FRIGHTFULLY UNSUNG HORROR FILMS
Spooky thrills, gruesome chills, monsters, mayhem and macabre delights — it’s a horror hound’s favorite season. You’ve already revisited the seminal slashers, ghost stories and the usual go-to Halloween classics. But which are the most underappreciated scary movies that keep your favorite horror creators up at night? S We asked 25 horror icons, makers and experts to name the most unsung horror films not to miss, from the forgotten to the obscure to the misunderstood standouts of the genre. Here are their sinister selections, for your viewing terror …
ERNEST DICKERSON
Director (“Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight”)
PRINCE OF DARKNESS, 1987
Cosmic horror is a tough genre to crack. But one littleseen film has been more successful than others in generating that vital frisson of dread, and that is John Carpenter’s “Prince of Darkness.” This movie’s strength is that it resonates emotionally and intellectually. Emotionally, it plays like a nightmare with an isolated group of scientists fighting a horror outside of our world. Intellectually, it questions the nature of reality using influences ranging from Lovecraft, Argento, Jean Cocteau and Nigel Kneale to quantum physics. Plus, it has an eerie score and a finale that will haunt you.
TANANARIVE DUE Film historian and writer (“Horror Noire”) EVE’S BAYOU, 1997
“Eve’s Bayou,” written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, wields power both as a family drama and as domestic horror. “The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old,” Eve’s story begins. Set in the Louisiana bayou in a segregated community in 1962 with an all-Black cast, “Eve’s Bayou’s” horror is coming from inside the house. A powerhouse performance from newcomer Jurnee Smollett (then only 10) backed up by Samuel L. Jackson, Debbi Morgan, Lynn Whitfield, Meagan Good and Diahann Carroll, lush cinematography and Lemmons’ poetic script deliver a disturbing story you will never forget.
MIKE FLANAGAN
Writer-director ( “Midnight Mass”) TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT, 1995
The inaugural feature from HBO’s classic series was woefully underappreciated upon release. Ernest R. Dickerson’s wonderful film is scary, funny, smart and delightfully gory. The cast is an embarrassment of riches, featuring Dick Miller, Charles Fleischer, Brenda Bakke, Thomas Haden Church, the amazing CCH Pounder, and a fantastic William Sadler. But Jada Pinkett-Smith shines as the reluctant heroine and Billy
Zane astounds in a performance for the ages. The final scene is legitimately sublime and teases an epic ripe for further installments … hell, I want to make a sequel to this movie. This film was ahead of its time.
ARI ASTER
Writer-director (“Hereditary”) DEEP CRIMSON (PROFUNDO CARMESÍ), 1996
A suffocating wallow from one of Mexico’s great misanthropes. Arturo Ripstein’s soul-sick treatment of the Lonely Hearts Killers’ spree is a bilious portrait of the banality of evil and a work of authentic nihilism that is just as ugly as it needs to be, which makes it just about unwatchable. Here is true, humanity-as-cesspool horror, in the grotesque tradition of “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” “Angst” and “Man Bites Dog.” It’s so profoundly unpleasant that I’m not actually recommending it.
BARBARA CRAMPTON
Actor-producer (“Jakob’s Wife”) DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS, 1971
Having produced a vampire movie myself while noting the eternal hits of such, there are clear standouts. But a film deserving of more love is “Daughters of Darkness.” A singular stunning performance from Delphine Seyrig and compelling dual storylines colliding to an explosive finish give it real bite. The film’s visual beauty in frame after frame is matched perfectly by its simmering sexy center. A feeling of danger and desire is palpable throughout with an underlying lesbian vibe, ahead of its time in terms of the gender of its protagonist.
GIGI SAUL GUERRERO
Writer-director (“Culture Shock”) TRIANGLE, 2009
It still shocks me this movie isn’t talked about enough: “Triangle” on the exterior seems like a basic movie about a group of boaters who get caught in bad weather and end up on another ship. But there are so many more layers to this film, and one in particular that gives an eerie spin is the deja vu effect. Things begin to repeat and repeat, as this mysterious hooded stranger starts ending the lives of the group one by one. As the cycle goes on you begin to realize that there is no end … or is there? It leaves you open to your own interpretation. And blending the horror/slasher with sci-fi elements makes the movie considerably crafted for an audience that didn’t embrace it. It’s a highly recommended watch, and more than once.
KIER-LA JANISSE
Author and director (“Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror”)
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK, 1993
This is a film I champion whenever I get the opportunity because people tend to be incredulous about how good it is, since it was a made-for-TV sequel to a classic horror film — namely “When a Stranger Calls” from 1979. Nineties horror it-girl Jill Schoelen plays a woman deeply traumatized by an experience as a teen babysitter. She turns to the first film’s survivor,
played again by Carol Kane — and I’d argue that Kane gives a much stronger performance here; her delivery throughout is absolutely chilling. As with the original there are parallel storylines that follow the protagonist and her disturbed tormenter, and there is a meaningful discussion of the kinds of support systems women have to create to combat predatory behavior. And it is scary as hell. Writerdirector Fred Walton also returns, and I think his work is underappreciated in general.
RADIO SILENCE
Filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella (2022’s “Scream”) JOY RIDE, 2001
This movie is a touchstone for us that belongs right up there with “Halloween,” “Elm Street” and “Scream.” A tight and engaging thriller about estranged brothers stalked on a cross-country road trip by an unseen killer — a trucker with a haunting voice heard only over CB (a brilliant Ted Levine) — “Joy Ride” is packed with thrills, scares, humor and heart. Once this movie gets going, it never stops. Then there’s Steve Zahn. Steve f— Zahn! He’s at his absolute best and his throwaway approach to the humor gets better with every watch. In fact, this whole movie gets better with every watch. And spoiler alert, a VHS copy can be seen in the new “Scream.”
MICK GARRIS
Writer-director (“Critters 2”) THIRST, 1979
Shamefully underseen, the revisionist vampire thriller dispenses with crucifixes, fangs and garlic; in fact, with pretty much everything supernatural. Set in contemporary Australia, it posits that a worldwide vampire aristocracy called the Brotherhood remains powerful and fit for ages by supping on the blood gladly offered up by young devotees who would do anything [for] their masters. The fast-moving thriller [directed by Rod Hardy] makes canny use of the blind devotion of the opiated masses in a witty commentary on power and celebrity that rings even more true today than it did in 1979.
ASHLEE BLACKWELL
Writer-producer (“Horror Noire”)
BLOOD RUNS DOWN, 2018
Filmmaker Zandashé Brown’s mastery of the Southern gothic horror tradition lends itself to an interior rural setting in three segments that becomes the terrain of a mother (Idella Johnson) and daughter (Farrah Martin), engulfed by a supernatural force where the youngest must do battle on her own. Black women creating fantastical internal and external worlds for Black women in horror films is a criminally rare treat. Brown’s work here provides the emotional gut punch you weren’t quite expecting in such visceral and illuminating ways that could bring any audience to catharsis.
ROB ZOMBIE
Writer-director (2007’s “Halloween”) HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS, 1970
Back in 1970, while the gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” was still a smash on the after
noon airwaves, creator Dan Curtis decided to direct a feature-length film of the supernatural happenings at old Collinwood. This film is a prime example of everything done right when turning a TV show into a movie: Gone are the cheap sets, clunky camera moves and meandering soap storytelling. This is essentially 200 episodes of storyline distilled down to a spectacular 97 minutes of gothic horror. All the original cast in their prime are present and of course Jonathan Frid as the great Barnabas Collins. It’s like an epic American version of a Hammer film.
JACO BOUWER
Director (“Gaia”) RELIC, 2020
Such a powerful metaphor for the human condition, of death and decline, but how it chooses to tap into an emotional resonance instead of the logical. Director Natalie Erika James’ perfect little gem of a film is packaged perfectly, from the premise to how the story unfolds, the metaphorical/ allegorical symbols in losing parts of the self, in-camera effects, mostly single location, and then of course the ending, which I don’t want to give away, is just absolutely cathartic and touches on the sublime.
CHRISTIAN PARKES Co-founder, Beyond Fest THE DEVILS, 1971
The most underappreciated horror film is Ken Russell’s 1971 masterpiece, “The Devils.” However, this underappreciation doesn’t lie with audiences but with its distributor, Warner Bros., who has suppressed its release for the past 50 years. A shameful act of self-censorship, Warner Bros. has consistently refused to let “The Devils” screen theatrically and has bluntly prevented from making it accessible on home-entertainment formats — an action that has not gone unnoticed, most notably by Guillermo del Toro: “There are powers that be at Warner Bros. that refuse to allow the movie to be seen. It’s not an accident.” Audiences everywhere deserve better.
TIMO TJAHJANTO
Writer-director (“V/H/S/94”) SESSION 9, 2001
Brad Anderson’s “Session 9” has slowly gained traction over the years, particularly after the film’s Shout! Factory Blu-ray release. This psychological horror masterpiece sat in the attic of the forgotten for almost two decades before finally being acknowledged as one of the scariest post-millennial horror films.
MEAGAN NAVARRO Head critic, Bloody Disgusting WILD ZERO, 1999
“Love has no nationality, gender or borders! Do it!” Punk rock energy and heart pump through the veins of this wild B-movie romp and showcase for “Jet Rock ’n Roll” legends Guitar Wolf. The garage-rock power trio takes on greedy managers, bumbling thieves, a zombie outbreak and an alien invasion, all while imparting lessons about love and courage to their biggest fan, Ace. What first-time director Tetsuro Takeuchi lacks in technical expertise, he makes up for in DIY humor, gore and schlock, taking audiences on a punk voyage through facemelting fun.
DON MANCINI
Creator of the original “Child’s Play” franchise THE FURY, 1978
Brian De Palma’s adaptation of John Farris’ novel wasn’t nearly as popular as the director’s classic “Carrie,” probably due to “The Fury’s” complicated, bipartite story. But it’s a masterfully directed film in its own right. With breathtaking panache, De Palma deploys his battery of trademark visual tricks — stutter cuts, split-field lenses slow motion, stealthily circling cameras — to evoke the surreal mindscapes of teen telepaths Amy Irving and Andrew Stevens, “psychic twins” exploited by nefarious G-man John Cassavetes. The late, great critic Pauline Kael wrote: “No Hitchcock thriller was ever so intense, went so far, or had so many classic sequences.”
ROBERT ENGLUND
Actor (“A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise) SISTERS, 1973
William Finley gives my favorite “mad doctor” performance. Margot Kidder is luminous. Twins freak me out. Best suspenseful split-screen ever.
FABIO FRIZZI
Composer (“The Beyond”) EATEN ALIVE, 1976
A film that I saw again recently and that gave me strong emotions is “Eaten Alive,” directed by the great Tobe Hooper three years after the release of his masterpiece “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” I believe that the film contains many elements taken up and developed in the horror genre of the following years. Even the use of music — a very effective mix of country western songs and paroxysmal effects — unequivocally guides the viewer on the path of the protagonist’s madness. [It’s] a beautiful piece of history to be reevaluated.
JOE BEGOS
Writer-director (“Bliss”) PET SEMATARY TWO, 1992
It’s unfortunate that people write off Mary Lambert’s “Pet Sematary Two” — that is, until they watch it. Whether it’s the scenery-chewing all-time performance from Clancy Brown, the searing soundtrack packed with pissed off, early ’90s female-led grunge, or the gnarly sequences of splatter, there’s always something that prompts those who wrote it off to reverse their opinions. Despite the lack of Stephen King’s involvement, it’s even better than its wellcrafted predecessor. It’s a yearly staple that I revisit every autumn — to be honest, even more often than that.
SAM WINEMAN
Podcaster and director (Shudder’s upcoming untitled queer horror documentary) SORORITY ROW, 2009
Look, I get it. It was 2009 and you were burned out on remakes. But here’s the thing: You’ve been sleeping on “Sorority Row” for over a decade. This endlessly quotable movie balances the best of 2000s-era snark with the narrative complexities of chosen family. Leah Pipes is serving next-level mean girl (yes, even better than that one). So drop the grudge and lose yourself in those oh-so-aughts set pieces. By the time you get to the hot tub kill, you’ll be thanking me.