BloodGuts UK Horror Awards 2022
The best of horror from the past 12 months
The Stars
Best Villain
Gabriel (Annabelle Wallis) - MALIGNANT - [WINNER]
Jack (Matt Smith) - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
James Mandrake (Daniel Gillies) - COMING HOME IN THE DARK
Jeans - SLAXX
The Shape (James Jude Courtney) - HALLOWEEN KILLS
2021 was not without it's real life villains however none more sinister came from the mind of James Wan. The mainstream horror may have began like an echo of Wan's previous work, the unravelling madness of Annabelle Wallis' conjoined twin Gabriel, could not have been any more bizarre, creepy and surprisingly fun to watch let loose.
Best Actor
Daniel Gillies - COMING HOME IN THE DARK
Matt Smith - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
Michael Abbott Jr - THE DARK AND THE WICKED
Vince Vaughn - FREAKY
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II - CANDYMAN [WINNER]
There have been a host of brilliant films in 2021 and all of which vary so far on the scale of horror. Comedy (FREAKY) to the scariest of horrors (THE DARK AND THE WICKED) through to the 60s (LAST NIGHT IN SOHO) and gritty realism (COMING HOME IN THE DARK). There's only one clear winner and that is Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's troubled soul in the reimagined follow-up to the CANDYMAN saga. Somewhere between victim and villain, the character of Anthony McCoy has enough dimensions to create a rival to DOCTOR STRANGE and the journey is made all the more mesmerising thanks to a grounded performance.
Best Actress
Jasmin Savoy Brown - SOUND OF VIOLENCE
Millicent Simmonds - A QUIET PLACE PART II
Niamh Algar - CENSOR
Suki Waterhouse - SEANCE
Thomasin McKenzie - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO [WINNER]
No category was harder to choose for 2021 than this award and any of the nominees is well deserved of this award on their mantle. It is with a hair that Thomasin McKenzie runs away with this as fast as she ran off to London. Her role as the naive traveller stuck between modern London and the swinging sixties is as crazed and messed up as the films plot. Bought into the instant charm of the swinging sixties and characters, McKenzie soon realises that what haunts her may not be what kills her.
Best Actor or Actress In A Non-English Language Film
Agathe Rousselle - TITANE [WINNER]
Anna Platen - DAWN BREAKS BEHIND THE EYES
Francesco Russo - A CLASSIC HORROR STORY
Suliane Brahim - THE SWARM
Vincent London - TITANE
How on Earth has a film about sex with a car even been considered on an awards panel, furthermore how can it's leads take nominations - quite frankly because the film isn't about getting pregnant by a gearstick, it's about loss and belonging. Both Agathe Rousselle and Vincent London go through the mill and give everything in a career defining role that makes this film one not to ignore.
Best Actor or Actress In An Independent Film
Chris Wolfe - HIDEOUT
Ciara Bailey - BRING OUT THE FEAR
Dee Wallace - 13 FANBOY [WINNER]
Ian Gelder - DARK DITTIES PRESENTS: DAD
Tad Morari - BRING OUT THE FEAR
Of all the remakes and sequels and re-imaginings, no series has been ignored as much as FRIDAY THE 13TH. Fortunately fan fiction has kept the flame burning and while 13 FANBOY is a very small film and in no means a sequel however it's ability to set up a faux reality slasher is unique and certainly keeps the fire stoking. Fortunately the stars of 13 FANBOY are all proven actors/actresses and deliver as much, if not more, to keep their repertoire's in tact and while Dee Wallace has still proven her mantle for horror with the likes of THE LORDS OF SALEM and AYLA. With 13 FANBOY she plays herself but it feels such a natural fit to play a horror survivor that there is little contest for this award.
Best Supporting Actor
Benjamin Flores Jr. - FEAR STREET 1-3
Jesse Plemons - ANTLERS
Michael Smiley - CENSOR
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett - CANDYMAN [WINNER]
Terence Stamp - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
CANDYMAN had its flaws but it certainly wasn't down to its cast. The fact the film differentiated itself in tone heavily from the original alienated some viewers but the central cast and general know it all knew best. Troy was the heart and soul of CANDYMAN and essentially shared the viewers thoughts on screen while the world around him and artist Anthony descends, there's always a quip to bring the audience back on side.
Best Supporting Actress
Diana Rigg - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO [WINNER]
Lili Simmons - SOUND OF SILENCE
Morisol Nichols - SPIRAL
Michole Briana White - SPIRAL
Olivia Scott Welch - FEAR STREET 1-3
A post-humous award for the late Diana Rigg whose last performance was nothing short of magnificent. Even in her last days she never faltered. The sheer charisma that beams from her has never died and thanks to two of her last performances (GAME OF THRONE being the other) she will forever be remembered as the baddest woman on screen.
Best Ensemble Cast
FEAR STREET 1-3
HALLOWEEN KILLS
LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
SEANCE [WINNER]
SPIRAL
The nostalgia that came from Simon Barrett's high school thriller hit a nerve with movie goers as it felt so at ease at being a compatriot to the genres greatest 90s high school horrors that the original concept and great casting are all to credit. Suki Waterhouse, Madisen Beaty, Ella-Rae Smith, Megan Best and Stephanie Sy are a group of girls you would not want to get on the wrong end of.
Rising Star In Horror
Jasmin Savoy Brown [WINNER]
The stars were shining bright for Jasmin Savoy Brown in 2021. Not only lighting the genre on fire with deaf protagonist/serial killer in SOUND OF VIOLENCE, her starring role in SCREAM and survivalism in YELLOWJACKETS, Jasmin Savoy Brown really is one to watch in whatever she next brings and we certainly hope it's more horror because this ain't the final girl, this is the woman to end it all.
The Makers
Best Director
Bryan Bertino - THE DARK AND THE WICKED
Edgar Wright - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
Julia Ducournau - TITANE
Leigh Janiak - FEAR STREET 1-3 [WINNER]
Prano Bailey-Bond - CENSOR
In 2021 the biggest surprise came from an adaptation of YA novels from R.L Stine. The FEAR STREET trilogy defied any level of expectation and cast a great young ensemble and pit them into a well rounded trilogy of genres. The 90s slasher, the camp slasher and finally travelling back to 1666 for with each film taking on the visual and thematic tones of it's setting to an uncanny belief that it was from that era of film making. Not only are the genres differing but the cast and cinematography were so different yet the films never lost their connectivity and as such, Leigh Janiak not only gave us one great film this year, but three and that is why she is so deserved of this award.
Best Screenplay
Alex Noyer - SOUND OF VIOLENCE
Anthony Fletcher, Prano Bailey-Bond - CENSOR [WINNER]
Edgar Wright, Krysty Wilson-Cairns - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
Julia Ducournau - TITANE
Leigh Janiak, Phil Graziadei - FEAR STREET 1-3
The best thing about CENSOR is its nuance to balance what is real and what is not and while films have balanced the knife edge well over the years (BERBARIAN SOUND STUDIO, SAINT MAUD) none have done it so well than the mine field of CENSOR. The subject matter already a matter of terror, lends itself well across layers of character that blend humorous (Michael Smiley) to downright haunting thanks to a fantastic screenplay that keeps you hanging on to the very end.
Best Cinematography
Andrew Appelle - PSYCHO GOREMAN
Annika Summerson - CENSOR
Caleb Heymann - FEAR STREET 1-3
Chung-hoon Chung - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO [WINNER]
John Guleserian - CANDYMAN
Bringing the 60s to life is no easy tasking and amongst all of the credit to Edgar Wrights amazing trip down memory lane it is Chung-hoon Chung's cinematography that appeals to the eyes. The opening scenes feel as though the film is an old Eeling Studios classic and as the action moves to London, it's hard to not be swept up into the charm of the swinging 60s.
Best Soundtrack
Alexander Burke, Jaakko Manninen, Omar El-Deeb - SOUND OF VIOLENCE
Bear McCreary - FREAKY
Lowell Boland, Michelle Osis - BLOODTHIRSTY [WINNER]
Marco Beltrami, Marcus Trumpp - FEAR STREET 1-3
Steven Price - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
If there was something dominant in 2021 it was music. FrightFest hosted not one but two music centric horror films and BLOODTHIRSTY comes out on top for it's sheer audacity to blend werewolves with the drama and sadness that is often attributed to Oscar contenders (looking at you A STAR IS BORN). Lowell's original songs are brilliant and really help drive the film forward in wone of the most underrated films of the year.
Best On-Screen Death
FEAR STREET PART 1: 1994 - Bread Slicer [WINNER]
HALLOWEEN KILLS - Firefight
SEANCE - Filing cabinet
SLAXX - Zipper
SPIRAL - Puppeteer
Micheal Myers brutally taking down a firefighting crew (a scene that was so brutal it was calling for a ban from many firefighters), a killer pair of jeans, Samuel L. Jackson in a puppet trap and a viciously gory encounter with a filing cabinet but the winning scene from FEAR STREET PART 1: 1994 was quite literally the best thing since sliced bread.
The Films
Best Independent Film
13 FANBOY
BRING OUT THE FEAR [WINNER]
DARK DITTIES PRESENTS: DAD
HIDEOUT
SLAXX
Richard Waters BRING OUT THE FEAR shows what can be done with a tight script, practical horror and ramping up tension to the pint where there is visibly little to be scared of yet scared nonetheless. This almost 2 man show harks back to the brilliance of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT while bringing the genre upto speed with eco horror and is one to watch on its inevitable release.
Best Non-English Language Film
BLOOD RED SKY
DAWN BREAKS BEHIND THE EYES
THE MEDIUM
THE SWARM
TITANE [WINNER]
TITANE is the epitome of why the horror genre is so great. Not only does it remain entertaining but it delves so much deeper into the human psyche. Nothing proves this more than Ducournau's masterpiece dissect the impacts of loss but also those of abandonment and wanton desires. All this behind a subplot of being made pregnant by a car. Under the lens of any other director this film would have been something else completely but fortunately we are left with an often bittersweet rollercoaster of emotion.
Best Sequel/Prequel/Remake
A QUIET PLACE PART II
CANDYMAN [WINNER]
ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
THE FOREVER PURGE
SPIRAL
CANDYMAN may have divided audiences with it's distance from the 1993 original however it manages to tackle the same themes in such a manner that doesn't entirely ignore the events of Cabrini-Green an era earlier but wraps around nicely to feel like genuine lore to the mythology of the Candyman. It's themes more prevalent than ever but not without some of the franchises best moments of horror.
Best TV Show
CHUCKY
KILLER CAMP
MIDNIGHT MASS
SQUID GAME
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS [WINNER]
What a year for television. The return of CHUCKY in all his foul mouthed glory, the superbly menacing MIDNIGHT MASS, reality TV murder mayhem and the worldwide phenomenon that is SQUID GAME all deserve their place as nominees however the third season of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, itself an adaptation/sequel to the brilliant 2014 film, was a sheer bloodthirsty treat with laughter, tears and side splittingly funny delivery from its central cast.
Best Reissue
THE AMUSEMENT PARK (Shudder) [WINNER]
The lost film from George A. Romero is probably his most socially significant. Fortunately saved and redistributed digitally by Shudder, this release of the film finally give life to the film that deconstructs the social acceptance of old age and mental health.
Best Original Film
CENSOR
THE DARK AND THE WICKED [WINNER]
LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
MALIGNANT
SEANCE
The sheer terror bough on by THE DARK AND THE WICKED proves that it doesn't need big name cast or directors to make the best horror. Up against a tough category, when all is taken into account, the scariest, most unnerving horror of the year was incomparable and as such the winner of Best Original Film has to be THE DARK AND THE WICKED.
