Here's a few horror movies that you probably have not seen just in time for Halloween:
10) Critters (1986)
Okay, if you know me than I have probably made you sit through this Gremlins cash-in. Of all the post-Gremlins-puppet-creature-features, this was arguably the best. It features a fun mix of horror and comedy, and a ridiculously dorky Billy Zane.
9) Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
Inferno is by far the best of the Hellraiser movies. I liked it better than the first. Part of that is because Pin-Head doesn't make much of an appearance in this one. Inferno is a dark, very dark, psychological thriller disguised as a horror movie. That's no surprise considering the script on which this sequel was based was not a Hellraiser script. Pin-Head was added later. Nevertheless, this is a surprisingly taut thriller, with surprises abound.
8) Dog Soldiers (2002)
This is a surprisingly entertaining British werewolf movie featuring solid performances from a number of young actors before they got big(ger). The film never takes itself seriously and you will have tons of fun if you take it for what it is. Director Neil Marshall would go on to direct the critical horror hit, The Descent..jpg)
7) Deathwatch
This is another straight-to-DVD British horror gem that almost got away. If you like World War One psychological horror films with a heavy dose of allegory, then this baby is for you.
6) Opera (1987)
Okay, Dario Argento is screwed up. Many of his films feature nudity from his own daughter, Asia. Nevertheless, Opera is one hell of a film (and Asia Argento is thankfully absent). Argento has always been fascinated by The Phantom of the Opera. His own cinematic version of that story was horrendous, yet Opera, an homage made several years before he got his chance to direct Phantom, is creepy and beautiful: everything Phantom should have been. It features one of the most bizarrely entertaining death scenes I have ever seen (watch for the peep-hole). I recommend Opera for that scene alone.
5) Exorcist III (1990)
This disturbing and restrained sequel was not nearly the disaster that was the first Exorcist sequel (nor the later prequels). Director and writer of the book (and the writer of the original Exorcist book), William Peter Blatty pushed for the studio to change the name, but alas, they refused and the film had a mediocre performance at the box office. Why Blatty didn't direct more horror is beyond me. He displayed a real talent in this film for capturing very simple, very terrifying moments on film. I may have liked this more than the original. There, I said it. what are you going to do about it?
4) Black Christmas (1974)
I put this one on here as an alternative to John Carpenter's Halloween. Black Christmas is the first true slasher movie. Made in 1994, the film had a typical ambiguous ending, leaving viewers to ask if Bob Clark, the director, had a sequel planned. In one interview, Clark said that, although he had no plans to direct a sequel, he did have an idea for its plot. Clark's sequel involved the Black Christmas psycho being caught and taken to a mental hospital, only to break out on Halloween and terrorize the survivor of the first movie. Four years later, John Carpenter released Halloween, and everybody forgot about this darker, superior, Canadian film.
3) Psycho II (1992)
I feel sorry for the poor bastard who was tasked with directing the sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, one of the great film masterpieces of all time. Nonetheless, if it had to be done, this is the best anyone ever could have expected. Psycho II is an unsurprisingly underrated film. It is heavy on suspense and thrills, but is also a clever character study. We catch up with Norman 20 years after the events of the original movie. He is released from the hospital, supposedly cured, and tries to settle back into life. He reopens the hotel and must deal with local townsfolk who refuse to give him a second chance. And then mother comes home. Psycho II has a brilliant final scene that rivals the finale of the original.
2) Eyes Without a Face (1960)
This old French mad-scientist film has an artsy touch. It also features some incredible make-up effects given the time period. The plot centers on a doctor who is trying hopelessly restore his daughter's face to its original beauty, after she was disfigured in a car accident. When traditional procedures fail him, he decides to try a radical new procedure: face transplantation. But where does the doctor get these new faces I wonder?
1) Cemetery Man (1994)
If you haven't seen it, see it. It's good.
10) Critters (1986)
Okay, if you know me than I have probably made you sit through this Gremlins cash-in. Of all the post-Gremlins-puppet-creature-features, this was arguably the best. It features a fun mix of horror and comedy, and a ridiculously dorky Billy Zane.
9) Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
Inferno is by far the best of the Hellraiser movies. I liked it better than the first. Part of that is because Pin-Head doesn't make much of an appearance in this one. Inferno is a dark, very dark, psychological thriller disguised as a horror movie. That's no surprise considering the script on which this sequel was based was not a Hellraiser script. Pin-Head was added later. Nevertheless, this is a surprisingly taut thriller, with surprises abound.
8) Dog Soldiers (2002)
This is a surprisingly entertaining British werewolf movie featuring solid performances from a number of young actors before they got big(ger). The film never takes itself seriously and you will have tons of fun if you take it for what it is. Director Neil Marshall would go on to direct the critical horror hit, The Descent.
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7) Deathwatch
This is another straight-to-DVD British horror gem that almost got away. If you like World War One psychological horror films with a heavy dose of allegory, then this baby is for you.
6) Opera (1987)
Okay, Dario Argento is screwed up. Many of his films feature nudity from his own daughter, Asia. Nevertheless, Opera is one hell of a film (and Asia Argento is thankfully absent). Argento has always been fascinated by The Phantom of the Opera. His own cinematic version of that story was horrendous, yet Opera, an homage made several years before he got his chance to direct Phantom, is creepy and beautiful: everything Phantom should have been. It features one of the most bizarrely entertaining death scenes I have ever seen (watch for the peep-hole). I recommend Opera for that scene alone.
5) Exorcist III (1990)
This disturbing and restrained sequel was not nearly the disaster that was the first Exorcist sequel (nor the later prequels). Director and writer of the book (and the writer of the original Exorcist book), William Peter Blatty pushed for the studio to change the name, but alas, they refused and the film had a mediocre performance at the box office. Why Blatty didn't direct more horror is beyond me. He displayed a real talent in this film for capturing very simple, very terrifying moments on film. I may have liked this more than the original. There, I said it. what are you going to do about it?
4) Black Christmas (1974)
I put this one on here as an alternative to John Carpenter's Halloween. Black Christmas is the first true slasher movie. Made in 1994, the film had a typical ambiguous ending, leaving viewers to ask if Bob Clark, the director, had a sequel planned. In one interview, Clark said that, although he had no plans to direct a sequel, he did have an idea for its plot. Clark's sequel involved the Black Christmas psycho being caught and taken to a mental hospital, only to break out on Halloween and terrorize the survivor of the first movie. Four years later, John Carpenter released Halloween, and everybody forgot about this darker, superior, Canadian film.
3) Psycho II (1992)
I feel sorry for the poor bastard who was tasked with directing the sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, one of the great film masterpieces of all time. Nonetheless, if it had to be done, this is the best anyone ever could have expected. Psycho II is an unsurprisingly underrated film. It is heavy on suspense and thrills, but is also a clever character study. We catch up with Norman 20 years after the events of the original movie. He is released from the hospital, supposedly cured, and tries to settle back into life. He reopens the hotel and must deal with local townsfolk who refuse to give him a second chance. And then mother comes home. Psycho II has a brilliant final scene that rivals the finale of the original.
2) Eyes Without a Face (1960)
This old French mad-scientist film has an artsy touch. It also features some incredible make-up effects given the time period. The plot centers on a doctor who is trying hopelessly restore his daughter's face to its original beauty, after she was disfigured in a car accident. When traditional procedures fail him, he decides to try a radical new procedure: face transplantation. But where does the doctor get these new faces I wonder?
1) Cemetery Man (1994)
If you haven't seen it, see it. It's good.
Professor P
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