Horror films – Little Bits of Gaming & Movies

My Personal History Of Horror: How I Became A Horror Fan

I’ve been writing this blog for a while now and I always enjoy doing my Halloween specials every year. I really do love horror films and the horror genre as a whole, yet I’ve never really put much thought into how I became a fan of horror films… until recently. I’ve been reminiscing the last week or so on the movies I grew up watching and the flicks that scared me when I was younger. Right here, I’m going to try to create a history in words and pictures form, looking back at just how I became a horror fan. A little journey through my own personal history of watching horror films.

Now, I can’t be 100% sure of the first horror film I ever saw, but I do have vivid memories of moments of my life that are related to horror films and TV. Growing up, we didn’t get a VHS player until the late eighties. So if I did see any horror films before then, it would’ve been on a TV broadcast or at someone else’s house. One memory that instantly comes to mind as I write this, is staying with my grandparents at their house, I was maybe about five or six years-old. Nan would often let me stay up late-ish and watch some TV before bed (don’t tell Mom). I remember one Saturday night when the Spielberg classic, Jaws was on TV. Nan and Granddad must’ve let me stay up late to watch the whole film and I remember Nan going into the kitchen to make a bit of supper, she came back with strawberry jam sandwiches. It was the finale of the film when the shark was attacking the boat, and Robert Shaw’s Quint slid down the deck of the Orca into the shark’s mouth. The great white slammed shut it’s jaws, chomping down on Quint, a small geyser of blood spurts from his mouth as he gets eaten alive. It terrified me… until I looked away from the TV and over to Nan, with strawberry jam purposely dripping from her mouth, making me laugh to help take my mind of the horror I just saw.

I was around the same age when I first saw a scene in a film that both scared and mesmerised me. It was a sleep over at my Aunt and Uncle’s house, me, my two brothers and our two cousins. My Aunt and Uncle had a VHS player and would often rent out tapes from a local shop down the road, that’s how I first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. As terrifying as the Nazi face-melting finale is in that film, it’s not the one that I’m talking about now. I’m talking about a dog’s head being split open.

John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of my all time favourite horror films. There’s this one particular scene from that film is one that is burnt into my memory forever. That cute Vancouver Island wolf-Alaskan Malamute cross breed, played by Jed (he even has his own Wikipedia page) was adorable. Unbeknown to us viewers and the characters in the film at the time, that cute dog had been assimilated by an alien. Soon after finding refuge with the humans, that little doggie turns inside out. It’s an amazing piece of special effects work that I feel still holds up today. Yeah, it scared me as a kid, but I also found it strangely beautiful to watch too. It’s that moment before the dog becomes the full on The Thing, as it is transforming and the head splits open like a peeled banana that has really stuck with me all these years. That one specific shot only takes up a few seconds of a much bigger scene, but those few seconds are firmly ingrained into my mind. I have been fascinated with practical effects work in horror films ever since. That one scene and only few seconds of that one scene are the reason I’m so in awe of artists like Tom Savini, Rick Baker and Stan Winston. With Winston being the man created the dog scene in The Thing. Now, before horror fans start screaming at the screen that it was Rob Bottin who did the effects work on The Thing (he did), Bottin became overwhelmed with all the work and ended up in hospital with exhaustion, so help was brought in. That help was Stan Winston, who brought in his team to do the whole dog scene.

Poltergeist, that was another film I saw for the first time at my Aunt’s house on VHS. Aside from remembering my cousin, Sam, hiding behind a cushion for pretty much the entire film, there’s the face peeling scene which definitely had an impact on me. Still, as gruesome as that scene is, it’s nothing compared to that fucking clown doll. I was a kid when I saw this, the fact it happens in a kid’s (Robbie) room full of toys (some I had), helped put me in the shoes of Robbie. For weeks after, whenever I went to bed back then, I would check underneath just in case there were any killer clown dolls were lurking. Still, I blame the parents, why kind of mother and father buys something that looks that terrifying as a gift for their son?

I was still a young kid when I first saw one of the most iconic scenes in horror film history, from the man who directed a bread commercial in 1973. Just a few years after that simple ad, Ridley Scott would go on to direct one of the most seminal and ground-breaking horror films ever, Alien. I remember the first time I ever saw the infamous chest-buster scene in Alien. It was very late at night, probably early hours of the morning when I think about it. Everyone in our house was asleep… everyone except me. I had noted that Alien was being sown on TV and set the alarm on my wrist-watch to wake me up, I snuck downstairs, doing my best to avoid the creaky step, not wanting to wake Mom up. I slowly opened the living room door and flicked the TV on. The film had already started, I missed the first ten minutes or so. I needed a little company… just in case I got too scared, so I carefully tiptoed to the kitchen and opened the door so our dog, Ben could join me on the sofa. Me and Ben sat there watching Alien. I had manged to watch the face-hugger jump scare as it latched onto John Hurt’s face, that didn’t scare me… much. So I was pretty sure I could take anything this film threw at me. Then the dinner scene happened.

It’s the family atmosphere thing that really sells this particular scene. Everyone sitting around and enjoying a meal. They’re laughing and joking, John Hurt starts chowing down on some (I think) noodles. He coughs, splutters and starts to choke, Yaphet Kotto makes that quip about the food not being that bad, still maintaining a sense of humour. Then, it just all flips on its head. That jovial atmosphere suddenly ends as John Hurt lies on the table, there’s that first burst of blood followed by silence… just for a few moments. Then utter chaos, the blood sprays everywhere as the alien is ‘birthed’. To be honest, I didn’t even make it to the end of the scene. It was the early hours of the morning, pitch black dark and I was eight, maybe nine years-old with only the family dog to keep me company. I turned the TV off before the alien fully emerged, put the dog back in the kitchen and went back to bed, too scared to sleep. So anyway, Mom when you read this. I snuck downstairs to watch Alien on TV about 1984-85-ish.

As I said before, I can’t actually remember the first horror film I ever saw, or at least I can’t be 100% sure of what it was. I do have two very clear memories that I think could’ve been the first though. I don’t have many memories of my dad, long story short, he walked out when I was very young. But I do remember he used to have one of the old reel-to-reel projector things, before VHS became popular. I remember dad coming home one day with some film reels to watch, he said he had a film with Sylvester Stallone in it, my child brain then just heard the word Sylvester and I instantly thought of this guy…

The Sylvester film wasn’t a cartoon with a cat though, it was First Blood. Yes I know that First Blood isn’t a horror film. Still, I do remember dad setting up the projector, getting a white bedsheet and hanging it up on the wall as a makeshift screen and we watched First Blood. As I said, he had other films too and after First Blood, we watched another film, Carrie (at least I’ve managed to make my articles link this year!). I don’t actually remember watching the film if I’m honest, but I know I was definitely there while it was on. There’s this one moment that is practically fresh in my mind, it’s after the whole school prom and pigs blood thing. Carrie is already in the midst of her revenge as the school burns, she in on the street walking home when the school bullies Billy and Chris try to run her down in the car. Carrie does some of her telekinesis stuff and causes the car to crash. It was that moment when I remember my dad exclaiming: “Go on Carrie!”, cheering her along. That one line from my dad is one of the very few memories of him that I have, and it’s connected to a horror film.

I did say that I have two horror film memories connected to my dad, Carrie was one, the other? Some low budget horror flick called The Evil Dead. Now, being from England, The Evil Dead was a bit of a hot topic in the early eighties. I mean, it was part of the whole video nasties thing. Basically, there were a load of old geezers in charge of the ratings at the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) who brought in a law (Video Recordings Act 1984) which saw a lot of films either heavily censored or just outright banned. Mostly, the films caught up in this new law were horror films and one of those flicks was The Evil Dead. While never outright banned (it was censored), The Evil Dead was put under section 2 by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This meant that while the film was not banned, anyone selling or distributing it could be liable to prosecution. Look, there a fantastic article that goes into great detail over the whole The Evil Dead video nasty thing right here. Point is that the film was incredibly hard to come by in the UK… but my dad got a copy, I don’t know how he got it or where from, but he did. I clearly remember the card guessing scene, “queen of spades, two spades, jack of diamonds, jack of clubs…” then possessed Cheryl turns around… scared the crap out of me to the point where no matter how long it’s been, if The Evil Dead is ever mentioned by anyone, then that is the one scene that instantly springs to mind.

Looking back on my childhood, and I used to watch some pretty messed up stuff. I mean, I’m still only around six or eight years-old when I would’ve seen these films, even younger in some instances. I’m not even in double digits yet and I’ve already seen some of the most famous and infamous horror films made. Hammer Horror films were another mainstay of my growing up. I used to love being terrified by the Frankenstein and Dracula movies. Hammer produced some of the finest horror films of fifties, sixties and seventies. They really treated the classic monsters with respect (mostly), and gave new life to a dying genre. Plus, they gave the world the most terrifying version of Dracula ever.

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were like family friends to me… really scary family friends. But it wasn’t just movies, Hammer House of Horror was an anthology horror TV show (obviously) from Hammer. Thirteen hour long episodes were made and all of them are worth watching, very dated and a little cheesy now yes, but still worth a view. But there is one episode that is lodged in my mind, The House that Bled to Death. A tale about a young family who move into a house where a murder took place some time before. It’s all a bit The Amityville Horror (another flick I saw as a kid) but with that very distinct British, Hammer Horror style. The house does its best to scare its new owners, which all leads to a child’s birthday party and one of the bloodiest scenes over on TV. Oh, and an ending that satirises the whole The Amityville Horror thing too. All you have to do is say Hammer House of Horror to British people of a certain age and they’ll know…

Amicus were another British production studio famed for their horror flicks. They were ever rivals to Hammer Horror for a while. They had a similar style, used a lot of the same actors and so on. But it was their portmanteau horror films where they really excelled. In fact, I did an article a few years back about those very films, looking at every story of every Amicus anthology film. Please excuse the poor formatting and overall presentation in that one, I was still finding my feet as a writer and all that back then. Anyway, those Amicus films were amazing. Particularly the original Tales from the Crypt, before it became a TV show, but after the EC Comics. This was a film I remember watching more than a few times as a kid. All of the stories are great, Poetic Justice being my favourite with the brilliant Peter Cushing in one of his finest roles.

When we did finally get our own VHS player, late eighties-ish, that was when a whole new world of horror opened up for me. My older brother would often rent out tapes and they’d always be a horror film or two in them. Plus, I didn’t have to stay up late or sneak down to watch horror films on TV anymore, cos we could just record them off the TV instead. I heard about Freddy Krueger long before I ever saw him, kids at school would talk about this guy who came after you in your dreams. It was the late eighties, the fourth film had already been released and Freddy had already become a pop culture icon by then. I wanted to know who this Freddy guy was that kids at school were talking about, so I asked my older bother to get a ‘Freddy film’ next time he went to the video rental store. He came back with A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, the scariest Freddy has ever been. I didn’t see the original film for a few years later, but that is what got me into slasher films. Shockingly enough, I hadn’t seen Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc up to that point, but now we had our own VHS player, I could and I did. Whether they were recorded (and heavily censored) from the TV or my brother rented them out, I got to catch up all those horror film I had previously missed. The late eighties and early nineties were when I went on a horror film marathon. Hellraiser, The Shinning, Return of the Living Dead, Phantasm, The Fly and so many more. I was soaking horror of films up like a sponge through the nineties.

Unfortunately for us here in Blighty, we still had old stick-in-the-muds running the BBFC and the whole video nasty thing was still very much going on. The shocking and brutal murder of James Bulger didn’t help either. Horror films were used as the scapegoat, particularly Child’s Play 3 and horror films were still being banned and censored all over. Then in 1998, James Ferman the director of the BBFC retired and so did his archaic rules. By 1999, many previously banned and censored films were being released fully uncut. It was twenty-four years since it was first released, but I finally got to see The Exorcist, fully uncut for the first time ever. I knew of the film’s infamy, I had seen images and a few small clips from the flick too, but I never actually got to see the film until 1999. I loved it and still think it’s the greatest horror film ever made. All the hype, all the stories surrounding The Exorcist helped build my anticipation for it and I was not disappointed one bit. Plus, I was twenty-three in 1999, which meant I could watch anything I liked without restrictions and I was old enough to go buy my own films too…and I bought a lot of horror films.

The new rules at the BBFC blew open the doors for so much more horror for me. Films I had previously seen that were heavily edited were now being released uncut. Infamous films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Cannibal Holocaust, The Driller Killer, The Last House on the Left and so many more began to fill my VHS collection. The first time I saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I remember being a bit bored. I knew of the film, I knew of its infamy and reputation… yet I thought it was crap as I say there staring at the TV, it was more annoying than scary, especially with that Franklin character. Then it got to the dinner scene and fuck me. One of the most unsettling and disturbing scenes in a horror film ever.

I would sit there, night after night, just watching all these horror flicks that I had not been able to watch before. That era of the late nineties and early two-thousands was a horror haven for me. When I got my first DVD player, the first DVD I ever bought was The Evil Dead Trilogy, all films fully uncut for the first time.

But strangely enough, as much as I loved that period of discovering all these classic horror flicks, it was also when I began to fall out of love with the horror genre. Well, to be more specific, I fell out of love with modern horror. I remember watching Scream in 1997 and loving the whole meta-storytelling thing. Very clever and it did something pretty unique. Final Destination was another one that brought some new ideas to the genre… but then it all got a bit ‘meh’. I’m not saying there haven’t been any good horror films since, the first Saw was brilliant. But soon, everything was turned into a franchise and just became tired, the horror genre was dying. There was no originality in horror anymore, it got to a point where even if a film was new, I had already seen it before watching a single frame of film. I still loved the classics, I got more and more into sixties, seventies and eighties horror flicks, my collection grew and grew as I sought out more previously banned or unseen films. I got to re-watch those films that scared me as a kid and found a new appreciation for them, Jaws, Alien, The Thing and more. Watching them as an adult over a kid made me want to look into how the films were made. I grew a deep interest in all the behind the scenes stuff and that is when I really became a horror fan.

I recall staying up late one night and watching a horror film festival on Channel 4 here in the UK. The festival had been running for a week and they were showing classics and foreign horror flicks. Ringu came on, my introduction to Japanese horror. A much slower and tense style of storytelling and a sub-genre which had past me by. The slower pace of Ringu enthralled me and it was doing things in the horror genre I thought were unique. The ending with Sadako coming out if the TV genuinely scared me when I first saw it, the first time I’d been scared by a horror film since I was a kid. Even The Exorcist (as much as I loved it) didn’t scare me.

From then, I went on a bit of a Japanese horror crusade. I discovered Ju-On: The Grudge, Dark Water, Audition and Battle Royale. Yeah I know, that last one isn’t really considered a horror film, but for me it is. That whole set up of school kids being forced to kill each other to survive is pretty horrific.

Generally though, the modern horror films bored me, but those classics? I couldn’t get enough of them, the advent of DVDs and the extras, makings of, DVD commentary, behind the scenes documentaries and so on, really hooked me. I’d watch a classic like The Thing, then instantly re-watch it with the commentary on to hear the behind the scenes stories. I’d watch every single extra on the disc over and over. I grew this passion for how/why the films were made and that interested me more than the actual films themselves… and I adored the films.

Even now, my main attraction is horror films from sixties though to the eighties. There’s just something about that era that has never been bettered. Those three decades are where horror film was at its finest. If I ever fancy watching a horror film now, rarely will it be anything from the last two decades as they just don’t hold my interest. But I never tire of the classics, those flicks from my childhood that shaped me to be the horror fan I am now. I just watch, reminisce and smile.

7 Of The Best Public Domain Horror Movies

LBoM: Editorials

Ahhhhhhh, public domain. When a previously copyrighted movie loses its copyright (or it never had one to begin with) and that movie becomes perfectly legal to watch for free. To be honest – a lot of public domain flicks are pretty damn terrible, but if you are willing to sift through a lot of crap – you can find some diamonds on the rough.

So here, I’d like to highlight some of the best public domain horror moives out there that you can watch right now and not pay a penny for. From overlooked low budget gems to famous horror pictures that hold a great deal of respect with horror fans. Each and every one of these films are completely free… FREE!

1) Alice, Sweet Alice

Twelve year old Alice lives with her mother and younger sister Karen. During Karen’s fist communion she is brutally murdered by a masked assailant.

This film was also known as Communion and Holy Terror. Due to changes in distributors and various other legal problems, the film was never properly registered for copyright. You can watch Alice, Sweet Alice right here.

2) Satan’s School for Girls

A young woman investigating her sister’s suicide at a private girls’ school finds herself battling a satanic cult.

Produced by Aaron Spelling – yes, THAT Aaron Spelling. This made for TV movie was long forgotten about and nobody bothered to secure a copyright for it. You can watch Stan’s School for Girls right here.

3) Rehearsal for Murder

A year after his fiancée’s death, a playwright schedules a rehearsal for his new play, which proves to be a trap for her killer.

Yet another made for TV movie that nobody bothered to copyright. This one has a few recognisable names like; Robert Preston, Lynn Redgrave, Patrick Macnee and Jeff Goldblum. You can watch Rehearsal for Murder right here.

4) House on Haunted Hill

Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house on Haunted Hill for a ‘haunted house’ party. Whoever can stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each.

From director William Castle. The original copyright holder failed to renew the film’s copyright resulting in it falling into the public domain. You can watch House on Haunted Hill right here.

5) Carnival of Souls

After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.

When originally released – the film was a failure in the box office so the producers distanced themselves from the movie and didn’t bother to renew its copyright. Yet today its regarded as a landmark in psychological horror. You can watch Carnival of Souls right here.

6) Night of the Living Dead

A group of characters barricade themselves in an old farmhouse in an attempt to remain safe from flesh eating zombies.

One of the most infamous and influential horror films ever made. Director George A. Romero created the modern zombie with this one… just a shame he forgot to apply a copyright to the film. You can watch Night of the Living Dead right here.

7) Tormented

A man lets a former flame fall to her death rather than let her interfere with his new relationship, but her ghost returns to disrupt his impending nuptials.

A little campy and dated but don’t let that introduction music put you off because there is an effective and creepy ghost story here. Yet another film where the copyright was never renewed. You can watch Tormented right here.

There are plenty more public domain horror films out there to discover – some great, some not so great. I have merely scratched the surface with this list, but there are hundreds more to find and watch.

An Incomplete History of Horror Films Part VII.

LBoM: Editorials

Its been a long, long journey from 1896 to the 2000s.

The early 2000s saw a lot of run off from the 90s, there were sequels to some of the 90s biggest horror hits as well as some original and interesting new movies. But 2001 brought about a real horror that would change cinema… 9/11. After the twin towers fell, the horror film became something ‘dirty’ and there was even a select few people trying to end the production of horror films afterwards. The aftermath of 9/11 impacted all of cinema, but especially the horror genre which fell into a slum for a few years as ticket sales dropped while writers, producers and directors struggled to find a happy middle ground as to what the public would deem acceptable now.

Final Destination (2000): Director James Wong offers a refreshing take on the supernatural horror film. A group of students board a plane to France for a school trip when one of the students, Alex, sees a premonition that the plane will explode shorty after take off. Alex panics and gets taken off the plane along with a few of the other students and one of the teachers. Its soon proven that Alex’s premonition was true and he learns he and the others have cheated death… but death is not very happy about that at all.

If you are scared of flying, then its probably best to avoid this flick. This one was a surprise hit when it was released and went on to become its own successful franchise with multiple sequels. I love the idea of death itself coming for its victims instead of some maniac with a big knife. Some of the kills are really creative too and the film offers more then a few scares along the way… bus scene anyone? The film is great as is its premise, but its just a shame the teenage victims are so cookie-cutter.

Ginger Snaps (2000): Directed by John Fawcett, this interesting twist on the classic Werewolf lore stars Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins. Two sisters who are obsessed with death find their lives drastically change when one of them is bitten by a werewolf.

This one past me by for several years, I didn’t even know the film existed until about 5 years ago. It really is a refreshing take on the classic movie monster. The two leads are amazing and the script they have to work with makes them feel ‘real’ and not like the stereotypical teenagers you’ll find in a lot of these pictures. The werewolf itself looks very similar to the one used in the John Landis classic; An American Werewolf in London (1981). The blood and violence never feels gratuitous, but what is shown is still pretty damn brutal, the opening involving a dog sets the tone. A really great film from start almost to finish. I say almost to finish as I personally found the last 20 odd minutes a bit of a drag and the finale is a disappointment.

28 Days Later (2002): Directed by Danny Boyle comes this zombie film with a difference. Animal activists break into a lab and release several chimpanzees that are being experimented on, a virus the chimps had begins to spread. 28 days later and Jim wakes up from a coma to find he seems to be the only person alive.

The zombie film fell out of favour by the end of the 80s and nobody really made a truly great one for over a decade and then this film was released. But what separates this zombie flick form others is how it tends to focus more on the sparse human characters of the film and not the zombies themselves. Its a well written movie that manages to avoid many of the zombie film clichés we have seen hundreds of times. There is a real feeling of sadness and helplessness all through the film that adds to the atmosphere.

Dog Soldiers (2002): Yet another werewolf movie given a fresh coat of paint, directed by Neil Marshall. A squad of British soldiers are sent on a training mission in the Highlands of Scotland where they find a wounded Special Forces captain and the bloody remains of his team. They seek shelter in a farmhouse where they have to fight for their lives against a pack of ravenous werewolves.

Bloody brilliant, that is all you need to know about this flick. Its gory and intense, all with that British charm that big budget Hollywood movies lack. The effects can be a little ropey at times and the film is far from perfect, but don’t let that put you off. I really enjoy ‘claustrophobic’ movies, ones where most of the action takes place in one simple locale and this one delivers in that regard. In an era of ‘slick teen horror’ films that the late 90s and early 2000s brought, this film offers something more grounded and visceral. The flick is loaded with references to past horror classics too for the horror fan to enjoy spotting. While not a ‘funny’ movie, it never takes it self too seriously either with some memorable and quotable dialogue. A horror film that actually cares about its characters and this shines through in the end as you’ll be genuinely concerned about what happens to these guys.

Freddy vs. Jason (2003): Director Ronny Yu brings together two of horror’s biggest icons. Freddy Krueger has long been forgotten about and the residents of Springwood have moved on. Trapped in Hell, Freddy resurrects Jason Voorhees and tricks him onto killing for him so people will remember Freddy once more. However, Jason becomes uncontrollable and the two horror giants finally clash.

Us horror fans waited years, over a decade in fact, for these two titans of horror film to fight, but was it worth the wait? This film is a mixed bag. It has the bog standard, mundane and cookie-cutter teens that I personally became bored of by the time the 90s came around. It also messes with the lore of the past movies and creates problems that never previously existed… Freddy is scared of fire and Jason is scared of water, since when? The flick just lacks so much heart and sadly becomes a sub-standard slasher picture and tiresome… until the final battle. Freddy and Jason hardly ever meet in this film titled Freddy vs. Jason, but the last fight is simply awesome as both Freddy and Jason are let loose on each other. I think the plot is kind of interesting and definitely far better than other films of this ilk tend to have. The concept of Freddy manipulating Jason is a great one, its just a shame the film is weighed down with a lot of uninspired tat. Worth a watch even if only for that final battle.

Saw (2004): Psychological horror from director James Wan. Two strangers wake up in what appears to be an abandoned bathroom. The two are both chained by their ankles to pipes and are unable to move much. In the middle of the room lies a dead body in a pool of blood. The two men have to work together, while not trusting each other, to escape their shackles and the room as they learn they are part of a sick game set up by an unknown killer.

One of the most tense and refreshing modern horror films ever made… shame about the poor sequels. Still forget about those films as I’m talking about the first film here. Such a minimalist movie with a small but impressive cast. The plot is kept pretty secret for us viewers as it is slowly drip-fed via flashbacks and we can start to piece together this intriguing puzzle. Its a well written picture and another one that requires subsequent viewings to pick up on the subtle clues you may miss first time. Brilliantly constructed and acted and it all ends will one of the most memorable and intense finales in recent years. Love the first film so much and yet detest the sequels and franchise even more so.

Shaun of the Dead (2004): British horror/comedy at its finest. From co-writer/director Edgar Wright and starring co-writer Simon Pegg. Featuring a great cast including; Nick Frost, Kate Ashfiel, Penelope Wilton and Bill Nighy. Shaun is stuck in a dead end job, is having trouble with his girlfriend and spends most of the day slacking off with his best friend, Ed. When his girlfriend dumps him, Shaun and Ed decide to go the pub for a few ales and they wake up the next day to find themselves in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and Shaun along with Ed decide to try and save his loved ones.

This flick is amazing. Just the right blend of horror, comedy and numerous horror references. Much like the overlooked Simon Pegg/Nick Frost/Edgar Wright sitcom, Spaced. You can tell this film is made by fans of the genre who actually care. A brilliant love letter to the works of the grandfather of the zombie film, George A. Romero but injected with a fresh new twist and wonderful British humour. Essentially, this film is a romantic comedy, it just has the unusual setting of a zombie apocalypse as its backdrop. The first part of what became known as ‘The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy’ followed by Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013).

The Call of Cthulhu (2005): Based on the H. P. Lovecraft short story of the same name and directed by Andrew Leman. Following the death of his uncle, a man begins organising his affairs. He stumbles across a series of clues that point toward an ancient horror lurking beneath the sea.

Brilliantly shot in the style of a 1920s silent film, this could possibly be the best movie adaption of a H. P. Lovecraft story. Even the acting has been nailed to fit the style and often feels stilted and over exaggerated as actors often were in the silent era. The film’s (few) flaws actually work as a plus and all add to the overall concept of a 1920s silent film. Well worth checking out of you love H. P. Lovecraft and the silent horror films of the 1920s.

Wolf Creek (2005): Written, co-produced and directed by Greg McLean. Starring John Jarratt, this film is ‘inspired’ by real,life killers Ivan Milat and Bradley Murdoch. Three eager backpackers explore the Australian Outback and become stranded at Wolf Creek. They are rescued by a bushman named Mick who offers them a helping hand and much more.

This movie is a very, painfully slow starter… and I love it. The very slow first half allows us to get to know the three main characters, so by the time the second half and carnage begins, we actually feel for the victims. The cinematography is beautiful and really shows off the amazing backdrop of the Australian Outback, this also works as a great juxtaposition for when we finally enter the world of Mick. Its a very tense and taught film and it manages to avoid a lot of horror movie clichés. Oh and John Jarratt’s Mick is one of the greatest modern horror villains created in recent years.

Grindhouse (2007): Two films in one from writer/directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof is a 70s inspired ‘slasher’ flick where the killer uses a specially adapted stunt car to murder his victims. While Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is inspired by the zombie films of the 80s when an experimental bio-nerve gas is accidentally released turning a small town into a backdrop for a zombie apocalypse.

An experience of a movie. A love letter to the grindhouse cinemas of the 70s and 80s that would show exploitation flicks often as double features. While the films were later released in a slightly extended cut and both separately. If you want to feel the experience as it was meant to be, then you need to watch Grindhouse in its original cut complete with faux trailers. This isn’t high brow cinema, this is dirty, grimy and glorious too.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007): Directed by Tim Burton, an adaption of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s stage musical of the same name. Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman. Corrupt Judge Turpin frames local barber, Benjamin Barker of a crime he didn’t commit. Fifteen years later and Barker returns to extract his revenge but now taking on the persona of Sweeney Todd.

A musical horror film… why not? Tim Burton’s directing is always at its best when he’s dealing with the dark and Gothic, this film delivers on both accounts. If you don’t like musicals, then you’ll not enjoy this flick, I personally found the film to be a much needed breath of fresh air in the stagnant mid 2000 horror film scene. Depp is amazing as Todd and is both scary and charismatic. The music, is taken directly from the stage play but slightly adapted. The film is not shy with the blood either and the whole movie feels very Hammer Horror from when they were in their heyday.

Drag Me to Hell (2009): Director Sam Raimi returns to his roots with this horror film. Christine Brown works as a loans officer at a bank where she has her eyes on a promotion. But she is worried that her boss thinks she is weak willed when it comes to turning down loan applications. When Mrs. Ganush, a lonely old woman who faces foreclosure and the loss of her house applies for a loan, Christine rejects it. Mrs. Ganush then places a curse on Christine.

Very tongue in cheek and a horror film that also offers that very specific Sam Raimi humour. Its loud, brash, humorous and scary all at the same time. The PG-13 rating put me off for a while, you can’t have a good PG-13 horror film… but I was happily proven wrong with this one as this offers plenty of shocks and scares. This is a B-movie, but one done with a clear passion and respect.

The ABCs of Death (2012): A modern twist on the horror anthology sub-genre. 26 different short films, each by different directors spanning fifteen countries, based on the letters of the alphabet.

This film will not be for everyone. In fact there is quite a lot about it that I do not like myself. But this is a very intriguing concept and I do love the horror anthology idea too. The trouble with this film that there are a few great stories here, but there is also a hell of a lot of utter crap too. 26 very different short films from 26 very different directors and they all have their own style and tone. Its hard to tell a good story in a short amount of time, and this is the film’s main failing as the stories are too short to really engage the viewer. Plus as there are 26 of them, sadly there is more crap then good in the overall grand scheme. But the flick is worth watching once. There was also a sequel ABCs of Death 2 (2014), but I never bothered to watch it.

The Woman in Black (2012): Starring Daniel Radcliffe and directed by James Watkins, this is a remake of The Woman in Black (1989). A solicitor, Arthur Kipps is grieving the loss of his wife who died giving birth to their son Joseph. Arthur is sent to the village of Cryphon to review the personal papers of the deceased Mrs. Drablow. Arthur soon learns that the residents of the village are none to happy about his arrival.

Released by Hammer Films, yes THE Hammer Films. This one is a not only a brilliant remake, but also proof there is still life in the classic bygone age of horror films. The cinematography and directing is wonderful and the set design is both gorgeous and foreboding. Creepy and atmospheric, the picture oozes a Gothic style sadly underused in horror films today. If it was not for the HD cameras being used, you could easily mistake this for a haunted house film from the 1960’/70s, and that is a good thing.

Bad Milo! (2013): Directed by Jacob Vaughan. Duncan is an average, every day kind of guy working a regular, boring office job. Whenever he feels stress, he gets pains in his stomach and these pains reveal themselves to be a devilish little creature called Milo that Duncan ‘gives birth’ to.

Well this is a strange one. Very similar in tone to the cheap and nasty monster movies like Basket Case (1982). This is crude, bloody and very immature… but then it also has a softer side and even gets a little emotional too. You even start to feel a sorry for Milo as he and Duncan build a twisted father/son relationship. The movie is absurd and weirdly moving at the same time.

Mahi va gorbeh (2013): AKA Fish & Cat. An Iranian horror film directed by Shahram Mokri. A small group students travel to the Caspian region to participate in a kite-flying event. They set up camp near a local restaurant and things get strange.

Right from the off, I have to say that this film suffers for a few pointless and slow scenes that in the grand scheme mean nothing and offer little. But the film as an overall piece is utterly fascinating, playing around with the perception of time and more specifically, time loops. I quite honestly think this concept and they way it has been brilliantly captured on screen by director Shahram Mokri is a little too good for a horror movie. There is a mystery to be unravelled in this picture and that is pretty much all I want to say about it over fear of stumbling into spoilers. Never heard of this film? A lot of people haven’t, but it is well worth checking out as the plot will keep you captivated and riveted to your seat from the ominous start right to the shockingly beautiful ending. A true masterpiece in direction and camerawork.

Well I think I’ll end my Halloween celebration and very long pilgrimage from the very first horror film to modern day-ish. As you have probably noticed, I skipped a few years in the 2000s and offered nothing of the last 3 years. Mainly because I feel the horror film has been lacking for well over a decade now. For me, the pinnacle of horror films was the 70s and 80s. Now I’m not trying to say there are no good horror films anymore, as there are. But sadly they are few and far between and hard to find in a sea of the mundane horror film that the genre has now become. Besides, after Mahi va gorbeh/Fish & Cat, I honesty couldn’t find anything else that even comes close to its excellence, so I may as well end it right there.

And yes, I am aware I failed to mention dozens upon dozens of other great horror films, classics and modern. But this list was already way too long as it is and I already covered over a century of horror films, what do you want from me, blood? Besides, there is always next year…

This whole multi part article has been a great labour of love for me. I aimed to highlight some of the obvious and famous horror films out there, but also hopefully turn the spotlight on a few lesser known and less obvious titles too. I think I achieved just that. So close the curtains, turn off the lights and sit back to watch a few scary films this Halloween season.

There really is not much more to add other than…

An Incomplete History of Horror Films Part VI.

LBoM: Editorials

The 90s horror film, a decade of plenty of hits and just as many misses.

As the 80s ended, so did our interest in blood and gore. Something that used to scare/disgust us became a joke and now used for laughs in the 90s with several notable ‘splatter’ films offering more laughs than scares. The 90s saw a rebirth of what the 60s aimed to achieve, making the everyday man scary. This decade saw a rise in grounded horror, the influx of ‘intelligent’ horror films, as well as directors refusing to call their films ‘horror’ and instead chose the label ‘thriller’. The serial killer movie became increasingly more popular and the Norman Bates-esque character began to appear more and more. But that doesn’t mean there were none of the 70s/80s horror films anymore as the 90s also had sequel upon sequel upon sequel. Some were good, some were terrible.

The Exorcist III (1990): The second sequel to my all time favourite horror film. Writer of the original, William Peter Blatty returns as writer and director for this instalment. A body turns up with the striking resemblances to the MO of the infamous ‘Gemini Killer’ that only the police were aware of, Lt. Kinderman begins an investigation. The main problem is that the ‘Gemini Killer’ has been dead for fifteen years…

Have you noticed how I haven’t mentioned the first sequel to The Exorcist so far? Because its absolutely terrible. However, this film is pretty damn good. An effective psychological horror that, while not as great as the original, does a damn fine job creating a strange mystery as you are left guessing who the killer is and whether the ‘Gemini Killer’ is still alive or not. This film is light on the scares as its more psychological, but that doesn’t mean there are no great scares in the film, hospital scene anyone? There are a few problems with the ending that came about as this film was never meant to be a sequel to The Exorcist. The novel by William Peter Blatty was called; Legion and has nothing to do with The Exorcist at all. The entire last third of the film was re-shot to make connections to the original film and they even hired Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in the first movie to make a few cameo appearances. Still despite a few problems, this is a good horror movie and a worthy sequel.

Frankenhooker (1990): Directed by Frank Henenlotter and (obviously) inspired by Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. A medical student/electrician, Jeffrey Franken loses his girlfriend in a tragic lawnmower accident and only her head survives. So he sets about bringing her back and goes to the red light district to find victims for his experiment.

The title is stupid because the film is. Another one of those horror/comedies and this is one of the better ones too. If you think a girl dying in a terrible lawnmower accident is funny, then you’ll love this picture. The movie is silly, but also pretty damn creative along the way too as the hookers are killed in ‘explosive’ ways. The effects work is impressive and you’ll see plenty of dismembered body parts and creative monsters as our mad scientist, Jeffrey Franken goes crazier and crazier as the movie progresses. Frankenhooker herself doesn’t even appear in the film until around the 55 minute mark, but its well worth the wait.

Jacob’s Ladder (1990): This psychological horror film is directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Tim Robbins. Postal worker Jacob Singer keeps witnessing hallucinations and flashbacks to his first marriage, his dead son and his tour of duty in Vietnam. These visions continue to become increasingly more disturbing as Jacob starts to lose his grip on reality.

This flick is genius, a psychological horror which oozes style and atmosphere. Tim Robbins as Jacob is outstanding as he struggles with his insane visions and slowly looses his grip. The hallucinations and flashbacks are done really well and can be scary one second but then next, you’ll be an emotional wreak. This picture is much more than just a movie, its an experience that will have you on the edge of your seat until its clever and satisfying conclusion. Subsequent viewings are a must with this one as you’ll spot very subtle clues the second, third, fourth time you probably missed before.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. This psychological thriller/horror tells the story of FBI trainee Clarice Starling who is asked to investigate a possible serial killer called, Buffalo Bill. But before Clarice can find this killer, she must earn the trust and confidence of Hannibal Lecter, an ex-psychiatrist turned murderer who who cannibalised his victims.

The writing, directing and acting in this film are top notch. The picture is full of suspense and tension that slowly boils away leading to one of the most tense and well directed ending scenes. Of course there is the legendary Anthony Hopkins whose calming and sedate performance just adds to the overall effect as Hannibal Lecter who is both charming and yet utterly scary at the same time. Not forgetting the serial killer, Buffalo Bill played by Ted Levine, who is based on real life killers, Ed Gein and Ted Bundy. The scenes between Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter are like watching a chess game of words as they both carefully think about their questions/replies trying to get as much information as possible while also holding back revealing too much.

Braindead (1992): AKA Dead Alive is an early film from writer/director Peter Jackson before he made it big in Hollywood. Lionel and his overbearing mother live in a small village in New Zealand. While on a secret date with a local shop girl at a zoo, mother follows Lionel where she is bitten by a Sumatran Rat-Monkey, becomes infected with a zombie-like disease and dies. Then soon after her ‘funeral’, all hell breaks loose.

You know how earlier I said how blood and gore was now being used for comedic effect? Well Braindead is a perfect example of this. The gore in this is so ridiculously OTT and you’ll spend just as much time laughing as you will being disgusted. The movie is almost cartoon like with special effects as absurd as the characters. With a zombie baby, a pair of horny zombies that have sex continually, a kung-fu priest and an evil mother that makes Norma Bates look tame. Part zombie movie, part comedy and part love story… all covered in a visceral and violent blanket that climaxes with lawnmower, dozens of zombies and gallons upon gallons of blood. Just try to get hold of a full uncut version as even the ‘unrated cut’ is edited down to 97 minutes, while the full version runs at 104 minutes. “I kick arse for the Lord.”

Candyman (1992): Based on the story; The Forbidden by Clive Barker and directed by Bernard Rose. Helen and her friend Bernadette begin researching for a thesis on urban legends. Helen becomes obsessed by the legend of Candyman who is said to appear if you repeat his name five times in front of a mirror. She soon learns that Candyman is much more then just an urban legend.

A slasher film with so much style and substance that does away with many of the outdated tropes. The acting is particularly great, especially for a horror movie. With Tony Todd playing the titular Candyman and being scary, but in a very calming way and Virginia Madsen as Helen is just as impressive. I read a review of this movie which stated that it “wasn’t a nice film”… that’s a compliment in my eyes. The film is dirty, grimy and certainly ‘not nice’ at all. This is a horror film for adults, not teenagers. Deliciously dark and decadent, this urban legend is a must watch.

Bat sin fan dim: Yan yuk cha siu bau (1993): AKA The Eight Immortals Restaurant: The Untold Story. Based on the real Eight Immortals Restaurant Murders that took place on 4th August, 1985 in Macau. the film is directed by Herman Yau. The rotting remains of a human are found on a beach, the police investigation leads them to a local restaurant owner, Wong Chi Hang. Wong has only recently become owner of the restaurant and the previous owners have disappeared without a trace. His customers love his pork bao and keep coming back for more. But just what did happen to the previous owners of the restaurant?

You know how earlier I said how blood and gore was now being used for comedic effect? Well The Eight Immortals Restaurant: The Untold Story is a perfect example of the exception to the rule. This is no horror comedy, though there is some slight comic relief and this movie needs it. The Untold Story is brutally gory, how much so? Well Hong Kong film censors place films into numbered categories dependent on how severe the violence is and this film has been certified a category III. Category III movies are notorious for extreme violence or excessive sexual content and this film is no different. Extreme and excessive is just how to describe this one, its hard to watch and doesn’t shy away from its bloody, detailed violence. There is no mystery here and there isn’t meant to be, we know who the killer is right from the start. Its not who is responsible for the killings that is important but more so how the killings took place.

Body Bags (1993): An anthology film featuring three stories directed by John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper. The Gas Station is about a young college student who arrives for her first night shift at an 24 hour gas station. She learns that a serial killer has broken out of a mental hospital and is heading her way. Hair is a tale about a middle aged, egotistical business man who tries a ‘miracle’ hair transplant operation to save his thinning hair. Eye is a yarn where a baseball player is involved in a car accident and loses one of his eyes. Worrying his career is over, he decides to undergo an experimental surgical procedure to replace his eye.

The three tales are inter-cut and introduced by a morgue worker played briliantly by John Carpenter himself, using bad puns and cheap jokes. Also be on the look out for some great cameos from other horror directors like Sam Raimi, Wes Craven and Rodger Corman. There are plenty of in-jokes and nods too like the fact the gas station story takes place just outside Haddonfield… which is the fictional town Halloween (1978) took place. The three stories are all really enjoyable for very different reasons. An overlooked gem of a flick that is full of scares, surprises and a few laughs too. I particularly love the epilogue after the final story…

Schramm (1993): A German film from director Jörg Buttgereit and loosely based on true crimes of Carl Panzram. Lothar Schramm is a polite and friendly taxi driver, but he suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. Schramm’s disorder drives him to self-mutilate, rape and murder and we see all of this in a flashback as the film opens with Lothar Schramm dying in a pool of his own blood after falling of a ladder.

Director Jorg Buttgereit explained this film far better then I ever could: ‘Welcome to a trip into the mind of a serial killer.‘ This film is deranged and disgusting… yet beautifully shot and well wroth watching. Its only a short film running at a little over 60 minutes, but its a hell of an hour full of disturbing images and bloody gore. Most serial killer movies concentrate on the police POV as they track down the killer and finally stop them, this film does things very differently as we only see things from the killers POV. The things this guy gets up to are disturbing to say the least. From the murder and rape of females to hammering nails his own penis. Schramm is a bizarre and sometimes hard to watch but still worth a view regardless.

Dellamorte Dellamore (1994): AKA Cemetery Man, an Italian horror film directed by Michele Soavi. Francesco Dellamorte works at and lives near a cemetery. A beautiful widow attends the funeral of her husband and Dellamorte falls in love with her. The two eventually have sex on the late husband’s grave and he returns from the dead… yet this is only the start of the carnage.

A tongue in cheek zombie film with a lot of heart and even artistic style. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t all ‘arty-farty’ crap as there is plenty of gore and even some gratuitous nudity. Its just that the film starts out like a bog standard zombie flick but soon evolves into something so much more. The plot is involving and the characters are brilliantly realised, but then there is the cracking zombie make up effects and quite possibly the best Grim Reaper on film ever. There is a love story in here as well as a philosophical look at insanity and loneliness. A zombie movie with a heart, brain and a delicious dark humour.

In the Mouth of Madness (1994): Directed by John Carpenter and starring Sam Neill. A Stephen King-a-like horror writer, Sutter Cane has gone missing. Insurance investigator John Trent is asked to look into Cane’s mysterious vanishing. Trent surmises that the disappearance is all an elaborate hoax to be used as publicity for Cane’s new book, but he soon learns there is much more to the writer’s strange vanishing act then he first thought.

The third in John Carpenter’s ‘Apocalypse Trilogy’ with the first two being The Thing (1982) and Prince of Darkness (1987). I have a feeling that the writer of this film, Michael De Luca may have been inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. This film is very diverse, you’ll find people either love it or outright hate it. I personally love this flick and think its a massively overlooked Carpenter masterpiece that seemingly gets lost in his other works. Its quite an intelligent and insightful horror picture and will leave you scratching your head by the time the end credits roll. Not really a blood and gore film, though there are a few great make up effects shown. This is more of a psychological horror that plays on your mind much more. The story can be scary and gets a little dark but the script is as sharp as a tack and yet it never takes itself too seriously. I’m going to make a very bold statement here, in terms of directing I think this is John Carpenter’s best work, better than Halloween, better than The Thing.

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994): The man that created Freddy Krueger, Wes Craven, gets back in the director’s chair to destroy his most famous creation. Bringing back Heather Langenkamp from the original to face her nemesis one last time. Heather Langenkamp starts receiving strange phone calls from someone sounding a lot like Freddy Krueger. This comes about around the same time she is asked to return to the franchise that made her famous as its revealed that Wes has been writing a new movie… coincidence?

This is Wes Craven’s masterpiece, his opus and yet the movie is always overlooked in favour of the less interesting, poorly made sequels in this franchise. Now I love the original Nightmare flick and think part 2 is a underrated horror film too. Then after that, from 3 onward, things just go downhill fast. Its quite poetic how it took the creator of Freddy to get things back on track after 10 years since the original. This picture is so clever and meta, I feel this is why most don’t enjoy it, they want the simplicity of the other sequels, they just want Freddy running around killing stupid teenagers and making bad puns. But for me, I got tired of this formula pretty quickly. This is a movie about making movies and the effect(s) violent films may have on the audience. This isn’t your stereotypical ‘slasher’ flick that the sequels became, this is a psychological horror that gets the brain ticking over. Heather Langenkamp who became known as Nancy from the first film is back… only she is playing Heather Langenkamp in a life that mirrored her real life at the time. Robert Englund is also back as Freddy and playing himself at the same time in a dual role. There are a ton of references to the original film as well as other actors from the franchise popping up. Cerebral is the word to use when describing this picture. Its plot is both simple and multilayered at the same time with Wes Craven himself even appearing in the film, writing/directing a film about making a film, which is the film you are actually watching. Watch the first film and then watch this directly afterwards and you’ll see just how irrelevant the sequels really are. This is why I miss Wes Craven, he was the thinking man’s horror writer/director who wasn’t afraid to break the rules now and again. Despite this flick getting high critical praise at the time, it tanked at the box office because the studio thought it would be a good idea to open against a little known film called Pulp Fiction…

From Dusk till Dawn (1996): Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by his best buddy, Robert Rodriguez. Starring George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis. The notorious Gecko brothers go on the run after a bank heist. They kidnap a preacher and his family to use them and their motor-home as cover to escape into Mexico where they will meet a contact at a bar called The Titty Twister, but it seems that meeting at this bar was not the best idea.

One of the best twists in a film ever. This film is glorious, you have the snappy dialogue and interesting characters thanks to Tarantino’s writing, blended with the kinetic and stylised directing of Rodriguez. The film is really a film of two very distinctly different halves (which I’m trying not to spoil) and yet they seem the blend together seamlessly. I quite honestly do not want to say too much about this one as I feel going into it blind is the best possible way to approach it. If you have never seen this flick then don’t read any reviews, don’t even look at the cover (if possible). Just pop the DVD/BluRay in and sit back. I do have to mention how awesome Clooney is in the film, his breakthrough film performance. He is subzero levels of cool and yet a total badass with buckets of charm too.

The Frighteners (1996): Director Peter Jackson’s first American film and starring Michael J. Fox. Frank Bannister develops psychic abilities allowing him to see, hear, and communicate with ghosts after a car accident in which he was injured and his wife was killed. Frank befriends some of the ghosts and uses them as stooges to set up his own ghostbusting business. Frank encounters a spectre very similar to the Grim Reaper who seems to kill people (and ghosts) at random. Its up to Frank to stop this spectral killer before it kills of the entire town.

Originally intended to be a story for the Tales From The Crypt TV show, producer Robert Zemeckis decided this would work better as a feature film. This starts out as a pretty goofy comedy, but it turns into a really effective and scary ghost story with a great sense of humour. The visual effects are amazing and still stand up today, especially the Reaper ghost who flies around town killing people and offers some genuine scares. Sadly, this was Michael J. Fox’s final starring film role before he had to semi-retire from acting due to his Parkinson’s disease. Also be on the look out for iconic horror stars like Dee Wallace and Jeffrey Combs, even Peter Jackson himself makes a cameo. A great , chilling and yet funny film that stands up well today.

Scream (1996): Director Wes Craven is back to demolish the very genre of film that made him famous. One year after her mother’s murder, Sydney Prescott starts to receive strange phone calls from a crazed serial killer. As her classmates die off one by one, Sydney realises she is next in line and considers the possibility that this killer could have had something to do with her mother’s murder one year ago.

This is another one of those 90s horror films that tries to be clever, it breaks down many of the ‘slasher’ movie clichés and pokes fun at them. It takes the overused and stale ‘teenagers getting drunk and being killed off by a maniac’ trope and turns it on its head. Ironically, this film single handily managed to breath new life into the ‘dead on its feet’ sub-genre of horror film it was making fun of as there was an influx of teen slasher films released after the success of Scream that all had the same looking characters, same set ups and pay offs, similar 90s rock soundtracks and even pretty much the same posters. For me, I really do not think this one hold up all that well and certainly not as clever or cerebral as New Nightmare was and still is. The way this picture pokes fun at the ‘slasher’ clichés soon become cliché in of themselves and the film just does not hold the same appeal as it did back in 96. Its still a decent romp, but its cleverness became stale way before the asinine and inevitable sequels came about a few years later.

The Devil’s Advocate (1997): Based on Andrew Neiderman’s novel of the same name, directed by Taylor Hackford and starring, Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. Kevin Lomax is a ruthless young attorney working in Florida who has never lost a case, he is hired by an even more ruthless law firm from New York. Kevin and his wife relocate to New York in spite of strong disagreement by his mother. His wife starts to witnesses devilish apparitions as Kevin becomes more engrossed in his work. Is there more to his new boss then Kevin realises?

I debated putting this on the list, not because its bad… its not, this is a great film. But because I wasn’t sure if this qualifies as a horror film, I don’t think that many do consider this a horror film at all. In many ways, its not a horror film, at least not in the most common sense. Yet this an horrific tale being told, one of neglect, power and greed. There are plenty of scary/horrific imagery too especially with the visions Kevin’s wife has, plus the film has a pretty decent amount of blood and death along the way. The film builds and builds as we learn more about Kevin’s new boss, John Milton, played brilliantly by Al Pacino until the climax where he gives one of cinema’s great monologues. Where John Milton tears apart the whole theory of religion and presents the inherent contradiction of it all… nobody can do a speech like that as well as Pacino can. I really do not want to delve too deeply into this movie out of fear of giving away too much. Its a cracker with plenty of twists and turns. Is it a horror film though? For me, yet it is.

The Faculty (1998): Directed by Robert Rodriguez. In a small town high school, the teachers and some of the students start acting a little strange. While hiding in a closet, two of the students witness the school’s nurse being strangled by two other teachers. After the students escape, they find the nurse is very much alive but also now acting strange.

I think this film may be Robert Rodriguez’s love letter and throwback to sci-fi horror films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956/78) and The Thing (1982). It has one of those stories of alien assimilation blended with that slick 90s attitude towards horror films sparked off with Scream (1996), well the screenplay was by Kevin Williamson after all. There is a pretty good cast here including; Josh Hartnett, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Robert Patrick and Elijah Wood. The film features a nice slow build of paranoia before the inevitable reveal of the the aliens. An interesting modern twist on the sci-fi horror films from the past that manages to keep things fresh with plenty of in-jokes and references for sci-fi horror fans to spot.

Ringu (1998): AKA Ring, a Japanese psychological horror flick from director Hideo Nakata. Based on the novel of the same name by Kôji Suzuki, which itself was inspired by the Japanese folk tale, Banchō Sarayashiki. A journalist investigates a series of deaths that occur after the victims watched a supposedly ‘cursed video’. Her investigation leads her to a holiday cabin where she discovers the tape for herself…

No one does scary and effective ghost stories like the Japanese and this movie is one the best examples. Far superior to the American remake is every way. The direction here is both intense and gritty as it makes its way to one of the best, most creative and scariest endings to a horror film that I have ever seen. Most of the time, people recommend watching a film on the big screen, yet with this, you really have to watch it on TV at home with the lights off. The whole production feels very ‘documentary’ like and the characters are played perfectly which helps you fear for their own safety and sanity. The taught and bittersweet relationship between the two leads is really well done. Its a film based on one simple principle, that often broken rule we were constantly told as kids by our parents… ‘don’t do that’, which only spurred us on to do the exact opposite of what we were told. So DON’T watch Ringu…

The Blair Witch Project (1999): This found footage psychological horror film is written and directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. Three film students travel to Maryland to explore a local urban legend known as The Blair Witch. The students were never heard from again and completely disappeared, but their video camera were found…

Right, I don’t like this film, I think its just plain boring and god awful… and I’ve seen some terrible horror films over the years. Its not scary, most of the film is shot in darkness while running through a forest and I stopped being scared of the dark from the age of five. I also detest how people claim this film created the found footage sub-genre. It didn’t as I proved in the previous part with Cannibal Holocaust (1980), even more so, The Last Broadcast (1998) did what this film did the year before… and did it better too. So why is it on this list? Because I think the publicity and fiction they created to make this film appear ‘real’ is some of the best marketing for a horror film ever. The ‘missing’ posters for the characters in the film that began to pop up in our world, The Curse of the Blair Witch mockumentary broadcast on the SciFi Channel before the release of the film, the website set up that detailed the legend of The Blair Witch and featured police reports, etc. The marketing for this film was amazing and in many ways, it was far better then the film itself. IMDb even got in on the fun and listed the people in the cast list as ‘missing, presumed dead’ for the first year of the film’s release. Didn’t like the film in 1999 and I still don’t like the film in 2016, but I will always praise the marketing for this flick as being pure genius.

Terror Firmer (1999): Directed by and starring Troma legend, Lloyd Kaufman. A low budget film crew led by their blind film director, Larry Benjamin are making a high art film when they come across a homicidal maniac only they can stop.

This is a Troma film and if you don’t know what that is… then avoid this film. Troma is an independent film production company famous for making very low budget OTT gore-fest, exploitation films full or sex, nudity and gallons of blood. They don’t try to make deep and meaningful entertainment, their aim is to make entertaining trash with films like; The Toxic Avenger (1984), Troma’s War (1988), Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990) and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006) as well as dozens of others. For me, this is the best film from Troma ever. Its a clever satire of the films they make and (co-founder) Lloyd Kaufman manages to poke fun at himself and his company while still providing a hell of a film along the way. Its rude, crude and full of immature scenes… as well as stupid violence and gore. There are plenty of cameos to look out for, multiple references to some of Troma’s other films and characters. Its stupid, puerile and cheap… but its a low budget film about making a low budget film featuring a blind director… so what are you expecting?

Time to end the 90s here and take a look at modern horror films of the 2000s in part VII, the final part of my Incomplete History of Horror.

An Incomplete History of Horror Films Part V.

LBoM: Editorials

Its the decade of big hair and even bigger horror films. the 80s.

If the 70s was my favourite decade for horror films, then the 80s is a very, very close second. This was the era of the slasher film (and their numerous sequels), plus a few examples of modernising the classic movie monsters from the past. Some of my favourite horror movie directors cut their teeth in the 80s and it was also the decade of amateur, low budget masterpieces. The effects were bigger, better and bloodier and the films became more controversial as the boundaries of what was allowed to be seen on film were pushed to breaking point with many movies being outright banned here in the UK as the censors hit hard and the dawn of the ‘video nasty‘ was born.

Cannibal Holocaust (1980): Well, if I’m going to show how controversial the 80s horror movie was, I may as well go straight for the jugular. Directed by Ruggero Deodato and easily one of the most infamous and controversial horror films to ever be made. A team of four documentary makers go to a South American jungle to search for cannibals. They go missing, so an anthropologist and his team is sent to find them. The documentary team are never found, but their film reels are…

Where to start with this film, so much to cover? This is often regarded as the first of the ‘found footage’ sub-genre that became popular in the late 90s onward, as the movie’s plot is told through the film that the missing documentary team made. Onto the controversy; the director was arrested and charged with obscenity then all copies of the film were ordered to be destroyed… but why, its only a movie right? Well that is not what a magazine in France thought, they believed the film was real and that people were actually killed. This prompted charges against director; Ruggero Deodato to now include murder. It all even went to court as Ruggero Deodato had to prove his innocence by having the actors who supposedly died in the film appear in court as well as show behind the scenes photos of other actors that ‘died’ on screen still being alive as well as the effects work used. Eventually the charges against Deodato were dropped, but that was not the end. So no human was killed making this film, but something(s) were. There are actual animal killings shown in this movie, not special effects but real animals being killed. A coati is killed with a knife, a large turtle is decapitated and its limbs are then cut off before its shell and entrails are removed, a tarantula and boa constrictor are killed with a machete, a squirrel monkey is decapitated and a pig is shot in the head with a shotgun. All real and all on film. This lead to the film being heavily censored or outright banned in some countries and its still a sore issue today. There is a lot more to cover with this film, but I have plenty more pictures to talk about so need to move on. But do I recommend this one? Yes I do. There are various versions of this film to watch, there is an edited version that cuts out most of the violence and all of the animal killings. However, I have to be honest here and say its crap. If you really want to watch this movie, then you just have to watch the full, uncut version. Yes its hard to sit through and I’m an animal lover so detest the killing of animals for entertainment. But for the full impact of the film, the uncut one is the only version to watch.

Fade to Black (1980): A very low budget psychological horror movie written and directed by Vernon Zimmerman. Eric is frequently bullied and betrayed, he hides away from his torment in his love for horror movies and often fantasies about being one of the villains. Eventually he snaps and begins a killing spree against the very people that bullied and opposed him all while being influenced by some of his favourite horror icons.

Its a shame this picture is so low budget as its a great idea, but the lack of money really shows on screen.The plot is a little bare, some of the death scenes are just pathetic and the editing is terrible. But there is still a watchable movie here. Its great to see someone get made up and dressed in classic movie monster garb (Dracula, The Mummy, etc) and show that there is still room for the old guard in horror films. Dennis Christopher playing Eric is a joy to watch and Linda Kerridge as a Marilyn Monroe look-alike is great too. Plus be on the look out for a small appearance by Mickey Rourke. A good film, but tremendously flawed. Only worth a watch if you enjoy low budget schlock.

Friday the 13th (1980): Just like Halloween (1978), I think its law to include this in a horror movie list. Directed by Sean S. Cunningham. It summer at Camp Crystal Lake and a group of young camp counsellors are readying the camp for a busy season. But it seems that somebody isn’t happy about all the commotion as the camp counsellors are killed off one by one.

I think it can be said without much argument that Friday the 13th is one of the main trendsetters in terms of the ‘slasher’ sub-genre of horror film. After John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) set the standard, many, many followed and this film was one of the big hitters that went on to become a very successful franchise with about six hundred sequels (I may have over counted), spin-offs and even a remake. The franchise became so huge and popular that everyone knows the killer in Friday the 13th is Jason Voorhees… isn’t he? One of the all time classic horror films with exceptional make up/effects work by the grand-master himself, Tom Savini. The film also features an early role for Kevin Bacon.

The Shining (1980): I said in the previous part how The Exorcist (1973) is my all time favourite horror film, and it is, but this picture is a close second. Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring the legendary Jack Nicholson. Jack Torrance is a writer struggling to write his next book, he takes on a job offer as a caretaker at a remote hotel that closes down for the winter. Arriving with his wife and son, Danny. As Danny starts to witness strange hallucinations, Jack begins to experience cabin fever and slowly goes insane.

One of the very best examples of a tremendous psychological horror film. This movie was detested by Stephen King, so much so that he went on to publicly slam this picture and even make his own version as a three part TV mini-series in 1997. I love King’s novel and I also love Kubrick’s version just as much (I also enjoyed the TV mini-series… but not as much), they are two very different animals from two different geniuses. Jack Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career, if not THE best and goes down in horror history as one of the all time great villains. There is a unnerving feeling of tension right from the opening credits of the film and it never lets up until the end credits roll. The hotel backdrop is both gorgeous and foreboding and Jack’s slow decent into madness is well done throughout the picture. It all builds up to a terrifying ending with a quizzical footnote involving a photo that still has people theorising and debating today. Beautifully shot, brilliantly adapted from the novel (despite what King says) and genuinely scary… “Heeeeeere’s Johnny!” .

An American Werewolf in London (1982): “I see the bad moon arising.“, great song by CCR from an equally great film directed by John Landis. Two American backpackers go exploring the English countryside moors where they are attacked by a wolf-like creature. One of the two outright dies, while the other is mauled but lives and he slowly learns he has been given the werewolf curse.

Oh, how I love this film. A modern twist on the classic werewolf lore. The film is a great mix of genuine scares blended with a very dark sense of humour. The make up effects are just sublime, especially on the ever decaying Jack who haunts his werewolf friend David as he is trapped in limbo. The main werewolf transformation scene is still the greatest werewolf transformation ever filmed and make up artist, Rick Baker deservedly won and Oscar for his work in this movie. Another thing that needs mention are the terrifying nightmares David has as his curse starts to take over. Some absolutely amazing visuals and scary scenes. My favourite werewolf movie by far… and the soundtrack is awesome too as each of the main songs has the word ‘moon’ in the title. Almost forgot to mention the radio adaption form 1997 which is also worth checking out if you can find it.

Docteur Jekyll et les femmes (1981): This is a French film by director Walerian Borowczyk. A modernised take on the Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Set in the 19th century in London. A celebration for Dr Henry Jekyll and Fanny Osbourne’s engagement is being held at Dr. Jekyll’s home. Later that night, one of the female guests is brutally attacked, raped and murdered in her room and this starts a very bizarre and bloody series of events.

This film is a strange and often difficult watch (if you can find a fully uncut version), yet its beautifully shot and directed. The movie is very surreal and often feels almost dream like. There is quite a lot of sex and nudity in this one and often mixed with violence. The film feels very sleazy, but that sleaze just works. Not a film for everyone, but if you want a Dr Jekyll yarn that dares to be different and even shocking at times, then you may enjoy this picture.

The Evil Dead (1981): Directed by Sam Raimi and starring cult fan actor, Bruce Campbell. Five college friends shack up in a cabin in the woods. A recording is found in the cellar and played back which unleashes an evil force with the power to possess humans and turn them into demons.

I already did a quick overview of this film. I really enjoy low budget horror movies from first time directors and The Evil Dead is pretty much the pinnacle. The plot is bare basic, the acting is horrible and the effects work is cheap… but the film is still one of the best horror films made. This is the movie that got me interested in what happens behind the camera just as much as in front of it. I love reading/watching anything about The Evil Dead and think its amazing how this film was made by a few teenagers and how it has gone on the become a successful franchise recognised around the world. It a cheap, low budget effort. But its also a bloody, scary and effective picture with some of the best camerawork and direction seen at the time.

Possession (1981): A little known French/German horror film directed by Andrzej Żuławski and starring Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani. Mark returns home from a business trip away, he finds is wife, Anna is restless and withdrawn, Anna says she wants a divorce and she starts to act even more irrational and bizarre. Mark believes another man is involved but it seems Anna’s behaviour is related to something much more sinister.

How best to describe this movie? An extreme assault on the senses, that sounds about right. This picture is surreal and hyperactive, its beautiful and disturbing at the same time. The acting is OTT and eccentric, yet it all fits perfectly with the tone of the film. You’ll watch this film once and think to yourself ‘what the fuck did I just watch’ but then immediately want to watch it again and it is subsequent viewings that make this film so much more enjoyable. Isabelle Adjani won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981 and deservedly so too. Not an easy watch, but if you can make it through, you will be rewarded with a hard edged and brutal horror film that will stick with you forever.

Basket Case (1982): Written and directed by Frank Henenlotter. This is another one of those low budget, gore-fests that I enjoy so much. Duane is a strange young man who goes everywhere with a wicker basket which contains his surgically removed, deformed Siamese twin. The brothers set out to seek vengeance on the doctors who separated them.

Bizarre seems such a tame word to use as a descriptive of the one, but bizarre it is. This is a trashy film, its not high art, it has no political statement to make. Its just what it is meant to be. A low budget, low brow piece of rubbish… but its great and entertaining rubbish. Its a film about a deformed Siamese twin kept is a wicker basket that wants revenge, what are you expecting? Its silly, hokey and gory. A stupid film that entertains from start to finish.

Creepshow (1982): I love horror anthology pictures and this is one of the very best. Directed by George A. Romero, the film includes five tales (and a wrap around story); Father’s Day is about a cruel dead father who comes back to carry on his reign of terror. The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill is a tale where a country bumpkin discovers a recently crashed meteorite but after he touches it, things slowly go very wrong. Something to Tide You Over has a man who finds out his wife has been having an affair, so he buries his wife and her lover alive up to their heads on a beach as the tide comes in, only they return for revenge. The Crate is a wonderful tale about a hard done by man who finds a way to rid himself rid his overbearing wife thanks to a mysterious crate. They’re Creeping Up on You is about a ruthless businessman suffering from mysophobia and locks himself away in his germ free apartment only to be invaded by his worst nightmare.

I could quite honesty go on about this picture for hours and hours… but I can’t here as there is so many other films to cover. What is there to like? Directed by George A. Romero, written by Stephen King and make up effects work by Tom Savini… you couldn’t get a better horror team than that in the 1980s. Each of the five stories are great and offer a varying amount of scares as well as macabre comedy. Inspired by the old horror EC comics of the 40s-50s and that inspiration shines through. This film’s tongue is firmly placed in its cheek and its a complete riot.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982): The second sequel to the John Carpenter classic that isn’t really a sequel. Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film departs form the story of Micheal Myers and does its own thing. A mysterious toy maker releases a new line of Halloween masks for sale which seem to have some kind of a connection to a strange series of commercials on TV that are counting down to a big event… but what?

This film was despised at the time of release as it took a severe departure from the Halloween movie franchise (even though this was only the 3rd film). Fans hated it as did the critics, yet over the years, the movie has gained a strong a loyal following. I adore this film and always have done, I got tired of the whole Micheal Myers thing after the first film anyway, so this movie was a breath of fresh air. Originally, John Carpenter wanted this to be the start of a whole new anthology idea after he killed of Micheal Myers in the first sequel. His intention was to have a series of Halloween themed films each year all with a new story, yet they would all exist in one shared film universe. But as the fans at the time were too small minded and just wanted more Micheal Myers, more of the same tired old formula, the idea was dropped and Myers was brought back for several other terrible sequels instead. Still, this movie is a great horror picture full of scares and a few hard to watch scenes too. A massively overlooked film that deserves much more credit.

Poltergeist (1982): A true classic in every sense of the word. Directed by Tobe Hooper, written and produced by Steven Spielberg. The Freelings are a young and loving family who move into their new home. The youngest daughter, Carol Anne, develops a strange connection to the TV and things only get stranger from that point on.

One of the all time classics and a modern retelling of a golden age ghost story. The film is chock full of iconic and memorable imagery/scenes. That picture of the clown up there probably sparked off childhood memories you’d rather forget. What about the tree or the skeletons in the unfinished swimming pool, maybe the scene where the paranormal investigator goes to wash his face? The visual effects in this one still stand up today (for the most part) and are still some of my strongest memories of a horror film. As scary as it is tense and well made, Poltergeist has stood the test of time and can still offer plenty of chills today.

The Thing (1982): Another one form one of the all time greats, director John Carpenter. A loose remake of The Thing from Another World (1951) and based on the novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr. Starring Kurt Russell and featuring music by the legendary Ennio Morricone. Set in Antarctica and a US research station is suddenly brought to attention by a Norwegian helicopter trying to kill a dog. After the helicopter crashes, the members of the US research station take the dog in as a pet, which was perhaps not the wisest idea.

I must have been around 7/8 years old and watching this with my brothers and cousins at my Auntie Chris’ house one night. I have a very strong memory of watching THAT dog scene and if you have seen the film, then you know exactly which very specific dog scene I am talking about. I remember being both horrifically scared and yet unable to look away at the same time. I was terrified but amazed. It was that moment when I fell in love with horror films. Oh I had seen other horror films before this one, but nothing quite like The Thing. So I have John Carpenter and a dog to thank for my love of horror films. This film is amazing, the directing is spot on and the isolation you feel due to the setting is unnerving. Ennio Morricone’s score is almost minimal and fits perfectly. Then there is the small cast full of great performances of which the star, Kurt Russell is easily the best. Also of note is Rob Bottin who headed up the effects/make up department and created some of the most stunningly grotesque and yet beautiful effects work of the 80s. “You gotta be fuckin’ kidding!”

Psycho II (1983): The first sequel (there were others) to the Hitchcock classic Psycho (1960). Sitting in the director’s chair this time around is Richard Franklin and returning as Norman Bates is Anthony Perkins. After 22 years of being institutionalised following the events of the first film, Norman is released and goes back to his motel and it seems that mother is also back too.

I love the original film, it is one of my all time favourite films ever. Is this sequel as good? No, not at ‘as good’… but its still a damn good film regardless. There are some genius moments of directing here including blending the aftermath of perhaps the most famous scene of the original film into this sequel seamlessly. There are a few scenes that I’m not a fan of (like a bloody, overflowing toilet… been done countless times before) but then there are also scenes that are also excellent. The film leaves you guessing as to whether Norman is settling back into his old ways, or is somebody attempting to give him a few gentle pushes? Maybe Norman is innocent in all of this? Anthony Perkins is just as great playing the role here as he was in 1960, also returning from the original is Vera Miles and even Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance despite dying three years earlier. An overlooked film and one of the better horror sequels made, well worth checking out as a double feature with the original.

Gremlins (1984): Directed by Joe Dante and starring Zach Galligan & Phoebe Cates. Billy is given a Christmas gift, a small and unusual creature called a Mogwai. This Mogwai has a strict set of three rules that Billy must adhere to, but due to series of ‘accidents’ the rules are broken and the Gremlins are born.

How do you categorise this film? Its a family friendly, Christmas themed, horror, comedy, action, satire of monster movies… movie. There is a weird cocktail of so many genres and sub-genres it just shouldn’t work, but it does. Gremlins can be genuinely scary at times, but then a few seconds later and it’ll make you smile with its humour. The very dark and macabre tale Kate tells about how she learned there is no Santa Claus is both disturbing and humorous. The Gremlins themselves are malicious but engaging and thoroughly entertaining. And of course, yes Gizmo the Mogwai is ‘cute’. This is a fun romp for all the family to enjoy regardless of age.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): The film that made me a fan of writer/director Wes Craven. The birth of one of the all time great horror icons, Freddy Krueger and the start of the career of some unknown actor called Johnny Depp. A group of teenagers are being haunted by nightmares where a horribly scarred and burnt maniac with knives for fingernails called Freddy, who scares them so much they refuse to sleep. It soon becomes apparent that if this guy kills you in your dreams, then you die for real. But who is this Freddy and where did he come from, maybe the parents know more than they are willing to let on?

Does Freddy Krueger (or this film) really need any kind of an introduction? This is arguably Wes Craven’s masterpiece (for some anyway, there is another film he made later that for me is his masterpiece…). Rather like Friday the 13th (1980), this film is one of those trend setters that defined the slasher sub-genre of horror films and much like ‘Friday’, it too spawned many, many sequels, spin offs and a remake. Freddy has rightfully gone down as one of the all time great horror icons and has become cemented in many a subconscious of the horror fan. The film has some overtly bloody scenes, but also a film with just as many creepy/scary images and scenes that contain really well done frights. “One, two…”

The Terminator (1984): Its another one of those low budget films from a little known director and this time its James Cameron in the hot seat. Starring the then unknowns; Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton and some guy called, Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the year 2029, a killer cyborg is sent back in time to 1984 to murder the mother of the leader of the resistance who leads the humans to defeat the self-aware Skynet super computer. If the mother is dead, then the leader can never be born. But the resistance themselves send back a lone soldier as a protector.

I know what some people are thinking as they read this. “The Terminator isn’t a horror film.”. Yeah, I’ve heard this before numerous times, even my girlfriend said the same thing as I was writing this when she peered over my shoulder. The Terminator is a horror film and please allow me to plead my case as not only will I put forward a convincing argument, I’ll also categorise what sub-genre of horror film it falls into. Okay, so we have a weak female who by the end becomes a stronger version of herself (Sarah), a virgin who has sex and dies shortly afterwards (Kyle), a killer that is in someway masked or in disguise (Terminator), POV shots from the killer, a chase type movie where the killer keeps perusing its intended victim(s) and there is even an ending where the killer is (supposedly) stopped just to come back at during the end for more. Does any of this sound familiar? These are slasher movie tropes as The Terminator is a slasher horror film. Just remove the sci-fi element for a while and think of the film on its purest terms. A movie about a stalking killer who systematically goes through a phone book and murders women named Sarah Conner. Change the killer form a cyborg to an everyday flesh and blood human, remove the time travel and sci-fi elements, change the title to ‘The Phone-book Killer’ and you have a bog standard 80s slasher film. The Terminator is anything but bog standard though and simple because it just threw in a few sci-fi elements. Watch something like Halloween (1978) and then watch this film directly afterwards and you’ll see so many of the tropes and clichés from the classic slasher film repeated in The Terminator. This flick is a horror film, and a damn good one too.

Dèmoni (1985): AKA, Demons is produced by Italian horror guru, Dario Argento and directed by Lamberto Bava. A group of people are invited to attend a preview screening of a new film. One of the guests tries on a prop from the movie, a silver mask of a demon and this kick-starts a gruesome series of events that get worse and worse.

The plot is simple, the acting is sub-par and the music is typical, cheesy 80s rock. But the film is one of the most enjoyable demonic possession films made with buckets of blood thrown in too. Much like the decade it comes from, this film is a bit of a mess and a lot of things don’t make much sense… but it all just clicks and works. It almost gets a bit meta with the idea of a film about demons being shown in a film about demons, as life begins to imitate art. The dead bodies build up, both human and demon as the film progresses and what is left of the survivors escape the cinema and out onto the streets where they are saved, only for the viewer to be hit with a great stinger of an ending that still resonates with me today. Here’s an interesting tit-bit for you too, the guy in the mask handing out invites at the start of the movie is Michele Soavi. A protégé of Argento who would go on to become a horror movie director himself.

The Return of the Living Dead (1985): From writer/director Dan O’Bannon. A pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a gas into the air. The gas brings back to life a cadaver which the duo cut up and then enlist the help of a local mortician to burn and hopefully end their problems, only this triggers an even bigger problem.

“Braaaaaaaaiiins!” the zombies cry out in this film as they hunt for brains to eat. This was the first film to introduce the idea of a zombie that eats brains, something that has now become common place and referenced countless times. The idea of mixing comedy and horror is not a new one, it has been around since the 1930s, but very few films manage to get the balance right. ROLTD doesn’t just get it right, it nails the blend of comedy and horror perfectly. As gory and scary as it is funny, this film is a riot and wicked fun. The scene where a zombie torso is interrogated (above image) and it is revealed that zombies need to eat brains as being dead hurts and brains ease the pain is genius, as it gives a reason for the zombie attacks and you actually start to feel a little sympathy for them too. The make up is amazing with some of the most detailed and creative zombies ever seen on film, Tarman, need I say more?

Re-Animator (1985): Loosely based on the H. P. Lovecraft short story, Herbert West–Reanimator. Directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Jeffrey Combs. Herbert West is a scientist who creates a fluid which can bring dead tissue back to life. With the help of his medical student housemate Dan, Herbert West gains access to a morgue where he can continue he research into bringing the dead back to life.

Part Frankenstein, part zombie movie and all topped of with a deliciously dark flow of humour. Re-Animator is a gory masterpiece of horror cinema. Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West is wonderfully over the top and a joy to watch as his passion drives him to the brink of insanity, an interesting modern take on the ‘mad scientist’ of the 50s era. Also of note is the main antagonist of the movie, Dr. Carl Hill played by David Gale who ends up tangling with Herbert West and coming off worse for wear. There are some truly gore-tastic scenes in this one as well as some rather ‘WTF’ ones too that all build up to an unforgettable ending. Its also worth checking out the other films in this franchise; Bride of Re-Animator (1990) and Beyond Re-Animator (2003).

Entrails of a Virgin (1986): An infamous Japanese horror classic directed by Kazuo Komizu. A group involved in making porn head out to a house in the mountains where they find a mud covered demon who brutally kills the males and rapes the females with its ‘impressive’ appendage.

Errrr, yeah. How do I cover this one? I really enjoy Japanese horror, alas not all of it is good. I find that it falls under three basic categories. 1) Damn good, 2) Damn terrible and 3) What the fuck did I just watch? Entrails of a Virgin definitely falls into category 3. There is no plot, just and excuse to show sex, nudity and gore. The sex is mostly censored/fogged out as there were some very strict rules when it came to showing sex on screen in Japan, yet strangely the gore is shown in all its glory. Never understood why something as natural and normal as sex was taboo but murder, blood and gore was perfectly fine. And the gore in this is taken to ridiculous levels. Is this a good film? No, its terrible. But it is a film that has become so infamous that I feel it deserves a mention here. Worth watching? Not really, but if you want to see some soft core censored porn alongside unbelievable gore… then this is the film for you.

The Fly (1986): A remake of the 1958 film that was based on the short story by George Langelaan. Directed by the wonderfully weird David Cronenberg and starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Seth Brundle is a brilliant scientist who has created two pods capable of teleportation. he uses himself as a guinea pig to test his invention, but just as he prepares to teleport himself, a fly enters the pod with him and the DNA of the fly becomes part of Seth.

This is how you do a horror remake well. The chemistry between Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis is amazing (well they did marry in 1987) and they play off each other perfectly. The make up effects as Seth slowly turns into ‘Brundlefly’ is astonishing and the slow transformation brings about some disturbing scenes. Goldblum gives a stunning performance as he manages to break through all the make up he has to endure and still make you feel something for the character. The ending is a bloody, grotesque conclusion and yet utterly heart breaking at the same time. Its a strange feeling how the film makes you feel for the monster by the time the credits roll. A simple story, but told so very well.

The Hitcher (1986): An overlooked masterpiece of thriller/horror directed by Robert Harmon and starring the mesmerising Rutger Hauer. A young man has a job transporting a car from one state to another. While driving along a quiet desert road, he spots a hitchhiker and offers him a ride. This hitcher is not quite what he seems and a game of ‘cat & mouse’ begins between the two.

Is this a horror film? Quite a few people I know don’t think so, but for me it most definitely is. This isn’t a picture about blood and gore, this is a movie that plays on tension and fear. Is a slow burner with a simple plot. Often massively overlooked and often forgotten about too. This film oozes atmosphere and tension, there are scenes in this movie that will stick with me forever. As every time I have a burger and fires, I always check the plate first. Rutger Hauer is simply astonishing in his role of ‘John Ryder’ (if that is his real name) and is perfect casting, Hauer is at his most ‘Rutger-ist” in this film. I could sit here and write about this film for hours, who is ‘John Ryder’, why is he doing all of this, etc? The film has a lot of subtlety and subtext that many people miss. An amazing flick the deserves a lot more credit… just avoid the terrible sequel and remake.

Hellraiser (1987): Clive Barker is the writer/director behind this gothic classic based on Barker’s own short story; The Hellbound Heart. Larry moves into his old family home along with his wife. They soon discover that Larry’s bother, Frank has been squatting in the house but has mysteriously disappeared. While moving in, Larry cuts himself by accident and this triggers a series of events that reveal what happened to Frank and his connection to a strange puzzle box.

What a movie, I love this film. Its a great throwback to the gothic horror films Hammer were making in their heyday, but mixed with the blood-soaked gore that became common place in the 80s. Its essentially a haunted house movie… but not. There is so much memorable imagery in this film its hard to know where to start. Well you have the poster-boy himself, Pinhead (though only known as ‘Main Cenobite’ in the movie), it strange how Pinhead became the face of Hellraiser despite the fact he actually only has a few minutes of screen-time, I think the puzzle box itself has more screen-time. There is a scene in this picture that is disgustingly disturbing and yet strangely alluring and beautiful to watch, I refer to the re-birth of Frank. A visual treat along with a compelling plot, interesting characters and of course, plenty of blood. A great movie well worth watching and if you don’t, “we’ll tear your soul apart!“.

The Monster Squad (1987): Written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker, directed by Fred Dekker. Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Gill Man, and The Mummy try to take over the world by taking possession of a scared amulet. But a group of young kids known as ‘The Monster Squad’ team up to take on the classic monsters.

The classic Universal movie monsters are back in this wonderful Goonies-eque style family friendly action/horror/comedy. Really not so much of a horror film (compared to other films I have listed) but more of a horror themed movie the whole family can enjoy. It just puts such a huge smile on my face to see the classic Universal monsters still being used and in such a fun way too, and that is the best way to describe this flick… fun. There are some great gags here along with plenty of (mild) scary scenes. If you have kids, then sit down with them and watch this one. While mainly aimed at a younger audience, there’s still plenty for the older horror fan to find here with jokes, references, etc that will keep you more than entertained. And remember, this is the film that taught us that “wolfman’s got nards.”

The Lost Boys (1987): From director Joel Schumacher comes this teenage take on the vampire lore. A mother and her two sons move to a small coast town in California. The youngest son, Sam meets the Frog brothers who claim the town is being taken over by vampires.

This film just proves how shit other teenage vampire moives really are… mentioning no Twilight, I mean names. A film of its age that is somehow ageless at the same time, the word ‘classic’ does not does this movie justice. There are some great scary scenes, but all through the picture there is a fun sense of humour. A particular highlight is Barnard Hughes who plays Grandpa who rounds of a great cast including; Dianne Wiest, Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman and Kiefer Sutherland. The title comes form the Lost Boys of Neverland, from Peter Pan. The film is topped off with a beautiful and memorable soundtrack. Modern vampires done justice creating on the best vampire pictures ever made.

Shiryô no wana (1988): AKA; Evil Dead Trap is another Japanese horror film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda. A TV station host, Nami comes across a strange video tape. The tape appears to be a real snuff film and Nami along with her TV crew decide to investigate the location where the tape was filmed only to find themselves caught in a gory nightmare.

Yes more Japanese horror and this one is brutally, bloody, brilliant. The flick feels very Argento-esque in many ways, its not shy with the gore and its plot is as basic as it can get. Yet the whole package just works and doesn’t fail to entertain and horrify along the way. The death scenes are graphic, gory and gruesome (there is a particular ‘eye opening’ opening) as the victims are dispatched of in pretty creative ways. The film’s plot is pretty formulaic and ‘slasher’ like and you’ll be correctly second guessing where this film is going… until, the last act where things go a little ‘weird’ and even almost ‘Cronenbergian’ and accumulates into a brilliant conclusion.

Society (1989): Brian Yuzna is sitting in the director chair for this one. Teenager Bill Whitney feels as if he doesn’t quite fit in, even among his own family. He is given a disturbing tape that may prove incest within his family that involves a weird society. Bill then decides to try to uncover the mystery of this society that seem to be in control.

To say this film is weird is a massive understatement. Its beyond bizarre, its in a world of its own. It feels Cronenberg-esque, but even I don’t think he would go this far. The effects work is both disgusting and beautiful and with effects by a guy called; Screaming Mad George, what do you expect? I think the film is trying to make some kind of social comment on the soullessness of the upper classes but at the same time, the movie never takes itself seriously at all. There are some pretty disturbing and hard to watch scenes as the picture builds to a 20 minute climax dubbed ‘The Shunting’ that will stick in your subconscious and never leave.

Well that is the end of the 80s in my Incomplete History of Horror and what a strange and wonderful journey it has been. In part VI, I’ll take a look at the 90s as horror films try to be clever.

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