Horror Films You Didn't See in 2010 Quiz

Answer: The Human Centipede

Why did you not see "The Human Centipede"? One option may have been the expected gross-out factor. The main setpiece of "The Human Centipede" happened to be the three people, surgically linked to form one centipede-like creature of three segments. This "First Segment" film explored the supposed "100% medically accurate" nature of the grotesque events that transpired.

In the movie a car, driven by two American tourists, broke down near the house of a mad German scientist (who actually specialized in separating conjoined twins).

He drugged them, linked them up with an Asian man, and created a fully-functioning, three-segment, human centipede. The movie fared well with the horror crowd, winning a number of film festival awards. Another reason you may have not seen the film was its quite limited release; after being picked up by IFC, movie-goers were unlikely to find the film in theaters before a quiet DVD release. Nonetheless, director Tom Six planned an additional film to follow "The Human Centipede" called "Full Segment" which, according to plans, would be 100% NOT medically accurate.

Answer: YellowBrickRoad

Even rare to find amongst horror fans, "YellowBrickRoad" found its way into the SlamDance Film Festival early in the year. The movie followed a group of people looking to determine what happened when a townful of people headed up the 'Yellow Brick Road' in a forest in New Hampshire and never came back. What they found was much more unexpected and visceral than they expected. You would've been unlikely to see this one since it only appeared in a few different film festivals; there was no limited release for the film in 2010 despite relatively good reviews.

Answer: Case 39

Why didn't you see this movie? Well, most critics didn't like it. While it was originally made to be released in 2008, it never showed in theaters until 2010. It made just enough to cover its $27,000,000 budget though not much more. Lead actress Zellweger starred in her first horror role since "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation" in 1994. "Case 39" involved a social worker taking in a young girl whose parents supposedly went mad.

As she settled into her new foster house, Zellweger discovered that perhaps there was a reason the parents went mad. According to most critics, there was a reason why it took four years from the start of filming to be seen by North American audiences- it was poorly done. Director Christian Alvart also made the 2009 film "Pandorum".

Answer: Mirrors 2

You may have been less-likely to see this film as a result of its straight-to-DVD release. "Mirrors 2" was a closer adaptation to the original Korean horror film upon which the franchise was based (and released with in North America) than the first in the series.

Despite the fact that "Mirrors" wasn't too well-received, "Mirrors 2" never really fixed the mistakes of the original. Cast member Emmanuelle Vaugier also appeared in other horror releases such as "Saw II" and "Saw IV". She co-starred with Nick Stahl in this movie.

As with the first film, much of the action involves ghostly presences controlling others' actions as reflections in mirrors; a night watchman investigates the problem after he earns his job under mysterious circumstances.

Answer: Monsters

A surprisingly emotional film, set along the backdrop of an alien contamination in Central America, "Monsters" was a British-made film in which a photojournalist was asked to retrieve a girl from Mexico and return her to the States. When their passports were stolen, they needed to cross through the alien zone in the north of Mexico. Although not as horrific as some of the films on our list, this sci-fi entry was a subtle examination of the after-effects of an alien invasion. Made almost entirely by a crew of less than a dozen, the movie was very positively-received. You likely didn't see it because it rarely saw a screening outside the UK and Russia.

Its film festival bouts did generate enough of a buzz in the horror crowd, however.

Answer: Splice

Although appearing at Sitges in 2009, "Splice" was released internationally after appearances at Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010. Directed by American/Canadian filmmaker Vincenzo Natali (who also created "Cube" in 1997), "Splice" only raked in just under its $26,000,000 budget, despite positive critical acclaim.
"Splice" starred Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody as scientists trying to breed hybrid animals at a pharmaceutical research company. When they decided to inject human DNA into their creation, they created a spliced being and hid it from their watchful superiors' eye while taking care of it. Their loving creation soon turned into a nightmare, however.
Perhaps one of the most popular films on this list of ten, "Splice" didn't necessarily get the attention expected outside the horror genre and as a result you may not have seen it.

Answer: Dark House

Walking away with the 'Best Picture' award at 2009's Shriekfest, "Dark House" was a run-of-the-mill haunted house flick, but with more holograms. In this film, student actors were hired to participate in a state-of-the-art haunted house in town, at the site of one of their most gruesome murders. Oh yeah, and one of the students happened to have been traumatized by the very same murders many years before.

It turned out that the house wasn't ready to be silenced and it planted a virus in the holograms making them real...because that's what happened. You likely didn't see this film because it only lasted a week in very select film festival theaters, before getting picked up by Fangoria as part of its Frightfest releases (which are similar to After Dark's Horrorfest films). Jeffrey Combs is a horror staple having appeared in several Lovecraft adaptations, "Return to House on Haunted Hill", and "FearDotCom".

Answer: [REC] 2

Why would you be unlikely to have seen this one? "[REC] 2", like its predecessor, was released in Spanish and was not granted a major release elsewhere; in the US it only showed in a few theaters. A follow-up to the popular single-camera "[REC]", the film continued through and past the events of the original and highlighted the demonic contamination which befell a Madrid apartment building. Funnily enough, director Jaume Balaguero also directed the 2005 film "Fragile" which was released under the Fangoria Frightfest label in 2010.

In 2009, an American remake of "[REC]" entitled "Quarantine" was released directed by John Dowdle (who also directed the M. Night Shyamalan-produced 2010 film "Devil"). "[REC] 2" premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was also seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Answer: Burning Bright

Certainly an outlandish plot, two adolescent siblings were trapped in their house by a hurricane while, at the same time, their evil stepfather decided to kill them by placing a ravenous tiger in their house, in order to claim their life insurance. Talk about family issues. "Burning Bright" starred Briana Evigan from "Sorority Row" and Meat Loaf (who, it's safe to say, may be dead meat).

The movie was also picked up by Lionsgate for distribution; without them "Burning Bright" would not have seen the light of day. Why would you have seen this? Well, it's easy to see why you wouldn't have.

It was a nearly straight-to-DVD release and it followed an obscure storyline to say the least.

Answer: I Spit on Your Grave

While the original "I Spit on Your Grave", from the late 1970s, was a cult classic, it was met with horrible criticism due to its excessive scenes of torture and rape. The 2010 remake did little to remedy the reasons why people disliked the original- in fact it may have been just as graphic. Nonetheless, when Anchor Bay picked up distribution rights, it made the festival circuit over the summer of 2010 and starred newcomer Sarah Butler. Why didn't you see this one? Well, it really depends on your idea of a good horror film- if you don't like unnecessary gore and torture, this one is right out. If you don't like helpless captivity and sexual themes, it's still right out.

After a limited release the film went to DVD.