10. Dr. Giggles- Larry Drake (Darkman) stars in this early 90s cheese-fest, as the son of a psychopathic doctor, who has returned to the town his father shocked years ago. There is not much to this film besides the fact that Dr. Giggles kidnaps and performs various "surgeries" on unsuspecting teens and townsfolk. While you may be thinking... lame.. it's actually pretty drop dead hilarious. Like a midget at a urinal, this one will keep you on your toes.
9. Wrong Turn 2- Starring the immortal Henry Rollins, Wrong Turn II is a fun and brutal film that totally eclipses the original in every possible aspect. Plotwise, filming a reality show has been done (Halloween Ressurection) but WT2 excels here by giving the characters a reason for entering the back-hills of West VA instead of just the typical car break down. Well, I guess since they meant to enter the woods they did not take a "wrong turn" but the characters is what makes this film memorable. Henry Rollins is a bad ass mofo in all possible aspects, if you saw last season of Sons of Anarchy you can tell that the guy can act, wether its protagonist or antagonist I just want to see him on screen. The feel of the film certainly changes during the third act from fun to serious, which can be seen as a positive or negative, but hey it beats watching the same recycled shit on network TV.
8. Leprechaun 2 or 3- Yea... you freakin' heard me, Leprechaun 2 and/ or 3. I don't know about you guys but the Leprechaun movies are money. Not much here to critique here, dialogue is laughable, production value; ehh not too bad for early 90s but there is nothing like Warwick Davis one-liners, and he drops them from downtown like LeBron from behind the arc. The best scene from Leprechaun 2 is when Uncle Morty challenges the Leprechaun to a drinking contest and dominates the little guy. Then, traps the the Lep in a safe to extort the pot o' gold from him. Unluckily, the Leprechaun gives it to him by magically planting the gold into his colon. Yea, constipation deaths should be used more often if you ask me. Now, Leprechaun 3 is a whole different monster. Set in Sin City, a dorky college kid meets the stripper/ magician's assistant with the heart of gold and wins her love by killing the Leprechaun WHILE turning into one himself. Look out Inception, you just got served on that plot line.
7. Castle Freak- This Stuart Gordon film is about a family that move to a village in Italy when they inherit a castle. First off, it is one of my life goals to own/ live in a castle. I don't care if it comes with secret monsters that live in a dungeon, I'm living in a fucking castle. Anyway, strange things start to happen and the Dad of the family bangs a hooker in the dungeon, then the "Castle Freak" kills her making it look like the Dad did it. That is an interesting spin on the usual Frankenstein like story. This film also sports good gore effects and likable characters... well worth a spot on your Netflix que.
6. Behind the Mask, The Rise of Leslie Vernon- Ok, so in all seriousness this one is actually a very well thought out film, with interesting characters and a unique premise; giving a behind the scenes tour of becoming a slasher film hero. Leslie Vernon hires a camera crew to document his training, stalking, and preparation for murdering a group of teens in small town America. Vernon is actually a likable guy; funny, witty, intelligent and in no way an antagonist. This sort of ruins the finale of the film but I do not want to ruin that for anyone.
5. Demons (1985)- Overdubbed in English from Italian, Bava's Demons, is an interesting 80's giallo film revolving around a movie theatre full of different types of characters that start getting eaten by demons emerging from the screen. Imagine "Last Action Hero" with a less epic soundtrack and more story-line and much more gore... much more. I've got a special place in my heart for the 80's Italian shock cinema that the majority of people in this world seem to lack. So I say, go out there, pick up Cannibal Holocaust or Demons or Zombi and enjoy something DIFFERENT.
4. Maniac (1980)- So I am going to go out on a limb and say that most people probably have not seen Joe Spinell and William Lustig's Maniac. This movie is no joke whatsoever. From the very onset, Joe Spinell's character is scary. Not Jason, I've got a mask on and I walk fast scary, but real life I scalp women and keep mannequins in my bedroom scary. Tom Savini played a significant role developing the special effects for this film and produces some truly disturbing imagery. My favorite has to be when he actually blows his own head off a dummy of himself with a double barrel shotgun. If that makes any sense... The film stalls a little toward the third act, but if you are in the mood for disturbing and not fun horror, check out Maniac for a different taste.
3. Phantasm II- Universal stepped up and finally released the stepchild of the Phantasm series earlier this year and I definitely grabbed this bad boy first time I saw it in the store. Phantasm II picks up a few years after the original, with Reggie and Mike tracking "the Tall Man" across the country and the towns he has ruined. This film does not quite have the low-budget feel of the original but I enjoy it because it's just a fun movie. Reggie makes a quad-barrel shotgun and kills the shit out of little midgets in brown robes like he was born to do so. 80's cheese at its finest.
2. Dead Alive aka. Braindead- An early work from connoisseur Peter Jackson, Dead Alive is chock full of gore, cheese, and lovable characters most of which make no sense. Most horror fans have probably seen this flick but I am going to go and say that the majority of everyday Americans have not had the pleasure. A few reasons to check out this film: Rat monkeys, Zombie on Zombie sex, baby zombies, a ninja priest and the infamous lawnmower scene too iconic to describe accurately in this post. I recommend you check this one out on an empty stomach with a few alcoholic beverages already in your system for the full effect.
1. Waxwork- My absolute favorite 80's horror film of all time. A group of teens stumble upon a random waxwork in suburbia, and upon entering, get trapped in a series of classic horror waxwork stories. If that isn't an interesting logline, I guess I don't know what I am talking about then. If I actually wanted a classic film from my childhood remade it would be this one, and Hellraiser :) What makes this movie so spectacular is the fact that there are like 6 mini-movies inside a single film. The climax occurs when the waxworks come to life and have an all out melee with the random townsfolk that storm inside. The actors can act (for the most part), the story is interesting, plot is well paced, and I bet you have not seen this movie. So pull up Netflix, and get this bad boy mailed to you... I recommend a good six or seven beers in your system for full affect of the film.
So, all in all I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween, enjoy some different scary movies this year instead of the same Friday the 13th ones that are going to be on AMC, and subscribe to my blog, I'll owe ya one.
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