By Geno McGahee
Well, it’s that time of year again. This will make the 5th year that I have been suggesting horror movies for your viewing pleasure that are away from the mainstream. I bring you the relatively obscure (for the most part) and hope that you will find the joy that I find in the titles that I have presented.
This year, several horror fans have come forward with their suggestions, making this list a very interesting one with plenty of variety. Grab your candy corn, pumpkin coffee, and enjoy! I hope that we have made your Halloween celebration that much better!
1. THE BASEMENT (1989)
This lost gem was recovered and the audio was redone, and was released in a set that included VIDEO VIOLENCE. This is very similar to movies like THE VAULT and TALES FROM THE CRYPT, but it was very amusing and I’m very pleased that they decided to resurrect it. It features 4 tales and one wraparound where the people find themselves locked in a basement and are shown their futures, which are the tales.
2. TRICK OR TREAT (1986)
How can you go wrong with the mixture of heavy metal and horror? Throw in Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons in bit roles and you have what promises to be a winner. An outcast finds a wicked alliance with a dead metal star that needs his help to return to the land of the living, leading to pure horror metal fun. If you like heavy metal is the devil’s music horror, then this is perfect for your Halloween night.
3. BLACK ROSES (1988)
How about another heavy metal is the devil horror movie? The group “Black Roses” comes into a small town to play and the parents heavily opposes, and they are actually right this time. The group is actually made up of demons that are possessing the young with their catchy tunes, which include “Me Against the World” by Lizzy Borden. I suggest that you watch TRICK OR TREAT and BLACK ROSES back to back.
4. DEADLY FRIEND (1986)
A basketball thrown so hard that it makes an old woman’s head explode upon impact is worth the price of admission alone. In DEADLY FRIEND, a teen girl is killed by her abusive father, only to be brought back to life through robotics. She begins to kill a lot of assholes, including her father, but it can’t go on forever. This is a Wes Craven overlooked gem, probably dismissed for its absurd ending. It’s a great movie otherwise.
5. CHOPPING MALL (1986)
A group of teens hang out in a mall after hours to party, but they did not expect the murderous robot security team that the mall has. In fact, the robot security is proving to have problems. At one point, they kill a janitor, unprovoked. So if it kills a poor janitor, what will it do to 8 teenagers that are trespassing? This movie is great fun.
6. HACK O’LANTERN (1988)
OK, don’t expect this movie to terrify you, but if you are not amused by this horror entry, then you do not really appreciate horror cheese. A grandfather of a Satanic cult corrupts his grandson and does some other dastardly things in this horror whodunit. I found myself laughing quite often at this film and it is your basic straight to video horror film that you saw in the 1980s. If you can find this flick, lighten up your Halloween crowd with it.
7. CITY IN PANIC (1987)
A semi-tribute to PSYCHO, featuring an unknown killer going around killing random men, CITY IN PANIC is about as entertaining as it gets. It is a whodunit with a unique storyline and one of the best detective characters that I have ever seen. The body count is high and the characters are just so over the top that you have to appreciate it. It’s a rather predictable whodunit, but this film doesn’t rely on the payoff. The movie is good enough to survive a mediocre ending.
8. SLUGS (1988)
Radioactive gigantic slugs. Need I say more? This film has one of the most memorable scenes in film history when a guy accidentally eats a radioactive slug. He then goes to an expensive restaurant for a business dinner and the unthinkable happens. His head explodes. I know that this is another head explosion on my list of Halloween picks, but there can never be too many. This film has such a high entertainment value that you are glued to the screen. It’s a perfect Halloween flick…especially if slugs creep you out.
9. WELCOME TO SPRING BREAK (1989)
A gang leader is executed in the electric chair and he vows to return for revenge. Now, a man on the same motorcycle is driving around and killing people via electrocution. He uses an electric chair rigged up to the back of the bike. This film has conspiracy, murder, and a suicide scene. There are not enough of those scenes!!! This is another fun whodunit. Perfect for a Halloween party.
10. THE EVIL (1978)
This is another HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL inspired flick with a bunch of experts that are traumatized by supernatural forces. This is actually a very well written, well-executed horror flick that really enjoyed setting the characters on fire. The majority of the deaths are by fire, which was rather amusing. Although very similar to other movies of the sort, it does have some unique twists to it.
11. FAMILY SECRET (2012)
A mystery about a dead grandmother that is apparently back to hack up her family with a trusty meat cleaver. The hunt for the granny leads to the uncovering of a family secret that has been buried for years. With more twists and turns than your normal horror film, FAMILY SECRET proves to be a winner with an ending to remember.
12. ATM (2012)
There aren’t many good horror films of recent note to speak of, but the ones that are standing out are typically those that create a tense atmosphere and keep it there for the duration of the film. VACANCY did that and so does ATM. You put yourself in the shoes of those trapped inside of the ATM with a madman outside of it. This was a wonderful and intense horror gem.
13. THE WOMAN (2012)
A feral woman is captured and an attempt is made to civilize her, but it soon turns dark when the abusive husband that found her makes her a sex slave and brutalizes her. The entire family has many secrets and there is plenty of dirty laundry to be aired. This film has created one of the most easy to hate villains in recent memory. This was a great indie horror flick.
14. NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 2 (1994)
A haunted mansion and an angry demon, mixed with terrible CGI and annoying nuns makes this an interesting watch. This is a sequel to a mediocrity that became incredibly popular. It’s hard to go wrong with demons and if you can tolerate some lame religious stuff, this may do the trick!
15. SATAN’S LITTLE HELPER (2004)
A straight to video hit surrounds a young boy that is obsessed with a video game with the same name as the title of this flick. The kid befriends a serial killer that he believes to be the real devil and they go out together on a spree of violence and fun. This was a unique tale with decent execution.
16. ZAAT (1971)
This was a recommendation and I can’t suggest it from experience, but dammit, I loved the trailer and the idea that a man turns himself into a half man/half fish and goes on a killing spree. This is the 1970s and they always produced entertaining stuff and this looks like THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON on steroids. I can’t wait to check this one out.
17. THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009)
A horror film based in the 1980s can’t be all that bad! A young college girl takes a babysitting gig and stumbles across true evil inside of the home that she is working. The family that she is helping is made up of Satanists that have no problem killing. This reminded me a little of WARLOCK MOON. It’s a very good recent horror movie.
18. MARTIN (1976)
George A. Romero of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD fame wrote this one, featuring a killer that believes himself to be a vampire and does anything to satisfy his need of blood. The use of visuals give this film a really neat feel and make this one a can’t miss this Halloween. It’s nice to see a non-zombie film from Romero.
19. MAY (2002)
This is another film that I have yet to see, but multiple people have suggested it to me, and it was pushed onto this list this year. May was a young girl that was lonely and only had one friend, a doll. She ends up making a doll out of human remains, but the majority of people that love this film tend to not divulge much about it or maybe it’s just hard to explain. Whatever the case, I am putting this on my Halloween list.
20. THE SANDMAN (1995)
Rounding out the top 20 is the 1995 JR Bookwalter/Matthew Jason Walsh collective horror entry, THE SANDMAN. A monster known as the “Sandman” is terrorizing a trailer park and only a novelist can stop it. This is a straight to video horror entry that really delivers. I have watched this film several times. It’s tough not to enjoy it.
