Well here we are, my top 10 Horror movies deserving more attention, fans and accolades! I hope you’ve enjoyed the list and it prompted you to rent or netflix one or a few of the movies on this list! Head here for the start of the list, and the criteria in creating it.
10) Ginger Snaps (2000)
Two young suburban sisters must cope with a werewolf bite and all the changes that start occurring in the bitten sister’s body. This film, like Teen Wolf, uses werewolf transformation as a metaphor for puberty, or–more specifically, here–menstruation. It’s as charming, and clever as Teen Wolf in exploring the sudden changes the teens are facing, just not as comedic in it’s delivery. Ginger Snaps is also a lot like May (no. 12), in that it explores teen girl angst and alienation (a la Heathers and Jawbreaker) in the guise of a horror movie. The acting by the sisters (Emily Perkins & Katherine Isabelle) is so on point as angsty teen goth girls, that for that reason alone, it is worth seeing this film if you’re into goth girls, I guess. Ginger Snaps also spawned two other worthwhile sequels, and to me, is one of the best werewolf movies ever made.
9) Night of the Creeps (1986)
When alien slugs descends upon Earth and begins turning everyone in town into zombies on the night of the big dance, four teens must not only defend a sorority house, but also keep their libidos in check! Fred Drekker’s (Monster Squad, House – no. 23) directorial debut is an excellent one. This was one of my favorite movies growing up and is a zombie movie in much of the same tradition as Return of the Living Dead. It’s a very funny movie that never takes itself too seriously and features great effects. I have no doubt this movie would today be mentioned in the same breath as Return of the Living Dead, if only it was still in print! Legal difficulties have made this should-be classic unavailable.
8) Bloodsucking Freaks (1976)
Sardu & his midget assistant Ralphus run a sadomasochistic torture theatre show that is the talk of NYC! The audience thinks it’s just amazing trickery, but actually it’s all real torture! This movie is a beyond-warped comedic film that takes shock and exploitation to a new level of depravity. I don’t think 10 minutes goes by without some sort of demeaning scene to the female captives! They are used as toilets, dinner tables, anything imaginable along with being tortured to death on stage. Thankfully, the film does not take itself seriously whatsoever. It also basically kicked off the direction and style Lloyd Kaufman would later make his own through Troma, and Eli Roth would so wonderfully employ in Hostel. It’s a very influential film that every horror fan must see!
7) Mother’s Day (1980)
On Mother’s Day, three female hikers soon discover they’re not alone in the woods. And, unfortunately for them, their new-found friends will do anything (to them) to impress their mother! I think I’ve mentioned Lloyd Kaufman’s name countless times in the course of this list (and there will be more times before I’m done!), but this gem is written and directed by his lesser-known brother, Charlie. Charlie’s directing doesn’t steer far from his brother’s style, humor, effects, and subject matter. Being in the shadow of such a prolific and revered director as Lloyd is an unfortunate turn in terms of this film’s ability to gain a wider recognition, but Mother’s Day is every bit as good, weird, gory, funny and shocking as Lloyd’s Class of Nuke ‘Em High, Toxic Avenger, and Troma’s War.
6) Brainscan (1994)
A horror junkie searching for the next thrill finds one in the form of a new, terrifyingly realistic video game known as Brainscan! I’m sure you’ve probably passed this movie at the video store and just saw it as another blunder in Eddie Furlong’s career between T2 and Pecker, like Pet Sematary II (no. 21). Well, if you did, you’d be very, very wrong! Brainscan is what I’d like to think Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Robocop, Starship Troopers, and Showgirls) would make if he made a horror movie. Now, I’m not sure if director John Flynn and writers Andrew Kevin Walker & Brian Owens intentionally set out to follow in Verhoeven’s footsteps by exploiting cliches, camp, and over-the-top ridiculousness in an attempt to satire the very film they were making, or if the acting, script, and directing in this movie just kind of came together the way it did. I’d like to think everything is intentional, because it’s just so perfectly calculated not to be! And since Andrew Kevin Walker is also responsible for scripting such films as Se7en and 8mm, and Michael (Eddie Furlong) is a gore hound, I have to think that every little cheesy, clichéd nuance in this tale is completely intentional. And don’t get me started on the teenage metal-head absurdity that is Trixter, the villain of the film. Brainscan is definitely the Showgirls of horror films, and if I have to explain what that means to you, then this film’s devices might just go over your head.
5) Tromeo & Juliet (1996)
Lo and behold, another Lloyd Kaufman mention! Much like how Romeo & Juliet is viewed as a Shakespeare masterpiece, Tromeo & Juliet is a Troma masterpiece. While this movie is credited to Lloyd Kaufman, his then protégé James L. Gunn was actually behind the directing chair most of the time, and the results are just amazing. Truly the greatest film adaptation of Romeo & Juliet ever made. In large part because of the penis monster…
4) Cabin Fever (2002)
Five college students spend a weekend retreat at a cabin, which soon turns deadly and gross when a flesh-eating virus starts making the rounds in the secluded country community. Eli Roth made a name for himself with Hostel, but Cabin Fever, his directorial debut, is every bit as good! I have no doubt in my mind that Roth is the heir apparent to Raimi’s legacy. No one today works comedic timing and gore the same way Roth does. He’s a great director, a great writer, and also very good at casting his films (an often-ignored talent). While it was released to good reviews, Cabin Fever didn’t do much at the box office and later was overshadowed by Hostel. Do yourself a favor and rent this movie if you’re a fan of Raimi, Jackson, and Hefenlotter.
3) Martin (1977)
Is Martin a vampire, or just crazy? This is a forgotten classic from George Romero, and his best attempt at fusing a comedic tone into his style (Creepshow being another great example). Martin is a brilliant film that showcases Romero’s directorial genius. Even if you’re not a fan of Romero’s other work (The Dead series, Monkey Shines, etc., etc.), you should see Martin. It’s a unique film that deserves much more attention, and is very different from any of Romero’s other movies.
2) Street Trash (1987)
A case of forgotten hooch in a liquor store cellar begins turning the local wino community into colorful sludge. This film is as humorous as it is weird. It’s truly an amazing film. The kind of skill J. Michael Muro demonstrated in Street Trash should have put this director on the fast track to mega-stardom like Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson. His style, execution, and skill with effects are on par with any of them. But this is the only film Muro would ever direct. I forget where, but I read that Muro became very religious not long after Street Trash, His priorities changed and he just never pursued directing again. I’m not sure if that is true or not but he has since gone on to become a celebrated camera man, working on big production movies, but one salivates to think what any of those hits might have been like if he was in the director’s seat rather than behind the camera.
1) Maniac (1980)
Here we go… number 1! And what a number 1 it is. When people talk about great slasher flicks, movies like Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre always come up. But the original Black Christmas (1974) only occasionally, even though it helped define the genre and was carbon copied by Halloween. But what is even more surprising, Maniac never comes up, even though it is hands-down the greatest slasher film ever made! I suppose not having a costumed, horrific or supernatural killer is what keeps Manaic’s fame at where it currently is, which is a shame considering that Frank Zito is a much more terrifying, depraved and realistic character than Jason or Michael Myers could ever hope to be. No movie makes NYC seem as scary and grimy as Maniac, and no slasher movie goes into the mind of the slasher as effectively. Terrific effects from Tom Savini, excellent directing by William Lustig (who would later create the Bruce Campbell-led Maniac Cop and it’s many sequels minus Campbell), and an amazing lead performance by Joe Spinell (R.I.P.). Spinell a character actor who’s face would be familiar to any fan of 70s crime, action and mafia flicks took this rare opportunity to play a lead role and really delivered. Maniac is Friday the 13th meets Psycho. It’s fantastic, and criminally slept on, so please - if you are a self-respecting fan of horror, go out and rent this film, you won’t be disappointed!
Happy Halloween!
