While the “horror” film genre saw its genesis in the late 19th
century, the 21st century saw some of the most spectacular frights
ever put to the big screen—whether you chalk it up to advances in film
technology, or a set of films to match the malaise and zeitgeist of the new
millennium, here’s an ode to the top 10 horror villains of the past two
decades.
10. The Crawlers
from “The Descent.” The most intriguing element of the demonic, humanoid
Crawlers in Neil Marshall’s “The Descent” is that we never find out why they
live underground or how they got there. Do they constitute the film’s core?
Well, the great and terrifying mystery of one of the best horror films of all
time is in the relationships between the six female protagonists—but the
Crawlers do a horrific duty in bringing those lies and secrets to the
forefront.
9. Josef from
“Creep.” Josef (Mark Duplass in one of his best roles) may or may not be the creep in Patrick Brice’s low-budget
independent film “Creep,” but the only way to find out is to watch the film to
the bitter end.
8. It in “It
Follows.” It can only be passed on via sexual intercourse, after which the
phantom It will follow you, trying to kill you, until you pass it on to someone
else. The indoor swimming pool sequence in “It Follows” pays homage to Jacques
Tourneur’s 1942 “Cat People,” a truly unsettling series of cinematic events
excellently reconstructed. Director David Robert Mitchell scares us with what
isn’t in the shot, a technique used by early horror filmmakers when there was
not a budget for a big monster. Kudos.
7. The Creeper in
“Jeepers Creepers,” one of the first horror film villains to scare me. “Jeepers
Creepers” is “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”-lite and would still scare any
15-year-old—and even their parents. The Creeper is played by Jonathan Breck,
who is so remarkably handsome in real life it’s doubly frightening to see how
terrifying he becomes in these films. He haunts teenagers driving through the
countryside and goes uninterrupted on flesh-eating binges every few years.
6. Jigsaw from
“Saw.” Although the “Saw” franchise took a terrible turn away from horror and
into torture porn, Jigsaw remains one of the best horror villains every made.
He is disturbing at every turn and hides behind an even creepier mask. Add a
good dose of tremendous intelligence and cunning, and you know there is a real
foe in Jigsaw.
5. The Armitage Family in “Get Out.” Those rich, good-family-next-door neighbors are often not what they appear; they are the real snakes in the grass.
4. The Monster in
“The Host.” Bong Joon-ho’s “The Host” is a clever, comedic and horrifying South
Korean monster flick with a little girl and a monster at its center. The
monster is a unique creation that appears to be part lizard, pelican, octopus
and Godzilla-monster-form. This conglomeration makes the ways in which the
monster moves entertaining and paved the way for future on-screen monsters such
as that from the blockbuster “Cloverfield.”
3. Pennywise in
“It.” You all know my love of “It.” The opening gutter rain scene where we
first meet this new iteration of Pennywise solidified Bill Skarsgard as a
brilliant smile-manipulating horror villain. He scares me, yet I can’t look
away.
2. The Pale Man in “Pan’s Labyrinth.” If you’ve ever seen a photo
of the actor who plays Amphibian Man in “The Shape of Water” and the Pale Man
in “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Doug Jones, you’d understand that he was, unfortunately,
born to play these terrifying fantastical roles. The Pale Man must place his
loose eyeballs into his hand sockets in order to see, which means he must stop
eating to get catch a glimpse of his next meal. His inability to use his hands
while chasing down little girls is as creepy as it is inefficient. The Pale Man
is gruesome, clever and, most importantly, haunting in his blank face and
eyeball hands. Only a monster of this caliber can come from brilliant director
Guillermo del Toro.
1. Mister
Babadook in “The Babadook.” The guttural “dook, dook, dook” combined with the
knocking three times is still a joke we play on each other in my house. Mister
Babadook’s croaky calling-card voice and the broad-shouldered silhouette are
terrifying especially when he comes at you behind your dresser or from under
your bed. Mister Babadook will never leave your house once invited inside.
Investigate these villains on your house’s TV at your own
peril.
Anna Husted has a
master’s in film studies from New York University. In Big Sky she can be found
hiking a mountain or at the movies at Lone Peak Cinema. When not gazing at the
silver screen or watching her new favorite TV show, she’s reading, fishing or roughhousing
with her cat, Indiana Jones.
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.