Countdown to Colette's Birthday: Movies to Watch Without Preview

Every year we watch movies that we want to tell people to watch but if we explained the movie at all, it would ruin the experience. So this is our "just take our word for it" list. But seriously, take our word for it, these movies are not to be missed!

10 Cloverfield Lane: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr. star in this slow burn* physiological horror that is very loosely tied to the Cloverfield universe. We caught this one early in the drive-in season last year and were very pleasantly surprised. Things get going almost right away, but that's just the beginning...

The Invitation: This might be my favorite movie we watched this year, and it's certainly current my favorite horror movie. Another slow burn, but this one is bursting with social commentary, both subtle and blatant, which is exactly how I love my horror movies. Set at a dinner party reuniting estranged friends, the setup doesn't let the audience in on what's really going on until it's goddamn ready, and it's wonderful. (Plus, this movie stars more attractive Tom Hardy, Logan Marshall-Green!)

The Autopsy of Jane Doe: We're split on how much each of us liked this movie, but both of us agree that this horror movie is full of original ideas and has a lot going for it. Yet another slow burn* horror, this one focuses on a father and son autopsy business. But that's all we're going to say...

Mr. Robot: Alright, you got me, this one's a TV show. But it's REALLY good, and you really shouldn't say too much about why. But whatever you do, do not base your willingness to give this show a chance on the commercials. We were having a hard time getting friends to watch this series, and we couldn't figure out why until someone told us how terrible the commercials were. The advertising for this show DOES NOT do it justice, on any level. Just watch a couple episodes, trust us.

BONUS MOVIE!

Pontypool: We didn't watch Pontypool this year, but it recently came up in conversation reminding us how much we loved this little indy-thriller-psychological-horror. Smartly done on (we're imagining) a shoestring budget, the movie takes place almost entirely in one location, but doesn't feel that way for a second.

(*Fun fact: every single time I typed burn in this post it was spelled "b-e-r-n–delete-delete-delete-u-r-n". Spelling. Harder every single day for new and exciting reasons!)