Let the best-of-the-year lists commence. While guilds and critics groups will soon be delivering their opinions, one of the few of genuine interest each year comes from a single person: the wonderfully eccentric director John Waters, whose eclectic tastes always includes a mix of the unexpected and underseen.
Topping his list this year is Tyler Cornack’s spring release Butt Boy, which features a strange tale of missing persons potentially disappearing up someone’s rectum, followed by the recommended psychological body horror film Swallow. Also among the list are the latest films from Pedro Almodóvar, Craig Zobel, Quentin Dupieux and, as a 10th place tie leading to 11 selections, new courtroom dramas by Steve McQueen and Aaron Sorkin.
Check out the list below via Baltimore Fishbowl, which will appear in the next issue of Artforum. We’ve also included links to our reviews.
1. Butt Boy (Tyler Cornack)
2. Swallow (Carlo Mirabella-Davis)
3. The Hunt (Craig Zobel)
4. Why Don’t You Just Die! (Kirill Sokolov)
5. The Audition (Ina Weisse)
6. Deerskin (Quentin Dupieux)
7. The Human Voice (Pedro Almodóvar)
8. True History of the Kelly Gang (Justin Kurzel)
9. American Murder: The Family Next Door (Jenny Popplewell)
10 (tie). Mangrove (Steve McQueen)
10 (tie). Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin)
As a bonus, watch John Waters’ latest public appearance, in which he programmed a drive-in double feature of Gaspar Noé’s Climax and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom at the 58th New York Film Festival.