Stage Fright (1987) aka Bloody Bird, aka Deliria, aka Aquarius

Stage Fright is a great lesser known 80s Italian slasher film or Giallo (sub genre of slasher film from the 60s-80s that were mostly made in Italy and focused more on cinematography, creative kills, and overall production values instead of acting or plot). It is also the directorial debut of Michele Soavi (The Church, Cemetery Man) who was an assistant director to the king of Giallo himself, Dario Argento, on three of his most famous films (Phenomena, Tenebre, and Opera) as well as working on the Giallo cult classic Demons (1985). Stage Fright is about a theater company rehearsing a musical about a serial killer, when one night an escapee from a local asylum sneaks into the theater. The escapee from the asylum proceeds to hack off the cast one by one while wearing the costume of the

murderer from the play (the killer wears a giant owl head). Like most great Giallos this one has great cinematography, great music, and some really great creative kills, but what makes this one of the better Giallos is that the writing is actually pretty good. While some Giallos are all about gore, they are generally more intelligent and artsy than a lot of their american counterparts like the Friday the 13th films. While some of the deaths go uninvestigated, the whole theater group at one point realize they need to stick together (something that doesn't happen in most 80s slashers) though admittedly that doesn't last long. The most famous scene from this movie happens towards the end when the killer is chasing the final girl across  the stage and  it starts raining bird feathers as is they were snowflakes. The movie has gained a cult following over the years and even a loose remake in 2014. While some of the acting could be better, the rest of the production values in this film are top notch (including the plot development and writing), so for that reason it's a great lesser known slasher and I give it a 4.5/5. The movie is featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See book (see full list of films here).

Nothing But Trouble (1991)

This is a movie that is definitely one of a kind. It's a unique blend of horror and comedy with bizarre cast, some really colorful characters,great sets and lots of special effects. To give a small taste of how weird this movie is you need not look any further than the cast list: Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John candy as two characters (one being a woman), a cameo from a very young Tupac Shakur (as a backup singer in the Digital Underground), and Dan Akroyd as three different characters in tons of heavy makeup. Dan Akroyd wrote, directed produced, and starred in this film as a 100 year old puritanical judge, and two morbidly obese redneck babies. The movie contains a spooky house full of booby traps and junk everywhere (think History channel's Hoarders), weird gadgets (including a train that delivers food and shoots pickles), and a deadly rollercoaster death machine called "Mister Bonestripper" that even has its own theme song. Other than what I just described of the film, it's plot can be very difficult 

to describe due to its constant shift in mood, tone, and genre at times, so I will not try describe the plot here any further. I will add however that this film is essentially a Tim Burton comedy version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. How anybody thought any of this movie up on their own, let alone combined it all is a feat in and of itself. The even more amazing accomplishment is that somehow somebody green-lit Dan Akroyd's bat-shit insane story and gave it a large hollywood budget. The movie was a huge box office flop on its initial release and indeed it is hard to call this film a "good" movie. There are a lot of hollywood cliches here in the form of forced romances, actors playing racial stereotypes, some overly annoying characters and other factors make the film indeed less than perfect. That being said though I have seen this movie three different times and watched it with four different people and have yet to find people (who already enjoy weird and unusual movies) that did not have fun while watching this. The movie's feel is so unique and it's such an oddity that it's uniqueness seems to be redeeming enough so that you can overlook its cheesiness and at times terrible jokes or gags. If you enjoy the weird and unusual, cult movies, or any of the film's stars, I recommend Nothing But Trouble, and I think this movie is ripe enough for a comeback as a cult classic. I give it 4/5. You can watch the trailer here.  P.S. someone please help me turn this amazing still of dan akroyd eating a hot dog into a gif or meme, thank you.

Meet The Feebles (1989)

Every once and a while I need a good dose of shock, and shocking humor is usually how I go about getting it. This was the second film by Peter Jackson (yes that Peter Jackson) before he started winning Oscars and directing elves and hobbits. To those unfamiliar with his early work Dead Alive (one of goriest movies of all time AKA Braindead (1990)) Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, and Meet The Feebles are the most famous of his early works. His early movies all have shockingly grotesque cartoonish element to them, similar to the shocking films of Ralph Bakshi ( Fritz the Cat, Coonskin). Meet The Feebles is supposed to be an adult humor parody version of The Muppets. Meet The Feebles is definitely a cult classic much in the way Team America World Police (2004) is becoming a modern cult classic, both movies rely on shocking and offensive humor using puppets, but while Team America has some actual clever and hysterical moments to it, Meet the Feebles comes off as all shock and no humor. The movie has little to no plot, mainly just being about an up and coming puppet variety show where everything goes wrong during the production. I discovered this movie in a book I own called "500 Essential Cult Films" and it sounded bonkers and worth a view, and I will say the movie had potential to be funny but it has more of the "train-wreck effect" where no matter how horrible it gets you can't help but look 

away. There's multiple puppet sex scenes, including puppet rape, a puppet violently vomiting all over the stage, a vietnam vet frog with PTSD and a heroin problem (they use him to recreate the famous russian roulette scene from The Deer Hunter (1978)), multiple puppet murders (including a murder spree with an AK47), puppets melting, a puppet that supposedly has AIDS, a puppet fly eating feces, puppet porn, puppet S&M, puppet racism, a musical number about sodomy, and several other horrible sequences. When the movie was over I just sat there with my jaw dropped. Even the most simple of jokes that could have worked were overpowered by shock such as when a walrus charactertricks a fish into being eaten, but just as you're about to laugh, the walrus vomits up the fish character's

half-eaten corpse which is now begging to be killed. The puppets themselves were kind of cool but overall I enjoyed my friend's story about how he watched this movie while on absinthe (the real stuff mind you, not the kind sold here in the U.S.) much more than the actual movie. If you must witness the craziness that is this movie I highly recommend just watching the trailer. I give it a 2/5. You can watch the trailer here.

Delicatessen (1991)

You could call this film a post apocalyptic dystopian Sci-Fi, a Dark Comedy, or a light hearted Romance and you would be correct on all three counts. From the same French director who became most known for the acclaimed and award winning Amelie (also known for City of Lost Children, and Alien: Resurrection) comes this incredibly unique and delightful film.  The film takes place in future France (date unspecified though the costumes and props give the film a 1940s feel) after the world has been ravaged by nuclear warfare and farmers can no longer grow crops of any kind (or at least fertile soil and seeds are incredibly hard to come by). So people have now resorted to eating meat, but due to no crops, animals are also hard to come by, so a French landlord who also happens to own a butcher shop hacks up his tenants and sells them to his customers. Despite that description sounding incredibly dark and bleak, I kid you not this film is one of the most whimsical and light-hearted movies I've seen in a long time, possibly ever. This is director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's first film and it has won many awards, won much praise from critics, and is featured in many "greatest films of all time" lists. Jeunet has a very distinct style to all his films, and they usually come off as visually rich, but distinctly French, dark fantasies; This film is no exception. The actor Dominique Pinon (who is 

featured in all of Jeunet's films) plays the main character, an ex-circus clown looking for a job and a place to live. His character thinks he has found a great deal at the Butcher's tenement, but he will soon realize what danger awaits him. The film takes turns showing off all the tenants in the building and each one of them is somewhat pathetic (though endearing) and funny in their own way. There are two competitive brothers who make novelty toys that make cow sounds, a woman who constantly tries (and fails) to commit suicide in elaborate ways, a down on his luck salesman who designs condoms and sells "rat-calls," and the Butcher's own shy bookish daughter who takes a fancy to the new tenant. The highlights of this film include its great special effects, its bizarre romance between the ex-clown and the Butcher's daughter (they play a musical duet for cello and "singing" saw), its incredible wit (I found myself laughing out loud to this one several times), and the fact it maintains an inspiring "wide-eyed" innocence in a seemingly bleak world. Make no mistake this is a weird one, and quite often some of the laughs come from the sheer weirdness of the film, but I found it thoroughly unique and enjoyable. Delicatessen was to me  refreshingly uplifting drink of water, in the midst of  a sea of dark and gritty films with bleak outlooks on life. Delicatessen shows that there is hope no matter how bad life seems. I give it a 5/5. You can watch the trailer here. 

 

Puppet Master (1989) Original

I'll just start right off the bat by saying I have no idea how this spawned so many sequels or became as famous/successful as it did. I found it incredibly mediocre and repulsing at times. I love the idea of the killer puppets, but the execution was awful. It takes like two thirds of the movie to explain what is actually going on in the film long after the puppets have already started killing people. And there is just so much about this movie that makes no sense, for example supposedly the original creator of the puppets did not intend them to be used as dangerous weapons, but if that's the case why make them with knives for hands and drill bits for heads? Plus like many movies made during the 80s the characters (the puppets) have catchy nicknames like Blade, Pinhead and Tunneler, as if these characters were designed with the purpose of selling toys based off of the film, but this is a very violent film and not a kids movie (an illogical but common trend in the 80s).  Also the twist didn't make a whole lot of sense to me (Spoiler Alert) how did the bad guy come back after he died? The answer was he used the ancient Egyptian spell he the puppet master used to bring the dolls to life sure, but how could say the spell to revive himself once he was dead? Unless he said it before he died which shouldn't work cause he wasn't inanimate at the time. Also I noticed several continuity errors and such in the film, and I can understand some people may like these movies for being "so bad they're good" but this first one didn't 

even reach that level of bad for me. It just sat at the level between good and bad reserved for the horribly mediocre film which tries to take itself seriously and be good but misses the mark. That being said I didn't hate it, but it wasn't good enough for me to like it either, though I must admit at first the plot with the psychics being in search of these puppets and psychically linked to each other did intrigue me, but it didn't develop or explain itself enough. My favorite thing about the movie was seeing veteran character actor William Hickey (MouseHunt, The Producers, Little Big Man, Prizi's Honor) cast as the Puppet Master. So I give it a 2.5/5. The full movie is available to stream (as well as all of it's 8 sequels) free on Hulu, and you can watch the trailer below:

Maniac Cop (1988)

I picked this one up because of its rep as a big cult classic and I heard it was a "so bad it's good" movie, but overall it treaded the line between being an actual "good" movie and a "so bad its good"  movie. So overall I would say it's just a "bad" movie, but one did have some entertainment value to it. The film is about exactly what it sounds like, a "maniac cop" that goes around killing innocent people, but what's interesting is that the killer may or may not be an undead former police officer (that is what attracted me to this film). The film has somewhat of a traditional 80s slasher feel to it, but it tries to hard to be an intelligent mystery with a twist (which it's not), the twist and overall "mystery" are pretty predictable and have easily found solutions (they actually show you the name tag on the uniform of the killer in the movie's opening sequence). Tom Atkins plays the cop who is on the trail of the maniac cop throughout most of the film, and Bruce Campbell (who appeared in this film and it's 1st sequel in between filming Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness) plays the prime suspect who claims he's innocent. I loved Tom Atkins in The Fog, Halloween III, and of course Night of the Creeps, he's still good in this film but I think the writing was a little hokey overall for everyone in this film. Bruce Campbell really shines with his typical slapstick style towards the end of the film, and that quite frankly is the best part of this movie. In the last 15-20 minutes or so is when the most action occurs, Bruce Campbell starts being Bruce Campbell, the maniac cop is revealed and all the good stuff happens, the rest of the film is not as entertaining as the ending. Also another problem with the film is when they finally do reveal the killer's face the makeup is so bad and actors face is so bizarre that all the ominous scary atmosphere of the film and persona of the killer gets washed away with the first glimpse of the killer's face, which needless to say is a big let down. The titular cop is played by cult and B-movie veteran Robert Z'dar (along with his inhumanly large jaw, which is all natural by the way), and he went on to reprise his role in the film's following two sequels. The film itself is directed by William Lustig who aside from this film and its sequels is most known for the infamously gorey 80s slasher Maniac. Overall the film was alright but it could've been so much better if it made up its mind and went with full on seriousness, or full on wackiness, it was too in-between for me so I give it a 3/5. It did have a great tag-line though: "You have the right to remain silent...forever!"  You can watch the trailer below:

Night of the Creeps (1986)

I had high hopes for this one because I'm a huge fan of The Monster Squad (1987) and Night of the Creeps was the first film for the Monster Squad's director Fred Dekker (House[1986], Robocop 3[1993]). Night of the Creeps is a wonderful cross genre film, with parts of it fitting into Sci-fi, horror, comedy, action, romance, slasher,  and everything in between. Night of the creeps is one part tribute to 50s Sci-Fi B films, one part teen scream (horror movie that appeals to teens), one part parasitic alien film, one part detective film, and one part crazy Animal House-esque comedy. With all those areas to cover it would be fairly easy to mess up in any one of them or have the film not feel like a whole, but Dekker wrote a phenomenal screenplay for the film and never at any point do the films different genre components take away from the strength of the plot or the film as a whole. This is as classic as 80s movies get, the movie has all the classic 80s sterotypes but at the same time it has so many things most 80s movies, or movies in general for that matter, don't have. The film's highlights include a wonderful wise cracking character who happens to be crippled (you don't so many disabled people in movies in general and this film creates a wonderful character who's strong despite his affliction), great catchy phrases from the detective character (every time he answers a phone or acknowledges someone he says "Thrill Me!"), killing zombies with Flame Throwers, explosions, lawn mowers and more, puppet aliens, great special effects and wonderful Animal House inspired Frat antics.  The plot is that parasitic aliens have gotten lose into town the night of the college's formal dance, there's a lot more to it than that but it's best to just see it. Sure there were some parts where the acting is poor or some lines that make no sense (such as the detective shouting "it's Miller time!" while killing a zombie), but overall the screenplay is absolutely wonderful, and so are the actors. The special effects were made by some of the soon to be greatest make-up and special effects artists in Hollywood. Everyone usually raves about the actor Tom Atkins and his performance as the hard boiled detective in this movie, and while I love his character and his dialogue, I don't think it's a role that couldn't have been pulled

off just as well by another actor, though this is probably his best loved role. This film is a huge cult classic and ultimately was denied success in its time like so many genre bending films because people didn't know how to market it. The film is also insanely quotable with my favorite line being the one that is echoed in the poster up there: "I've got good news and bad news girls, the good news is your dates are here" "What's the bad news?" "They're dead." The film has endured over the years because of its intense cult following, and we can only hope that they will keep it around for as long as films can be accessed on one format or another. I give it a 5/5. The movie is featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See book, and you can watch the trailer below:

Fubar (2000) and Fubar II (2010)

If you enjoyed Wayne's World (1992), This is Spinal Tap (1984), Strange Brew (1983), Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008) or The Big Lebowski (1998), then boy have I got a movie for you. This is a Canadian cult classic about two metal head hicks from Alberta who are just as entertaining and deserving of a fan following as Wayne or Garth, Bob or Doug McKenzie, or Walter and The Dude. The film is shot mockumentary style just like Spinal Tap, so the people in the film are all actors and the characters are all fictional but they feel just like real people and the movie is very realistic (for the most part). There is no real plot except for the development of the characters. Terry and Dean the main characters are two

metalhead/stoner bums who are concerned more with partying than anything else pretty much. Dean's character does develop testicular cancer though and one of the main characters die, so the film has some serious tones but the film handles them with such hilarity that you won't even notice the seriousness that much. This movie is full of wonderful quotable lines like "I recommend you try another sport...like knitting!" or "Turn up the good button turn down the suck button! I think you broke the knob off!" Just as Walter and the Dude have bowling as a pass-time, Terry and Dean have beer and fighting. I didn't stop to count but I wouldn't be surprised if over a hundred beers were consumed by the duo on-screen. The film tends to speak to people in their 20s who might be in or just out of college and who are failing to cope with the hardships of maturity and the real world after school. I found the movie endlessly entertaining and I highly recommend it and hope it catches on here in the states. I also watched the sequel which was made ten years after and is more of the same but with far more serious overtones and more well polished production value. I give the first one a 5/5 and the second a 3.5/5. You can view the trailer below:

Fright Night Part II (1988)

 For those of you that are unfamiliar with the 80s cult classic Fright Night (1985) and its sequels and remakes, I advise reading about it here before continuing to read this review.This sequel came out three years after the original, and it has William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall reprise their roles as Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent respectively. This film is just as fun as the first and just as well acted and the cinematography and music are just as great as the first film as well. The only areas where this film really lacks are in its special effects and writing. The writing is still pretty good overall, but there are points in the film where certain things (although may be cool) don't make a whole lot of sense (I'd give the specific example but I don't want to give the surprise away). The special effects however are really where this film suffered, specifically the effects with the vampires. The vampire effects are much different from the first film, (which is too bad because the vampires in the first Fright Night are some of the most unique and coolest looking vampires in the history of film) here they sometimes come off as fake and hokey. The plot of the film is that it is years after the events in the first film, and Charley is now a young college student who has undergone years of therapy that has convinced him that the events in the first film never happened and that vampires don't exist. He also has a new girlfriend, on the anniversary of the events of the first film, and sort of to show himself that he has been cured of his delusional beliefs about vampires, Charley decides to reconnect with the washed up horror movie actor turned TV host, Peter Vincent. Upon visiting Vincent's apartment building though, Charley once again sees someone carrying a coffin into the building, just like the beginning of the last film. Shortly after seeing the coffin and those carrying it, Charley becomes stalked by a beautiful woman, who as you find out later is actually Jerry Dandridge (the vampire from the first film)'s sister bent on getting revenge on Peter Vincent and Charley. The actress who plays the vampire in this film does a wonderful job of being very hypnotic and exotic. The sets are great in this film too, some return from the last movie, and others are very appropriately 80s gothic. This film was not as big of a success as the first film, due partially to the fact that it had a limited theater release, and it's almost impossible to find on any form of home video.

The VHS release of the film came in a coffin shaped box and is now a collectors item, the DVD went out of print very shortly after it was first released (plus the DVD is a horrible fuzzy Pan-and-Scan transfer) so it's hard to find, and it is still not yet known if the film will be released on Blu-Ray, although if amazon is correct you can buy a copy on Blu-Ray for $400. I enjoyed the film despite its flaws and not being as good as the first, I give it a 4/5. You can view the trailer below: 

28 Days Later (2002)

I'd been meaning to see this one for a long time, but just never got around to it like so many other movies on my "to see" list.I had heard basically nothing but good things about this one, though my main hesitation to see it was because I'm not a fan of zombie movies, and yet that's why I liked this one, because it stops being a zombie movie at some point. I had always heard that 28 Days Later was a very non traditional zombie movie, but I was thinking that meant because it was the first film to feature running zombies (lots of movies have used them since though) and other unique qualities that would still make the zombies the key focal point of the movie, while this is true for a while, the film does change at a certain point. At a certain point about a third of the way through the movie, the two main characters meet up with a man and his daughter and flee to the countryside in his taxi cab. Once they leave London, the movie becomes more of an experimental/art film than a zombie film, and zombies won't even be seen again in the film until very close to the end. The

cinematography, countryside and music are all gorgeous at this point in the movie, and the characters are all relieved to be safe and among friends, so their happiness rubs off on the viewer and makes the film just that much more enjoyable. And with the exception of some of the earliest scenes of the movie, even when the zombies are around, the movie is much more about survival and figuring out how to continue/rebuild civilization as we know it than it is about just killing/escaping from zombies. In case you do not know the story, the film is about a zombie apocalypse in London brought on by bacteria found in monkeys. The story really begins though when a man (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma to a completely deserted hospital. The man finds other survivors in the city and the film follows his adventures from there on. The director Danny Boyle is known for using a guerrilla film style with all of his movies ( In Slumdog Millionaire he used cell phone cameras in the alleys of India, Trainspotting uses very fast shaky shots throughout, etc.) and this one 

is no exception. Arguably the most impressive part of this film are its scenes where Murphy walks through a completely deserted London, and that's all real. In order to get the shots of a deserted London, Boyle and his crew filmed early in the morning when there was hardly anyone around and then they used handheld cameras to quickly capture the shots they needed before cars and people would begin to invade their shots. I liked the film and its unwillingness to be confined to the traditions of one specific genre. The ending didn't really sit all that well with me though (it didn't feel like there was any resolution much at all), and I'm still not a big fan of post apocalyptic zombie movies of any kind so I give it a 4.25/5. You can view the trailer below:

Night of the Comet (1984)

Predating most of the 80s classic teen comedies (John Hughes films included) was this unique film. The film is about people in the L.A. area of California who are all getting ready to watch the arrival of comet fly overhead one night, but then due to unforeseen forces (radiation or possibly some alien bacteria) all who were exposed to the comet were either immediately vaporized, or turned into zombies (those who were in a house as opposed to watching the comet outside). At first it seems only two teenage valley girls (both sisters) survived unharmed (all those who were behind steel structures remained unaffected) and all of L.A. is now their playground. The film is unique not only in its plot but also with its characters and their interactions with each other. The girls' father is in the Military Special Ops forces, and apparently he did weapon and combat training with each of them from a

very young age, so though they are typical 80s teenagers in many ways, they are different because they know their weapons and prefer Uzies, also the older sister is really into/good at video games, and nerdy things like Superman. The film is advertised as a comedy but I didn't find it that funny at all actually, (except for my favorite line of the movie: "I'm not crazy! I just don't give a fuck!") but it was still fun and enjoyable because of how unique and different it is. The movie has a very fitting 80s soundtrack and the highlight of the film (or at least most famous scene) is when the girls go on a shopping spree at an abandoned mall. As interesting as the movie was it never really built to a proper climax in my opinion and it just kind of ended without any kind of (or at least very little) resolution. I still liked it though and recommend it if you dig 80s movies, zombie movies, post-apocalyptic movies, horror comedies, or teen movies in general. The movie is now available on Instant Streaming on Netflix, or you can also find the full movie in decent quality on YouTube here. I give it a 4.25/5, and you can view the trailer below:

Village of the Damned (1960)

Although universally thought of as a classic, today it is often overlooked and forgotten about in favor of other classic 60s horror flicks like Night Of The Living Dead (1968) or other classic Sci-Fis like Invasion of The Body Snatchers(1956), but this film should still be just as talked about and beloved as it once was for it holds up remarkably well almost 55 years later. Imagine The Omen (1976) except instead of one evil kid running around destroying things with his mind, you get 12 of them in this movie. The children are born when (after a mysterious sleeping spell overtakes a whole town) all the women in a town become pregnant. Oscar winning actor George Sanders (who is known for his cold calculative and often slimy characters, to which this film's no exception) does a wonderful job as the scientist who wants to keep the children alive for the sake of studying even after they begin to commit unspeakable crimes. The special effects done to the children's eyes are still spooky even by today's standards. The film also builds marvelously until the very end (some older films can really lag, but this is well paced for the time it was made). The film does have at least one sequel (Children of The Damned, which is also acclaimed, and Iron Maiden did a saong of the same name about that film) and the honor of being remade 35 years later by horror legend John Carpenter, but from what I have read there seems to be no doubt that the original is the best. I give it a 5/5, and you can view the trailer below:

All About Eve (1950)

This might be the film I've reviewed that I've most strongly connected/personally related

to. All About Eve is the six Oscar winning (including best picture) 1950 film that is as timeless as any classic. The film tells/shows the destructive power of  ambition/planning (albeit to others whose ambitions overlap) deception and jealousy, and of course the power of the theater which encapsulates all three of those. The film is incredibly relevant even to those outside of the theater though because of the competitive and "fake" nature life sometimes seems to take on due to the insincerity of others (which oddly enough is just as damaging be it detectable or undetectable). The film ultimately is a reminder of the old Shakespeare adage: "All the world is a stage, and we but actors on it," and lastly the film serves as a powerful reminder to me of the importance and value I hold for sincerity; From myself and from others. Bette Davis plays an aging theater actress, Margo Channing. One night Margo gets a visit from a fan whose admiration of her is so impressive to Margo and her entourage, that Margo decides to employ the fan as her full time secretary. Eventually it becomes known to all though that the stories the secretary 
(Eve) tells are all fiction though and that Eve had her rise to stardom through the friendship of Margo and her entourage planned from the beginning, and Eve's

humility is nothing more than a testament to her ability to act. Eve is one of those people I'm sure we all either have or will encounter at some point, who doesn't care who they hurt while they try to get what they want (and simultaneously ingratiating themselves into the hearts of others, due to their lack of realizing the individual's ulterior motives), this film also serves as a reminder that at one point or another in our lives we ourselves be similar (though maybe to a lesser extent) to the title character (it's more or less in the nature of being ambitious, one just needs to really try to find a balance and hopefully ultimately be more sincere). This film also has an abundance of great quotes, wit, and of course acting. Though neither lead actress won the Oscar for this film George Sanders did win Best Supporting Actor for his marvelous part in the film. The film has a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes.com, it is listed in several of my cult movie books, and is agreed upon almost universally as one of the greatest movies ever made. The film is a little long, but in my opinion it never really felt sluggish, and it actually had pretty good pacing and is worth almost every moment. As I mentioned before the film has many famous quotes that have since become even more well known than the film they're from, the best example of this is when Davis's character says: "Fasten your seatbelts, It's going to be a bumpy night!" I give it a 5/5, and you can find the film available to stream on Netflix.  I don't really like trailers for older films, but you can view it below nonetheless: 

Tourist Trap (1979)

This is a very obscure cult classic, but unlike many obscure classics that are good and have seemingly no reason to be (no famous or noteworthy names attached to the project) Tourist Trap has people that add to its unique eccentric style. Most notably Robert A. Burns, the art director from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was involved with Tourist Trap designing the creepiest mannequins I have ever seen, and being responsible for the also very effective special effects that made them come alive. Composer Pino Donaggio, most remembered for his scores for several Brian De Palma films, Carrie (1976) Dressed to Kill 

(1980), Blowout (1981), as well as Jo Dante's Piranha (1978) and Howling (1981) and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), did a very bizarre carnival-esque score for the film. The plot of the film centers around these college aged kids going on a road trip who decide to stop at a tourist trap along the way; Slausen's Wax Museum. Unfortunately for the kids this is a real tourist trap, and the museum's owner and his crazy "brother" are turning the tourists into mannequins. It is also worth mentioning that the lead character/killer is played by the former star of the 50s TV series The Rifleman: Chuck Conners. As mentioned  before the film has several unique quirks about it (the score, the lifelike mannequins, main actor cast against type) and my favorite is the fact that the killer also has telekinetic powers, forget the 
predictable plot twist, now that's truly

unexpected. Like many great horror flicks from the 70s and 80s this was not a success on its initial release, but it found an audience when it was aired on cable TV in the 80s, garnering none other than Stephen King as one of its many fans. King praises it in his Danse Macabre book as an obscure classic saying that the film "“wields an eerie spooky power, as wax figures begin to move and come to life in a ruined, out-of-the-way tourist resort.” The film was recently released on Blu-ray so it is now more accessible than its ever been. It is truly a unique take on the slasher film, considering it has no blood (there is a little actually, but basically none) or nudity in it and is rated PG, but just like Texas Chainsaw, it feels a whole lot more graphic than it is. The film is featured on Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to see  list/book. I give it a 4.5/5, you can view the trailer below:

The Stepfather (1987) original

I'd been meaning to see this one for a long time, but it's relatively hard to find. This film is amazing for several reasons: 1). It is based on the true story of this man John List, 2). It is one of the best psychological "mind of a killer"/"mind of a crazy person" movies ever made, 3). It is such an atypical "slasher" film I wouldn't even classify it as one, 4). The acting and production crew are amazing considering what a ridiculously low budget this film had, 5). It has two sequels and a remake. Though Terry O'Quinn is not a household name, most people will recognize him as John Lock from the TV series Lost, but 20 years prior Terry gave the performance of a lifetime as The Stepfather. The Stepfather is based on real life murderer John List who killed his family, disappeared only to change his identity and join another family, it is debated by some that List might have done this more than once, just as the character is portrayed in the film. The Stepfather wants the perfect 1950s TV family and will do anything to make his dream come true, but when the realities of 1980s America and family troubles rear their ugly head, it becomes too much for the Stepfather to handle. So rather than try to work out the problems his family has, he'd just assume start all over again and get a new family. This film is so effective because the character is so strong and the whole movie revolves around the character, making it possible for the

audience to at times even be sympathetic towards the psychopathic killer, making the movie much more than your average slasher flick. The plot bears some resemblance to The Shinning, but just superficially, this film is based on a true story, and it does not have Kubrick's trademark lengthy pacing. The film also boasts several great technical aspects, such as wonderful lighting and atmosphere, and overall cinematography (there are some really great camera movements and angles in this one). The director Joseph Reuben did several other films with a great atmosphere to them like Sleeping With The Enemy (1991) Dreamscape (1984, AKA as Inception 20 years before its time), and one of my favorites, The Good Son (1993). The Director of Photography went on to create the great visual look seen in movies like Field of Dreams (1989), Father of The Bride (1991), Pleasantville (1998), The Serpent and The Rainbow (1988), as well as The Good Son and Sleeping With The Enemy. The music of the film is notable for being made by Patrick Moraz, the one time keyboardist for the progressive rock band Yes. This film was not too successful on its initial release in theaters, but it did develop a big cult following and become relatively successful upon its VHS release. The film inspired two sequels and a 2009 remake, showing that the effect the film had both on the industry and on those who've seen it, is a lasting one. Also the movie does a great job of turning harmless "nice family" cliches into great horror lines, like: "You shouldn't drop by without calling first." This one is also on Bravo's list of 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and I give it a 5/5. You can view the trailer below:

John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)

I finally saw John Carpenter's version of The Thing. I was a big fan of the 50s original The Thing From Another World (1951), plus I'm not a big fan of gore and I knew this movie was very bloody and I saw some of the special effects when I was younger, and got freaked out, so that made me hesitant to watch this for a while. But I really enjoyed this version. The story of course is about a team of scientists working in Antarctica when some Norwegians and a stray dog, the one living Norwegian is killed by the scientists who mistakenly think he was shooting at them when he was actually shooting at the dog. The scientists then

 take the dog into their camp and all the trouble begins when they discover "the dog" is actually a shape-shifting alien that can take over anyone's identity, also taking over  their body while doing so. This film has marvelous pacing and only a handful of scenes with the alien so as to create maximum suspense and scares. The film also has a marvelous cast with Kurt Russell as the lead, and Wilford Brimley ( the "diabeetus," guy) Keith David and several other great character actors as well. This movie is known for having some of the greatest special effects of all time, and  more than 30 years after its release I'd say they are still impressive and very unique. The 80s were the perfect time for The Thing to be remade, for one thing they now had much more impressive effects to make the monster scary and show it more often, and also the story's use as an allegory for fear of communism and the Russians was extremely fitting for the 80s as well. The original Thing From Another World has been argued by many to be an allegory for McCarthyism, and when you think about it, it  makes sense; Senator McCarthy was accusing everyone of being communist  even if they just knew people who were communist, they were assumed to

be communist also, just like in The Thing when people are assumed to be the Thing if they were in contact with that person, and citizens were asked to keep an eye on their friends and neighbors just like the characters in both versions of The Thing were. Also the 1980s was when the U.S.'s fear of/rivalry with Russia was at its peak, so the 1980s was a very apt time for a remake of The Thing, the film even ends with an ending that is symbolically a  prediction/warning about communism similar to Dr. Seuss' Butter Battle Book (1984) (I don't want to give away the ending however so if you are unfamiliar with that story you can look it up). All in all I was very impressed with The Thing and I give it a 5/5, You can view the trailer below:

The Legend of Hell House (1973)

I love writer Richard Matheson, he wrote I Am Legend, What Dreams May Come, Duel, 16 of the most famous episodes from the original Twilight Zone, he also wrote the material that became Kolchak: The Night Stalker (the movies and the show). So when I heard about this haunted house story I immediately put to the top of my "must see" list. The story is eerily similar to the movie The Haunting, and its source material The Haunting of Hill House, both stories are about a group of four or five paranormal investigators going to study the activity in the stories' titular houses (their names are only different by one letter). Hell house is characterized in the novel as "the Mount Everest" of haunted houses. The main difference in the two stories is that Legend of Hell House is set in England, and the entire cast is British (even though the novel is originally set on the U.S. east coast just like The Haunting). Both 

the films' source material was released in the same year, 1959. The film is also pretty similar to another British film, The Stone Tape (1972) that was a BBC made for TV movie about a record company based out of an old mansion encountering ghosts and eventually doing experiments on/with the ghosts. Where Hell House really stands out among the rest however is in some of the things it was the first to do in horror movies; All the ghost movies before it focused on subtlety, even though The Haunting still one of the scariest films ever made to this day, with the exception of one character dying at the end of the film, nobody was noticeably attacked on-screen, that's not the case in Hell House. The Haunting's ghosts did bother and mess with and potentially try to hurt its guests, Hell House has a team of investigators go in knowing that a previous attempt to "cleanse" the house had been made, and only one person survived that attempt. Also the house makes no mistake about its intentions to its "guests," it posesses one of the mediums and warns them all very clearly "I will kill you all!" and then attacks the person in charge and very nearly does kill him. This film came out the same year as The Exorcist, but Hell House came out that summer as opposed to the winter when The Exorcist was released, thus making Hell House one of the first times a character was very noticeably demonically possessed on film. The film also marks the first time (as far as I know) that a character has sex with a ghost. The acting is superb with a cast led by Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes, Fright Night), and the film is directed by John Hough the same guy who would go on to direct other supernatural classic Sci-fis Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), and Watcher in the Woods (1980), that being said the film has a similar feel and will not be a dissappointment to fans of those films. The film is not as scary as I expected, but in its own innovative way it was pretty badass. I recommend it and give it a 4.5/5, you can view the trailer below:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) original

Another one that almost single-handedly changed the horror genre. As I mentioned before in my Black Christmas review, 1974 was a big year for horror, Black Christmas redefined the slasher genre making  the birth of movies like Halloween (1978) possible, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre made eventually led to the birth of the extremely gory violent and scary horror movie. Texas Chainsaw along with Black Christmas were the first two horror films to create "the lone girl" formula (where a single female always survives)for horror films to come, Chainsaw was also the first film to feature the killer running full speed after his victims instead of walking at a slow pace, and it was also the first horror film to have the majority of it take place in the daytime. Also though you may walk away from the film thinking you've just seen a bloodbath, there's very little actual gore in the film (a lot of it just appears or was already in the background). For those who do not know about the film, the general plot is that five hippies go out for a drive and get lost/find an old house and go exploring, the five friends then run into a chainsaw wielding maniac named Leatherface and his demented cannibalistic family. The movie is not based on a true story despite what the film and advertising says, but it was inspired by the real life crimes of Ed Gein and Charles Manson. Now if you were to just look at the movie for all those reasons alone the film would be great, but that would be disregarding about 90% of the film's greatness. Arguably the real horror and greatness that came from this movie involved/was due to the horrendous infamous conditions of the film's production. The acting in the film was great and one of the reasons why the film was as successful as it was, but a large percent of the performances, were not acted. A lot of the scenes when you see people getting beat with brooms or other objects, those actors were actually beaten full force. The scene where the actress limps away from Leatherface after jumping out of a one story window? That was real too, in order to get a better shot the film crew made about an eight foot tall ramp for the actress to run and jump off of, through the window, and when she landed she hurt her leg badly, but she decided to continue filming anyway. All the animal bones, bodies, and furniture aroundthe house? Those

were all real too and constructed by the film's art director who went out driving around the highways of Texas scouring for roadkill, and then would bring it back to make all the film's "creations" out of it. The crazy hitch-hiker? In the documentary found on "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre:2-disc Ultimate Collection," titled Flesh Wounds, the actor who plays the Hitch-hiker admits to actually being Schizophrenic. The insane cackling the actress does on the back of the truck at the end? That was real too, she explains that she was having a nervous breakdown at that point in filming due to the fact that she had to re-shoot some of the most difficult scenes to film (including the one where she hurt her leg) because of technical problems. Also in the scene where

 Leatherface hits the guy with a hammer, one of the actors expressed that he was almost struck by the hammer. And the obnoxious Franklin character? He stayed in character even when they weren't filming so as to create real dislike between himself and the other characters. On top of all that the shooting of the film is notorious for the conditions it was filmed under, it was filmed during a record breaking heatwave in Texas history with almost a month of days with the temperature over 100 degrees, plus when filming on the set all the lights added about another 20 degrees of heat, which lead to the animal carcasses rotting and stinking to the point of making several people on the production (including the actor who played Leatherface) vomit multiple times. Most of the Actors and Actresses only had one costume too say during the whole three plus weeks of filming in the severe heat, they couldn't wash their clothes, or even bath so they could retain their character's gritty "look". Also at one point they had more animal carcasses lying around than they knew what to due with, so director Tobe Hooper told the crew to burn them, so the  horrible smell of burning rotting animal flesh was detectable for miles. The most grueling part of the shootthough was agreed upon by everyone involved to be the dinner scene, which was a 27 hour long shoot. The actor who played the hitch-hiker said in Flesh Wounds, that he had personally lead soldiers into combat several times in Vietnam, and that that was not as harrowing of an experience as shooting the dinner scene was.

Also all the blood that was poured in the main actresses hair at the end, permanently stained her hair for life. Also once the film did get successful the actors never got any of the royalties because of the contract they had with the film company that produced the film (which just happened to have ties to the mafia), honestly checkout the documentaries on that 2-disc collection if you're interested in hearing more, they're quite good.But despite all the hardships the film and crew went through, someone could argue the end product was worth it. The director, Makeup artist, and set/art director and cinematographer all went on to successful and award winning careers. The film opens at the beginning by talking about some mutilated bodies that are described as "a grisly display of art," which is exactly how I would describe the film. It is at once extremely disturbing and yet gorgeous. The cinematography, unique camera style, and gorgeous sunsets make the film gorgeous to look at, and the set is so distinct that it is essentially another character in the film. (Fun fact: the set was an actual house, and it is open to the public today as a restaurant in Texas.) And the rest is history, the film became a massive success at Drive-ins and such and spawned several sequels and remakes as well launched the career of Tobe Hooper, one of my all time favorite directors. At this point I think it's pretty obvious what my opinion of the film is, most people will say this is one of the greatest Horror films of all time, if not the greatest, I wouldn't say it's the greatest but I'd say it's probably in the top 5. I give it a 5/5. I've decided not to include the trailer because it shows every single famous/scary scene from the film, so instead here's the segment from Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments where they talk about the film:

The Day of the Locust (1975)

The Day of the Locust is based on the novel of the same name which is on several lists of Greatest novels of the 20th Century. The story is an unromantic look at the often romanticized Golden age of Hollywood in the 1920s and 30s. The movie shows the seedy side of Hollywood and also shows what happens to all those people who went into Hollywood to fulfill  their dreams, only to see Hollywood become their land of broken dreams. Burgess Meredith was nominated for an Oscar as alcoholic former vaudevillian father of Karen Black's character, who never quite made it to the big time. The movie not only shows unfulfilled dreams, but everywhere throughout the film there are signs of the darker side of Hollywood, one of the first scenes of the film shows a tour group at the famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, and the tour guide is talking about all the people that have jumped off the letters and committed suicide. Later a set collapses during the shooting of a film showing the more dangerous side of Hollywood, and you get to see the more inhuman side when you find out that even if anybody would have died in the collapse it wouldn't have mattered to the producers of the film. But no matter what the film is showing whether it's a cockfight or an androgynous child mocking the films main characters in song, the cinematography is at once gorgeous, and gritty. Another main element of the story is the film's female lead Karen Black who is pretty much single handedly responsible for the film's at times overwhelming sexuality. Black plays a woman who's fickle character is best described as a combination between Scarlet O'hara, Blanche from Streetcar Named Desire, and Jenny from Forest Gump, so in other words every mans downfall/worst nightmare. She and her carelessness (this is from a man's point of view mind you) with her sexuality is at least partially responsible for ruining most of the film's male's lives, or at least breaking their hearts. If for nothing else her inability to decide what she wants and the consequences that has to the people around her, makes for an interesting psychological study. The film has since become a cult classic for several  reasons: the cast is amazing, Burgess Meredith, Karen Black, Donald Sutherland, Billy Barty, Geraldine

  Page, Jackie Earle Haley as a ten year old in drag, William Atherton, and a cameo by the great B-movie director William Castle; and then the dynamics of the main male characters (I feel a connection with both and I think a lot of people might), and of course the ending. This film has an epic horrific LSD inspired nightmare of an ending that takes the film from a look at the darker side of Hollywood, to an over the top symbolic representation of an inhuman dog-eat-dog world. That attack on that age of Hollywood  may be a bit harsh in my opinion but it's how the author and the director wanted it portrayed. This film is directed by John Schelisinger (Midnight Cowboy, Marathon Man,  Pacific Heights) and the film has a lavish score composed by five time Oscar winning John Barry (the James bond theme). I highly enjoyed it though except for the very ending, and even though it is long it builds and builds and makes the climax worth waiting for. I give it a 5/5 from a technical standpoint, and a 4.5/5 as for my enjoyment of the film. You can watch the trailer below:

Assault on precinct 13 (1976) original

This is John Carpenter (legendary horror director)'s second film, he still hasn't made a horror movie at this point yet. His first film was a Sci-fi comedy (Dark Star [1974]), and this one is an action/crime-thriller. The movie does feel like a horror movie at times though. The film is about a police precinct that is being moved across town in L.A. California. The film takes place on the precinct's last day of operation. A police officer on his first day on the job is assigned to watch over the precinct for its final 24 hours. The trouble begins however when a gang who recently had several of its members killed/arrested by cops from precinct 13, decide to get revenge, and attack the precinct. There are only five people trapped inside left to fend off the seemingly endless hordes of criminals trying to get in and kill them all.  The movie is really similar to Night of the Living Dead (1968). The protagonist in both films is black, there are only four to five people trapped inside trying to fend off seemingly endless hordes of inhuman monsters (the criminals in Precinct are completely dehumanized and never talk while they are attacking, and the audience is completely disconnected from them), and the trapped people in both have an argument about retreating to the basement. The movie also has a stellar 80s-esque score (composed by Carpenter) that helps intensify the mood. I really did enjoy this one, pretty much everyone knows John Carpenter for his horror movies (Halloween, The Thing, etc.) but this was the first of his action movies (Big Trouble in Little China, Escape

 from New York, They Live) and it's good, but what is most striking about it to me is how 

funny it is. People tend to overlook the comedy element of Carpenter's movies but so many of them are so funny, and in my opinion this is his funniest; Here's an example: A secretary in the station is pouring the new police officer a cup of coffee and asks "Black?" meaning "would you like your coffee black?" and the African American officer responds smiling "Have been for over 30 years!" This being an early film of Carpenter's, there are no big name stars (but the little girl from Escape to Witch Mountain [1975] is in it) in it. Apparently this film was remade in 2005 with Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. This is an all around great thriller, looks great, sounds great, is written great and acted great. The only thing it could have done better to make a full-fledged action flick instead of one with a horror vibe, would have been to develop the enemy's character more, instead of them being faceless and nameless. I give it a 4.5/5. This film is available to stream instantly on Netflix. You can view the trailer below: