So, when in Rome...here's ten movies that really made their mark on me in 2012. They're presented alphabetically rather than in a 10-1 countdown fashion. You may agree with some and turn your nose up at others, but that's all part of the fun right?
Amour (Michael Haneke, Aus/Fra/Ger)
For me, Amour is Haneke's most conventional, and moving, movie to date. Less oblique and stylised than the likes of The Seventh Continent, Code: Unknown or Hidden, Haneke's Palme d'or winner packs a bleak but humane punch.
Berberian Sound Studio (Peter Strickland, UK)
Strickland's visually and, primarily, aurally striking movie is a heavily stylised case of life imitating art in increasingly unsettling ways. Toby Jones is pitch perfect as the genteel sound engineer slowly unraveling while working on an Italian horror flick.
The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard, USA)
An absolute blast from start to finish. I love movies that play with genre conventions and this one, written by Joss Whedon, did it to the nth degree. It's a throwaway slice of pure horror fun that also clearly loves and breathes life into the genre it deconstructs.
Excision (Richard Bates Jr, USA)
I didn't see this one coming at all; a razor sharp, whip smart 'comedy' horror that is as disturbing as it is outrageous. AnnaLynne McCord excels as unstable teenager Pauline in a cult cast featuring Traci Lords, Malcolm McDowell and John Waters.
Holy Motors (Leos Carax, Fra/Ger)
Denis Lavant's extraordinary performance(s) lie at the heart of Carax's joyously outre musings on life, death and cinema. Contains my favourite scene of the year - a multi-accordion musical interlude as wonderfully choreographed as it is amusingly inconsequential.
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