Angie's Horror Recs: The Best of the Best (Cult Faves)
TODAY'S SUB-GENRE:
CULT FAVOURITES
EVIL DEAD II: DEAD BY DAWN
(1987)
Starring: Bruce "The Chin/B-Movie King" Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley, Richard Domeier.
Directed by: Sam Raimi.
Rated: R
Kicking this set of recs off with what is arguably the best cult horror movie yet made -- it's the film that made Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell famous(er) following the underground success of their no-budget Evil Dead, and my favourite of the Deadite Trilogy (Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness). While the first Evil Dead was a relatively straight, serious horror, and Army of Darkness was more black comedy/farce than anything, Evil Dead II is the perfect balance of the two: there are plenty of creepy, unsettling, gore-ific moments interspersed with slapstick comedy and ridiculousness. Essentially, this is Evil Dead: Redux, following basically the same plot, with most of the same characters, only redone with better special effects, more sophisticated camera work, and lots and lots of goofiness.
Ash (Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda decide to have a romantic vacation in a secluded cabin in the woods, only to find that the cabin's previous owners -- a professor specializing in the occult and dead cultures and his wife -- woke up a possessive and demonic evil that is still lurking in the woods. Ash is soon joined by the professor's daughter (Berry), her boyfriend (Domeier), and their hick guides (Hicks, Wesley). Will the group be able to banish this insidious evil and survive until dawn? TUNE IN TO FIND OUT.
If you haven't seen this film, I'm quite frankly a little embarrassed for you. This is a classic, the sort of film everyone should be required to see before they die. It doesn't matter if you're a gorehound or not: Evil Dead II has inspired so many other films, and is referenced so frequently, that to not see it is to live a half-life. It's full of incredibly quotable lines, inventive special effects, and some seriously enjoyable over-acting/Three Stooges-esque slapstick (Raimi has often been quoted as saying most of the "demonic hand" sequence was directly inspired by the Stooges). References to other films abound, which are great fun to pick out if you're a big horror buff. And it's a film that even the faint of heart can enjoy -- the gore is copious, but obviously fake, and while there are some unsettling moments it's never truly scary.
Ash decides it's time to kick some Deadite ASS.
Also, it's my favourite Bruce Campbell picture EVER. As something of a connoisseur of B-movies, believe me when I tell you Campbell absolutely deserves his title of KING of the B-Movies. He puts his all into playing Ash, who goes from being a coward, to stark raving bonkers, to an ass-kicking hero. He's sexy, ridiculous, and bad-ass all at the same time, and never has the word groovy sounded so fabulous. Also, you really can't beat a hero who has a chainsaw hand.
If you're so inclined, the entire film's up on YouTube, and is readily available through Netflix or your local video store.
NOTE: If the blond Richard (Rick) Domeier looks familiar to you, it's probably because you've seen him on QVC -- he's been a presenter for the network for over seven years.
PLANET TERROR
(2007)
Starring: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Bruce Willis.
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez.
Rated: R
Some would argue that this film doesn't really belong in a "cult" recommendation post, but I disagree: one half of the AMAZING Grindhouse double feature from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, this film was basically a cult film right from the get go thanks to a very underwhelming box office take combined with a small following of incredibly devoted fans. Purposefully made to resemble the "grindhouse" pictures of the seedy 70s and early 80s, Planet Terror is full of cigarette burns, missing scenes, ridiculous dialogue, and hammy acting -- it's essentially a B-movie that has an A-star cast and a HUGE budget for fabulous special effects.
The "plot" is thus: the government's been experimenting with a biochemical agent (isn't it always the way?) known as DC-2, or Project Terror. When some of the gas is released in an unsuspecting small town in Texas, the inhabitants soon find themselves fighting against ooey, gooey, and very violent zombies. The survivors are a motley crew, including a mysterious man known only as El Wray (Rodriguez), a former go-go dancer with a machine gun for a leg (McGowan), a doctor (Shelton), and the sheriff (Biehn). There are several interweaving stories going on, plenty of crazy side characters, and an extended cameo from Bruce Willis as a soldier partially responsible for the mess.
"Give 'im the guns. Give 'im all the guns!"
I don't think words can properly convey how much I adore this film. It's basically everything I love about horror/B-movies rolled into one delicious package. There's a gorgeous cast (this movie turned Rose McGowan into a girlcrush, and I've never been more attracted to Freddy Rodriguez), wonderfully gooey special effects (they used blow-up dolls full of jello and cottage cheese during the driving-through-zombies sequences), absolutely HILARIOUS lines of dialogue (a personal favourite: "Now you've got a gal in your wrecked truck with a missing leg? A missing leg that's now missing?"), and the grindhouse effects just add to the charm and entertainment. I was one of the few who saw this in the theatres (it was an early birthday present to myself), and lemme tell you: I was clapping and cheering when the credits rolled.
It's incredibly quotable, laugh-out-loud funny, has some wicked cool action scenes and zombie carnage, and has quite a lot of artistic merit. Oh, and did I mention that Rose McGowan has a machine gun leg? A MACHINE GUN LEG. That alone should be incentive enough to rent this movie immediately.
DOG SOLDIERS
(2002)
Starring: Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham.
Directed by: Neil Marshall.
Rated: R
It's a downright shame that this movie isn't more well-known, because it's -- in my humble opinion -- one of the best werewolf movies ever made. That's right, I said it: I love Dog Soldiers more than An American Werewolf in London. Big words, I know, but this one is just so much more entertaining in my books.
A group of British soldiers are out on a routine training exercise in the remote woods of Scotland when they suddenly find themselves hunted by a group of vicious werewolves. As their numbers and ammo supplies dwindle, Sgt. Wells (Pertwee) and Private Cooper (McKidd) struggle to protect their men in a ramshackle farmhouse they find.
This film is incredibly well done on a very tiny budget: the gore and violence is plentiful, with soldiers being disemboweled, decapitated, and savagely mauled at every turn. The werewolves are fantastic in design, one of the most animalistic depictions of the creatures yet. There's very little or no CGI in this picture, and the physical make-up and animatronics give it a very grounded, real feeling.
They picked a bad time of the month for a training exercise...
Then there's the cast. OH MY GOD, THIS CAST. Two of my favourite Brits star here, Sean Pertwee playing the determined and protective leader with finesse and Kevin McKidd, as the more hot-tempered second-in-command, butts heads with him throughout the film in a really interesting way. The two are amazing to watch in action, and the volatile bromance between them is incredible.
What makes this film a stand-out for me is that it's not just about the monsters -- it's also about loyalty and military honor, brotherhood, standing by your men or sacrificing for them. And Marshall also threw in that always fun element of uncertainty: Who can the soldiers trust? Were they purposefully sent here to be slaughtered? Is one of their own a werewolf in disguise? Dog Soldiers isn't just a creature feature; it's also a suspenseful thriller full of paranoia and tension, with the characters trapped in a claustrophobic space that gets smaller and smaller as the story unfolds.
The action sequences are sure to get your heart-pumping, and the ending is a satisfying one. If you're a fan of werewolves, small-budget films that could, and hot British men in uniform, this should definitely be on your Must See list.
NOTE: This isn't an entirely humorless flick. There's some snarky dialogue to lighten the mood, and some obvious nods to the B-movies and horror films that have gone before -- one of the soldiers is even named Bruce Campbell. :D
The official trailer sucks, so have the first part of the film instead (the whole thing's up on YouTube!)
SLITHER
(2006)
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker.
Directed by: James Gunn.
Rated: R
And here's another film I saw in theatres as a birthday present to myself! In 2004, James Gunn broke out onto the horror scene with his slick remake of Dawn of the Dead (which is a perfectly enjoyable and scary film, but I am slightly against it since it bears very little resemblance to Romero's original masterpiece). Everyone wondered what he'd do next, and his second foray was far more satisyfing: Slither is original while still feeling familiar, with roots in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Night of the Living Dead.
A tiny and unremarkable southern town (oh, isn't it always the way?) finds itself battling a disgusting and invasive menace: slugs from outer space that turn their hosts into acid-spitting zombies. It's up to the well-meaning sheriff Bill Pardy (Fillion), a high school teacher that happens to be his lifelong love (Banks), and the crude and rude mayor (Henry) to take on the possessed townsfolk before they can spread the hungry slugs across the world.
THIS FILM IS A RIOT. Nathan Fillion, amazing as always, makes Bill Pardy both lovable and hilarious. He's a determined, all-American hero who gets his ass kicked by a zombie deer, who observes zombie townsfolk melding together into a writhing mass of flesh and can only say, "That is some fucked-up shit." Gregg Henry is amusingly horrible as the racist, foul-mouthed mayor, and the supporting cast all have moments to either shine or disgust. This is the only film where I can enjoy Elizabeth Banks, who gets to have some really bad ass moments, and Michael Rooker is just phenomenal as the lovesick-and-mutating source of the madness.
"OH NO, WE ARE NOT PLAYING THE TURN-INTO-A-SQUID GAME!"
There are some grand (if incredibly disgusting) special effects. The zombies are grotesque, the slugs and prolific tentacles nauseating, and don't even get me started on the blubbery mass of nastiness at the film's climax. The dialogue is funny, sharp, and quotable, and the reactions are some of the best I've ever seen in a B-movie. At times campy, at times cringe-inducing, this is a ride from start to finish.
WORD OF WARNING: This is an incredibly gross film at times, so I suggest watching on an empty stomach. But for the gorehounds out there, this film has everything you could ever desire: tentacles, blood, viscera, exploding people, goo, writhing... stuff. X^S
DEAD ALIVE | BRAINDEAD
(1992)
Starring: Timothy Balme, Diana Penalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin.
Directed by: Peter Jackson.
Rated: R
This film is known as "The Bloodiest Film of All Time". And that's not an empty boast -- in the last twenty-five minutes, more blood and goo was pumped into the stage than had ever been attempted before (or since). While Slither is very gory and gross, it's not quite as gory as Dead Alive (originally released as Braindead). This was one of Peter Jackson's -- yes, that Peter Jackson -- first films, and easily the creme de la creme of splatterflicks.
Lionel Cosgrove (Balme) is a young man desperate to escape his domineering mother (Moody) and date the pretty Hispanic girl, Paquita (Penalver), who works at the local grocer's. The pair sneak off to the zoo for a date, which ends dramatically when Lionel's mother (who had been spying on them) is bitten by the rare and dangerous Sumatran rat monkey. Mum quickly deteriorates and dies, but Lionel discovers he can't just bury her and move on: she's reanimated as a rotting, falling-to-pieces zombie who quickly attacks and eats any number of neighbors, nurses, and passerbys. Soon Lionel is struggling to restrain the ever increasing number of dangerous undead in the basement of his house, and when his Uncle Les (Watkin) decides to throw a party one night, all hell literally breaks loose.
Poor Lionel has a lot on his hands...
I unabashedly enjoy this film. Yes, it's a bit nauseating at times, and yes, it took me a couple of viewings before I could truly enjoy it. But it's just so wacky and bizarre and FUN. There are kung-fu priests! A lawnmower-versus-zombie bloodbath! A zombie baby that escapes at a playground and must be kicked and punched back into submission in front of horrified mothers! (Yes, I did get to see the ACTUAL zombie baby when I visited the Weta Cave in Wellington, New Zealand -- DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW OVERJOYED I WAS?)
Splatterflicks are some of my favourites: the horror films that are full of gore and carnage AND slapstick comedy and pratfalls. Dead Alive delivers on both counts -- who but Peter Jackson would dream up a Sumatran rat monkey as a means of beginning a zombie outbreak? The special effects are incredible or laughable, depending on the situation. The rat monkey is obviously clay animation, but fun! clay animation, while the party at the end is a no-holds-barred orgy of killer intestines, gooey blood, and severed limbs.
If you've got a strong stomach, an interest in seeing the very best in splatterflicks, and one of the most charming things to come out of New Zealand (excepting Lord of the Rings, of course ;D), I highly recommend Dead Alive.
CULT FAVOURITES
EVIL DEAD II: DEAD BY DAWN
(1987)
Starring: Bruce "The Chin/B-Movie King" Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley, Richard Domeier.
Directed by: Sam Raimi.
Rated: R
Kicking this set of recs off with what is arguably the best cult horror movie yet made -- it's the film that made Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell famous(er) following the underground success of their no-budget Evil Dead, and my favourite of the Deadite Trilogy (Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness). While the first Evil Dead was a relatively straight, serious horror, and Army of Darkness was more black comedy/farce than anything, Evil Dead II is the perfect balance of the two: there are plenty of creepy, unsettling, gore-ific moments interspersed with slapstick comedy and ridiculousness. Essentially, this is Evil Dead: Redux, following basically the same plot, with most of the same characters, only redone with better special effects, more sophisticated camera work, and lots and lots of goofiness.
Ash (Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda decide to have a romantic vacation in a secluded cabin in the woods, only to find that the cabin's previous owners -- a professor specializing in the occult and dead cultures and his wife -- woke up a possessive and demonic evil that is still lurking in the woods. Ash is soon joined by the professor's daughter (Berry), her boyfriend (Domeier), and their hick guides (Hicks, Wesley). Will the group be able to banish this insidious evil and survive until dawn? TUNE IN TO FIND OUT.
If you haven't seen this film, I'm quite frankly a little embarrassed for you. This is a classic, the sort of film everyone should be required to see before they die. It doesn't matter if you're a gorehound or not: Evil Dead II has inspired so many other films, and is referenced so frequently, that to not see it is to live a half-life. It's full of incredibly quotable lines, inventive special effects, and some seriously enjoyable over-acting/Three Stooges-esque slapstick (Raimi has often been quoted as saying most of the "demonic hand" sequence was directly inspired by the Stooges). References to other films abound, which are great fun to pick out if you're a big horror buff. And it's a film that even the faint of heart can enjoy -- the gore is copious, but obviously fake, and while there are some unsettling moments it's never truly scary.
Ash decides it's time to kick some Deadite ASS.
Also, it's my favourite Bruce Campbell picture EVER. As something of a connoisseur of B-movies, believe me when I tell you Campbell absolutely deserves his title of KING of the B-Movies. He puts his all into playing Ash, who goes from being a coward, to stark raving bonkers, to an ass-kicking hero. He's sexy, ridiculous, and bad-ass all at the same time, and never has the word groovy sounded so fabulous. Also, you really can't beat a hero who has a chainsaw hand.
If you're so inclined, the entire film's up on YouTube, and is readily available through Netflix or your local video store.
NOTE: If the blond Richard (Rick) Domeier looks familiar to you, it's probably because you've seen him on QVC -- he's been a presenter for the network for over seven years.
Click to view PLANET TERROR
(2007)
Starring: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Bruce Willis.
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez.
Rated: R
Some would argue that this film doesn't really belong in a "cult" recommendation post, but I disagree: one half of the AMAZING Grindhouse double feature from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, this film was basically a cult film right from the get go thanks to a very underwhelming box office take combined with a small following of incredibly devoted fans. Purposefully made to resemble the "grindhouse" pictures of the seedy 70s and early 80s, Planet Terror is full of cigarette burns, missing scenes, ridiculous dialogue, and hammy acting -- it's essentially a B-movie that has an A-star cast and a HUGE budget for fabulous special effects.
The "plot" is thus: the government's been experimenting with a biochemical agent (isn't it always the way?) known as DC-2, or Project Terror. When some of the gas is released in an unsuspecting small town in Texas, the inhabitants soon find themselves fighting against ooey, gooey, and very violent zombies. The survivors are a motley crew, including a mysterious man known only as El Wray (Rodriguez), a former go-go dancer with a machine gun for a leg (McGowan), a doctor (Shelton), and the sheriff (Biehn). There are several interweaving stories going on, plenty of crazy side characters, and an extended cameo from Bruce Willis as a soldier partially responsible for the mess.
"Give 'im the guns. Give 'im all the guns!"
I don't think words can properly convey how much I adore this film. It's basically everything I love about horror/B-movies rolled into one delicious package. There's a gorgeous cast (this movie turned Rose McGowan into a girlcrush, and I've never been more attracted to Freddy Rodriguez), wonderfully gooey special effects (they used blow-up dolls full of jello and cottage cheese during the driving-through-zombies sequences), absolutely HILARIOUS lines of dialogue (a personal favourite: "Now you've got a gal in your wrecked truck with a missing leg? A missing leg that's now missing?"), and the grindhouse effects just add to the charm and entertainment. I was one of the few who saw this in the theatres (it was an early birthday present to myself), and lemme tell you: I was clapping and cheering when the credits rolled.
It's incredibly quotable, laugh-out-loud funny, has some wicked cool action scenes and zombie carnage, and has quite a lot of artistic merit. Oh, and did I mention that Rose McGowan has a machine gun leg? A MACHINE GUN LEG. That alone should be incentive enough to rent this movie immediately.
DOG SOLDIERS
(2002)
Starring: Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham.
Directed by: Neil Marshall.
Rated: R
It's a downright shame that this movie isn't more well-known, because it's -- in my humble opinion -- one of the best werewolf movies ever made. That's right, I said it: I love Dog Soldiers more than An American Werewolf in London. Big words, I know, but this one is just so much more entertaining in my books.
A group of British soldiers are out on a routine training exercise in the remote woods of Scotland when they suddenly find themselves hunted by a group of vicious werewolves. As their numbers and ammo supplies dwindle, Sgt. Wells (Pertwee) and Private Cooper (McKidd) struggle to protect their men in a ramshackle farmhouse they find.
This film is incredibly well done on a very tiny budget: the gore and violence is plentiful, with soldiers being disemboweled, decapitated, and savagely mauled at every turn. The werewolves are fantastic in design, one of the most animalistic depictions of the creatures yet. There's very little or no CGI in this picture, and the physical make-up and animatronics give it a very grounded, real feeling.
They picked a bad time of the month for a training exercise...
Then there's the cast. OH MY GOD, THIS CAST. Two of my favourite Brits star here, Sean Pertwee playing the determined and protective leader with finesse and Kevin McKidd, as the more hot-tempered second-in-command, butts heads with him throughout the film in a really interesting way. The two are amazing to watch in action, and the volatile bromance between them is incredible.
What makes this film a stand-out for me is that it's not just about the monsters -- it's also about loyalty and military honor, brotherhood, standing by your men or sacrificing for them. And Marshall also threw in that always fun element of uncertainty: Who can the soldiers trust? Were they purposefully sent here to be slaughtered? Is one of their own a werewolf in disguise? Dog Soldiers isn't just a creature feature; it's also a suspenseful thriller full of paranoia and tension, with the characters trapped in a claustrophobic space that gets smaller and smaller as the story unfolds.
The action sequences are sure to get your heart-pumping, and the ending is a satisfying one. If you're a fan of werewolves, small-budget films that could, and hot British men in uniform, this should definitely be on your Must See list.
NOTE: This isn't an entirely humorless flick. There's some snarky dialogue to lighten the mood, and some obvious nods to the B-movies and horror films that have gone before -- one of the soldiers is even named Bruce Campbell. :D
The official trailer sucks, so have the first part of the film instead (the whole thing's up on YouTube!)
SLITHER
(2006)
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker.
Directed by: James Gunn.
Rated: R
And here's another film I saw in theatres as a birthday present to myself! In 2004, James Gunn broke out onto the horror scene with his slick remake of Dawn of the Dead (which is a perfectly enjoyable and scary film, but I am slightly against it since it bears very little resemblance to Romero's original masterpiece). Everyone wondered what he'd do next, and his second foray was far more satisyfing: Slither is original while still feeling familiar, with roots in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Night of the Living Dead.
A tiny and unremarkable southern town (oh, isn't it always the way?) finds itself battling a disgusting and invasive menace: slugs from outer space that turn their hosts into acid-spitting zombies. It's up to the well-meaning sheriff Bill Pardy (Fillion), a high school teacher that happens to be his lifelong love (Banks), and the crude and rude mayor (Henry) to take on the possessed townsfolk before they can spread the hungry slugs across the world.
THIS FILM IS A RIOT. Nathan Fillion, amazing as always, makes Bill Pardy both lovable and hilarious. He's a determined, all-American hero who gets his ass kicked by a zombie deer, who observes zombie townsfolk melding together into a writhing mass of flesh and can only say, "That is some fucked-up shit." Gregg Henry is amusingly horrible as the racist, foul-mouthed mayor, and the supporting cast all have moments to either shine or disgust. This is the only film where I can enjoy Elizabeth Banks, who gets to have some really bad ass moments, and Michael Rooker is just phenomenal as the lovesick-and-mutating source of the madness.
"OH NO, WE ARE NOT PLAYING THE TURN-INTO-A-SQUID GAME!"
There are some grand (if incredibly disgusting) special effects. The zombies are grotesque, the slugs and prolific tentacles nauseating, and don't even get me started on the blubbery mass of nastiness at the film's climax. The dialogue is funny, sharp, and quotable, and the reactions are some of the best I've ever seen in a B-movie. At times campy, at times cringe-inducing, this is a ride from start to finish.
WORD OF WARNING: This is an incredibly gross film at times, so I suggest watching on an empty stomach. But for the gorehounds out there, this film has everything you could ever desire: tentacles, blood, viscera, exploding people, goo, writhing... stuff. X^S
DEAD ALIVE | BRAINDEAD
(1992)
Starring: Timothy Balme, Diana Penalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin.
Directed by: Peter Jackson.
Rated: R
This film is known as "The Bloodiest Film of All Time". And that's not an empty boast -- in the last twenty-five minutes, more blood and goo was pumped into the stage than had ever been attempted before (or since). While Slither is very gory and gross, it's not quite as gory as Dead Alive (originally released as Braindead). This was one of Peter Jackson's -- yes, that Peter Jackson -- first films, and easily the creme de la creme of splatterflicks.
Lionel Cosgrove (Balme) is a young man desperate to escape his domineering mother (Moody) and date the pretty Hispanic girl, Paquita (Penalver), who works at the local grocer's. The pair sneak off to the zoo for a date, which ends dramatically when Lionel's mother (who had been spying on them) is bitten by the rare and dangerous Sumatran rat monkey. Mum quickly deteriorates and dies, but Lionel discovers he can't just bury her and move on: she's reanimated as a rotting, falling-to-pieces zombie who quickly attacks and eats any number of neighbors, nurses, and passerbys. Soon Lionel is struggling to restrain the ever increasing number of dangerous undead in the basement of his house, and when his Uncle Les (Watkin) decides to throw a party one night, all hell literally breaks loose.
Poor Lionel has a lot on his hands...
I unabashedly enjoy this film. Yes, it's a bit nauseating at times, and yes, it took me a couple of viewings before I could truly enjoy it. But it's just so wacky and bizarre and FUN. There are kung-fu priests! A lawnmower-versus-zombie bloodbath! A zombie baby that escapes at a playground and must be kicked and punched back into submission in front of horrified mothers! (Yes, I did get to see the ACTUAL zombie baby when I visited the Weta Cave in Wellington, New Zealand -- DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW OVERJOYED I WAS?)
Splatterflicks are some of my favourites: the horror films that are full of gore and carnage AND slapstick comedy and pratfalls. Dead Alive delivers on both counts -- who but Peter Jackson would dream up a Sumatran rat monkey as a means of beginning a zombie outbreak? The special effects are incredible or laughable, depending on the situation. The rat monkey is obviously clay animation, but fun! clay animation, while the party at the end is a no-holds-barred orgy of killer intestines, gooey blood, and severed limbs.
If you've got a strong stomach, an interest in seeing the very best in splatterflicks, and one of the most charming things to come out of New Zealand (excepting Lord of the Rings, of course ;D), I highly recommend Dead Alive.