BEDEVILLED
A solid Korean revenge blowout with a feminist slant. Sure, it could be stronger in many respects, but satisfies as a gory drama (I would say gory thriller but that would be inaccurate).
THE BEASTS
Often referred to Hong Kong’s answer to LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, this is a potent blast of sleazy action-oriented nastiness
BATTLE ROYALE
By far the most controversial film of 2000, this is an outrageous and ultra-violent satire from Japan
BAD TASTE
Peter Jackson’s premiere film was this rude, crude and hilariously gross no-budget splatfest. It’s puerile, exploitive, stupid as shit, and (in my eyes at least) irresistible.
BABY BLOOD
A pretty incredible 1990 French horrorfest boasting a highly respectable gore quotient, stylish direction and a strong lead performance by newcomer Emmanuelle Escourrou
EVILSPEAK
As a longtime Clint Howard fan I’ll always have a soft spot for EVILSPEAK, which marked Clint’s first-ever starring role—even if it is extremely dated and overall quite dumb
END OF THE LINE
Another movie everyone seems to like but me. Sorry, but I found this subway-set splatter fest to be dull and uninspired
SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE
This isn’t a revenge movie per se, but a dark, brutal exploration of fate and consequence from one of the world’s most interesting filmmakers. That filmmaker is Korea’s Chanwook Park, who’s created a deeply odd, and deeply personal, cinematic universe unique unto itself
SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
The final installment of George Romero’s DEAD saga is about on par with his previous efforts LAND OF THE DEAD and DIARY OF THE DEAD: flawed in many respects, but pretty good for the most part
STREET TRASH
Another eighties-era gorefest that adds up to very little conceptually but excels in manic inspiration. It’s about bums who get a hold of flesh-melting hooch—plenty of grue ensues!