by Shannon Hilson, MoreHorror.com

The start of a new year is the time when we all take a moment and reflect upon the year before. We pat ourselves on the back for our accomplishments and hope fervently for more of the same. We look at our failures and hope to God we don't pull any boners of quite the same caliber again in the year to come, and make personal maintenance on ourselves to avoid said boners. And most importantly of all, we horror fans look back on the movies we've seen over the past 365 days and reflect on the ones that were especially good. The following is my personal list of highlights in horror from the past year.

5. The Hunters: Those who know my tastes in horror know that I like my movies to be a little bit more than just a series of gory killings and cheap scares. In other words, I almost always prefer my horror movies to have a plot and characters that have some depth to them. I enjoyed The Hunters because it gave me that. It also employed haunting visuals and excellent cinematography in the creation of an atmosphere I enjoyed being a part of.

4. Chillerama: Then on the other hand, I'm also a huge fan of humor... especially the really crass kind. Chillerama was a trip and had me rolling as far as the comedic value of some of the segments.. However, it still managed to tell me a few damn fine stories to boot. That combo made Chillerama a fresh and funny surprise in 2011 for me and many others.

3. Apollo 18: This one walks the line between horror and sci-fi, but that hybrid combined with the found footage approach that I'm a sucker for made this one a winner. Some critics were really hard on this film, but I thought it was quite fascinating... especially since they spent the time necessary to make the whole experience feel interesting and authentic to the viewer. If you're a space nerd like me who also happens to like horror, be sure to give this one a chance.

2. The Sylvian Experiments: This one's the J-horror addition to my list and I've been pretty interested in Asian horror this year for sure. However, this also happens to be one of my favorite horror flicks that I've seen all year. Maybe it's the way the cinematography, writing, and suspense building techniques were smooth as water and so darned fabulous together. Maybe it's the way it truly did frighten me and keep me thinking for days afterward. Whatever the reason, I thought The Sylvian Experiments rocked and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed such offerings as Ringu or Ju-On.

1. Removal: And here we have my personal top pick for horror movie of the year. Written and directed by newcomer Nick Simon, this movie seriously blew me away with it's exceptional writing, Hitchcock-esque suspense building technique, and superb performances from a perfectly chosen cast. Really, I watched this so I could review it the next day, but immediately had Seth come and watch it with me a second time the same night. Then my mom read the review and listened to me rave about this, so even she wants to see it now. I don't talk any film up like that unless I really think it hits a home run and this one did that. If you haven't seen this yet, please don't miss it, because that would be a crying shame.

And that about does it for my personal 2011 retrospective in regards to horror films I saw over the past 365 days. Here's to hoping your lives and mine are filled with offerings that are just as good in 2012!