The Spite Bride (1919)

This is ambitious horror filmmaking, and in a lot of ways, I fully admire its ambitions. For me, the film’s sloppiness defines its overall quality.

From its visually stunning opening credits, which show women dancing through a forest to musical rhythms that sound almost primal, to its quiet, heartbreaking final frame, Mona Fastvold’s historical rendering of the Shaker religious movement is an experience that will stay with me for a long time.

These confines won’t really encourage you to read the film as a metaphor for the nerve-inducing experience we’ve all been through over the last year, however — and in the interest of maintaining your dignity, you probably shouldn’t. While the sociopolitical commentary may have worked for the similarly-themed Buried (2010), in which we find Ryan Reynolds on his own buried alive in the Middle East, but this futuristic take on the premise is best left as a piece of distracting entertainment. Nevertheless, the atmosphere is no less suffocating, literally and dramatically.

We’ve always known that Edgar Wright is a mixologist when it comes to blending sound, light, colour, and texture. This is especially true in the first act of the film. In fact, all of my positive feedback is directed exclusively at the first act of this film.

This list was made with the intention of celebrating comedic craft and a love of seeing more women of colour and newcomers on the scene.

Udo Kier takes center spotlight in 'Swan Song' as Pat Pitsenbarger, a gay beautician who comes out of retirement for one last job and rediscovers himself along the way.