will likely feel most at home.

But even those who prefer straight-ahead thrillers will walk away with some unforgettable visuals stuck in their heads. The oily black pool where Johansson's targets shrivel and collapse. The moment a naked Johansson brings a lamp close to her body and reacts with disgust at what she finds. The alien being, stripped bare and defenseless, crouched in a snowy woods.

Under the Skin is available on Netflix, Amazon Prime and streaming rental.

31 Days of Dread--Day 17

Altered States; 1980; written by Paddy Chayefsky as Sidney Aaron, based on his novel; directed by Ken Russell

There was a time, quite some time ago, when Altered States was the preferred stoner/trippy movie on college campuses.

Then time passed, as it always does, and the film's mix of drug-fueled intellectualizing and grainy special effects caused it to fall out of favor and be replaced by The Wall and Blade Runner and Brazil. (All worthy watches, by the way, but none of which made this list.)

So why seek this little gem out and pay a few bucks to watch it?

A young William Hurt for starters, making his film debut and cementing his heart-throb status at the same time. An electrifying script by Paddy Chayefsky (of Network fame, yet another worthy watch), which concerns a brilliant psychologist whose experiments on himself with hallucinogenic drugs and isolation tanks go several steps too far and end up breaking the universe. And Ken Russell's direction, which gleefully plunges the viewer headlong into this jacked-up crack-up with no apologies whatsoever.

Oh, and then there are those grainy special effects, low-res cinematic nightmares that come at you fast and furious, and still carry a potent psychosexual Freudian charge.

Of course, the whole thing eventually goes off the rails. Especially at the end, when Hurt and his co-star, Blair Brown, have to reassemble their deconstructing selves using only the power of love.

But then, that's also a big part of the charm, considering that the whole film is essentially about going off the rails.

Altered States is available on streaming rental.

31 Days of Dread--Day 16

The Endless; 2017; written by Justin Benson; directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead

There's a mystery at the center of The Endless, one that loops and circles around on itself and might well keep viewers returning to it, just like the film's main characters.

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead play brothers--conveniently named Justin and Aaron--who escaped a "UFO death cult" ten years ago. Since then, their aimless lives have been stuck on repeat. Until the day a videotape from the group arrives in the mail, and Aaron convinces Justin to return for "closure."

They receive a warm welcome and find everyone no older than the day they left. When Justin expresses surprise at this the leader smiles ambiguously and says, "We're always here."

Strange events soon begin piling up. The group plays tug of war with a rope that rises into the night sky. Characters mysteriously leave and return. Two moons appear and a third is promised, which will herald something called "the ascension." Each causes the brothers--and viewers--to question what's real and what's attributable to the cult's influence.

Benson and Moorehead are known as purveyors of smart, low-budget horror, and The Endless is yet another entry in a career filling up with them. It proves that a big idea, handled well, can beat a big budget.

The Endless is available on Netflix, Amazon Prime and streaming rental.