Brainscan
I think that Brainscan was someone’s attempt to modernize the slasher horror genre for the nineties and it just didn’t hit the mark. Why do I watch the film? Is it for Eddie Furlong? Nope. The gore? Nope (there’s not a lot of it). I watch it because of the antagonist character, Trickster. Director John Flynn describes Trickster as the core of the film and I think he is right. Honestly, the premise of the film is solid and builds on the “videogames cause violence” idea that was quickly gaining ground at the time. However, once Trickster fully appears on screen, he just takes over every scene he is in and it is great. Performed by T. Ryder Smith, I wish this film was strong enough for a franchise because I would love to have seen the character again. You will enjoy the sci-fi horror in Brainscan that is still not so unrealistic today.
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Bubba Ho-Tep
So the pitch for this movie was that Elvis is alive and in a retirement home along with black JFK and together they are going to fight a mummy that is killing the residents of the home. Yep. Someone greenlit this project and thank god they did. With Bruce Campbell doing a wonderfully horrible Elvis impression and the late great Ossie Davis in one of his last film roles as JFK, this movie is just fun. There are very few scares, but you’ll be entertained by Bruce Campbell’s inner monologues throughout the movie as well as the ridiculousness of the entire story.
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Young Frankenstein
Speaking of laughs, you absolutely can’t go wrong with this comedy classic. Mel Brook’s and Gene Wilder’s Young Frankenstein is a masterpiece of comedy and a great homage to the classic Universal horror film franchise. In fact, it almost fits perfectly in continuity with the Frankenstein storyline. The cast is star-studded with the likes of Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, Teri Gar, Madeline Khan, Kenneth Mars, and more. If you want something that still feels like a horror film, but gives you a laugh, this is it.
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The Willies
I love most anthology horror films because sometimes a story doesn’t need to be stretched out to an hour and thirty minutes. The Willies is great for those families with teens that are just getting into horror films. A group of friends are camping outside and decide to tell each other stories and urban legends they know. We get a few short scenes (only a few minutes long) at first, then we get two solid stories before a conclusion to the wrap story. The Willies is good for two reasons: a good cast, and some good monster effects. Beyond that, the stories are not the greatest. This movie is for and I believe targeted at a young teenage audience, but I like to pop it into the player each Halloween and catch some fun performances by the likes of James Karen, Kathleen Freeman, and Sean Astin.
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Maniac Cop
I only recently was able to see this film starring Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins (both of which star in other films on this list) and I have fallen in love with it. A killer in a police officer’s uniform begins killing criminals and non-criminals in apparent randomness. Bruce Campell’s police officer character is framed for his wife’s murder actually done by this madman. Tom Atkins plays Detective Lieutenant McCrae who is investigating the crimes and suspects another culprit. All the time there are more murders happening around the city. A solid slasher horror film with a strong enough killer to spawn two more sequels. Maniac Cop will scratch the itch you have for a good slasher. Hopefully not with his bladed nightstick.
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Demons
It feels like this film has no plot. Just a premise and then it goes completely haywire and I love every gory minute of it. Demons is an Italian horror film that has one of the greatest demons transformation scenes ever. In this story, demons possess people like zombies. Once they scratch you, bite you, kill or dismember you, you become one of them. For the audience at a midnight showing of a horror film, this is not great news. They are suddenly trapped in the building with what starts out as a single demon, but quickly people start dying and coming back again. Who trapped them in this building and why? Those questions won’t be answered, but Demons is a great trip following survivors as they try to escape the rapidly growing group of demons and find some salvation outside of the movie theater. There is plenty to be scared of and grossed out with this film.
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And another 13 movies to get you into the spirit of the season. Do you have any favorites that I should be adding to my list? Leave them in the comments so I can take a look. And remember, don’t be afraid. They are just movies after all…
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