First Impressions, and Second Looks by The Unimonster

As is probably the case with most people these days, when I listen to music it’s usually in the form of mp3s, on my cell phone. For someone whose second album purchase (ten points if you get the significance of that) was the soundtrack of Superman, the Movie on an 8-track tape, things have come a long way. One thing that hasn't changed or at least, I didn't think it had, is my taste in music. I grew up in a house filled with music lovers, though each followed the beat of a different drummer. My eldest sister Wanda Susan loved Motown, our sister Dee Karen was deep into what I still think of as ‘hippie music’, the Beatles, the Doors, Janis Joplin. Our brother David was Southern Rock—Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot. The youngest boy, Mark, was a heavy metal headbanger who loved Def Leppard. Our mother was pure country. And from all of these influences, and others, my rather broad and eclectic musical predilections were formed.

I long ago thought that my musical preferences were set, carved in stone, beyond the point of change. From pure honky-tonk country, to 1950s Doo-Wop, to the symphonic works of Tchaikovsky, music remains one of the great joys of my life, and until recently I was content. However, while talking with a friend, the topic moved to favorite music, and she mentioned a favorite song of hers, one that she loved as a child, one that was on an old cassette of her mother’s. That song was Eric Carmen’s Make Me Lose Control, which topped out at #3 in 1988. My first thought was that I was twenty-four when that song came out, and she was not yet born. My second thought was that I hated Eric Carmen when he was ‘popular’, and then I realized, that very song is on my phone. Not only is it on my phone, but I paid $1.29 to put it there. When in the hell did I start liking Eric Carmen?

But as I pondered that, a more disturbing thought arose. That wasn't the only Carmen song on there, including some of his work when he was lead singer with the Raspberries. I soon realized that there were more songs from artists who I once disliked and who I now enjoy.

Okay, before you regular readers start believing that the Unimonster is now doing a music blog; let me reassure you that this article is about horror movies. It occurred to me, as I was considering the rather surprising turn in my musical affections, that there are movies which I disliked upon first viewing them, and about which my opinions have mellowed, somewhat.

One of these, and the one that might be the most surprising for those readers familiar with my love of the classics, is the 1992 version of Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola’s take on Bram Stoker’s classic novel. Though far more faithful to Stoker’s vision than most of the films that preceded it, upon my first viewing of it twenty-two years ago I found it slow-paced, talky, and for the most part uninteresting. My thoughts on it, from the personal notes from my database of Horror films, were, “Overly pretentious version of the Classic vampire tale nearly works, but is finally dragged down by the weight of its own pomposity, as well as Keanu Reeves’ absolutely wretched performance as Jonathan Harker.” Recently however, I bought the Collector’s Edition DVD, released by Sony Home Entertainment in October, 2007. While Reeves’ performance is still just as wretched (seriously, was every other possible choice for Harker tied up at the time?), and the film still comes off as pretentious, I found it far more enjoyable that I did then. The 49-year-old Unimonster was more appreciative of the theme of the film, which is ‘Love, lost yet still eternal’, than the 28-year-old Unimonster had been. I also found the manner in which the historical Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad Dracula, was reconciled with Stoker’s fictional Count very satisfying. It will never be my favorite version of the story, but it’s definitely one I will watch again.

Another that has grown on me with repeated viewings is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This picture has gone from being one that left me cold, to being one of my favorites. My first thoughts on this movie, again from my database: “Though it may rule the midnight movie show, on TV it's just a silly, dated musical. Tim Curry's performance is inspired, but it can't lift this out of mediocrity alone. Without the insanity that is the Audience Participation, it just falls flat.” Boy has my opinion changed! So much so that I’m embarrassed at how wrong I was about this movie. While I've yet to attend a midnight showing of the film, experiencing it the way it was meant to be experienced, I can say that the experience of sitting in your living room, singing along with all the songs as the dog looks at you with a strange mix of concern and, yes, pity, must be similar.

However, the movie that surprised me with how my opinions have changed over the years is one that, if I had to be honest about at this point in time, is in my personal top ten of Horror films, of all-time. That movie is Sam Raimi’s classic The Evil Dead. Now when I watch it, I see one of the most imaginative, innovative horror films of the last half of the 20th Century, a movie that defied conventions, low-budget, and good taste to become one of the most popular films of the Drive-In era. Compare that to my database: “Made on a nothing budget, Sam Raimi’s cult blockbuster has never been a favorite of mine. Still, its popularity can’t be denied … it’s become one of the biggest Horror franchises ever.” Well, I was right … and wrong. Not about the historical significance of Raimi’s movie; but about it not being a favorite of mine. That part is no longer true.

Will my taste continue to evolve over time? What will the 60-year-old Unimonster’s opinion be of the movies that his 50-year-old self detested? Some, I’m sure, will have aged well in my eyes, perhaps prompting a similar look back in the 2024 version of the Unimonster’s Crypt, delivered via thought waves directly into the brains of my readers. Does that mean I’ll be sitting through my eighth or ninth viewing of Snakes on a Plane? I wouldn't bet on that.

Ten Turkeys for Turkey-Day Viewing… [w/ Senior Correspondent Bobbie Culbertson]

[Ed. Note:  For only the second time here in the Crypt, we’ll be presenting a co-authored piece, a cooperative effort between our Senior Correspondent Bobbie and me.  Though her reviews are a regular part of the Unimonster’s Crypt, and her research talents and vast knowledge of bad movies are frequently called upon as I write these articles, this will be the first time we actually share a by-line.  I can say, however, that it certainly won’t be the last.]

Thanksgiving may be the one holiday thus far immune from the predations of the Horror genre.  Halloween, of course, is a given.  Christmas has been thoroughly exploited by genre filmmakers, as has St. Patrick’s Day, April Fool’s Day, and every month fortunate enough to have the 13^th fall upon a Friday.  Valentine’s Day has been explored, as has birthdays, graduation days, prom nights, and Independence Day.  One could stretch a point and say Easter has had its Horror film, in the form of thousands of giant carnivorous bunnies on the rampage in NIGHT OF THE LEPUS.  Even First Communion isn’t safe, as Brooke Shields discovered in 1976’s ALICE, SWEET ALICE.

So why should the quintessential American holiday, a day wherein we commemorate the first year’s survival of the pilgrims in the New World with non-stop bouts of football and eating, be sacrosanct?  Why shouldn’t we have killer pilgrims hacking their way through nubile young cheerleaders, or a 200-ft. tall turkey attacking the Detroit Lions?  Why should Thanksgiving Day be different from every other holiday on the calendar?

Sadly, except for Eli Roth’s fake trailer, THANKSGIVING DAY, produced for the Robert Rodriguez-Quentin Tarantino film GRINDHOUSE, it is different.  And until the Unimonster’s Crypt branches out into independent film production, it’s likely to stay that way.  However, there is a solution for those horror fans that’d prefer to have some turkey on their television screens, as well as their plates.

It should come as no surprise that those of us at the Unimonster’s Crypt have a soft spot (right between our eyes…) for bad movies.  I don’t mean Uwe Boll-got-a-new-xBox-bad movies, or Hugh Grant-Reese Witherspoon so-sickly-sweet-you’ll-need-insulin-bad movies.  I mean the kind of bad movies that were shot on a four-figure budget, and look it.  The type of bad movie that made Ed Wood, Ray Dennis Steckler, Brad Grinter, and Larry Crane legends among those who love bad movies.  In short, those movies that define the phrase, “so bad they’re good.”

 So, while we may not be able to bring you the spectacle of Turkzilla stomping his way through the Motor City, there are some turkeys that we can recommend for your Thanksgiving viewing, ten movies that are truly so bad that they’re good.  They have a charm, a quality that overcomes their shoddy production values, poor acting, and inept direction.  In fact, their entertainment value is due to these factors, rather than in spite of them.

So here are ten turkeys for Turkey Day, all trussed up and ready for roasting.  They are badly done, there’s no denying that.  But they are also, for the most part, entertaining—and that’s as equally hard to deny.

THE GIANT CLAW (1957)—Any discussion of bad movies must include this film, featuring what might be the most ridiculous creature since Donnie Dunagan in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN.  Looking like a cross between a vulture and a turkey, as envisioned by Sid and Marty Kroft, the movie’s namesake monster inspired gales of laughter whenever visible on-screen and when it wasn’t the inept screenplay, lifeless direction, and wooden acting (from a usually dependable cast of veterans) changes the laughs into groans.

What rescues this movie from the same obscurity that buried so many similar films of the era is the fact that it’s so unintentionally funny.  The poster’s depiction of the creature doesn’t match the actors’ descriptions of the creature, which doesn’t match the creature’s on-camera image.  That image itself is so ludicrous that it is impossible to take it seriously—the first moment it’s seen transforms the film into the rankest form of camp comedy.  Not to everyone’s taste, to be sure—but hilarious nonetheless.

ROBOT MONSTER (1953)—Undoubtedly one of the worst films of all time, once again made comically entertaining by the absurd look of the eponymous creature, the lead agent of an alien race who has exterminated the entire human race—save for a group of eight individuals who were somehow immune to the fatal beams of the ‘Calcinator’.  Ro-Man, the invader charged with the conquest of Earth, tries to eradicate these survivors, but is hampered by the fact that he has fallen in love with Alice, the young and pretty female survivor.

The “Great Guidance,” the leader of the Ro-Man race, comes to Earth to oversee the final stage of the extinction of the human race, chiding the first Ro-Man for his failure to complete his mission.  The Great Guidance completes the assignment, wiping out humanity, only to have the entire movie revealed to be a young boy’s dream, a’la INVADERS FROM MARS.  Though even by 1950’s B-movie standards this cannot be considered a “good” film, it was still a very profitable one, earning more than $1 million at the box-office.

It’s hard to peg just what makes this movie enjoyable, despite the innumerable flaws it displays.  The acting is incredibly bad, on virtually the entire cast’s part.  Especially worthy of note are the leads, George Nader and Claudia Barrett, who play Roy and Alice.  Though the performances on the whole are at the level of a suburban dinner theater troupe, these two would aspire to be that good.  Combined with a totally preposterous script and Phil Tucker’s nonexistent direction, you have all the ingredients of a truly horrible movie, one devoid of any redeeming qualities.  However, if that were the case, then it wouldn’t be on this list.  Every movie that can be described as “so-bad-it’s-good” has some innate quality, some indefinable …something, that makes fans love it, and that holds true for ROBOT MONSTER as well.

Perhaps it’s the sheer cheapness of the production, reportedly filmed on a budget of only $16,000.  The paucity of money comes through in every frame of the movie, apparent in the lack of sets and the slapdash look of the few props used.  The most obvious sign of the lack of funds is the absurd look of Ro-Man himself.  Unable to afford the robot costume originally envisioned, the producers simply gave up, slapping a cheap plastic space helmet on top of a man (George Barrows) in an ape suit.  Even that was an exercise in economy—the suit belonged to Barrows.

It might also have something to do with the unintentionally comedic dialogue, delivered with enough inappropriately dramatic emphasis to reduce the viewer to peals of laughter.  It could be the liberal use of stock footage, along with scenes lifted from other films (including some rather anachronistic dinosaurs).  It might even be the strange mention in the opening credits of the “N. A. Fischer Chemical Products” company, manufacturer of the “Billion-Bubble” machine, which formed the basis of the Ro-Man communications device.  Most likely it was a combination of these factors that have cemented this movie’s cult status in the hearts of it’s fans, and it’s place in movie history.

BEGINNING OF THE END (1957)—Other than the name “Bert I. Gordon,” how much needs to be said about this, arguably the worst of the 1950’s Giant Bug films?  The story isn’t terrible; certainly no more so than that for TARANTULA or THE BLACK SCORPION, and the acting is on a similar level with those films.

Peter Graves and Peggie Castle aren’t great, or even good, in the roles of generic rescuing scientist Ed Wainwright and generic damsel in distress Audrey Aimes—but I’ve seen worse, and they do well enough with the material provided.

Bert Gordon’s direction is no better than it has to be, and is often not even that, but fans of his films are familiar with his level of incompetence, and accept it readily.  He did have a unique style that came through in his films, a quality that kept his work from being unwatchable.

What sets BEGINNING… apart from other Giant Bug films of that era however, are the special effects, effects that are laughably bad even by 1950’s B-movie standards.  From the poorly composited battle between the locusts and the Illinois National Guard, to the ridiculous rear-projection ‘grasshopper-in-a-cage’ effect used in the laboratory scenes, to shots of grasshoppers crawling on a photo of the Tribune Building, this film is a monument to bad special effects.  And ultimately, to bad filmmaking itself.

A*P*E (1976)—I must admit that I find most movies on this list, even though they’re incredibly bad, are also very enjoyable.  I’ve seen them all multiple times, and with each viewing managed to pan out one more fleck of gold from all the muck.  All, that is, except for A*P*E.

I first acquired this movie approximately ten years ago, about the same time I added ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN to my collection.  In that time I would estimate I’ve watched the latter movie between 20 and 25 times, but A*P*E no more than twice—and the second viewing was for the purpose of an article.  To say this is a bad movie is an understatement—it is nothing less than horrible, a thoroughly unwatchable piece of cinematic flotsam that must be experienced at least once by every fan of bad movies.

One might wonder how you make a movie so bad that not even the Unimonster, a man devoted to the appreciation and collection of craptacular film, can find one redeeming feature in it.  It’s not easy, but it’s also not impossible, as Paul Leder demonstrates here.

You start with a direct ripoff of KING KONG—as done by your average Korean junior high school drama class.  For your creature, use the worst looking ape suit you can find, making sure that the actor’s (and I use that term loosely) street clothes are visible underneath it.  Establish that the “ape” is 36 feet tall, yet keep varying the scale of the props and miniatures so that his size appears to be constantly changing.  Populate your cast with performers that would bring shame to an amateur production of Our Town.  Give them a script for which a 12-year-old would refuse credit.  Do that, and you’d have a start on matching the incredible, unbelievable crap factor of A*P*E.

TROLL 2 (1990)—Perhaps the worst-rated film on this list, this hodge-podge of celluloid cheese defies description.  It’s a mix of poor screenwriting, shoddy direction, and incredibly bad acting that for some reason has managed to develop a small group of very loyal fans.

The brainchild of Rossella Drudi and Claudio Fragasso (who also directed the movie under the name Drake Floyd), this crapfest was produced with the title GOBLIN, but retitled in the US to capitalize on the success (minor as it was) of the 1986 film TROLL.  This film, which bears no relation to that movie, is the story of a family who’s vacationing in the small town of Nilbog—Goblin spelled backward… get it?  Good, because that as original as the writing gets.  The family, Mom and Dad Waits, with Holly and Joshua, are due to become goblin chow, as soon as they’re properly prepared.  It seems that these are vegetarian goblins, and must first transform their prey, through the use of a magical meal, into a plant.  Why they can’t just eat a carrot is a mystery, but it’s far from the only one.  Another question that begs an answer is how in God’s name the filmmakers ever convinced someone to put up money for the production of this turd.

The acting is, unfortunately, a good match for the idiotic script.  No one stands out positively, and all are competing hard for the title of Worst Actor Ever.  Personally, my vote is for the ‘star’ of the movie, Michael Stephenson.  His performance as Joshua, who with the aid of his dead grandfather (Robert Ormsby, another contender for the Worst Ever crown…) saves his family from the goblins—or does he?

I may be in danger of overusing this phrase, but there is no way to avoid it.  This is a movie that must be seen to be believed.  I cannot make it sound as wretched as it truly is—I’m just not that good a writer.

LEPRECHAUN IN THE HOOD (2000)—The fifth entry in this undeservedly long-running franchise, LEPRECHAUN IN THE HOOD is a prime example of the late 1990’s-early 2000’s trend of Urban Horror.  A few examples of this sub-genre were excellent Horror films—TALES FROM THE HOOD and BONES among them.  Many were not.  This movie falls squarely into the latter category.

Starring Ice-T, Anthony Montgomery, Rashaan Nail, and with Warwick Davis reprising his character of a malevolent Irish elemental, this outing for the diminutive demon is a step up from the previous LEPRECHAUN 4: IN SPACE—though that’s hardly a difficult feat.  Three rappers accidentally free a leprechaun imprisoned twenty years before by a gangster named Mack Daddy (Ice-T, who must not be concerned about typecasting).  They soon find themselves targeted by both the Leprechaun and Mack Daddy, and running for their lives.

Despite the ludicrous concept and weak script, this is a much more entertaining movie than one would think possible.  Davis attacks the part of the Leprechaun with gusto, playing the role as though he were a miniature Freddy Krueger, wisecracking his way from kill to kill.  Though this is a bad entry in a not very good franchise, there’s still plenty here for fans of bad movies to enjoy.

THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (1972)—In the ‘70’s and 80’s, Charles B. Pierce, an advertising executive from Texarkana, Arkansas, made a series of low-budget movies about a local “bigfoot”-type creature named the Fouke Monster.  Shot in a pseudo-documentary style and presented as fact, THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK helped fuel an interest in strange and unknown creatures such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster.

Produced for $160,000 borrowed from a local trucking company, and with the citizens of Texarkana as cast and crew, …BOGGY CREEK is definitely low-budget, no-talent filmmaking at its best.  The photography is amateurish, the monster is hokey, and the script, what there is of it, is high school level at best.

However, there’s still that indefinable something that captivates the viewer, engaging them in the movie despite it’s flaws.  It may be the authenticity of the people and the locations.  It may be the way the narrator sells the story, as though he were reporting the 6 o’clock news.  It may simply be that, for lovers of bad movies, there are few more enjoyable than this one.

THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES (1964)—Ray Dennis Steckler is a legend among those who love bad movies, and of all his films—RAT PHINK A BOO-BOO, WILD GUITAR, THE LEMONGROVE KIDS MEET THE MONSTERS—none have achieved the infamous stature that this movie, affectionately known to it’s fans as “TISCWSLABMUZ,” has.  Lost in obscurity since the 1970’s, the movie was featured in episode 812 in the eighth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000, broadcast in 1997, and a new generation of bad movie lovers were exposed to Steckler’s masterpiece.

How can one count the ways this movie is bad?  First of all, with few exceptions, if the director is also the star, the movie sucks.  Doubt me?  Two words—THE POSTMAN.  Also, any time the director casts his wife and/or girlfriend in the movie is a red flag.  Carolyn Brandt, who was Steckler’s wife at the time, starred in the film as Marge.  And let’s be honest—that title screams crappy movie in neon letters ten feet tall.

But these are just the first indicators, the ones that one can see just from looking at the poster.  Any hopes the casual filmgoer might hold that these indicators might prove false are quickly dashed with the realization that every facet of this movie is bad.  Bad acting, bad direction, a bad screenplay—nowhere is there relief from the overwhelming stink of this movie.

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1958)—This movie, director Edward D. Wood’s magnum opus, is synonymous with the term “bad movie.”  Long regarded as the worst movie ever made, it’s really not that terrible.  In comparison with a truly horrendous movie such as LEGEND OF BLOOD MOUNTAIN (1965), it rates as inspired filmmaking—relatively speaking.

That’s not to say that this is by any stretch of the imagination a ‘good’ movie.  Those familiar with Wood’s work understand what they are getting when they sit down to one of his films, and with PLAN 9… that’s doubled.  The writing is atrocious, the design of the production, the sets, the props, all would embarrass a grade school Christmas pageant.  The actors should be ashamed to refer to themselves as such, and what more can be said about Ed Wood as a director?

All of Wood’s idiosyncrasies are on display here.  No one can deny that he had a style, and a vision as a director.  The style might have been crap, and the vision hallucinogenic, but he made his movies the way he wanted them made—and that’s more than many aspiring filmmakers can say.

BLOOD FREAK (1972)—The ultimate cinematic ‘turkey’, this tale of a biker named Herschell who transforms into a blood-drinking “were-turkey” after exposure to a bad batch of drugs.  The product of the twisted imagination of Brad Grinter (whose short subject BRAD GRINTER, NUDIST might be the single most disturbing film in the Unimonster’s collection—thanks Bobbie!) this movie is a bizarre exercise in cinematic crapology.

From the papier-mâché turkey head on Herschell (Steve Hawkes), to the actress who opens her eyes to watch the action after she’s supposedly been ‘killed’, to the clearly audible instructions from the director, this movie proudly proclaims its status as “Crap.”  I can’t think of a better way to cap off the Turkey Day Film Fest than with this flaming bag of poultry excrement.

So as you lean back on your couch, pants unbuttoned, tryptophan coursing through your bloodstream, lulling you into a turkey-induced slumber, pop in some of the movies on this list… and let bad movies do the same for your brain.

High School Horrors

If Horror Films of the 1970’s and ‘80’s were a reliable indicator, then it was a miracle that anyone survived the experience of attending High School.  There were Slashers roaming the hallways, mad killers in math class, even the senior prom might be interrupted by a pissed-off chick with telekinetic powers.  Forget ‘peer pressure’ and SAT scores—you just hoped you’d live to see Graduation Day.  And even that wasn’t a guarantee you’d survive to pick up that diploma.

One of the conventions of the archetypal Slasher film of the 1980’s was that the pool of victims was primarily young, good-looking teens—late high school or college age, old enough to be sexually active but certainly not adults.  Within that pool there would be the stereotypical victims:  The ‘jock’, the bitchy, stuck-up ‘pretty girl’, the ‘outcast’, the ‘good guy’, the sweet, innocent, ‘girl next door’—who, because she didn’t have sex, was often the lone survivor—and other, just as easily recognizable, characters that populated the corridors and classrooms of these fictional institutions.  Most of these were faceless rabble—body count fodder for the Slasher du Jour.

From the beginning of the Slasher craze, the late teen demographic has been targeted, not only on-screen but also at the box-office.  The teen-age male has historically been the greatest fan of Slasher movies, and they adapted early on to give the typical fan of the genre what they wanted to see.  That meant, to paraphrase the great Joe Bob Briggs, “more Boobs and more Blood.”

The earliest Slasher Films, Bob Clark’s BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) and John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (1978), were somewhat restrained in terms of blood and gore, particularly in comparison to the films that followed them.  Both films started out with excellent stories, strong directors with clear visions of what they wished to put on-screen, and talented casts able to execute the directors’ wishes.  They were able to build a natural suspense into their movies without relying on an overabundance of cheap scares and easy shocks.

In 1980, however, Sean Cunningham’s FRIDAY THE 13^TH would prove to be the game-changer in the Slasher genre.  Eschewing the reserved, restrained approach (and perhaps in tacit acknowledgement of the weaker script and cast with which he had to work), Cunningham, with the able assistance of make-up effects artist Tom Savini, set out to raise the bar in terms of bloodshed.  Instead of working to build real fear and suspense, they built a body count, with gallons of fake blood used as the mortar.  The fact that this approach worked, to the tune of $39 Million in domestic release, was not lost upon competing studios.

Seemingly overnight, the Slasher Film became the dominant form of Horror.  Before the end of 1981, no fewer than two dozen Slasher Films were released, several focusing their attention on the education system.  The first, and most notable, of these was PROM NIGHT, directed by Paul Lynch and released the same year as FRIDAY THE 13^TH.  Starring the first Scream Queen of the Slasher era, Jamie Lee Curtis, along with Leslie Nielsen and Michael Tough, PROM NIGHT was filmed in Canada and released by Avco Embassy on 18 July 1980, on 1,200 screens nationwide.  On a budget of $1.6 million (CDN), this tale of high school revenge for a sibling’s death grossed nearly $15 million in the US, a very respectable number.  It also spawned three sequels, and was remade (poorly) by Nelson McCormick in 2008.

Far better in terms of quality, though not as widely popular, was THE PROWLER, released in 1981.  Directed by Joseph Zito, and featuring make-up special effects by Tom Savini, this was a tale of a mad Slasher carving his way through a small college’s student body, dressed in army fatigues, gas mask, and helmet.  The film starred Farley Granger as Sheriff George Fraser, a man with a secret in his past, along with Vicky Dawson and Christopher Goutman as Pam and Mark, two young lovers who are stalked by the killer.  THE PROWLER was released in November of 1981, with little fanfare or notice.  Though Savini has stated that it contains some of his best effects work, it remains something of a ‘lost’ classic of the Slasher genre in comparison to it’s more famous brethren.

Another early ‘80’s entry in the crowded Slasher Film arena was Herb Freed’s GRADUATION DAY, released on 1 May 1981.  The story begins with the sudden death of a young female track star during a meet, and the return of her sister, a US Navy officer, to their small town, just as its preparing for the High School graduation.  Starring Christopher George, Patch Mackenzie, and Michael Pataki, the genre’s conventions are already in place less than a year after FRIDAY THE 13^TH defined them.  The unseen, unknown killer; the large body count; the inventive, if impractical, death scenes; the “Sex equals Death” motif—all are present here.  Once the formula for Slasher Film success had been discovered, it was copied—slavishly.

In 1984, Wes Craven, the director who had risen to prominence with films such as THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and THE HILLS HAVE EYES, decided to reinvent the Slasher Film.  Craven avoided the silent, stalking killer that typified the movie Slasher.  His creation was instead a wisecracking spectre, the ghost of a pedophilic child-killer haunting the dreams of the children of those who killed him.  That killer’s name was Freddy Krueger, and the movie was A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.

Boasting an excellent script (by Craven), superb photography, and Craven’s usually strong direction, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET became the template for a new direction in Horror over the next decade.  Less a Slasher than a supernatural demon, Krueger, played to perfection by Robert Englund, was the prototype of a new class of screen monster.  Englund was backed up by strong performances from a cast composed of veterans and newcomers, people such as John Saxon, Ronee Blakely, Heather Langenkamp, and Johnny Depp, in his first screen role.

The influence of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET continued to be felt on the genre for the remainder of the decade.  Similarly-themed creatures, hellspawns, and demons, from THE LEPRECHAUN, to THE WISHMASTER’s Djinn, to Pinhead, the leader of HELLRAISER’s Cenobites, began to push the traditional Slasher Film aside.  While they retained many elements of the Slasher Films, their victim pools typically skewed older than those for the Slashers.  As the Slasher Film waned in popularity (though never disappearing completely) through the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, High Schools and Colleges became somewhat safer, though not totally safe, from the predations of masked killers and silent stalkers.

By 1996, the Slasher Film genre was ripe for reinvention, and once again it was Wes Craven, working with a script from Kevin Williamson, who called class back into session, with the hip, witty, self-aware Slasher hit SCREAM.

Starring Neve Campbell, Drew Barrymore, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, and Matthew Lillard, SCREAM stood the conventional Slasher genre on it’s head, poking fun at the form while still managing to be a very effective Horror Film.  Released on 20 December 1996, it got off to a slow start, earning just $6.4 million of its $15 million budget in that first week.  By the end of it’s third week in release, however, it was approaching $40 million in Box-Office receipts, and, much as A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET had done twelve years previously, had redefined the Horror Film.  Almost overnight fans were witness to what I refer to as the “Dawson’s Creek meets Freddy Krueger” School of Horror Films, movies which introduced a new paradigm to the Slasher Film.  Gone were the old stereotypes of the Slasher Film victims; now new models were introduced.  The average Slasher Film victim was no longer anyone most of us would have been familiar with when we were horny, stumbling, mumbling, pimply-faced youths surviving the daily pain-in-the-ass that was secondary education.  They were uniformly good-looking, uniformly wealthy, uniformly cool—and uniformly boring.

The few characters that existed outside the paradigm, be it due to lack of money, lack of looks, or lack of cool, were there to serve one of two purposes.  One, they were there to provide early fodder for the killer, and would quickly find themselves chopped, hacked, sliced, and/or diced into body count stew.

The second purpose such characters served was to provide a few red herrings as to the identity of the killer, who in the new paradigm wasn’t some escaped lunatic or mutant son of an insane camp counselor.  The killer in this new model Slasher Film came from within.  This new paradigm soon dominated the Horror genre, with SCREAM giving birth to two (soon to be three) sequels, along with numerous take-offs, such as URBAN LEGEND, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, and the most original of these, FINAL DESTINATION.

However, lest one believe that the only danger to be found in the hallowed halls of academia were hook-handed Slashers and machete-wielding maniacs, in 1998 director Robert Rodriguez took us on a field trip back into the 1950’s, the heyday of the Alien Invasion movies such as IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and INVASION OF THE BODY-SNATCHERS, with THE FACULTY.

Starring Robert Patrick, Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett, and Clea DuVall, this story of a High School where the faculty has been taken over by alien invaders was scripted by the same Kevin Williamson who had previously written SCREAM for Wes Craven.  While it did moderately well at the Box-Office, it failed to become the genre-changer that SCREAM had been two years before.

Another High School Horror Film failed at the Box-Office, but became a cult hit in video release.  2001’s GINGER SNAPS, a Canadian Werewolf movie directed by John Fawcett, and written by Karen Walton and Fawcett, saw only limited theatrical release in the US, though it did well in its native Canada.  It was also well-received by critics, and soon developed a solid fan following.  It stars Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabella as Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald, teen-age sisters struggling with feelings of depression and alienation while growing up in the small town of Bailey Downs.  The girls are obsessed with death, to the point of photographing themselves in staged ‘death scenes’ for a class project.  One night they encounter the “beast of Bailey Downs,” a creature the townspeople believe is responsible for a rash of mutilated dogs that have been found in recent days.  Ginger is bitten by the beast, and soon it becomes obvious to her sister that puberty isn’t the only change Ginger’s undergoing.

Though the genre had been trending away from the High School Horrors for several years, the recent spate of reinventions of many of the 1980’s Slasher Films has reinvigorated it to some degree.  HALLOWEEN, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, even PROM NIGHT have been remade lately, with varying degrees of success.  The audience for the Slasher Film hasn’t changed, demographically speaking, to any significant degree since the 1970’s, and in truth, neither have the long line of on-screen victims.  Both keep going strong, and that, I’m happy to say, shows no sign of changing.

Uni's Top Tens: SLASHERS & PSYCHOS

One of the regular features of the Crypt, on the left side of your screen, is the Top 10 list, my personal best and brightest of the various genres and sub-genres of Horror, Exploitation, and Science-Fiction Films that we all love and enjoy. Occasionally I’m taken to task concerning my choices for these lists, or asked to explain why one film was chosen over another, more deserving (in the mind of the questioner) movie. My reply is invariably “my list, my rules.” It does occur to me, though, that perhaps I should expand slightly on just why I choose the films I do.

Unless I’m following some specific criteria, such as “most historically significant,” “most bloody,” or “most T&A in a non-X-Rated Feature,” my standards for selecting the movies for these lists are simple—they’re the films in that category that I enjoy the most. No secret formula, no voting… they are the movies that I love, and to which I keep returning.

A prime example would be the Top Ten category “Giant Bugs / Mutant Bugs.” The 1957 Universal film THE DEADLY MANTIS is by far my top pick, beating TARANTULA, THE BLACK SCORPION, and in fourth place, the 1954 classic THEM. Most objective comparisons of …MANTIS and THEM would agree that the latter is by far a superior film—better writing, better direction, better acting, better effects—better in nearly every category. Even I would concede those points. The one thing it doesn’t do better, however, is entertain me. As much as I love THEM, THE DEADLY MANTIS is simply more fun to watch. As is TARANTULA and THE BLACK SCORPION, for that matter. And that’s what truly matters.

One category that generates more than a few comments is “Slashers & Psychopaths,” those films featuring the bad boys and girls of Horror. The Slasher film is one of the strongest genres of Horror, and has been since the mid-1970s. Vampires and werewolves wax and wane like the lunar cycle; ghosts appear and disappear; alien invaders are here one minute and gone the next. But the Slasher has been with us continually since 1978. While their popularity may fluctuate, they’ve not gone away. It stands to reason that the more popular a genre is, the more variety of opinion there is to be found regarding that genre. Let’s face it, if you’re in a group whose Horror movie passion is giant carnivorous rabbits, the chances are that your pick for greatest movie ever is a unanimous one. But if the topic switches to “greatest Slasher Ever,” you’ll be lucky to find two out of ten who would agree.

So here’s a countdown, from #10 to #1, of my list of Top Ten Slashers & Psychos—no apologies for what made the list and what didn’t, or which film is number one and which is number ten. Just a brief explanation of why I love each.

FRIDAY THE 13^TH, Pt. II—(1981): Not the franchise’s first outing, but the one that transformed it from just another Slasher movie to a Horror Film legend. The addition of Jason Voorhees, the drowned son of the psychotic killer from the first film, electrified the series and propelled it to a string of sequels that would last twenty years.

SE7EN —aka— SEVEN—(1995): David Fincher’s stylish, shocking homage to 1940’s-era film noir is notable for several reasons, especially the stellar performances from Morgan Freeman, as the scarred old veteran detective, just wanting to put in his time until retirement; Brad Pitt, as his eager rookie partner; and Kevin Spacey, as the psychopathic object of their hunt. The ending sells the film, and takes it to a higher level than most of this type.

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS—(1991): This film, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, accomplished what few Horror Films have, before or since—it won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also captured four other Oscars®—Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director for Demme, Best Actor for Hopkins, and Best Actress for Foster. Not only was the film a critical success, but it was enormously successful at the box-office as well, creating one of the genre’s few bright spots in the Dark Ages of the early 1990’s.

THE HITCHER—(1986): Rutger Hauer may not be the first name that leaps to mind when one tries to think of good actors, but his performance as the mysterious John Ryder, the hitchhiking serial killer who plunges Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) into a nightmare road trip from Hell, is the best of his career. The film is a continuous duel between Ryder and Halsey, and everyone else is simply a distraction that Ryder must eliminate. The tension between the two is palpable, and drags the viewer along for the ride.

TARGETS —aka— BEFORE I DIE—(1968): Based in part on the Charles Whitman case in Austin, Texas, Peter Bogdanovich’s tale of a sniper terrorizing a Drive-In theater in Los Angeles succeeds beautifully, despite having had every chance of failing. Mandated to use existing footage from Roger Corman’s 1963 film THE TERROR, Bogdanovich creatively wove it into a story of a fading icon of Horror films, ready to retire, with one last personal appearance to make. His path to the appearance intersects with the sniper, and each confronts their image of fear. While the script and direction are excellent, it’s the exemplary performance of Boris Karloff as Byron Orlok, the soon-to-be-retired star, which transforms this film into something extraordinary.

FROM HELL—(2001): The Hughes Brothers take on the Jack the Ripper case, based on the Graphic Novel of the same title, is a surreal, visually stunning film, one that suffers only slightly from a less than stringent sense of focus. Johnny Depp turns in a tremendous performance as Inspector Abberline of Scotland Yard, assigned the task of running the Ripper to ground. Though one gets the impression that the filmmakers’ studied at the Oliver Stone School of Conspiracy Theory, or ‘if one explanation is good then ten must be fantastic’, the story’s never slow or boring. While historical accuracy is, sadly, little more than an afterthought to the filmmakers, it’s still easily one of the best “Ripper” films in recent memory.

SHADOW OF A DOUBT—(1943): This taut psychological Horror is one of Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s finest efforts, and in my not-so-humble opinion his finest, with the possible exception of REAR WINDOW (1954). Joseph Cotton is superb as the cold, calculating Uncle Charlie, and Teresa Wright is equally good as his niece and namesake, and the only person who can penetrate his veneer of civility to see the predator within. Hitchcock, here at the mid-point of his career, is the confirmed master of suspense, and the story of young Charlie, being stalked by the uncle that she loves, is the director at his most masterful.

M —aka— M – EINE STADT SUCHT EINEN MÖRDER—(1932): This German film, Fritz Lang’s first sound feature, is the progenitor of every psychological thriller since. The story of a pedophilic child murderer, played convincingly by Peter Lorre, hunted by both the police and the underworld, is one of Lang’s best films, and my personal favorite of his.

PSYCHO—(1960): Ask 100 people to name an Alfred Hitchcock film, and 90 will say “PSYCHO.” This film is universally recognized as the director’s greatest masterpiece, the film that defines his career. What begins as a typically suspenseful Hitchcock crime melodrama is shockingly, jarringly transformed into something else—something so much more. Featuring the most famous sequence of jump cuts in cinema history, PSYCHO revolutionized Horror.

HALLOWEEN—(1978): Before Jason, before Freddy, before the ‘80’s spawned a new Slasher film every other week, there was Haddonfield, Illinois—and the night Michael Myers came home. It’s impossible to overstate the impact this film had on the genre, from the birth of the Slasher craze, to the debut of one of Horror’s greatest directors, to the introduction of the decade’s top Scream Queen, to the film’s evocative and iconic score. Though the franchise would rapidly descend into mediocrity without John Carpenter at the helm, this initial film in that franchise remains the finest, best example of the art of the Slasher film.

The Essential Films of Horror’s First Century

[Ed. Note: Originally written in 2004; Updated beginning December 2009]

Of the tens of thousands of Horror Films that have been produced since Thomas Edison’s studio first cranked out a crude version of Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein in 1910, most have disappeared, quite deservedly, into the mists of obscurity. Of those that have avoided that fate, the vast majority are, while entertaining and enjoyable to widely varying degrees, not really of any great importance in a historical sense.

However, there are movies that are so important to the genre, because of their quality or historical significance, that they belong in any serious Horror fans video library. Some movies, such as Edison’s version of FRANKENSTEIN (1910), Murnau’s NOSFERATU (1922), or THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925), are the pioneers of the genre, both venturing forth into uncharted territory and marking the trail for those who would follow.

Others, such as Universal’s twin classics DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN (both 1931), or George Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), changed the face of Horror for their time, setting the bar high for their competition, as well as inspiring hordes of imitators.

Still others redefined Horror, altering it forever from what it had been, into something new and ever more terrifying. Perhaps the most notable of these, Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960), moved the monsters from outer space, or 19th Century Transylvania, into the house next door, and gave them your neighbor’s face.

Whatever reason for a film’s inclusion on this list, these are the films that must be in your collection if you consider yourself a serious devotee of Horror. At the very least, you should have seen them. That’s why some films, such as LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927), don’t appear on it, though they would probably deserve to. Some films have simply failed to survive the years, and are, sadly, lost to us.

Those classics that do survive, however, deserve to be watched, and enjoyed. Watch them in the context of their times; don’t try to compare 1941’s THE WOLF-MAN to 1981’s AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON or 2002’s DOG SOLDIERS; or even 2010’s THE WOLFMAN. Each is a uniquely superior werewolf movie, but you cannot compare them to one another. They are, like all artistic endeavors, the products of their times. The medium changes and evolves, as does the public’s tastes and values. You must look at a film with an understanding of the forces, strictures, and mores of the time in which it was created. The merest hint, the vaguest suggestion, of necrophilia in Edgar Ulmer’s 1934 classic THE BLACK CAT was enough to shock and scandalize audiences of the period; audiences of today, in contrast, would in all probability miss the subtle references entirely. Only by realizing just how daring that film was can you appreciate the incredible decadence of it.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit it: This list is my opinion of the most Essential Horror Films of all time. I’m certain that some readers will disagree with me. If so, great! Please do. But if you do, then please list your choices and the reasons for them. There’s never any harm in provoking a good, healthy debate; and I’m not shy in saying that, while I have tried to be as objective as possible, opinions, unlike facts, are not objective things.

Also, some readers may be surprised at my failure to include films such as the LORD OF THE RINGS or HARRY POTTER films. This is not a slight to those great franchises, which I love. But this is a list that focuses on the Horror and horror-themed Sci-Fi spectrum of the Cinema Fantastica. While I enthusiastically recommend both franchises to my readers, they do not belong on this list.

And long-time readers of the Crypt might be amazed at the ‘tilt’ the list exhibits towards modern Horror Films. Of the two hundred films on this list, a third of them are from the last fourteen years. It’s not that there are better films being made these days—far from it. But there is a wider variety of Horror available now, a variety that necessitates a broader cross-section for representative purposes. The Unimonster’s heart, and his loyalties, might lie with the classics, but this list is supposed to represent a cross-section of the genre.

With that caveat to the readership, on to the movies!

The Early Years (1910-1930): The early years of the 20th Century witnessed, if not the birth, then certainly the formative years, of a new medium: Cinema. Experimental in many ways, artists were drawn to filmmaking by the medium’s ability to portray life in a way never before possible. It was inevitable that those early filmmakers would turn their attention to our fears, and the Horror Film was born.

1. EDISON’S FRANKENSTEIN (1910)
2. AUGEN DER MUMIE MA, DIE —aka— EYES OF THE MUMMY MA (1918)
3. DER GOLEM –aka— THE GOLEM (1920)
4. DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1920)
5. KABINETT DES DOKTOR CALIGARI, DAS —aka— CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, THE (1920)
6. NOSFERATU, EINE SYMPHONIE DES GRAUENS —aka— NOSFERATU, A SYMPHONY OF HORROR (1922)
7. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, THE (1925)
8. METROPOLIS (1927)
9. THE UNKNOWN (1927)

The Golden Age, or The Age of Universal (1931-1945): By the mid 1920’s, Cinema had completed a transformation; from something that was primarily a means of artistic expression, to a mass-market source of entertainment. Horror, too, was a part of that revolution, as artistic works such as THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920) gave way to popular movies like Rupert Julian’s big-budget hit for Universal, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925). With the premiere of two soon-to-be classics, DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN, in 1931, Universal had established itself as the premiere studio in the genre, a position it would hold for most of two decades.

They weren’t the only players in the game, however. RKO Pictures had perhaps the biggest blockbuster of the early ‘30’s: KING KONG. The success of Universal and RKO drew other studios into the genre, making this a true Golden Age of the Horror Film.

10. DRACULA (1931)
11. M —aka— M - EINE STADT SUCHT EINEN MÖRDER (1931)
12. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
13. MUMMY, THE (1932)
14. WHITE ZOMBIE (1932)
15. DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1932)
16. INVISIBLE MAN, THE (1933)
17. KING KONG (1933)
18. MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933)
19. BLACK CAT, THE (1934)
20. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
21. WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935)
22. DRACULA’S DAUGHTER (1936)
23. MUMMY’S HAND, THE (1940)
24. WOLF-MAN, THE (1941)
25. CAT PEOPLE (1942)
26. MUMMY’S TOMB, THE (1942)
27. FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF-MAN (1943)
28. THE SEVENTH VICTIM (1943)
29. ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)
30. HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944)
31. BODY-SNATCHER, THE (1945)

The Decline of the Horror Film (1945-1949): As World War 2 drew to a close, so did the first great period of the Horror Film. Even Universal, the original “House that Horror Built,” shifted the emphasis away from the beloved monsters, transforming them into little more than comedic props. The growing popularity of Science-Fiction in a post-atomic age also worked to push traditional Horror off the screen.

32. HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945)
33. PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, THE (1945)
34. BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS, THE (1946)
35. BEDLAM (1946)
36. ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948)
37. ROPE (ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S…) (1948)

The Silver Age, or, When Science Attacks! (1950-1960): As the movie-going public, indeed, the public in general, began to come to terms with the “Bomb” and the constant threat of World War III, the meaning of Horror began to alter. Men who had liberated Nazi death camps or island-hopped across the Pacific, or women who had kept the nation functioning while the men were at war, weren’t likely to be frightened by Vampires and Werewolves any longer.

The new definition of Horror included such creatures, but they were no longer products of superstitious curses and Eastern European myth. Now Science was responsible for inflicting these maladies upon mankind. Science was responsible for giant ants and tarantulas, re-animated dinosaurs and insects, mutated monsters and carnivorous creatures. Science, in the form of invading aliens, served a dual purpose: Warning us of the constant threats we lived under while showing us that the American Spirit would always triumph.

38. DESTINATION MOON (1950)
39. THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, THE (1951)
40. DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE (1951)
41. RED PLANET MARS, THE (1952)
42. ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (1953)
43. HOUSE OF WAX (1953)
44. WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)
45. CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)
46. GOJIRA (1954)
47. REAR WINDOW (1954)
48. THEM! (1954)
49. THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955)
50. FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956)
51. GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956)
52. INVASION OF THE BODY-SNATCHERS (1956)
53. 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)
54. DEADLY MANTIS, THE (1957)
55. I WAS A TEEN-AGE WEREWOLF (1957)
56. INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, THE (1957)
57. MONOLITH MONSTERS, THE (1957)
58. BLOB, THE (1958)
59. FLY, THE (1958)
60. IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (1958)
61. MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS (1958)
62. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1958)
63. TINGLER, THE (1959)
64. WASP WOMAN, THE (1960)
65. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)

Birth of the New Realism and The Return of Horror (1955-1976): As the decade of the ‘50’s neared its midpoint, a new emphasis on more adult, more reality-based fiction of all types began to appear, first in Europe, then spreading to the U.S. Driven by directors like Alfred Hitchcock, and writers like Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch, this new sense of realism began to seep into movies, and not just genre films.

These movies offered an alternative to those cool to the Giant Bugs and Alien Invasions so popular at the theaters of the period. Sex, taboo in Hollywood since the mid-‘30’s, was talked about in movies again, and violence was being portrayed on-screen in a realistic manner. Films such as NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955), PSYCHO (1960), and CAPE FEAR (1962) made monsters as real as the boy-next-door, and portrayed them as three-dimensional characters, making them even more terrifying.
Concurrent to this increased artistic freedom, (and benefiting greatly from it) a studio in Great Britain known primarily for crime films re-invented classic Horror. With the 1957 release of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, Hammer Films burst upon the scene as a worthy successor to the crown once worn by Universal, and soon traditional Horror was firmly back in fashion. Hammer ruled the genre through most of the ‘60’s, remaking most of Universal’s old classics, spicing them up with scantily-clad, voluptuous women; vivid color; and two of the greatest actors of the genre: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

Hammer was the face of Horror until a small, independent film, shot on a budget of roughly $250,000, premiered in 1968. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, directed by a young unknown named George Romero, was one of the most successful of the wave of Gore and Splatter films first popularized by Herschell Gordon Lewis, director of a string of blood-soaked Splatter films beginning with BLOOD FEAST (1963). It marked a dividing line between what had been considered Horror, and what would be from then on.

66. NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
67. BAD SEED, THE (1956)
68. WEREWOLF, THE (1956)
69. CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957)
70. CURSE OF THE DEMON (1958)
71. HORROR OF DRACULA (1958)
72. MUMMY, THE (1959)
73. PSYCHO (1960)
74. 13 GHOSTS (1960)
75. BRIDES OF DRACULA, THE (1960)
76. ET MOURIR DE PLAISIR —aka— BLOOD AND ROSES (1960)
77. INNOCENTS, THE (1961)
78. CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1962)
79. CAPE FEAR (1962)
80. BLOOD FEAST (1963)
81. BIRDS, THE (1963)
82. HAUNTING, THE (1963)
83. 2000 MANIACS (1964)
84. ULTIMO UOMO DELLA TERRA, L' —aka— LAST MAN ON EARTH, THE (1964)
85. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
86. ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968)
87. TARGETS —aka— BEFORE I DIE (1968)
88. VAMPIRE LOVERS, THE (1970)
89. ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, THE (1971)
90. NIGHT STALKER, THE (1972)
91. TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972)
92. EXORCIST, THE (1973)
93. LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, THE (1973)
94. WICKER MAN, THE (1973)
95. BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
96. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
97. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
98. JAWS (1975)
99. PROFONDO ROSSO —aka— DEEP RED (1975)
100. ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, THE (1975)

The Rise of the Unstoppable Slasher, and the Unstoppable Franchises (1976-1990): Though Horror movie franchises were nothing new, dating back to the Universal FRANKENSTEIN and WOLF-MAN films of the late ‘30’s and early ‘40’s, the last few years of the ‘70’s and the entire decade of the ‘80’s saw them spring into existence with surprising regularity.

Beginning in 1976 with THE OMEN, and reaching its zenith in 1978 with (arguably) the best of them all, HALLOWEEN, between 1976 and 1990 fans witnessed the birth of no fewer than 13 major movie franchises, from the OMEN series to the CHILD’S PLAY films. Though most of these were hardly memorable, their effect on the genre was tremendously so. It brought an entirely new level of Profitability to Horror, and made it far more attractive to major Hollywood studios, which led of course to increasing amounts of Horror being available to fans.

The increasing popularity of cable TV and the VCR meant that movies that initially failed at the box office could still show a profit; indeed, most low-budget films no longer saw a theatrical release. All these factors combined to grow fans of the genre, and to lay the foundation for the decade to come.

101. OMEN, THE (1976)
102. HILLS HAVE EYES, THE (1977)
103. HALLOWEEN (1978)
104. DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)
105. DAY OF THE WOMAN —aka— I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978)
106. ALIEN (1979)
107. FOG, THE (1979)
108. PHANTASM (1979)
109. FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
110. MANIAC (1980)
111. SHINING, THE (1980)
112. AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)
113. FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART II (1981)
114. HALLOWEEN II (1981)
115. HOWLING, THE (1981)
116. PROWLER, THE (1981)
117. EVIL DEAD (1982)
118. POLTERGEIST (1982)
119. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, A (1984)
120. RE-ANIMATOR (1985)
121. RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
122. HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT II (1987)
123. HELLRAISER (1987)
124. CHILD’S PLAY (1988)
125. DUE OCCHI DIABOLI —aka— TWO EVIL EYES (1990)

The “Dead Zone” of the ‘90’s (1991-1995): The first half of the decade of the ‘90’s marked another period of relative stagnation in the genre. Though there were superb Horror Films produced during this period, most notably SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991), Horror in the early ‘90’s had no direction, no definition. There were excellent movies, to be sure, but there wasn’t a theme to the genre at this time, nor was there a drive to bring great Horror to the screen.

126. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991)
127. BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992)
128. INNOCENT BLOOD (1992)
129. ARMY OF DARKNESS (Bruce Campbell vs. THE...) —aka— EVIL DEAD 3 (1993)
130. JURASSIC PARK (1993)
131. SE7EN —aka— SEVEN (1995)
132. TALES FROM THE HOOD (1995)

The Renaissance of Horror (1996-Present): The latter half of the ‘90’s gave rise to a new era in Horror, one in which a number of factors combined synergistically to produce perhaps the greatest sustained growth in the genre since at least the early ‘80’s, perhaps since the glory days of Hammer. This combination, (increased star power; new, talented directors; tremendously improved special effects; and fresh interpretations of older classics) drew audiences in droves to the theaters.

Satellite Television, (with hundreds of channels looking for programming) began showing films, including genre films, that hadn’t been seen for decades. The increased availability of DVD’s, and the fact that their low cost of manufacture made many obscure, heretofore unseen classics financially viable for release, also fed the public hunger for Horror, while at the same time increasing it’s appetite.

The explosion in popularity of Horror throughout the first decade of the new century meant that filmmakers were eager to churn out anything that would fit the genre, and to do so as quickly and easily as possible. The remake cycle began in 1999 with Dark Castle’s remake of the 1959 film HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. This excellent remake, directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Ali Larter, and Taye Diggs, was tremendously successful both at the box-office and in Home Video release, and soon fans were inundated by remakes.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t good, original Horror Films over the past decade. It simply means that very few of the came from the major Hollywood producers. The success of films like 28 DAYS LATER and DOG SOLDIERS sparked a resurgence in British Horror Films unparalleled since the mid-‘70’s witnessed the death of Hammer, and led to the best film of the past ten years, SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004).

As the decade drew to a close, the convergence of digital video, desktop editing, and the internet meant that virtually anyone could now make a movie, edit it, and market it directly to the fans. Most of these movies are exactly what you’d expect from such productions, though some are actually worth seeking out. The real value of such efforts lies in their ability to drive the genre in directions that the major producers are unwilling to go.

133. SCREAM (1996)
134. FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996)
135. INDEPENDENCE DAY —aka— ID4 (1996)
136. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997)
137. JOHN CARPENTER’S VAMPIRES (1997)
138. MEN IN BLACK (1997)
139. STEPHEN KING’S THE NIGHT FLIER (1997)
140. BLADE (1998)
141. URBAN LEGEND (1998)
142. BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, THE (1999)
143. HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THE (1999)
144. IDLE HANDS (1999)
145. LAKE PLACID (1999)
146. MUMMY, THE (1999)
147. SIXTH SENSE (1999)
148. SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999)
149. STIR OF ECHOES (1999)
150. AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000)
151. FINAL DESTINATION (2000)
152. GINGER SNAPS (2000)
153. SCARY MOVIE (2000)
154. SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000)
155. BONES (2001)
156. FRAILTY (2001)
157. FROM HELL (2001)
158. JEEPERS CREEPERS (2001)
159. JOY RIDE (2001)
160. OTHERS, THE (2001)
161. SESSION 9 (2001)
162. THIR13EN GHOSTS (2001)
163. 28 DAYS LATER (2002)
164. BELOW (2002)
165. BUBBA HO-TEP (2002)
166. DOG SOLDIERS (2002)
167. RED DRAGON (2002)
168. RESIDENT EVIL (2002)
169. RING, THE (2002)
170. ROSE RED (2002)
171. HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (2003)
172. JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (2003)
173. MONSTER MAN (2003)
174. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2003)
175. UNDERWORLD (2003)
176. WRONG TURN (2003)
177. DEAD AND BREAKFAST (2004)
178. GOJIRA: FAINARU UÔZU —aka— GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004)
179. SAW (2004)
180. SECRET WINDOW (2004)
181. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
182. FEAST (2005)
183. KING KONG (2005)
184. LAND OF THE DEAD (2005)
185. SIN CITY (2005)
186. BLACK CHRISTMAS (2006)
187. DESCENT, THE (2006)
188. BLACK SHEEP (2007)
189. DEAD SILENCE (2007)
190. GRINDHOUSE (2007)
191. I AM LEGEND (2007)
192. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007)
193. I SELL THE DEAD (2008)
194. DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)
195. MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D (2009)
196. ORPHAN (2009)
197. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2009)
198. ZOMBIELAND (2009)
199. THE CRAZIES (2010)
200. THE WOLFMAN (2010)

The Future (?): The resurgence of Horror that began in the late 1990’s has shown little sign of weakening in the near future, though what is considered Horror is, as always, in a constant state of flux. There’s little doubt that this “YouTube” culture we live in will continue to drive the genre in new and amazing directions, some of which will work, some that won’t. Hollywood, in spite of itself, will have to adapt to new trends in Horror, one of which may be that Hollywood will no longer be the center of the universe for filmmaking.

Whatever the future holds for fans of Horror Films, there’s one thing that is certain: Horror, like the monsters that personify it, will never die… at least, not for long.