4 Underappreciated Horror Movies

Here there be tygers

-Stephen King, Skeleton Crew

The horror movie genre has to be the queerest genre of movies the world has to offer–outside, of course, actual gay shit. Why would anymore in their right mind enjoy being terrified? We live in a world chock full of poverty, sloth, and uncertainty. Isn’t simply existing enough of a jolt and scare for the average person?

Truthfully, people do enjoy being scared. The horror genre allows us to indulge violent fantasies, confront the darkest aspects of the human existence and explore the outer limits of our consciousness. Our sometimes giddy desire to be terrified belies our secret desire to remove the artificial mask of civilization and indulge our basest instincts—whether they are based in fantasy or reality.

With that being said, let me proffer a number of horror flicks that I think are under-appreciated (either due to their age, nation of origin or limited distribution) and why they are relevant.

StephenKingPetSematary

Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary is an adaption of a Stephen King novel with the same name.

When Stephen King wrote the novel, he actually shelved it for a period of time, as he thought it was too horrific to be published. Obviously, he did eventually publish the book.

The theatrical adaption is excellent. While the acting isn’t top-shelf it is still quite good, as is the faithful adaption of the novel that drives the movie.

The movie is about a young family that moves to a house in the countryside in Maine. They happen to live near an old Indian burial ground that is rumored to be haunted with a curse that causes any being—animal or human—that is buried there to be reborn as a degenerate, haunted version of the buried.

The movie is terrifying because it plays directly on twin human impulses: the fear of death and the consequent desire to circumvent death. When provided the opportunity, would we attempt to stave off the reality of death and rebirth by attempting to play God? This movie explores this dark avenue with horrifying results.

shutter movie

Shutter

Shutter is originally a Thai film that was released in 2004 and was remade in a 2008 American release.

The movie revolves around an American couple in Japan (with the male protagonist pursuing a career as a photographer) who seemingly run over a body on a rural road, only to find that the body they thought they ran over isn’t there. Over the course of the movie, the two confront strange visions in their dreams, weird lights in their photos and disturbing secret held by the male protagonist.

The film is eerily creepy and more of a thriller than pure horror. However, it is well-told, well-paced and well-acted. The twist at the end is rather unpredictable, as is the twisted secret of the protagonist.

This movie is remarkable because it shows that men can do awful, terrible things to women and not feel one ounce of hatred towards womankind. A highly unfortunate byproduct of western self-absorption is the reflexive impulse to blame the problems in the world on hatred.

In this instance, a feminist could accuse the protagonist of being a misogynist, as only misogyny causes men to hurt or abuse women. Not only is misogyny mostly an illusion perception, but it a uniquely western impulse to think that bad things happen to them purely because others hate them. Humans are a much more tangled mess of desires and emotions than can be laid at the feet of hatred.

Little Deaths

Little Deaths

Little Deaths is a compilation of three movie shorts: each of which fit into the loose over-arching narrative of sex and violence..

The last short is simply called, “Bitch.” It involves a young man in a relationship with a young woman. This is an unsatisfying relationship, with him as the bottom and her as the top. She regularly takes him to a room adjacent to her bedroom to peg him—reminding him of his place in the relationship. He eventually breaks and decides to reclaim his power in this relationship. In the climax of the movie, her takes her life in an incredibly gruesome and horrific fashion.

As I have opined before on ROK, this movie is illuminating because it shows what can happen to a beta male without any self-awareness or desire for true personal betterment. The protagonist’s desire to kill his girlfriend isn’t just illegal and highly immoral, but also caused by his inability grow up and move on from a horrible relationship. Never take for granted a man’s ability to swallow his pride, take his lumps and move on from his bad decisions—without cracking like the main character did here in Little Deaths.

Curtains Horror Movie

Curtains

Curtains is a Canadian horror movie that initially came out in 1983.

The movie centers around a number of women who are auditioning for the leading role in a director’s new movie. They find themselves at an isolated hotel-of-sorts, bound by miles of snow. They find themselves cut down one-by-one, which causes them to suspect and accuse each other of being the murderer.

This movie is significant simply because Canada doesn’t produce many quality horror films and this certainly qualifies as a cult classic. There isn’t anything notably spectacular about the movie, but it is an enjoying and satisfying viewing.

Conclusion

Horror is quite possibly one of the most difficult genres of storytelling to pull off. However, when it is done well, it is done extremely well. Whether supernatural or drawing on the worst, base impulses of mankind, well-done horror is a truly a remarkable sight to behold.

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88 thoughts on “4 Underappreciated Horror Movies”

        1. Totally! The pacing of that scene with the long shot and false alarm with the nurse waking up the doctor.Then the quick zoom in at the nurse with the rib cutters was shocking and brilliant

      1. I’m still hoping they can unearth the director’s cut of that movie before Bill Blatty croaks.
        According to the awesome British critic Mark Kermode (who is the world’s foremost expert on all things EXORCIST) the original version of this movie, simply called LEGION, is amazing. It was heavily re-shot after the producers saw it and wanted more EXORCIST-like stuff in it.
        The released version is still pretty damn great but I’d love to see what Blatty originally intended.
        Blatty also made a great little under-seen chiller called THE NINTH CONFIGURATION. It’s not a horror movie as such. In fact it’s kind of impossible to categorise, but well worth tracking down.

        1. The production company, Morgan Creek, claim that the footage was destroyed. But they also said that about NIGHTBREED, which was the same company and the same year, and they recently unearthed the director’s cut of that.

  1. John Carpenter’s The Thing
    Hellraiser 1 & 2
    Phantasm
    John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness
    Cube
    David Cronenberg’s The Fly
    John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness
    The Unnameable
    Night of the Demons
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers
    Nightbreed
    Lord of Illusions

    1. The Thing is a timeless classic, and the cherry on top is there isn’t a woman in the entire movie.

        1. Yeah but I don’t think anybody saw it so let’s just pretend the remake/prequel/whatever it was never happened.

        2. I almost watched it because I enjoy staring at Mary Elizabeth Winstead for protracted periods of time but I just never bothered with it.

        3. The remake tried to be good, and it’s actually a prequel, it was interesting in the beginning because it showed what was going on in the Norwegian outpost but it loses steam, also it’s pretty obvious that the only reason there is a woman in the movie is because the modern SJW’s were butt-hurt at how the 1980’s Thing was a Boy’s club film, the adding of a female character who happens to be the only female character in the film …It’s pretty obvious her character was added because of Feminism. The film continues as the credits start to roll, and it shows the Dog who would travel to the American outpost running from the norwegians , the norwegians then get in the helicopter to start to chase it, it’s actually the best part in the Entire Prequel, Doesn’t even come close to the 1980’s Thing though.

        4. I watched the re-make, but I’m damned if I can remember anything about it, beyond the fact there was a chick in it & there was some-flame-throwing I think. The original stays with you and simply erases the re-make from memory

        5. Totally agree, as soon as a heard that there was a “The Thing” re-make/prequel, whatever, I though oh fuck, especially so that John Carpenter wasn’t directing it.

        6. You should consider watching it, she’s pretty fucking hot in it. Shame she’s married. I rate her as an actress. Don’t rate the remake though, was going to be all practical effects, then the studio saw it and they added CGI on top to make it “scarier.”

        7. I heard the director was pissed about the effects being replaced.
          They did the same thing with I AM LEGEND.

        8. During the blood test scene does she pull out a soggy tampon, slap it down on a plate and say “Test that…”

      1. Dario’s films are well-made, but not especially scary.
        I found a copy of “Curtains” at a local convention and was disappointed. The only scenes worth watching were the ones in the trailer.
        “The Shining” and “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” are my two all-time favorite horror films.

      2. Cannibal holocaust was a really interesting movie. A real cult Classic.
        This wasnt Dario Argento directing however, but Ruggero Deodato.

        1. Cannibal holocaust was fucked. great but fucked up. I dont know how he pulled that movie off. The mud baby, the torching of the village, the rape scene..WTF?

        2. Funny story about that movie. Deodato told the actors to basically go into hiding after they shot the movie to build up the myth that it was all real.
          But he then had to go find them all again and prove they weren’t dead when he was dragged to court and charged with their murders.

        3. 120 Days of Sodom. Boring as shit (pun intended) but disturbing as shit (pun intended).
          Watch the film and you’ll understand the pun. Actually don’t, it’s boring and disturbing, and shit.

        4. Oh and THE most disturbing film in my opinion is “Necrophilia.” Fuck “A Serbian Film” or “The Human Centipede” or “Cannibal Holocaust” or “Saving Christmas,” Necrophilia was unwatchable a points.

        5. Meh. Not particularly great, that movie. The music was annoying as shit and the sound effects were just plain crap (especially that “eating sound”). Overall it was still okay though. Imho this whole gore/exploitation genre isn’t very interesting, just disgusting. Some of these movies are rumored to be snuff films, but I doubt that anyone would make something like that into a movie, at best it would just be a clip on the internet.

    2. Great list. hellraiser still scares me.
      The Evil Dead
      The Last House on the Left(the original)
      The Omen (orig)
      Nightmare on Elm St(orig)
      The Ring(orig)
      An American Werewolf in London
      Daybreakers

    3. Can you believe who survives at the end of night of the demons , that never happens in horror movies ,their always the first to go . Which is why I liked it , totally caught me by surprise

    4. DUDE! thank you so much. I have struggled to put a name to a movie I saw as a young child. “Nightbreed’. Watching now!

    5. Love John Carpenter. Some of the “Masters of Horror” Episodes are quite good as well, namely: Cigarette Burns (also by JC), Imprint and Dreams in the witch house (film version of a H.P. Lovecraft short story)

  2. I can’t help but notice how much the the cover art for “Curtains” resembles a vagina…..
    I’m starting to regret this nofap.

  3. Always enjoyed horror growing up.
    Looking back, I can see it helped me get a more more realistic version of life. No, no Doll named Chucky is going to try and kill me or, no half man half dragon is going to fly around seeking my eye balls while “Jeepers, creepers” plays in the background, but at the same time it still showed me that life isn’t all colorful and happy. Creepy shit and thoughts are out there.
    Horror to me can’t be contained and doesn’t have a happy BS ending it is seeking. I always enjoy the more than a sappy ending in movies. Idk its just more honest to me I guess. Basically, I just love the dark shit. Ha

  4. candyman was scary. If you say candyman three times while looking in a mirror, a feminist will appear and demand that you say candy person instead

    1. CANDYMAN’s a masterpiece. It’s amazing that movie got made when you consider it came out at a time when the horror genre was practically dead.

        1. At least he was only writing a movie script and
          didn´t go on a serial killing spree like other sexually “confused” people.

        2. In all seriousness I rate Clive Barker. His shit is so good you can almost forget he’s a queer.

  5. “Desperation”, also based on a Stephen King novel, was pretty great. It was “made for TV”, so it wasn’t the greatest thing ever, but was very interesting and definitely underrated.

  6. Here is a horror story based on real life events.
    Two days ago I met a 35 year old ex fat woman who got tired of riding the cock carousel. She put an ad on a Christian dating website and within one month a man proposed to her. Now she is engaged to a wealthy 45 year old gentleman and is moving to his estate in the US.

    1. Lets hope for the future husband that she stays fat free in the future. A relapse is pretty scary to think off once you are married.

    2. Truly horrible to waste your life on vagina. They say comedy is tragedy + time, but this type of shit is just plain sad. Funny is when the gold digger woman finds out the guy doesn’t have all that money she thought he did but that skips tragic and is straight to comedy gold.

  7. Hellraiser is the perfect red-pill film. It perfectly demonstrates what an Alpha widow is and how she will do anything for her former fling in order to be with him.

    1. Fuck yeah, that really is the take home isn’t it? I haven’t seen that movie in over a decade and haven’t thought about it really. Very interesting take on it Mark.

  8. The exorcist is a great horror movie which delves into the occult, with interesting social commentary.
    It is also a warning not to move into the houses where the devil himself resides.
    A sweet young non-skanky daughter is posessed by satan himself, turning her into a vile foulmouthed puking whore who uses a crucifix as a dildo.
    Offourse satan is meant as an allegory for foul skanky feminists who were starting to gain power and influence at the time.
    Made in 1973 it was meant as a warning to future parents. Their daughters would soon get out of control and start to live promiscous lives with no respect for authority or tradition.

    1. I agree. The Exorcist is still scary as shit after all these years. I’ve seen it and it gives me nightmares. It is terrifying even without all the digital CGI effects.
      It is based on a true story too, an actual exorcism of a young boy . Plus the director Billy Freidken is a total badass. He ( Freidken) directed the French Connection.

      1. Someone else on here a while back recommended one of his other less-known films, Sorcerer. Definitely watch that if you haven’t seen it.

        1. SORCERER is incredible.
          In fact just last week I bought an original one-sheet for it. Can’t wait to frame it and hang it up.

      2. Never found it scary or disturbing, which pissed me off. I went through a horror phase in my teens and I only saw it after I’d become numb to it all.
        About the scariest thing is that a couple (think it’s 3) people died or were seriously hurt on set while making this film. Makes you wonder… was there a pissed off Christian on their crew? Would be a whole film in itself.

    2. Check out a recent movie starring Anthony Hopkins- he played one of the Vatican’s top exorcists(a real person). The priest on which the movie is based was on a radio show recently, talking about his experiences. He claimed to have seen that mass murdering Eileen Wuorno’s eyes turn completely black when she was enraged

  9. Nothing will ever top the exorcist. Technology took away the creepy effect of film. Even the old black and white horror movies are scarier just by their appearance.Horror movies today are pretty much comedies now.

  10. Event Horizon is a great horror movie. It has a ton of “alpha” aspects in it too. I highly recommend watching it.

  11. PET SEMATARY is pretty widely respected among horror fans. Mary Lambert gets a chair at those ‘Masters of Horror’ dinners for that movie alone.
    Another over-looked King adaptation is a low-budget made-for-TV thing called THE NIGHT FLIER. Miguel Ferrer is great playing a tabloid sleazebag.

  12. Of course, when revival happens to work, unlike in ridiculous horror movies, we call it “effective health care,” or words to that effect.
    For example, I have it on good authority that an elderly casino operator undergoing heart surgery in Scottsdale a couple years back experienced cardiac arrest more than once during the operation. The surgeons got his heart going again, he recovered and then he went back to work in his casino. I got to meet him in person in November of last year, and he didn’t look or act like a zombie to me.

      1. Nope. Brand new. Apparently it’s scary as shit. Trailer looks promising.
        Basically a chick fucks this dude and somehow that means he’s passed on the curse to her and this zombie like shadow man starts following her… forever… and if it get her she dies.

  13. The Babadook from 2014 does an equally good job at showing the ineptitude of single mothers and actually providing genuinely good horror start to finish.

    1. Fuck no. It was shit. And it’s all that fucking kid’s fault. Put a shit actor in a shit role where he screams like a little shit non stop (well, for the first half of the film, at least) and all you get is one fucking unbearable viewing experience.
      There are some good Australian films out lately (The Rover, to name one) but I’m fucking tired of them always trying to look gritty and shit, like it’s some Mad Max trademark, or something.

  14. I had a real life horror story, a 30 something year old white woman was hitting on me when I was in Vietnam trying to hit young pussy. It was traumatizing and terrifying all aat once her crow feet eyes and bad makeup, she couldn’t land a local man, not even a broke one, so she targetted me for being a farang hoping I’d be dumb enough to fall for her, oh and she had a lazy eye too.

  15. i enjoyed the hellraiser movies. in a way to be taken away by the cenobites for an eternity of torture was a fitting end for those whos only ambition in life is the pursuit of pleasure and self indulgence. frank cotton believed the puzzle box leaded to a realm of pleasure, filled with beautiful women, boy was he wrong. He didnt realise that the cenobites had gone so far into sadomasochism that they no longer differentiated between extreme pain and pleasure (kind of like people who enjoy BDSM)

  16. Cool underground horror from the 70s black Christmas with Margo kidder, sorority chicks getting creepy phone calls from a maniac

  17. “When provided the opportunity, would we attempt to stave off the reality of death and rebirth by attempting to play God?”
    Rebirth is a reality?

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