West's Guide to Horror Movies: Overview
Welcome to my guide to watching the best in Horror Films. This guide is meant to help those of you out there that are tired of watching the crap that is bogging us down in the cinemas for the last 10 years, and all of those sequels to movies that were such garbage that they had to go direct-to-video. Fortunately, the last 5 years have been rather good to the genre. With films like Saw , The Grudge , Darkness (Unrated Version) , and The Ring (Widescreen Edition) hitting us like a lead brick in the theatres, there has been much rejoice in the horror community. There has also been a lot of unrest and dismay at the rate at which Hollywood has lost its creativity towards horror. Is it just me, or does it seem like every other year, we are saying "Can you believe it, they are going to re-make _________"? Why? Are there not any fresh ideas left for use to simmer over and shake about? People, let's be realistic here. Horror is completely based on one principal element that is inherent in all human beings: Fear. Every one of us has one either consciously or unconsciously. Just as Jaws (Widescreen Anniversary Collector's Edition) taught us to fear the water, Poltergeist taught us not to talk to the television set. These are all primal fears that all of us have. We need to do some introspection if we are to see what frightens us, and makes us feel uncomfortable.
The Horror movie works on the same principal as the suspense movie, and a roller coaster. It takes you up, dazzles you with a rush (uncomfortable or not) and then puts you on the edge of your seat, but at the end of it, its over and we are safe and sound. But like the roller coaster, all the amusement parks have to have one, so pretty soon, we all know what to expect. Take for instance White Noise (Widescreen Edition). If you really break it down, this film is just half Frequency (New Line Platinum Series) , and a few pieces of Poltergeist as well. Not really any fresh ideas, and the concepts remained the same as that of a Ouija board ( can anyone say " Witchboard"). But in all, West's guide can be broken into the following genres and their respective movies: Horror Natural, Slashers, Sci-Fi/Horror, Haunted Houses, Zombies, and Occult Horror.
Horror Natural
This is really a catch-all for the horror films that are primarily based on things in nature. Some of the most recommended are:
Jaws (Widescreen Anniversary Collector's Edition) : Fear of the water has never been so apparent.
Orca - The Killer Whale : Although a Jaws knock-off, still a good film.
Creepers, Phenomena : aka "Phenomena" Dario Argento's film features Jennifer Connelly in an early role about a young girl that has a way with insects.
Squirm :Yucky wormies have their way with a lot of unfortunate people.
Piranha : Yet another reason that we dont want to go into the water.
Slasher Films
Truthfully, my favorite of the horror genre, the slasher film combines so many elements in it, that most of the not all that well put together. With the advent of such ground-breaking films as Psycho (Collector's Edition), and Twitch Of The Death Nerve (a.k.a. Bay Of Blood) came the basic ground rules for slasher films: Stalk and slash, lots of blood, killer not usually known until the last scene, and of course, lots of red herrings. The slasher film was born out of the suspense genre, as the aforementioned Hitchcock film did, just with a lot more viloence and gore. Although in Europe the slasher film was more brought to life by the novels that originated in the different countries, primarily Italy. Italian horror has a specific name for its type, called "giallo". This specific type of film was named after the Italian novels that were always printed on a yellow paper, and hence "giallo" means yellow in Italian. The plot always followed the same route: A killer dressed in a long black trench coat or frock, wearing a black hat and gloves, travels around killing the beautiful maidens friends and causing all sorts of terror. The ending is usually one that involves a very sharp twist, or surprise. There was an explosion on the movie scene during the late 1970's to the late 1980's for the slasher films. There were some 300 slasher films made between that time, and many were just knock-offs of the others, which eventually made the genre fold in on itself. Here are the recommends for the Slasher films, and the Italian slashers:
(U.S. Slashers):
Halloween (Divimax 25th Anniversary Edition) : The reigning King of the Slashers in the US, and still going strong.
A Nightmare on Elm Street : Freddy's first entry is still the best! A Must Have...
Friday the 13th, Part 2 : Jason's first appearance, but still a great film.
Friday the 13th : The first one of the Crystal Lake series, and a great slasher film all around.
Happy Birthday to Me : Good slasher featuring Melissa Sue Anderson from "Little House on The Prarie".
Prom Night (Full Screen Edition) : One of the first in a long line of Jaime Lee Curtis slashers, and a great "Canadian" horror film.
Terror Train : Wonderful scenery, good cast, and great ideas make this one a must have. Jaime Lee Curtis makes a great scream queen.
My Bloody Valentine : This is another of the great Canadian slashers, and a really good scary movie.
The Prowler : Tom Savini (Night Of The Living Dead)makeup and special FX make this one a great find, and very gruesome.
April Fool's Day : A great movie for the late-night horror fans, and a rather interesting film. Not what you may expect.
Black Christmas : Another of the great "call and harass" films with Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder, which has many "Scream" elements to it. Definitely a good film.
Silent Night Deadly Night / Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2 : Note: I am only putting the 1st movie on this list, if you decide to get part 2, it really stinks. Just wanted to make that known. But part 1 is the one that started a huge controversy around depicting Santa as a serial killer, and the effect it would have on little kids. What are little kids doing watching an R rated movie anyways?
"To All A Goodnight" : Amazon doesnt carry this film starring Jennifer Runyon, and directed by David "Last House On The Left" Hess. Wonderful christmas slasher, and a great movie. Guess the sensors didnt see this hard-to-find Canadian slasher that features another killer Santa. Hey? Let's make it a trio..
You Better Watch Out : Fairly good yuletide slasher film about another wacked Santa that is offing people. Just so happens that the killer is really singer Fiona Apple's real-life father. Any indications of how she sings???
The Initiation : Another good Canadian slasher film starring Daphne Zuniga, with lots of great locations, blood, and a decent plot.
Curtains : In my opinion, here is the best Canadian slasher film of all time. 6 Actresses trying to get ahead, when the Curtains fall, 5 will be dead. Great, excellent slasher that will have you gripping the seat.
He Knows You're Alone : A pretty good slasher film that has to be in the collection due to the blood letting and the creepiness of the plot. This film is also well-known because it has the infamous "bathroom scene" that Scream 2 nearly ripped off frame for frame. It is also one of the first film that Tom Hanks did.
House On Sorority Row
Madman
The Burning (Amazon.com Exclusive)
Sleepaway Camp
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