For the first time ever we’re bringing you the best movies of 2015! This list is a bit different from our comic section in that we’re just picking the top five movies of the year and ever writer is getting their own pick. Without further ado, here’s the #5 movies.
DAVE: Going Clear: Scientology & The Prison of Belief
Writer-director Alex Gibney’s eye-opening documentary about Scientology is gruesomely fascinating. You won’t be able to look away as Gibney tracks the history of the “church” from the wonky utopian vision of science fiction writer and compulsive liar L. Ron Hubbard through to its present day incarnation as a celebrity fronted, tax-free “shell company”. Former members raise allegations of both mental and physical abuse which are shocking, but perhaps the most terrifying scene is archive footage of Tom Cruise, cackling like a maniac while rambling paranoically about “suppressive people”. After you watch Going Clear you won’t look at this religion (if that’s what it truly is) in the same way again.
CAMERON: Insidious Chapter 3
This made my list for a lot of reasons. Being a 3rd film in a trilogy of horror puts you at quite a disadvantage, but not only that, the director was a first time director. IC3 is written and directed by Lea Whannel who wrote the other two Insidious films. IC3 is the story of Lin Shaye’s character, Elise and her coming out of retirement (fighting spirits basically) to help a young girl who thinks she is contacting her mother. This is also where she meets Specs and Tucker. This film hit every note for me. The humor was spot on and its sense of suspense and unknowing of when something could hit you next, really was bone chilling. I don’t like scary movies that are strictly jump scares. When you build suspense and then finally scare someone, it is almost painful, and Insidious Chapter 3 did that amazingly, which is why it earns by #5 spot.
DUSTIN: Bone Tomahawk
This film was a Western on a budget. The cast was small, the locations were controlled, but at the end of the day it was incredibly successful in its execution. Kurt Russell and the other leads are fantastic. Each is their own character, with their own style of delivery. In particular, Matthew Fox’s character and delivery are memorable and one of the best performances of his career. It’s a Western with a Horror twist and yet it executes both genres in perfect tandem.