Well, here we
are in Halloween season again—a revered
time for all us horror nuts. After opting out last year, I've returned
with another round of frightful flicks. This is my largest and most ambitious
list to date. As I've said before: each
person has their own personal taste, so your mileage may vary. Horror can be an
upsetting genre, so sensitive viewers may want to use discretion with a few of
these entries, but I've included enough variety that I truly believe there is
something for every type of horror/cult fan. If you aren't sure about part one,
stick around for part two! As always, my original introduction is worth
repeating:
Most
horror and cult fans have seen just about everything—we tend to exhaust our
favorite genre. But there is always something out there we might have missed.
The following is a list of movies I believe to be underseen, forgotten, or if
nothing else, underrated. If you’ve seen them all, congratulations, you are a raving
lunatic who deserves a gold medal. Not all of these are what you’d call
masterpieces, but each is unique in its own way. Some of them will appeal to
the open-minded movie watcher, while others can only be enjoyed by devoted
lovers of schlock and cult cinema. So, this October, when you’re aching for
something different, something neglected, or just want a few yuks, consider
this list. Without further ado—Horror and Cult Movies for the Seasoned Fan.
Shirkers (2018)
Sandi Tan's
captivating Netflix documentary is truly something to behold. Shirkers chronicles the making of Tan
and company's pet project of the same name, under the guidance of alleged film
guru George Cardona. During their teenage years, Singapore wasn't exactly a
haven for pop culture, but hints of punk rock and horror flicks still seeped
into the environment by way of underground fanzines, which offered Tan and her
friends a glimpse into a world they wanted to be a part of—the film world.
George seemed to be their only doorway into that universe, but of course things
go awry when he attempts to sabotage the film and eventually goes AWOL. Shirkers is a haunting meditation on
trying to achieve closure and reconcile the beautiful image we have of people
we care about with their often ugly inner selves.
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (2017)
This Spanish
animated feature pumps some life back into the post-apocalyptic genre in a big
way. Don't let the plethora of cute animal characters fool you, Birdboy is a bleak examination of grief
and fear. It tells its story in a fractured sort of way, vignettes of
characters piecing together a larger narrative arc. The titular character,
Birdboy, is a target of the authorities, who view him as menace. Sick with
disease, he struggles to control his
shadow self while attempting to heal his homeland. But like most of the
characters in the film, there isn't a lot of hope for him. Still, the film ends
with a glimmer of possibility in the face of unrelenting despair.
Cat Sick Blues (2016)
Loner Ted is
distraught that his cat, Patrick, is dead and keeps him in a freezer. At night
he puts on a cat mask, cat claws, and a cat penis, and slinks around murdering
women with the belief that the blood of nine victims will bring Patrick back.
Along the way he meets a youtuber whose famous cat has just been killed, and
befriends her. Based on that description you might think Cat Sick Blues sounds like a fun, quirky horror flick. You'd be
wrong. What we have here is a gross and uncomfortable exploitation film that I
would caution more sensitive viewers to stay away from. Cat Sick Blues is really something else, one of those movies that
the word “unique” was hand tailored for. It's upsetting but well made. It's
grim, yet it's funny. It's delivered with deadpan earnestness and has a rockin'
soundtrack. And when it was over, I felt my emotions had been toyed with.
Perhaps by a phantom cat.
Motivational Growth (2013)
I went back and
forth on whether to include Motivational
Growth. The problem? I love the premise of this film and the aesthetic but
the tone is all over the place. Growth
can't commit to one vision. It could have been a great schlock film about evil
talking mold that rules the life of a depressed man looking for purpose. What
we got instead is a film that wants to do those things but also waxes
philosophical in a desperate attempt to legitimize itself. For a movie with a
central character that is mold, it's incredibly pretentious. There are some
great scenes that are immediately followed up with scenes saying, “Did that
really happen? Is any of this real? Is it a fever dream? Is the main character
actually dead?” Whenever that happened, I found it all very tired and trite.
But there is a saving grace to the film: Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator, The Frighteners).
Combs goes all-in with his performance as the malevolent mold. He delivers
every line with incredible vigor. He is venomous, charming, and occasionally
frightening. This is one of the best performances of his career. So, with that
combined with a pretty good premise, I was able, against my better judgment, to
enjoy Motivational Growth in fits and
starts.
Blackwoods (2001)
Yes, that Blackwoods.
The one directed by Uwe Boll. I can hear the groans already. I know a few of
you are wincing as you read this. But hear me out. This movie is really funny.
It has some very poorly edited sequences and a ridiculous plot twist that
reminds you of every twist ending you've ever seen that didn't work, except, it
kind of does work? Okay, maybe not that well, but upon inspecting Blackwoods closely you'll notice that
Boll does cover his tracks. The twist is still really, really stupid, but on a
technical level, it functions. That is more than I can say for so many other
twisty genre films. And you know what? Any movie with a supporting role from
Clint Howard can't be that bad. And trust me, this is one of his better bit
parts.
The Convent (2001)
Mike Mendez has
made a slew of entertaining B horror movies, including Don't Kill It (with Dolph Lundgren), Gravedancers, and Big Ass
Spider. The Convent fits in
nicely with those entries and offers up an entertaining slice of fast-moving
pulp. The plot is simple and makes no bones about complexity: college students
break into a cursed convent and become possessed by evil spirits. The demons
have a neat neon/blacklight look and The
Convent never takes itself too seriously, offering laughs and visual gags.
The real highlight, however, is a turn by Adrienne Barbeau as a badass biker
ready to blow away the evil with guns blazing.
Little Otik (2000)
I was first
introduced to the work of Jan Svankmajer as a teenager. I had a growing
interest in Alice in Wonderland (I
was a weird teenager, I know) and found a copy of of Jan's adaptation, Alice, at a local video store. Needless
to say, I took it home and watched and was blown away by how unusual it was.
Jan was one of the foremost stop motion animators in the world, hailing from
the Czech Republic. Little Otik is
one of the most bizarre films in his oeuvre. It's essentially the tale of a
couple who cannot have children. The husband brings home a stump that resembles
a baby and after a pretend pregnancy, the wife gives birth to the stump and
imagines he is alive. The husband is disturbed to come home one day to find the
stump actually suckling his wife's breast. From there it just gets weirder. The
stump must consume flesh to continue growing and so the two must find victims
to feed it. But it keeps getting bigger and bigger. Little Otik is one of those startlingly original films that you
just need to see. Most deliciously creepy is the fact that the only stop motion
in the film is Little Otik himself,
making the character all the more odd and malignant set against a world of live
action and normalcy.
Office Killer (1997)
Cindy Sherman's
pitch black horror opus is one of those films that seems like it was virtually ignored in its day. I've
seen it floating around on a few other lists out there and I'm throwing my vote
in, too. Office Killer is like Office Space re-imagined as a horror
movie. I'm absolutely certain I'm not the first to say that, but if it helps
sell the film, it bears repeating. Carol Kane (The Princess Bride, The
Addams Family Values) plays a disgruntled office worker (they're always
disgruntled, aren't they?) who accidentally kills a co-worker in her hellish,
corporate shit hole office and then takes it upon herself to keep on killing.
Imagine Milton if he was a woman and bloodthirsty. Molly Ringwald really shines
in a role against type for her. I found myself enjoying the general tone and
editing of the film, including a very stylish opening credits sequence. There
are some naysayers out there, but I recommend going into this one without
expectations. If you're anything like me, you'll have a good time with it.
Face of Evil (1996)
Most people know
Mary Lambert for Pet Semetary, but
she has been quietly continuing directorial work through the years. Face of Evil is a made-for-TV thriller
starring Tracey Gold, Perry King, and pre-Saw
Shawnee Smith. Gold plays a con artist who rips off her husband-to-be, flies
out of town, and then kills a woman and assumes her identity. Her new roommate,
played by Smith, eventually becomes suspicious. But not before Gold tries to
seduce her father. This is all pretty typical stuff, but Face of Evil is very competently made and full of solid acting for
a movie of its budget. Things stay fairly exciting and aside from a somewhat
anticlimactic final act, it's an engaging film.
Face of Evil is the sort of
movie you would have put on in the background during the cable days, but before
long find yourself sitting in the recliner having put your chores on hold so
you can finish watching it.
The Boneyard (1991)
The Boneyard is a wild witch's brew of intense
flavors. At times it's actually sort of creepy, but then something outrageously
absurd will pop up, such as a gigantic zombie poodle. This one's got Phyllis
Diller (!) playing the hilariously named Miss Poopinplatz–that alone is worth
the price of admission, but there is just so much to love about The Boneyard. Shades of Return of the Living Dead don't hurt it
a bit and, maybe most memorably, the leading lady isn't a typically
traditionally beautiful Hollywood heroine, but a larger woman. I racked my
brain to come up with any other horror movie which does the same and came up
with zilch. I'm sure that will change in the future, but remember, The Boneyard did it first. A
trailblazer? Maybe.
The Haunted (1991)
Another TV
outing, The Haunted is one of those
infamously not-on-DVD titles that really deserves some kind of special edition
treatment. Sure, it kind of apes movies like The Amityville Horror, even claiming to be based on a true story,
but it's no cheap knock-off. This is a seriously well made effort which has
some really nice atmosphere and a few quality scares. I wasn't sure how exactly
to bring this up, but it's also one of the few horror movies I've ever seen
where a man is assaulted by a woman (to those who may be sensitive regarding
such a scene, don't fret, the TV nature of The
Haunted means it's not a very graphic). I couldn't find
a trailer, but you can watch the whole damn thing above.
Zachary T. Owen is an arsonist and an author. His books can be found here.
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