The Tops
Alligator: Sci-Fi Channel makes these killer animal flicks by the million, but this one is actually good. Indeed, along with Piranha, it’s about the only good Jaws knock-off in an era overstuffed with them. This has all the elements we think of from the ’70s in spades, including interesting, funny and naturalistic characters, a great cast (lead by Robert Forster), and a puckish script by John Sayles. It a horror film from an era when the ‘horror’ was but an adjective to the word ‘film.’
Altered States: This pot-head horror flick is pretentious and actually pulls it off. William Hurt leads a strong cast, and Ken Russell directs what remains his most accessible movie. Also, the Ah-Ha video for “Take on Me” TOTALLY rips off the end of this movie.
The Fog: The ending lets down what would otherwise be a masterpiece, but this is VERY good stuff. Too bad directors generally lose it as they grow older, because there was a time when Carpenter was the most reliable genre director out there. Aside from all its other strengths, this features probably his best score. When it works, it really works, and is often genuinely creepy, the most rarified plateau a horror movie can achieve.
Friday the 13th: Haven’t seen it, but really, how could I leave it off the list? One of the most influential horror movies ever.
Motel Hell: Pretty much that diamond you look for whenever you troll the shelves of your local video store. Er, assuming anybody still did that, or that there were still video stores. A great little black comedy.
The Shining: I’m really not a fan of this movie, but you can’t get past the fact that most people love it. And really, look at the crap most of the year’s horror flicks consists of. Still, a deeply flawed film, in my opinion.
Without Warning: Grade A schlock, sadly still not available on DVD. In this precursor to Predator, an alien comes to earth and hunts humans. Junk, but extremely fun junk. Jack Palance and Martin Landau also top-lined one of the few genuinely decent slasher films, Alone in the Dark.
Honorary Mention: Still haven’t seen The Changeling, but given its reputation, it belongs on the above list.
Other goodies: Blood Beach (dumb fun), Fade to Black (for old film buffs), Humanoids from the Deep (prime Corman trash), Nightmare City (for Italian zombie fans).
Bad, but in a good way: The Children.
Others: Beyond Evil, Death Ship (DON’T EAT THE PEPPERMINTS!), Murder by Phone (if you’ve ever wanted to see John Houseman bleeding from the ears until he dies…), Prom Night, Terror Train.
I haven’t seen: The Attic, The Awakening, Bloody Birthday, The Boogeyman, Don’t Answer the Phone, Don’t Go in the House, Dressed to Kill (it has a lot of fans, but DePalma ain’t my bag), He Knows You’re Alone, The Hearse, Home Sweet Home, Maniac (ick), Mother’s Day, New Year’s Evil, Night School (probably one of the year’s better slashers, for what that’s worth), Phobia (directed by the great John Huston, but not really that good), The Silent Scream, The Watcher in the Woods.
