1.
Evil Dead (1981)
This is one of the few movies on
the list that I knew. I’ve actually seen Evil
Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. I
enjoyed both those films and was excited to see the movie that started it all. Evil Dead is about a group of friends
that drive to a cabin in the woods and inadvertently end up releasing demons in
the process. This is the sort of movie that I avoid.
Way back when I saw the other Evil Dead movies, Markus intentionally
left out this one, because he knew it would be too much for me. I have to admit
that I loved this movie. It was terrifying and I enjoyed every minute. Evil Dead is a low budget film and it honestly
looks like a student project. Despite all this, the film really delivers. I
think of all the films that we’ve seen so far, this one was my favorite. It has
everything that you could want in a horror flick. I spent the entire movie
screaming at every little thing and watching with my hands over my eyes. It was
perfection.
2.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
(1988)
If there is one thing that creeps
me out, it’s clowns. They’re always smiling and hiding their real faces. I
think it has a lot to do with accidentally seeing clips of Stephen King’s “It”
when I was a kid. Since then, I’ve always had a fear of clowns. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is about
alien clowns that come to earth and start attacking and harvesting humans for
food.
I was expecting to be super
creeped out by this movie and I really wasn’t. There were a few moments that
were scary, but overall, it’s an 80s movie about clowns from outer space. How scary
can it really be? The designs for the clowns were really amazing and jarring
when I first saw them. I also enjoyed the super sweet and cheesy theme song. It
was perfectly 80’s sounding for a cult classic.
3.
Re-Animator (1985)
I was really excited to see this
movie. I knew that it was very popular and beloved among its fans. The film is
based on an HP Lovecraft story titled, “Herbert West-Reanimator”. It follows
West and his quest to unlock the power of reanimating the dead, hence the title.
This film is known for being able to combine gore with comedy.
I think the driving force for all
the love is Jeffrey Combs, who plays Herbert West.
West is an amazing character, he’s so strange and creepy, however you can’t help but root for him. It’s strange because he’s such an anti-hero. Combs is an incredible actor and was also the lead in From Beyond, viewed in last year’s Creepy Cinema. I really enjoyed this film and I think a large part of that is because of Combs’ incredible acting.
West is an amazing character, he’s so strange and creepy, however you can’t help but root for him. It’s strange because he’s such an anti-hero. Combs is an incredible actor and was also the lead in From Beyond, viewed in last year’s Creepy Cinema. I really enjoyed this film and I think a large part of that is because of Combs’ incredible acting.
4.
Mad Monster Party (1967)
Words cannot express how much I adore this movie. It was a lot of fun to watch. It’s a stop motion comedy film that features all the classic monsters we all know and love. The film is about the gathering of said characters and the lure of total destruction. I’m a huge fan of old movies and this one didn’t fail to deliver that same sense of nostalgia.
Words cannot express how much I adore this movie. It was a lot of fun to watch. It’s a stop motion comedy film that features all the classic monsters we all know and love. The film is about the gathering of said characters and the lure of total destruction. I’m a huge fan of old movies and this one didn’t fail to deliver that same sense of nostalgia.
I really enjoyed this movie and there was so much to love. It has that style of
the 60s that anyone can appreciate. It’s campy and kitschy. All of the
characters are incredibly designed. My favorite character was Felix, the only
human in the entire film. He’s adorable and sounds a bit like Jimmy Stewart,
who I adore. Although the love story with Francesca felt really forced. One
minute she hates him and then he slaps her and she’s instantly in love. I don’t
get it, but I guess that’s how women fell in love back then.
5.
The ABC’s of Death (2012)
I thought that The Toxic Avenger was the worst movie
this year, but I was sadly mistaken. Little did I know that the worse was yet
to come. When Markus and I read the synopsis for this film, we thought that it
would be a nice addition to the list. The film is a horror anthology directed
by 26 different directors and spans the alphabet, exploring different words
associated with death. According to the Internet, it was toted as a cult
classic “in the making.”
I didn’t think that I would dislike this movie so much, but I did. It was so blasé
that I had to stop watching in the middle. I think the main problem with this
anthology film is that there were a few good shorts immersed in a sea of
horrible ones. I just really didn’t like
most of them, and I think the crux of the problem is that there were 26
shorts. That’s way too many. Most horror
anthologies boast four or even 6 shorts, which is more than enough to deliver
quality stories and great characters. I
think The ABC’s of Death would have
been better suited for an online horror short competition, not a full film.
6.
C.H.U.D (1984)
This movie is one of those movies
that you’ve heard of but have no idea what it’s about. Sometimes, it’s best to
go into these movies not knowing anything because you don’t have preconceived
notions. There were so many famous people in this movie and it was kind of
surprising! This film is about strange, mutated, underground dwellers that eat
and kill humans.
I thought C.H.U.D. was good, but it was really slow. The story is really
interesting and the parts that were meant to be scary were just that. It just
took forever to get to the point. I think that’s the thing about 80s movies.
They really take their time explaining. The creatures themselves were really
gross and I screamed a bit. Not as much as I did during Evil Dead, but it still had its moments.
7.
Splinter (2008)
Again, Splinter is the kind of
movie that I try avoid. It’s the epitome of a horror movie, and evokes so much
anxiety. It doesn’t employ jump scares; the entire movie is just terrifying and
really scares the junk out of you. This movie was a little known film that has
become popular over the years on DVD and streaming. Splinter is your basic
bottle movie that has a small cast and focuses on the paranoia and terror of
something infecting and killing anyone in the vicinity...in a very horrific way
of course.
When the movie starts, it hits the
ground running, and it feels like it’s never going to stop. I spent the entire
movie cringing and screaming. There were several moments when I had to close my
eyes and plug my ears. I think this is the scariest movie we’ve seen in this
year’s Creepy Cinema. It’s the kind of movie that traps it’s characters in a
small space and pokes at them in horrible ways. I really enjoyed watching it,
especially with friends, but I don’t think I could ever watch it again.