“The rules are simple, just pick your favorite horror film for each day! However, you can’t pick the same horror film more [than] once. So once you pick say THE EXORCIST for your favorite horror film involving the powers of Hell, you can’t [pick] it again for any other day [whatsoever,] including favorite horror film.”
Source: Dollar Bin Horror
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Day 10 – Your favorite psychological horror film
Film: Black Swan (2010) – dir. Darren Aronofsky
This may not jive with some readers, but I’m all right with that. Wikipedia defines psychological horror as a movie that “relies on character fears, guilt, beliefs, eerie sound effects, relevant music and emotional instability to build tension and further the plot”. If Black Swan doesn’t fit into this category, what does?
Natalie Portman is brilliant as the lead, and the film played with my mind more than any in recent memory. I was scared to see what would happen, but not in the same way I’m scared of Michael Meyers, which is what makes Black Swan special, and memorable. It’s a perfect example of terrifying beauty, and one of the best psychological horror films I’ve ever seen.
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
