This Halloween, I decided to make a list of horror movies (or what I have loosely classified as such) that deserve larger fan bases than they currently have. Please don’t confuse this list as “The Best Horror Movies Ever Made” or even “50 of the Greatest Cult Classics” … it is not. These movies (well, most of them) haven’t even amassed the minutest of cult followings yet, which is why I wanted to make this list. All of the above are great movies, especially if you’re a fan of anything that’s labeled horror, shock cinema, cult, or a B-movie. Over the next 5 days, I will be counting down my “50 Movies in Search of a Cult Following.” If it inspires just one person to rent one of these movies–and if that person enjoys it and then spreads the word–I will be more than content. But more importantly, I like doing stupid lists like this, and this list is a window into everything we’re about! As the list progresses from 50 down to one, you may notice the movies getting more and more obscure.

So what factors contribute to a film making this list? Well, I used a few basic guidelines (some of which I slightly fudged when I felt I should or could). Besides a movie being either one that I thoroughly enjoyed or one that rubbed off on me in some way, it had to meet one of the following criteria:
1) A film that was overshadowed by either the rest of its director’s catalog or a more popular work. Or a film that was part of a series in which it was overshadowed by either the original or a more popular film in the series.

2) A film that, when first released, started gaining a following, but now has lost it due to being long out-of-print. Or it has been in- and out-of-print so sporadically in its lifetime that it could never nurture or maintain any kind of momentum in building a following.

3) A film whose budget, distribution, or studio push was either small, lacking, mismanaged, misdirected, or just non-existent (i.e., poorly marketed).

4) A film whose release saw heavy box office and rental competition, and somehow it just fell by the wayside.

5) A film that was widely criticized as too campy (poor acting, silly dialog, cliched, etc, etc). Some films are so heavy-handed in their approach to camp that the actual merits and qualities of the film can get lost unless the viewer knows what to look for (sort of like a classical musician viewing all punk rock as “simply cacophonous”).

6) A film that needed to age a bit before its genius could be understood.

7) A film that just wasn’t made to appeal to large audiences.

Anyway, enough talk from me. On to the list:

50) Dead-Alive (1992)
I’m putting this movie at 50 because it isn’t that unknown and already has a pretty healthy following. However, I felt compelled to include this film here because it should be as acclaimed and beloved as Evil Dead 2, and it simply isn’t! I’m not sure why Dead-Alive never reached the pop culture pinnacle that was bestowed on Evil Dead 2, but this film is just as deserving. Unfortunately, at this point, Peter Jackson’s directorial career is going to be forever intertwined with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. This perfect little gory gem will forever remain a footnote.

49) A Nightmare on Elm St. 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
To be honest, this is not the best scripted or directed of the A Nightmare on Elm St. films (Parts 1, 3 and 4 in that order being heads and shoulders above the rest), or even horror movies in general. So why is it here? Because when you look at it like I do, as an after school special about one boy coping with his homosexuality, it becomes quite a different (and hilarious) movie. A Nightmare on Elm Street II had little involvement from Wes Craven and basically threw out a lot of the mythos established in the first movie (that was also cemented in later chapters) to present a cautionary tale in the guise of a Slasher flick of a boy trying to cope with his deep dark secret (i.e., Freddy/his homosexuality). Plus, the locker room shower-kill scene is classic.

48) The Thing (1982)
Any true John Carpenter fan will acknowledge this film as one of his classics at this point. But upon it’s release the movie was panned and bombed at the box office. It’s been a slow going 20 plus years for people to come around and see this film for the classic it truly is. As I said it’s taken some time for people to see the light on this film, but it still deserves way more devotees and accolades.

47) The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
Takashi Miike is better known in the U.S. for his excellent Audition, and the popular (and vastly over-rated) Ichi the Killer. However, Happiness of the Katakuris, to me, is Miike at his best. It is nothing like any of his other flicks, because it combines musicals, comedy, zombies, crime drama, and romance all into one pot. Anyone who is a fan of early Sam Raimi (the Evil Deads, Darkman), Peter Jackson (Dead-Alive, Bad Taste, The Frighteners), or any Troma film will absolutely love this movie.

46) Dawn of the Dead (2004)
SACRALIDGE! Look, nothing is ever going to top the original Dawn of the Dead, but I feel this movie never got a fair shake from people who actually enjoy horror/zombie flicks. It did alright at the box office, and I’m sure there is a legion of teenage kids and uninformed people walking around thinking this is the only Dawn of the Dead, but I also know there is a whole slew of other people out there who were all “Why tamper with what isn’t broken!?” and who therefore chose to skip this remake. Well guess what, this remake is an excellent update on the original and a worthy inclusion on any list chronicling great zombie flicks–right alongside the Romero originals.

45) Frailty (2001)
This movie got some strongly positive reviews from critics when it came out, but the studio never marketed the film correctly or towards the right crowd. It was just marketed as if it was some James L. Patterson (Along Came a Spider) type thriller. So this movie just kind of wasted away into the F section of most video stores, only to be rented by those who swoon for Matthew McConaughey. On first glance, it looks exactly like what it was marketed as… a cheap thriller novel adaptation starring McConaughey and Bill Paxton (who also directed it). But it’s actually a very well-crafted and paced psychological horror/thriller about a serial killer. And like so many of the movies on this list, it never takes itself too seriously, doling out large handfuls of camp into all of its “twists.”

44) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre part 2 (1986)
Made long after the original, this movie received a collective “Huh!?” when it was released. I get the feeling Tobe Hooper knew there was no way to match his original masterpiece, so he took things in another direction altogether. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 amps up the camp, gore, and comedy to a level all its own, and does this really well. These are, of course, things the original never had nor needed. It’s a shame this movie gets forgotten behind Hooper’s original and that it got such a bad rap from people expecting another gritty horror flick.

43) Suicide Club (2002)
To me, Japanese horror is very hit or miss. Most of the films that start out great tend to fall apart towards the middle, and their collapse is usually colossal. However, Suicide Club is so absurd in its premise (though, for some reason seems totally plausible in Japan) and delivery that the film manages to stay tight throughout its entirety. It’s kind of hard to tell if all of the absurdity is intentional or just a perfect storm of elements, but in the end, it makes for a very weird film centered around high school students who giddily enjoy committing mass suicide.

42) Man Bites Dog (1992)
This is a spoof of reality TV before there even WAS reality TV. The point of the film is a bit clichéd (media encourages violence), but it’s the execution and acting that make this film so great. It’s a faux documentary that follows around a charming serial killer, who then manages to involve the film crew in his dirty deeds. It’s French, sometimes disturbing, and often hilarious.

41) Event Horizon (1997)
Event Horizon was marketed as a sci-fi movie upon its release, but it’s really just a classic tale of horror set on a spaceship. Its premise, like that of Man Bites Dog (No. 42), is nothing new. A ship goes missing, the crew is never heard from again, 7 years later the ship mysteriously returns, and now another crew is sent to investigate. But its how the film is directed and shot that make it so good. Event Horizon has some of the creepiest sets and most gruesomely gorgeous kill scenes that I’ve seen. These are truncated by stabs of camp at just the right time and length. The last 15 minutes are kind of a mess, but this is a creepy and enjoyable film any horror fan should see… alone and in the dark.

Head to Netflix or a video store and stay tuned tomorrow for Part II (40-31) of my list!