At the age of 6, I watched the first 3 Toxic Avenger films. When I was 4, I was shown my first horror movies: Hellraiser and Nightmare on Elm Street. My family plumbed the depths of video stores, and would create second-hand copies of many titles on one VHS cassette. Most of the films were not categorized individually, but each tape was numbered, and in order to watch what you wanted, you had to search through a notebook with a full listing of titles, and find the tape with the proper number. I believe it is what prepared me for my future life, when random people would be told to talk to me, so that I could helplessly ramble on about what films I had seen, and give people suggestions about what to watch next. It's that almost constantly daily instance that inspired me to work on lists like this.
Good or bad, if I can enjoy it, then I'm all the better for it. But I DO like to pull the Snob card when it comes to titles that people may have not heard of yet, if for only one reason: I want you to see it as well. I don't care about being culturally elite. I'm not proclaiming Citizen Kane to be the Greatest Film of All Time because I was told it was (*cough most people who went to film school expecting to be the next Kubrick or Spielberg cough*). Hell, I think Casablanca is the best film Hollywood's ever made, and Gone with the Wind is the greatest example of Hollywood doing it right. But I'm not stopping you from watching it, am I?
I want you guys to watch anything and everything. Even the more obscure stuff is awesome for it's own reasons. I want you guys to dig for things that you could enjoy. And with Halloween just around the corner, I want you guys to dig up bodies. This dirty list of horror films that you most likely haven't seen is to provide you guys with some important titles that eventually influenced certain areas of Modern cinema. From casting to concepts to downright "what kind of unholy fuckery is this" awesomeness that can be seen in modern films, these titles hold important (if mostly forgotten) places that you should be familiar with. Here are 7 Horror Films to Prove You're (Not) a Film Elitist!
A film purely about the fact that you can be sold anything, The Stuff is a very decent attempt at the whole "corporate evil" concept that many people tend to throw into zombie movies. A worker finds something bubbling in the back of a factory's freezer one day, and in pure horror movie logic, eats some of it. The result? DELICIOUSNESS~! So the company that owns the plant proceeds to market it, and the public eats it up, no questions asked. But the Stuff they've been eating is secretly using them to feed itself, using them as pawns to propagate itself. Can humanity survive a sentient product that wants you to eat it, so it can eat you?
Simply put, this film doesn't get enough love. It's over the top fun, with elements of not only the Blob, but Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the Thing, and it finds glee at poking fun of everything the film itself is made of. The acting's not too good, but the special effects are practical and really well done, and everything is done with tongue almost outside of it's heard with how much effort they put into it. It doesn't work as a whole, but the individual elements make up for it.
Italy is well known for it's Giallo (or "Yellow book", cheap novels that were printed on yellow paper because of cost, consisting mostly of murder mysteries) or shocking zombie movies. But the 80's really wasn't a damning period for Italian horror movies. In fact the Church is one title that quickly comes to mind. A massive cathedral was built over the mass grave of slaughtered Satanists, seeking to bring a demon into our world. When a librarian removes a keystone sealing their souls, the Satanists again attempt to summon their lord into our world. But the Archdiocese had this planned for. As the people inside deal with the return of demonic powers, they must also deal with the church itself, designed to trap those evil spirits inside forever in case of their escape. Can the surviving visitors and clergy escape both Heaven and Hell alive?
I really liked this film. It's a somewhat obscure title that constantly gets overlooked by fans of 80's horror, and doesn't deserve to be unrecognized. A lot of the fantastical elements found in 90's horror is front and center, with excellent direction, a really good soundtrack, and some very great setting and scenery. If you go into this film for one thing, though, go in for the kills. It's not just the demons that up the kill count. Most times, it's because someone does something profoundly correct, but in panic forgets an important detail. So it's really a film where victims get it from both ends at the same time. Something that is found in a lot of more inventive concepts for horror movies nowadays.
At heart, I'm an Anthropologist. I love stories dealing with legends, history, and interpretations of everything in everything. And this film definitely fits the bill. When a giant snake's skull is found in a cave in Scotland, strange coincidences begin to happen. Missing people, an eccentric woman returns to her family's mansion appearing much younger than her age, Hugh Grant being told he's descended from a line of Dragon/Pagan god killers, everything you'd expect from the British Isles. But when the skull is stolen, our heroes must rush to prevent the return of a Snake-Dragon deity with a hard-on for nuns, as well as getting rid of the line of men that killed him in the first place.
The first thing I have to say about this films is that it's British. Oh my dear sweet Queen Elizabeth the Second in lederhosen is it British. If it was anymore Britannia, it would literally be shitting scones and pissing Earl Grey tea. But if you can stand the near terminal levels of Quantum British that would make Doctor Who blanch, then the trippy visuals, and Bram Stoker inspired film is right up your alley. Plus, the female villain is a damn pleasant sight on the eyes. Which, if you ask anyone with eyes, is always good.
If you're a child of the 80's, then you know Fred Dekker's films. His first (and I'd say most under appreciated) is House. A subverted haunted house film, it emotes how one house can be a gateway to not only the future, but the past you wish to leave behind. Inheriting his aunt's house after her completely random suicide, Roger Cobb comes back home. A failed marriage and dying career because of his son's disappearance at the home, he moves in. Initially he seeks to move on, but with things escalating rather quickly, he becomes embroiled in a battle for not only his life and sanity, but the life of his son as well.
People know of Night of the Creeps, and rightly so. It's quite arguably the greatest B-Movie of the 1980's. Hell, people even know of Monster Squad, which frequents lists of underrated gems. But people are quick to dismiss House purely on the fact that it's a more comedic take on the haunted house subgenre. Which is a damn shame, because with it's inventive direction, light-hearted approach to terror, appropriate score, and excellent cast (George Wendt's in this film! Norm from CHEERS!), it deserves the respect it earns, and if taken most seriously, we probably wouldn't be suffering through so many remakes nowadays.
5: Quatermass Xperiment/The Creeping Unknown (1955)When you think of Hammer films, what do you think of? Gothic settings, vampires, blood, lots and lots of nice cleavage, and Count Dooku fighting Gran Moff Tarkin. But what if I told you they were also the people to bring the one property that proved Science Fiction wasn't just for children anymore to theaters? On the first manned flight into space, 3 astronauts were sent, but only 1 came back. Doctor Quatermass, the man who designed their craft, observes Carroon and discovers he's changed. In fact, quite literally, when it's discovered he's mutating into a monster infested with spores. If allowed to spread, the spores would transform people like it did Carroon, and with only hours left, Quatermass seeks to destroy this threat before time runs out.
You're probably wondering why I've included a Sci Fi film on this list. To which I respond "Why the hell are you not just enjoying the crap out of a property that basically MADE Doctor Who?" Yes, I am not bullshitting you people. The original serial for the Quatermass Experiment (1953) has been directly cited as the source of influence for not only Doctor Who, but films like Vampires from Outer Space by Mario Bava, and Alien. The sense of dread and urgency for dealing with problems that we unknowingly made, and some incredible direction and acting makes this one film for fans of British television to not avoid.
Let's hop on over to China, to check out the film that started the Jiang Shi (or Hopping Vampire/Zombie) craze. Bold Cheung knows no fear (or so he claims), but things really get hopping when he's challenged to spend the night in a haunted house. After escaping the evils there, he soon discovers his wife has been cheating on him. Hoping to get him out of the picture, the adulterer hires a priest to kill him. But the priest makes the mistake of telling his friend, who rebukes his apparently evil ways, and whom helps Cheung handle the incoming attempts on his life.
This film is a little misleading, focusing more on comedy and martial arts than on horror. But at it's core, it's horror, none the less. Excellent action coupled with excellent interpretations of Taoist magic and religious invocation lead viewers into a surprising choice for the horror-comedy subgenre. If you're a fan of Sammo Hung, Asian horror, or even just pure cheeseball comedies, then this film's right up your alley.
Finally, we come to the Keep. The Keep is unique, if only for one reason: It made around 4 Million, in a time when limited release really did mean limited release. It's World War II, and a Nazi cotillion has been brought to a remote pass in Romania to guard a lone fortress (the aforementioned keep of the film). When a young soldier accidentally removes the stone holding an ancient entity in place, it begins to kill the soldiers stationed there. Meanwhile, in Greece, a man senses that the entity is freed, and makes his way there, while the Nazi commander brings in a Jewish man and his daughter to find out why his men are dying.
In essence, what makes this film one to watch is simple: design, score, and casting (in modern context). Most importantly, let's start with casting. A veritable who's who of modern icons, this film manages to fill an entire movie with stars that would be incredibly well known today. Jurgen Prochnow, Ian McKellan, and Gabriel Byrne are just three of the great names you'll find in this film. Secondly, this film was directed by Michael Mann, who directed Last of the Mohicans, Public Enemy, and Heat. Third, an intense soundtrack by Tangerine Dream provides a very effective background to a palpable story of war and what true evil is. And lastly, the design of the creature trapped in the Keep, as well as the entire setting and display itself, is incredibly well done, even for an 80's film. I have to give this film props on what's done here, and I'm really sad to see it go unrecognized.
That's my list, and I hope you don't fault my choices, cause I certainly can't fault you for yours. Please feel free to talk about what you think is an excellent horror film that proves your love for film while making it accessible to others below. It's all about the discourse, really. Because how will people know what you love if you aren't willing to talk about it?
I'm the Knight, and I'll be on watch. Until next time...
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