Ten Underrated or Unknown Horror Movies -- For the General Public Apr 22 '02    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Movies Love and Basketball From $6 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy From $8 The Bottom Line Horror fans probably know most of these movies. Most other people probably do not. So this is for the general, non-horror-fanatic- movie audience. I sat down to write a Top Ten list of the best horror movies of all time. Unfortunately, I realized that my list, with one or two exceptions, would not have been altogether different from anybody else’s. I had Night of the Living Dead, Psycho, Dawn of the Dead, the Exorcist… in other words, on my list of the ten best horror movies of all time I had, well, the best horror movies of all time. Most people know these movies so it will not do anybody any good for me to repeat why they are good. So, I decided to list some movies that are good but either underrated or unknown for one reason or another. Some, like Night of the Creeps, are well known and thought of highly, but mostly by horror fans. So, this is especially a list for the general public who might want to rent a horror film or two some Friday night, have a local video store with a decent horror collection, and are tired of weak Scream clones and CGI effects. So with that, I present my Top Ten Unknown or Underrated Horror Movies. 10. Night of the Living Dead (1990) Director: Tom Savini; Starring: Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman I loved this movie when I was 12 years old, and had not seen it since until I found it on sale at Borders for a steal at $6. The story is essentially the same as the original: a group of survivors is hold up in a farmhouse while hoards of zombies siege them looking for food. Though not as good as the original, Tom Savini’s remake is a well-made, scary zombie-fest that is just gory enough to be powerful without being too gross for the average viewer. The best thing it has going for it is that it moves along at a quicker pace than the original, and obviously has better makeup and effects. It can’t match the George Romero’s film in style, but still has plenty to offer. Females will probably find this one more appealing as the female characters are updated for the 90’s – in other words, they are not catatonic or otherwise completely submissive. Often woefully underrated, the remake of Night of the Living Dead makes for a great Friday night movie. 9. Cube (1997) Director: Vincenzo Natali; Starring: Nicole de Boer, Nicky Guadagni A Canadian Sci-fi/Horror flick, Cube is proof that a director does not need a multi-million-dollar budget to produce a good horror movie. The story has a total of just six characters that awaken in a strange maze of colored cubic rooms, some of which are booby trapped and some of which are safe. Only the strangely numbered hatches between each room provide some clue as to which rooms are which. Each character is vastly different, but all have some specific skill that will aid in the survival of the group. As the time ticks away and the claustrophobia and need for food and water grows, the characters struggle to maintain their own composure and unity with the rest of the group. Cube is an intriguing horror film with some great death scenes that suffers somewhat from a weak, predictable ending. However, its unique premise will keep you enticed for most of the film. You might find this in either the sci-fi or horror section of the video store. Definitely a must-see for fans of either genre. 8. Session 9 (2001) Director: Brad Anderson; Starring: David Caruso, Peter Mullan Set in an abandoned mental asylum, Session 9 is a psychological horror film that uses its creepy backdrop as a catalyst for the social breakdown that is the centerpiece of the plot. Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan), a hazardous material expert, successfully lobbies for a job cleaning up an abandoned hospital that is set to be turned into the new city hall. His partner Phil (David Caruso) is against taking the job, as Gordon tells the city he can complete it in one week – a feat that Phil claims is impossible. Nevertheless, along with a 5-man team, Gordon begins the job. There is already tension from the beginning: one crewmember stole Phil’s girlfriend, another is unreliable and irresponsible, another is only working there because he is Gordon’s nephew, and Gordon himself is having trouble dealing with his new child. Throughout the week, one of the members constantly escapes into a back room where he listens to the taped sessions between a doctor and a multiple-personality patient named Mary. As the irritability of Mary’s personalities grows, so too does the tension within the group – until the crewmember listens to Session 9. When I first saw this, I was expecting some sort of supernatural element. Indeed, the setting is ripe for a ghost or some such. However, I was pleasantly surprised when it stuck to the psychological aspect. The setting is creepy enough in and of itself. The ending disappoints, but.the rest of the film has plenty of creepy moments. Check it out. 7. The Amityville Horror (1979) Director: Stuart Rosenberg; Starring: Margot Kidder, James Brolin Okay, so the original story of the haunted house in Amityville was proved false a long time ago. However, I still will never understand why this movie gets railed on so much. The first time I saw it, it scared the dickens out of me. Granted, I was in middle school, but it still gave me chills when I saw it last year. The story is a pretty typical for a haunted house movie: a young couple and their two children move into a house formerly owned by a family that was murdered by one of its own members. Even stranger, the new owner is a dead ringer for the man who murdered his family. Immediately upon moving in, sinister things begin happening: Money needed to pay a wedding caterer mysteriously disappears, a window suddenly shuts on the fingers of the young son, a priest and a nun are both told to leave by a strange voice. There is one scene in particular in this movie that still gives me nightmares (though I will not say which!). Most of the criticism I hear is that the movie is dull. No, it does not have a lot of action. However, I always found it to have a very scary atmosphere and enough frightening details to make me look twice around my room before going to bed. Unjustly rated badly by too many people. 6. Stephen King’s The Night Flier (1997) Director: Mark Pavia; Starring: Miguel Ferrer, Julie Entwisle One of the best Stephen King movies ever. Miguel Ferrer plays Richard Dees, a reporter for the sleazy tabloid newspaper Inside View who has been struggling to make the front page. Katherine Blair (Julie Entwisle) is a new, enthusiastic reporter whom Dees sees as a threat. Blair’s first assignment, originally offered to Dees, is to investigate a string of murders at small airports around the country. Dees dismisses the story as “nothing” until he hears that his new rival is pursuing it, after which he demands another chance. The editor of the paper, tired of Dees’s antics, allows both reporters to compete for the story. Dees soon discovers that he is chasing some sort of vampiric (is that a word? Oh well, anyway) killer who flies from airport to airport in a black Cessna Skymaster killing people in his path. The film has a lot of small details that illicit fright. Miguel Ferrer is perfect as Richard Dees, a cold, almost bloodthirsty reporter who is all too similar to the killer he is chasing. The Night Flier ends on a high note as it has a great finale. Worth seeing for the ending alone. 5. Night of the Creeps (1986) Director: Fred Dekker; Starring: Jason Lively; Steve Marshall Well-known to horror fans, Night of the Creeps is a straight-from-the-80’s B classic, complete with cheesy one-liners, wild hairdos and bad synthesizer music. The story begins with an alien experiment in the 1950s that crashes on earth and infects a college student with a strange slug like creature. Fast forward to the 1980s: the infected student’s body has been frozen and inexplicably kept in a college laboratory. A fraternity geek and his friend accidentally thaw out the body and are infected themselves. Soon, thousands of black slugs are slithering about infecting students on campus and turning them into zombies. The only people around to stop them are a crazy police officer, a frat boy and his girlfriend. The plot is not particularly unique, but fits the movie perfectly. Night of the Creeps is a purely fun film that does not take itself too seriously. Has plenty of funny moments. You can probably find this at most video stores, or catch it late at night on USA or some other cable network. 4. Near Dark (1987) Director: Kathryn Bigelow; Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Lance Henrikson I may be wrong in calling this either underrated or unknown. To be perfectly honest, I was not old enough when this movie was released to either see it or really be aware of whether or not it was popular. Having seen it after Interview with the Vampire and Blade, however, I can see the extent of its influence. Caleb, a mid-western farmboy becomes a vampire after being bitten by a girl he meets. It turns out that the girl is part of a band of the undead who roam the west like hobos killing people in their path. The group reluctantly allows Caleb to join them after making him participate in a brutal barroom massacre as initiation. Both Caleb and his girlfriend eventually become disillusioned with the group and its sadistic leader (played by Bill Paxton in a roll that helped is career immensely) and try to break away. The ending is a little too happy and clean for such a dark film, but it does not hurt the quality of the movie too much. The score by German techno band Tangerine Dream adds well to the atmosphere. Very well done predecessor to most of today’s vampire films, and superior to most of them as well. 3. In the Mouth of Madness (1995) Director: John Carpenter; Starring: Sam Neill, Jurgen Prochnow Another movie that was generally treated harshly by the critics, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness is a reality-bending film that will leave your head spinning, but also that has a lot of genuinely frightening moments. Insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) is called to investigate the disappearance of popular horror writer Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow) whose new novel In the Mouth of Madness is set to hit bookshelves. Cane has a knack for writing so descriptively that some of his readers have gone on insane, violent rampages after reading his novels. Trent, a level-headed Sherlock Holmes type of guy, believes the whole thing is a publicity stunt by the publishing company. However, when his investigation leads him to the supposedly fictional town of Hobb’s End, New Hampshire – a creation of Sutter Cane – his logic begins to unravel. Carpenter has obviously read a lot of both Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft, and he weaves both styles well in this movie. Sam Neill, who unfortunately got stuck in some lousy movies like Jurassic Park 3, plays the character of John Trent perfectly as he descends from level-headedness into madness. There are parts of this movie that still make me shudder. A must see. 2. Haunted (1995) Director: Lewis Gilbert; Starring: Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale One of the best gothic horror movies ever, second only to the original Haunting in my opinion. Despite being produced by Francis Ford Coppola, Haunted unfortunately was sent directly to video with little fanfare. Set in the 1930’s, Haunted is the story of David Ash, an American college professor and professional skeptic who travels to England to debunk a myth about a supposedly haunted house inhabited by an old woman and her adult grandchildren. Though the film moves along slowly, it has great cinematography, with some beautiful shots of the house and the English countryside. Its style is perfect for a gothic horror film. Along with the obvious ghost story, Haunted toys with themes such as incest and infanticide, which make the plot underlying the beautiful setting all the more disturbing. Though just 108 minutes, it seems a lot longer due to its slow pace. Perhaps shaving just 10 minutes off might have done it some good. Nevertheless, it amazes me that this movie was overlooked. I only happened to discover it when I saw it sitting on the shelf at the movie store and thought it looked mildly interesting. Might not be a Friday or Saturday night type of movie, but it is one of my all time favorites. 1. Ring (1998) Director: Hideo Nakata; Starring: Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada Ring ought to be up there with the best horror films of all time. Period. A huge hit in Japan, Ring for some reason was never released in the U.S., perhaps because a movie company is making an American version of it. Hopefully, they will come to their senses and actually release the real film instead. Ring is based on a Japanese urban legend of a cursed video that, if watched, will cause the viewer to die in exactly seven days. Reiko Asakawa, a reporter, begins to investigate the legend after her niece dies mysteriously after watching a strange video. Asakawa eventually finds the movie they watched, and soon realizes that she too will become a victim of the curse. Enlisting the help of her psychic ex-husband Ryuji, the two attempt to solve the mystery of the curse before time runs out. Director Hideo Nakata manages to achieve a true sense of dread and fear throughout this movie. There is no soundtrack other than a strange, dissonant noise strategically placed in the film. The color and lighting seem muted, and for flashback sequences, Nakata opted for a grainy black-and-white effect that gives a surrealistic feel. The acting is dead on, and the climax is one of the most frightening ever to be put on film. I heard a version of this movie with English subtitles was released in the UK but I do not know for sure. I am praying they release such a version in the U.S. If you can speak Japanese or find a version with subtitles, you have to watch this movie.

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