WiHM, Box Office Retrospective: 2005
Feb. 3rd, 2015 06:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitter_n_goreWiHM 2015, Box Office Retrospective: 2005
First, an explanation: I'm listing the year-end domestic box office gross of the most successful horror movies with female leads of each respective year in this retrospective. I'm using a combination of BoxOfficeMojo.com, The-Numbers.com, and IMDB to arrive at these numbers, with an arbitrary cut-off at $30 million to count as "successful." I could try to average everything out to see the overall take globally, and/or compare the gross against the budget to see which films are raking in a decent profit, but that would require me to Math, and nobody wants that.
If a movie is in (parentheses), that means I haven't seen it and can't quite figure out who the protagonist is from the cast listing and plot summary.
I'll be briefly discussing my thoughts on a few of these movies, but in broad strokes so as to avoid spoilers.
Shall we?
(Saw II - $86.8 million)
The Ring Two - $75.8 million
The Exorcism of Emily Rose - $75.1 million
The Amityville Horror - $65.2 million
Red Eye - $57.9 million
Hide and Seek - $51.1 million
The Skeleton Key - $47.8 million
(House of Wax - $32 million)
One thing I noticed immediately, and I pointed this out in my post for 2014 as well: a lot of remakes, and a lot of sequels. Some of them decent, most of them . . . not. This was right when J-Horror and Torture Porn both started to get huge, but the big blockbusters this year were Stars Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The Force was not strong with scary movies in 2005.
That said, there are a few original stories in this lineup, and those are the ones I'm going to focus on. In capsule reviews, because I have a lot of these to get through and I don't want to take up too much space.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose: The (sort of) true story of a girl whose death by possible demonic possession (but more probably by medical/psychological neglect) was taken to court. What I like most here is the framing: the "present" is the courtroom proceedings, and as each side presents their version of events, you see different possibilities unfold in alternate flashbacks. There are weighted coincidences in the present day that make you wonder if there's really something supernatural going on, but it never pushes for that, "It's all true! Repent! THE END IS NIGH!" forced revelation type thing that usually happens in exorcism stories. Also, the main character is the priest's lawyer, played by Laura Linney--an actress I continually underestimate for some reason. It's through her eyes, and her skepticism, that the audience sees Emily's story unfold, and begins to question whether the truth is as cut and dried as we assumed.
Red Eye: Quite simply the best thing Wes Craven has produced in a LONG ass time. Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy are put in a small space, with a deadly situation unfolding many miles away from them, and tasked with creating an atmosphere of high-stakes tension and dread with nothing but dialogue. I also have to take my hat off to Jayma Mays, who is on the ground trying to handle Very Difficult Customers and a terrorist plot at the same time. Anyone who's ever worked in customer service can appreciate that, I think. This movie has the feel of an old Hitchcock or Twilight Zone episode, very character-focused, low on effects, high on drama. It's a clean, tight, no-frills thriller and I highly recommend it.
Hide and Seek: Dakota Fanning is Generation Y's Christina Ricci. She was a creepy child actor, now she's a creepy adult actor, and very good at what she does. Which I mean as high praise. She's also kinda the only thing that works for me in this predictable and oddly paced "gotcha" movie. Now, I said I wasn't going to spoil anything, and I'm not, but this one has the sort of plot that will eventually rub you the wrong way if you watch a lot of things with "twist" endings. You'll spot the signs early on, you'll call the disposable Red Shirts accurately, and you probably won't be impressed. It's not terrible--just not original enough to warrant repeat viewings.
The Skeleton Key: This one I saw in theaters, and it was one of my first ever Internet reviews back when I was using GeoCities. LOVED it. Albeit in a guilty pleasure, "LOL, this is silly--moar please!" sort of way. What can I say? I have a soft spot for Southern Gothic. Yes, there's lazy characterization, and yes, there's problematic race stereotyping going on, but it also seems to know exactly what kind of movie it is: a fun, ridiculous romp through a scary house in the big, bad bayou. I like the battle of wills between Kate Hudson and Gena Rowlands; mirrors freak me out, so seeing them used as a plot device works on me every time, no matter how contrived it is; and John Hurt, who is awesome always, kept me guessing as to his real story the whole time. It's no masterpiece, it's fluff, but the sort of fluff that will keep you solidly entertained for a couple hours.
Honorable Mention:
This is where I'm putting the movie that *almost* made it on the list, but fell just shy of my arbitrary box office cut-off. For this year, that movie is The Fog (another remake), with a year-end gross of $29.6 million. I saw it. It's okay. Nothing special. Not as good as the original. I'd watch it again if I was really bored, maybe.
Throughout this retrospective, I'd like to keep in mind that horror fans (well, geeky types in general, really) tend to latch onto things that aren't necessarily at the top of the queue in critical or commercial circles. So, what movies stood out for you this year? What did the box office overlook that should've seen more love? What were some of your favorite performances/monsters/things that scared you/made you think?
Let me know in the comments, and I'll be back with 2006 next time!
First, an explanation: I'm listing the year-end domestic box office gross of the most successful horror movies with female leads of each respective year in this retrospective. I'm using a combination of BoxOfficeMojo.com, The-Numbers.com, and IMDB to arrive at these numbers, with an arbitrary cut-off at $30 million to count as "successful." I could try to average everything out to see the overall take globally, and/or compare the gross against the budget to see which films are raking in a decent profit, but that would require me to Math, and nobody wants that.
If a movie is in (parentheses), that means I haven't seen it and can't quite figure out who the protagonist is from the cast listing and plot summary.
I'll be briefly discussing my thoughts on a few of these movies, but in broad strokes so as to avoid spoilers.
Shall we?
(Saw II - $86.8 million)
The Ring Two - $75.8 million
The Exorcism of Emily Rose - $75.1 million
The Amityville Horror - $65.2 million
Red Eye - $57.9 million
Hide and Seek - $51.1 million
The Skeleton Key - $47.8 million
(House of Wax - $32 million)
One thing I noticed immediately, and I pointed this out in my post for 2014 as well: a lot of remakes, and a lot of sequels. Some of them decent, most of them . . . not. This was right when J-Horror and Torture Porn both started to get huge, but the big blockbusters this year were Stars Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The Force was not strong with scary movies in 2005.
That said, there are a few original stories in this lineup, and those are the ones I'm going to focus on. In capsule reviews, because I have a lot of these to get through and I don't want to take up too much space.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose: The (sort of) true story of a girl whose death by possible demonic possession (but more probably by medical/psychological neglect) was taken to court. What I like most here is the framing: the "present" is the courtroom proceedings, and as each side presents their version of events, you see different possibilities unfold in alternate flashbacks. There are weighted coincidences in the present day that make you wonder if there's really something supernatural going on, but it never pushes for that, "It's all true! Repent! THE END IS NIGH!" forced revelation type thing that usually happens in exorcism stories. Also, the main character is the priest's lawyer, played by Laura Linney--an actress I continually underestimate for some reason. It's through her eyes, and her skepticism, that the audience sees Emily's story unfold, and begins to question whether the truth is as cut and dried as we assumed.
Red Eye: Quite simply the best thing Wes Craven has produced in a LONG ass time. Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy are put in a small space, with a deadly situation unfolding many miles away from them, and tasked with creating an atmosphere of high-stakes tension and dread with nothing but dialogue. I also have to take my hat off to Jayma Mays, who is on the ground trying to handle Very Difficult Customers and a terrorist plot at the same time. Anyone who's ever worked in customer service can appreciate that, I think. This movie has the feel of an old Hitchcock or Twilight Zone episode, very character-focused, low on effects, high on drama. It's a clean, tight, no-frills thriller and I highly recommend it.
Hide and Seek: Dakota Fanning is Generation Y's Christina Ricci. She was a creepy child actor, now she's a creepy adult actor, and very good at what she does. Which I mean as high praise. She's also kinda the only thing that works for me in this predictable and oddly paced "gotcha" movie. Now, I said I wasn't going to spoil anything, and I'm not, but this one has the sort of plot that will eventually rub you the wrong way if you watch a lot of things with "twist" endings. You'll spot the signs early on, you'll call the disposable Red Shirts accurately, and you probably won't be impressed. It's not terrible--just not original enough to warrant repeat viewings.
The Skeleton Key: This one I saw in theaters, and it was one of my first ever Internet reviews back when I was using GeoCities. LOVED it. Albeit in a guilty pleasure, "LOL, this is silly--moar please!" sort of way. What can I say? I have a soft spot for Southern Gothic. Yes, there's lazy characterization, and yes, there's problematic race stereotyping going on, but it also seems to know exactly what kind of movie it is: a fun, ridiculous romp through a scary house in the big, bad bayou. I like the battle of wills between Kate Hudson and Gena Rowlands; mirrors freak me out, so seeing them used as a plot device works on me every time, no matter how contrived it is; and John Hurt, who is awesome always, kept me guessing as to his real story the whole time. It's no masterpiece, it's fluff, but the sort of fluff that will keep you solidly entertained for a couple hours.
Honorable Mention:
This is where I'm putting the movie that *almost* made it on the list, but fell just shy of my arbitrary box office cut-off. For this year, that movie is The Fog (another remake), with a year-end gross of $29.6 million. I saw it. It's okay. Nothing special. Not as good as the original. I'd watch it again if I was really bored, maybe.
Throughout this retrospective, I'd like to keep in mind that horror fans (well, geeky types in general, really) tend to latch onto things that aren't necessarily at the top of the queue in critical or commercial circles. So, what movies stood out for you this year? What did the box office overlook that should've seen more love? What were some of your favorite performances/monsters/things that scared you/made you think?
Let me know in the comments, and I'll be back with 2006 next time!
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no subject
Date: 2015-02-04 03:58 am (UTC)Of this list, the only one I've really seen is Red Eye, and I loved it to bits. Especially the part at the end where Rachel McAdams tells off those problem customers. Man, that was satisfying.
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Date: 2015-02-08 05:20 pm (UTC)Red Eye is a good 'un. I was very impressed. I'd so love to say that to some customers--not so much now, but when I worked in food service, definitely.