3 Genre Films Of 2014 That Belonged In My Top 10 List

About a month ago, I wrote a list of my ten favorite genre films from 2014. I may have jumped the gun -- a tad -- because I had not finished all of my 2014 film viewings just yet. Here are 3 films that *should* have made it to my list last month. Here...we...go!

Gone Girl

Via imagegrabr.com

Gone Girl had a lot of hype and media buzz around it for the better part of a year. The book itself is a best seller. On top of all this, there was the promise of Ben Afflack's peen making its big screen debut. Written by Gillian Flynn and directed by David Ficher (Fight Club, The Social Network), Gone Girl captures everything I love about a well constructed thriller -- suspense, paranoia and a couple of twists along the way. It also doesn't get enough credit for being a subtly funny film, almost satirical, with loose pepperings of dry, often dark humor at the edges of all its brutality. It would land at the number three spot of my genre film list, after another missed film I have yet discussed. Watch this stunner with your significant other. On your anniversary.

Available on Amazon Instant.

Nightcrawler

Chuck Zlotnick/Open Road Films / Via static01.nyt.com

Part To Die For and part American Psycho, Nightcrawler features an obsessive Jake Gyllenhaal as an ambitious freelance videographer who records crimes and accidents, selling it to news channels for money. As the film progresses, so does Gyllenhaal's ambition. Directed by Dan Gilroy in his directorial debut, Nightcrawler is an atmospheric combination of the noir, thriller and horror genres. Nightcrawler zooms up to my number two spot of the genre film list.

Available on Amazon Instant.

Coherence

Via flixist.com

Coherence is a rare kind of science fiction film in that it doesn't go big and bold, but rather opts for minimalist and subtle. The filmmaker allows the concept to star rather than the visual effects. The actors were given an outline, and instructed to improvise much of their lines. I can't tell you much more than that without spoiling, but the end result is nothing short of spooky. Coherence lands in my number 10 spot on the genre list, ousting both Oculus and Godzilla as well as Witching and Bitching.

Available on Netflix.

If I were to redo my top 10 genre list, it would go as follows:

1.. Snowpiercer

2. Nightcrawler

3. Gone Girl

4. The Sacrament

5. Blue Ruin

6. The Guest

7. The Babadook

8. Interstellar

9. Only Lovers Left Alive

10. Coherence