Frightday Night Film Recommendations: Under The Radar Monster Movies…WTF Was That? Edition.

It’s Friday…

Ahem…I mean Frightday…

And I have some recommendations for you to enjoy this weekend…

Okay…This Frightday’s theme is…

Under The Radar Monster Movies…WTF Was That? Edition.

 

The year was 1976…

Dan O’Bannon had just visited the Paris set of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune…

He was inspired by the beautifully disturbing work of artist, H. R. Giger…

So he sat down and wrote a script about what he referred to as…”A Giger Monster”…

 

Less than three years later…

 

He and director Ridley Scott walked through the metallic maze of corroded corridors and plunged head first into the swirling, black abyss of Giger’s mind…

They gave Giger the artistic freedom to create every aspect of my first experience with a movie monster that made me say…

 

WTF was that?

 

Whether it’s a Giger Monster as O’Bannon called it…

 

Or a Xenomorph as Lieutenant Gorman dubbed the monster in the 1986 film, Aliens…

 

Either way…

 

This Frightday…

I present to you a list of film recommendations…

That will hopefully inspire you to say…

 

WTF was that?

 

 

So, let’s take a chronological look at the strangest, freakiest, and possibly even unknown to you, WTF Was That? – Under The Radar Monster Movies…In the years following Alien. 

 

Humanoids From The Deep (1980) – When I was a kid…I snuck into the White River Drive-In to watch a double feature…Once there, I discovered a pair of gruesome, sexually charged exploitation horror films…The first film they played was Galaxy of Terror…And the second was this one…A crazy-as-hell movie about an attack on the fishing village of Noyo, California…Both films were executive produced by Roger Corman…And both films are smothered and covered in his signature cult-classic schlock…This one has some surprisingly good performances…Especially from Doug McClure and Vic Morrow…It’s kind of the signature Corman move…You take a cheesy B-movie concept…Create from that concept, a decent script…Score a handful of talented and believable actors…Throw in some kick-ass monster effects…And…Blammo! You got yourself a cult-classic!  I have always, and will always love both of these films because of the visceral memory that was burned into my synapses…On that fateful night in White River Junction, Vermont.

 

Basket Case (1982) – Before bringing us the wonderfully twisted film Brain Damage, in 1988…Director Frank Henenlotter hatched a feature film debut like none other…It’s a murky, murderous low-budget horror movie…And tells the tale of two brothers…Duane Bradley…A seemingly normal young man who moves to New York City with a locked basket under his arm…And his brother Belial…A separated siamese twin who resides in the aforementioned basket…This film delights in its shlocky sleaziness…And you know what? I delight in it too! Upon first viewing I remember saying to my friend Dave…”I have never seen anything like this.” Looking back…Anytime that I have uttered that phrase…The film becomes an instant classic that will forever remain on both the shelves of my video library and the dusty, cobweb covered shelves that exist in my mind.

 

Pumpkinhead (1986) – Special effects uber-guru, Stan Winston made his directorial debut with this creepy as hell tale of redneck lore…Loss…Revenge…And ultimately…Regret…Lance Henriksen stars as Ed Harley…A simple country store owner, and single father…One day while delivering an order to a customer…A group of teens led by a righteous dickhead named Joel are involved in a tragic accident…An accident that sends Ed into a downward spiral of Podunk vengeance and good old-fashioned witchcraft…The results of his sadistic sojourn is a creature, with an origin, and appearance unlike anything that I’ve ever seen before…The effects in this film are incredible…No surprise there, with Stan at the helm…And, Henriksen is amazing as a grief-stricken man who has become punch-drunk with anger…All in all…And I’m surprised to say this, after thirty years…But this one actually stands the test of time.

 

Feast (2005) – Here’s a Project Greenlight film directed by first time director, John Gulager…And the devilishly fun, wild ride of a script is from the twisted minds of Marcus Dunstan, and Patrick Melton…They are the two cats responsible for The Collector and The Collection…The story they created in this one is a combination of dark comedy, and a greasy, gooey, gore-splattered monster movie…As the aptly named characters are revealed, they receive show-stopping individual title sequences, taking momentary pauses in a movie that flies along at a breakneck pace…When we meet Hero played by Eric Dane (The Last Ship), he enters the dingy roadside bar where the film takes place, and informs the patrons within of the carnage-laden shit-show that is rapidly approaching…Within a few minutes of his arrival, we the audience realize that we have just been buckled in, and are apparently about to take a ride on the world’s funniest and bloodiest amusement park rides.

 

Reeker (2005) – Now here’s a film that, pardon the pun, reeks with self-awareness…It knows that it is 100% straight-up slasher style B-movie cheese…It knows that the cornball antics of drug-fueled, sex-crazed kids is a necessary element…It knows that the kills must be gory, original, and if at all possible, be created by using practical effects…But they also knew that in order to stand out…To really be different…Their slasher would need to be completely unique…And let me tell ya…It sure the hell is…There’s no way I’m going to spoil even one second of what goes down…Because this film lures you into comfortable territory with its B-movie tropes…But once you begin following…The events take a serious left turn and leave you in a place that you never planned on finding.

 

Mulberry Street (2006) – I adored this rarely seen, barely talked about film…A film, that had I not been a fan of Nick Damici, and Jim Mickle…I may not have even known existed…Those two men are behind two of my favorite horror films of recent years, Stake Land, and We Are What We Are…They also brought to life two stories from Joe R. Lansdale, one of my favorite authors…The taut thriller, Cold In July…And the downright kick-ass television series, Hap and Leonard…This smart and fast-moving film feels like a straight-up zombie outbreak film…But this film separates itself from the rest of the pack, and becomes something different…Now, there definitely is an outbreak…And ground zero is Mulberry St. in downtown Manhattan…But those infected are neither the not-so-zombies seen in 28 Days Later, nor are they the croak and come back sort of zombies…They are…Um…Well, like the theme of today’s list says…I don’t know WTF they are…But I dug the story…I dug Damici as Clutch, the film’s resident bad-ass…I dug the original spin on some fairly well-trodden territory…Yep…I just plain dug it.

 

Splice (2009) – From the director of Cube, Vincenzo Natali…Comes a genuinely twisted tale of science gone horribly wrong…Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley play genetic engineers who together create the first human-animal hybrid…Forbidden to do so by their employers, the two hide their experiment in a rural farmhouse, so they may secretly continue their research…As this specimen matures there are certain biological and physiological functions that begin to come into play…Some of them are totally natural…Like when a butterfly emerges from a chrysalis with newly formed colorful wings…Others are totally unnatural…Like when a farmer responds to an impulse to take a sheep’s temperature with his all-meat thermometer…The more this specimen, that these two incredibly intelligent idiots have created, evolves…The scarier and more disturbing this film becomes.

 

Super 8 (2011) – Okay…So technically this monster movie wasn’t all that “under the radar”…But, I couldn’t help but be reminded of this film upon my completion of the Netflix series, Stranger Things…Now as far as throwback stories about suburban youths riding around on bikes avoiding monsters and authority figures go…Nobody beats The Duffer Brothers and the enveloping world they created for that series…But you know who comes really close? J.J. Abrams…That’s who…In this one, it’s 1979 and a group of friends are helping their burgeoning filmmaker friend, Charles with his low-budget zombie movie…While at the train depot filming a scene…The friends witness, and capture on film, their biology teacher purposely ramming into an oncoming train, and causing a massive derailment…In the days following the crash…The arrival of a whole host of bizarre events lead these friends on not only the path towards understanding what is happening to their quiet suburb…But much like with Stranger Things…Leads them on the path towards understanding the importance of those unbreakable bonds that can exist between both friends and family alike.

 

Spring (2014) – When I saw the film, Resolution from the creative team of  Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead…I found their style to be unique…Refreshing…And totally compelling…In this their sophomore film the two apply their fresh perspective to an entirely new and less claustrophobic setting…In this one…A man named Evan, played by Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers, Evil Dead)…In one fell swoop loses both his mother and his job…A friend, played by director Jeremy Gardner (The Battery), advises him to do a little travelling to help clear his mind…Evan reluctantly agrees…In Italy, he meets Louise, played by German actress, Nadia Hilker…He is instantly smitten with this flirtatious mystery woman…And the two embark on a very beautiful and believable love story…Evan slowly begins to unravel her mystery…Taking the audience on a pulse-pounding, mind-bending, and heart-warming journey towards the truth…This film artfully balances the horror and the romance…A tightrope walk very few filmmakers have ever dared to attempt.

 

The Hallow (2015) – In this combined British and Irish production…First time director, Corin Hardy (His next project is the reboot of The Crow) created this creepy flick that starts out as a family drama of sorts…But that changes rather quickly, as this idyllic little family is rocked by the constant nagging from the locals about staying out of the mysterious woods that surround this quaint Irish village…Adam, played by Joseph Mawle (AKA Benjen Stark) is a conservationist who not only insists upon travelling into this dark, dank, and dense forest that he was warned about…But he also does it with his teensy-weensy infant Finn, strapped to his back like a student’s knapsack…His wife isn’t a huge fan of this…Gee, can’t imagine why? She is played by Bojana Novakovic (Devil) and is forced to try and protect her baby from what she soon realizes is a very real danger…One that her single-minded skeptic of a husband…May not come to understand until it is too late…Guess he’s one of those guys who cannot see the forest for the trees…Sorry, folks…I really couldn’t help that one…I just had to do it.

 

Okay…

So, I get a lot of feedback about why certain films are left off the list…

 

Films are omitted for two reasons…

 

Either they are so popular, so well-known, that it almost seems pointless to recommend them…

 

Or it’s because I’ve already recommended them…

 

So to minimize the confusion…

Here are some films that fit this list…

But can be found on another…

 

The Stuff (1985)

Brain Damage (1988)

Tremors (1990)

Mimic (1997)

The Descent (2005)

The Host (2006)

Splinter (2008)

Monsters (2010)

The Babadook (2014)

 

Extinction: An Under The Radar Zombie Movie

This is what going on a run looks like…

When the zombie apocalypse is punctuated by perpetual winter.

 

Big surprise…Once again, the god-forsaken Tomatometer tried to make me not watch a movie…Let me rephrase that…Tried to make me not watch a good movie.

 

Extinction (2015) – I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, to push a zombie movie over the top, you’ve got to give us something new…Now, I’ve already mentioned that this time the all-they-can-eat zombie apocalypse dinner special comes with never-ending Unbaked Alaska for dessert…But how bout we throw in “evolved” zombies? And by evolved I don’t mean the sort-of-thinking-but-still-willing-to-look-at-the-fireworks-sometimes-because-they’re-pretty evolved zombies from Land of the Dead…No I’m talking about a zombie that has changed on the genetic level…

I’m talking…

Yeah…That’s what I’m talkin’ bout.

The three main characters in this film believe that the zombies have been killed off, or maybe even left, because of the nine years of perpetual winter…

They were wrong…

The zombies were not gone…

They were becoming.

The other thing this zombie film had, was heart…Fans of The Walking Dead will slide easily into this world of fractured family, failed friendships, faltering faith, and forced forgiveness…Much like The Battery, this was another zombie film where the interplay between the characters is as crucial to the storytelling, as the zombies themselves.

Let’s break it down then, shall we?

You’ve got what looks like a nuclear winter as your backdrop….Zombies that have evolved to better suit that environment…And also, a well-crafted story delivered by the three main characters, and played by actors whose performances were all filled with believable depth.

 

So screw you, Tomatometer…Screw you, and your disdain for horror movies…Screw you, and the score of 25% that you gave this film.

I know, I know…You’re all like…

“Come on man, it’s just aggregate data, it’s not Matermeter’s fault!”

But isn’t it?

If your website is designed to guide people toward or away from the films that you list there, then you have an obligation to not only your visitors, but also those films, to present that data fairly. If the guy who absolutely loved The Notebook reviews Killer Klowns From Outer Space, he’s going to hate it, simply because it’s not his kind of movie…

Fans of horror films will endure so many bad ones in order to get to the inevitable good, or maybe even great one…We all do it…It’s sort of like swimming through a lake of hot poo just to make it to an island of corn…

We’ve all had to tolerate the stinkers in the horror genre that have no redeeming qualities, because it was our only path to the decent films…And when I see the stinkers, I call ’em like I see ’em…

 

But me, I absolutely LOVE horror…

 

In my opinion, movie reviews and their reviewers should be broken down into categories, just like the movies themselves are…

This would change everything, not just for the horror genre…

Screwball Comedies…Rom-Coms…Sci-Fi…Cult Classics…Fantasy…Action…

They’ve all been subject to the same snot-nosed, uptight. artsy-fartsy harsh critiquing that horror films have had to endure.

 

I cannot offer you a tomato…Or a splat…Or even a percentage of aggregate data for Extinction…

Instead, I offer just a simple recommendation…

See. This. Movie.

 

 

Under The Radar Monster Movies: Your Kid Is A Monster Edition

There was a movie that aired on network TV, all the time in the late 70’s…The Other. It was directed by Robert Mulligan (To Kill A Mockingbird), and although it wasn’t his absolute best movie, it was the absolute best way to inform me that my fellow children were potentially dangerous.

 

Just take a look at Niles…Awww, he’s so cute…What’s that he’s doing?…Oh yeah, that’s right…He just decided to pickle his newborn nephew in a wine cask…Freakin’ adorable.

 

Let’s take a chronological look at the best, most underrated, and possibly even unknown to you, Your Kid Is A Monster Movies over the years following The Other.

 

The Brood (1979) – From the warped and wonderful mind of David Cronenberg comes this bizarre tale of psychotherapy gone more horribly wrong than it usually does. Oliver Reed plays Dr. Reglan, who uses an experimental therapy to help a former abuse victim deal with her inner demons. But he doesn’t comprehend the way she deals with them…What’s that?…I’m sorry?…How does she deal with them, you ask? Well…She gives birth to them…And then these creepy little homicidal inner-children do all sorts of horrible things on her behalf. There are some startling and disturbing images here, and those images will stay, forever trapped in your noggin. Cronenberg‘s fascination with science and technology coalescing with human physiology is ever-present, ever-accounted for…And boy is it ever looking for trouble.

 

The Good Son (1993) – I know that probably everyone out there has seen this chiller, but I couldn’t resist. I was reminded of this film, while watching Orphan (Which has to be on the list too, whether you like it or not), and I realized that the escalation of evil during the middle and last acts, fill the audience with the same anxiety-inducing dread that I felt when I watched The Good Son. And wasn’t it a great thing having the kid from Uncle Buck and Home Alone be evil incarnate? I know I enjoyed it. The taut and well written script comes from Ian McEwan, acclaimed author of the novel, Atonement. But in this film, I have to give all the credit to Macaulay Culkin for his portrayal of Henry Evans…I mean, when his mom is trying to get him to confess…and he sorta does…The ever-optimistic mother says,”We’ll get you help.” When he ever responded with, “You don’t look too good, Mom…Looks like you need the help.” I absolutely freakin’ lost it. 

 

 Joshua (2007) – I am going to be a bit tight-lipped about this film…Sam Rockwell (Moon) and Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) star as the parents of Joshua, played masterfully by Jacob Kogan (Star Trek). When a new baby arrives, it typically will take a toll on a family…But not like this. As you climb the spiral staircase that is this film, getting to the top is the least of your worries. You’re going to take each step, as if there is a pointy Lego piece awaiting your shoeless footfall…The film tries to encourage you by letting you know how far up the staircase you have gotten, but it ends up making you want to turn and run back down the other way. And then, when you finally reach that last step…

 

 The Children (2008) – This British film is a perfect example of the type of film that I am spotlighting with this list. Two families go on holiday for New Years, in the secluded, snow-covered English countryside…One of the kids, Paulie, immediately starts displaying symptoms, that his parents write off as motion sickness from the journey…Oh, Paulie’s sick allright, he’s just not car sick. The illness spreads from child to child rather quickly, and soon, all of the children are stricken with this…Well…Let’s call it…The Evil Virus. The kids are relentless, their attacks are vicious, and they are directed solely at their powerless parental units. Once this fun little holiday goes south…Oh man…It never comes back.

 

Orphan (2009) – But we’ve already seen this one…I know, I know…Stop whining. There were plenty of people a few years back that hadn’t seen it, so you just never know. Besides, how could I not add it to the list? As I mentioned, this film and The Good Son, both nail the “escalating evil formula” and that formula works particularly well with this one. Especially as the film moves closer and closer to its big reveal. And that separates Orphan from The Good Son…See, we know relatively quickly that Henry(Culkin) is a psycho, and it’s pretty well established that Esther would be in the same hospital ward with him, but with this little girl…Oh, there’s so much more.

 

Case 39 (2009) – I stumbled upon this after Silver Linings Playbook came out…I was sort of checking out things that I hadn’t seen from Bradley Cooper‘s filmography…Christian Alvart, who later directed the dark and creepy sci-fi flick, Pandorum, brings us this twisted tale of foster care gone wrong. Renée Zellweger plays Emily, a social worker who tries to protect a child named Lilith from an abusive home. Lilith, played by Jodelle Ferland, insists that she be taken care of by Emily, and stay with her until permanent foster care can be arranged. And that’s when things start to get…A bit messed up.  Cooper tries to help his friend Emily, but the only island in these dark and murky waters that is swimming distance from Emily is, Ian McShane (Swearengen!) as the savvy Detective Barron. Case 39 was a compelling surprise of a film that never should have been under the radar.

 

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011) – Whoa boy…Do we really need to talk about Kevin? Because…I don’t think I’m ready. This film sticks in yer craw, like a chewed-up blob of Bazooka sticks in your hair. You just can’t get it out. I am once again compelled to keep my trap partially shut on this one. Jasper Newell did his creepy best as young Kevin, making the most mundane aspects of parenting difficult in new and horrifying ways. But for me, I will always think of Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), as Kevin…Dude, this kid creeped me out so much that I was like, you sure he’s not playing The Reverse-Flash in the new Justice League movie? But that’s the call sign of a great actor…I recently saw his brilliant and touching performance in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and amazingly, there wasn’t a single solitary shred of Kevin there.

Under The Radar Monster Movies: Big Bad Edition

It was the fall of 1979. It was a Friday night. My parents were out for the night, and I was alone. A movie I had been wanting to see, was finally about to air on network television for the first time.

These were the circumstances by which I saw Steven Spielberg‘s masterpiece, Jaws for the first time.

It was my first run-in with a Big Bad. Now, I don’t use this term the same way my friends in Sunnydale did on the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their version of Big Bad? Their villain of the season…Mine? Something Bad…That’s Big enough to eat you.

 

So, let’s take a chronological look at the best, most underrated, and possibly even unknown to you, big bad monster movies over the years following Jaws.

 

 

Tremors (1990) – Kevin Bacon, and Fred Ward star as Val and Earl, two lovable rednecks thrust into a frightening life or death struggle, on the day they finally decide to leave their small town of Perfection, Nevada. Now, initially, when I saw the trailer for this film, I drew instant conclusions that it was a rip-off of Robert R. McCammon‘s novel Stinger, a story about an underground creature that plagues the small town of Inferno, Texas…But those were the only two similarities, small town with an interesting name, and an underground creature…This film is raucous, disgusting, scary, and has the best line ever delivered to a movie monster, after kicking its ass…Spawned a shitload of useless sequels, but that’s just a testament to the awesomeness of the original.

 

Mimic (1997) – This film comes from director Guillermo del Toro. It was his first American film, and his follow-up to the amazing Cronos. Now the director’s experience on this film, escpecially in his dealings with Hollywood executives, drove him back to Mexico to start his own production company. But amidst the chaos and stress of his first experience making a movie the Hollywood way, del Toro somehow managed to pull it off. The atmosphere on the film is dark, dirty, and claustrophobic. At times, in those tunnels, you’ll feel the same hairs standing up, that you felt stand up on the back of your neck for the Alien series. The big bad monster in this one, is an ever-evolving insect creature with a desire to eradicate humans…with a big shoe. Just kidding…But for all I know, that may have been the premise of Mimic 2.

Reign of Fire (2002) – Director Rob Bowman (X-Files, Star Trek: TNG) brings a medieval myth into present day London, and does so in an epic apocalyptic fashion. Christian Bale plays Quinn, who as a child witnesses his mother and the rest of her underground crew, unearth an ass-load of deadly fire-breathing dragons. They quickly incinerate the entire city, leaving very few survivors, Quinn being one of them. On his own, he leads a group of survivors from within the walls of a castle, until his leadership is called into question. That’s when Van Zan, played by Matthew McConaughey, shows up. He’s the rogue, brash leader of a group called Kentucky Regulators, and is the man with the plan, the firepower, and now the support of Quinn’s group. When the two join forces against these flying flamethrowers, that’s when the fun really starts.

 

  

The Host (2006) – This korean film, originally titled, Gwoemul, was directed by Joon Ho Bong (Snowpiercer), and tells the story of a shiftless, sad-sack slacker of a single father who is forced to finally get off his lazy ass and do something. Kang-ho Song plays the hapless Park Gang-Doo, father of Park Hyun-seo, who is captured by an immense water creature from the Han River in Seoul. Ah-sung Ko plays the resourceful young damsel in distress, but in the majority of her scenes, it feels like you’re watching the film’s heroine. Likewise, the unlikely heroics of her absently present father are both surprising and uplifting. This film, as with Snowpiercer, carries with it, a ton of social commentary. South Korea’s environmental policies, bureaucrats, and even protesters are openly lampooned in this amazing monster movie.

 

The Mist (2007) – The one director who has proven that he possesses a pair of capable hands, when it comes to touching Stephen King‘s source material. He is the Victor Von Frankenstein responsible for reincarnating the Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile on film. With this story, he moves away from the prison drama portion of King‘s bibliography, and drives headlong into the supernatural side of New England that dominates the author’s body of work. This film has the claustrophobic isolationist vibe, that creates constant tension…Nobody likes being trapped…Well I’m sure there’s some weirdo out there who does…Once I found out that there were grown men who dress as babies, and like being changed, I realized that anything was possible…Anyway, this film builds to an absolutely unbelievable ending, that will leave you stunned to the point of breathlessness, and there’s no way in hell that you’ll be able to forget it.

 

Rogue (2007) – The director of Wolf Creek, Greg McLean followed up his gritty and horrifying debut, with a captivatingly carnivorous creation. Radha Mitchell plays Kate, who leads a group of tourists on a boat trip through Australia’s Northern Territory. Initially when they run into some grubby locals, I start to get nervous that I’m watching the sequel to Wolf Creek, convinced that they are bad news. The bad news comes from below the surface and is not a redneck Aussie, but a giant man-eating crocodile. The stellar cast of this film end up trapped on an ever-shrinking mud island. Sam Worthington plays Neil, one of the locals, who once his boat is destroyed by the behemoth, ends up joining forces with Kate and the other tourists, including Pete, played by Michael Vartan in an attempt to defeat the beast. This film took itself seriously, unlike the campy, Lake Placid, and sits comfortably at the same table with, Jaws.

 

Monsters (2010) – Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) wrote and directed this story about a not too distant future, where alien lifeforms have infected a quarantined section of Mexico. Scoot McNairy (Argo, Halt and Catch Fire), plays a photojournalist who heads into the quarantine zone to find his boss’ daughter, and return her to the safety of the United States. The film was shot in six weeks, and had no real script to speak of…Edwards had moments of dialogue that he wanted to reach, but let the actors improv their way to them. It made the relationship between McNairy, and Whitney Able who portrayed Sam, feel so organic. It’s as if you’re watching two people who were getting to know each other, and eventually falling in love…And in fact, it turns out that we were…Because, Able and McNairy have been married since they finished filming this gem.

 

Trollhunter (2011) – This Norwegian film, released as Trolljegeren, is a documentary style found footage movie. And much like it was with Afflicted, the found footage genre was elevated by this delight. It is a frigid fright fest. At times the thundering thrill ride seems almost…I don’t know…Realistic…I know, I know…Giant Trolls = Realistic? But if you’re taking a recommendation from me called Trollhunter, you’ve already suspended a fair amount of disbelief, now haven’t you?

Grabbers (2012) – This Big Bad Monster Movie from across the pond has one of the best story ideas I’ve ever heard…So there’s  a monster, right?…And, we need to find a way to protect ourselves, yeah?…What’s that you say?…If we get really, really drunk, then the monster will leave us alone?…Sweet…My kinda monster movie. Richard Coyle (Coupling), and Ruth Bradley (Humans) play police offiers who have become unlikely partners in the bizarre world created by director Jon Wright and screenwriter Kevin Lehane. The film takes place on a remote Irish island, and the more you watch, the more you start to feel as isolated as its trapped residents. There are plenty of comedic elements here, as there usually are when large quantities of alcohol are added. But the horror side of this horror-comedy is handled with skilled effects and intense action sequences.

 

Under The Radar Monster Movies: Mummy (and Daddy) Edition

 I never understood how a Mummy could be on any list of Movie Monsters…Least of all mine. 

Oooooh…Scary.

Just look at that…Even the guy who’s supposed to be scared of this crusty, dusty, walking pile of used Band-Aids isn’t…

 

…But Mummies and Daddies? 

Now, that shit is scary.

It was early in the year 1980. The first images that were ever burned into my mind of Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining, occured when the trailer first aired on television. Those images scared me so much, that I had to run out of the living room to pull myself together…And to pull on a new pair of underwear.

 

 So, let’s take a chronological look at the best, most underrated, and possibly even unknown to you, Mummy and Daddy Monster Movies over the years following The Shining.

 

The Stepfather (1987) – Terry O’Quinn (Lost), was incredible in his role as the menacing chameleon-like serial killer, Henry Morrison, I mean Jerry Blake, I mean…Wait…Who is he here? After murdering one family, and changing his identity, this guy has an equally hard time remembering who he is, as he starts all over again. This time, he sets his sights on a widow and her teenage daughter. The dude’s scary…He is…I remember having a bit of a hard time letting him become John Locke…I was like, “No! He’s the step-father.” On O’Quinn‘s performance alone, the film stands up after almost thirty years, and in my opinion, shines way more brightly than the 2009 reboot…Wow, an unnecessary reboot, you say? Shocking.

 

The Others (2001) – Alejandro Amenábar created atmosphere in this film, that was like looking at a painting through a veil. Nicole Kidman deserved every bit of recognition she received for her solid performance in this spooky film, that takes place on a rural British isle during the aftermath of World War II. Widowed by the ravages of war, she rigorously tends to her children, who are apparently suffering from a bizarre illness. As she receives help from some outside forces, her tightly wound little world begins to unravel. Kidman invokes one of my favorite phrases with her overbearing parenting style in this film…”You can’t spell smother, without mother.” 

 

Frailty (2002) – This is the directorial debut of one of my all-time favorite actors, Bill Paxton, and was yet another recommendedation of Stephen King. It tells the story of the bizarre relationship between two sons, Fenton (Matt O’Leary) and Adam (Jeremy Sumpter), and their uber-religious, and most likely insane father, played by the aforementioned Paxton. The film plays into my established belief that religious extremism accounts for the majority of life’s problems, and then tosses those beliefs into a reality wood-chipper. The journey this film takes you on, will keep you guessing, uncomfortable, and most of all, entertained.

 

Inside (2007) – This French horror film was released under the name, À l’intérieur, and is part of the New Wave of French Horror. This film was praised for it’s scares, brutality, and gore…And rightfully so. It has the claustrophobic feel that comes from most home invasion horror movies, but is unlike any other. The invader, played by Béatrice Dalle, is a disturbed woman with a disturbing past. She breaks into the home of pregnant widow, Sarah, played by Alysson Paradis, with one really quite messed-up intention…To take her baby…Did I mention that Sarah’s still pregnant?…Yep, I sure did. Now, the two have no familial ties, but when drafting a list of mother-related horror movies, it’d be tough not to include Inside. This film is straight-up scary, folks…And it’s straight-up what I now imagine every home birth looks like.

 

The Woman (2010) – Lucky McKee, who has directed some amazing horror movies like May, and one of my favorite revenge-flicks, Red, has made yet another tasty one here. The story goes a little something like this…Boy meets Girl…Boy abducts Girl…Boy tortures Girl, his entire family, and anyone else who shows up. The father played by Sean Bridgers bears the initial appearance of a harmless country lawyer, husband, and father. But as you know, appearances aren’t always what they seem. His utter disregard for all of the human life around him, quickly propels him into the role of villian. This film may upset you…It might make you lose faith in humanity a little…Hell, it could even piss you off…But, it never disappoints…Not once.

 

We Are What We Are (2013) – Jim Mickle (Stake Land, Cold in July) directed this derailment into Dysfunction Junction, and co-wrote the script with Nick Damici (Stake Land, Late Phases). The two are about to work together again, for the upcoming series Hap and Leonard based on an incredible series of novels by Joe R. Lansdale, which will air on SundanceTV on March 2nd. The further along this story goes, you start to smell what’s cooking…And let me tell ya…it ain’t nothing good. Ambyr Childers is perfectly cast as Iris, the older of the two sisters in this twisted tale about family legacy and the forced sense of obligation that comes with it. She has this light…This goodness about her, which only makes the contrast between her and her crooked, gnarled, leafless family tree, that much more stark.

Under The Radar Monster Movies: Zombie Edition

The year was 1981, I was visiting my cousins in Plattsburgh, NY…They had a handful of mostly horror video rentals,  and unbeknownst to me, one of them was the Gold Standard in zombie apocalypse films.

In Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero dragged the zombie movie sub-genre kicking and screaming into its next, inevitable evolution…The Zombie Apocalypse Movie.

No longer was the menace a handful of dead-eyed relatives, scratching and clawing relentlessly at the back door of your farmhouse…Nope, now it was the countless, hungry masses, pushing and crashing effortlessly through the front doors of your local mall.

 

So, let’s take a chronological look at the best, most underrated, and possibly even unknown to you, zombie movies over the years following Dawn of the Dead.

 

Night of the Comet (1984) – This film is like, a totally awesome 80’s zombie apocalypse movie. The premise? On the night a comet passes close by our solar system, the unsuspecting throngs of spectating humans are exposed to something unusual. The bizarre side effects associated with this phenomenon are felt in three possible ways…First, disintegration…Second, conversion to a semi-sentient, fully-aggressive zombie…And third, if you happen to be really freakin’ lucky, is survival.

 

Dead Alive (1992) – Peter Jackson gave us this gift, which is also known as Braindead, because he loves us. How to describe this film…Let me see…Okay, got it!…Start watching the movie Ed and His Dead Mother…Fill a blender with fake blood…Leave the cover off…Press the ‘Frappe’ button. In the almost twenty-five years since its creation, I still have not seen a film this thoroughly soaked in blood. Ever seen a lawnmower raised above someone’s head, and used as a weapon against a zombie? No? Didn’t think so. Now, don’t let the gore scare you…Wait, that’s not right…Go ahead and let the gore scare you, just don’t let it scare you away.

 

Undead (2003) – This dark, gritty, and sometimes funny Aussie zombie flick was written, directed, and practically everything else, by the Spierig Brothers. This puppy has it all…Cool Origin: Meteorites…Cool Heroes: René, the former beauty queen, played by Felicity Mason, and Marion (an obvious nod to John Wayne), the gun-enthusiast/prepper/sasquatch played by Mungo McKay…Cool Resolution: Aliens…Yeah, you heard me, aliens. These aliens attempt to protect the uninfected residents of the zombie-infested town of Berkeley, by beaming them into the upper atmosphere…And then they provide a cure for the rest. 

 Mmmmmm…Zombies and Aliens…

…Two great tastes that taste great together.

 

Deadgirl (2008) – A very unique, very dark, and very disturbing, view into the inner workings of the post-pubescent mind of a teenage boy. Shiloh Fernandez is outstanding as the one conflicted boy with even a crumb of a conscience. There is only one zombie in this film, which naturally creates an eerily intimate and isolated setting. You will most likely feel uncomfortable…You will most probably root for the zombie…And you will most definitely not trust young men around anything with…Or without a pulse.

 

The Battery (2012) – Writer/Director Jeremy Gardner reached out to his friends, asked them each for six-hundred dollars, and once ten of them agreed, he was off and running with his six-thousand dollar budget. This independent film boasts, a well-written script, believable performances, and surprisingly rich and organic music. The Battery tells the story of Ben (Jeremy Gardner), and Mickey (Adam Cronheim), two former baseball teammates who roam a zombie apocalypse ravaged New England countryside. The film brings a unique perspective to the genre…So, we all have that guy we know, and there’s a good reason why we’re not really friends with that guy…Well, imagine if it was the end of the world and it’s pretty much just you, and…That guy. 

 

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014) – At this point, if you can bring some things that I haven’t seen in the zombie apocalypse, I say, bring ’em. And director, Kiah Roache-Turner definitely brung ’em, with this, his debut film. What haven’t I seen, you ask? How about using zombies as an alternative energy source? How about communicating psychically with zombies and having them do your bidding? How about a foul-mouthed Aboriginal Australian? I know, the last one threw you…But I am a sucker for profanity that comes from an unusual place…Remember Ronnie, the potty-mouthed kid who got Seann William Scott as a Big Brother in Role Models…Or how about Betty White swearing her way through Lake Placid? Both tickled me. And so did Leon Burchill as Benny.

 

Under The Radar Monster Movies: Vampire Edition

The year was 1979…Director Tobe Hooper created a telefilm of a Stephen King story called, Salem’s Lot. I was nine years old, and upon watching it, discovered something really quite valuable…The creature I thought for the preceding eight years looked like this, and was totally obsessed with counting numbers…

…Was actually a creature that looked like this, and was totally obsessed with ingesting my blood.

And…I may have peed. Just a little bit.

 

So, let’s take a chronological look at the best, most underrated, and possibly even unknown to you, vampire movies movies over the years following Salem’s Lot.

 

Lifeforce (1985) – Okay, so technically they’re “space vampires” but who cares?  Tobe Hooper‘s creation is one of my all time favorites and although it may qualify as science fiction, it most definitely a vampire movie. The screenplay was penned by Dan O’Bannon (Return of the Living Dead, Dark Star, Alien), and tells the story of a space shuttle crew that discovers a vessel in the tail of Halley’s Comet. Within the vessel they discover about six gajillion shriveled-up bat creatures, and three very humanoid, very naked aliens. They take the three pods containing the intergalactic nudists, and set course for Earth. These vampires distract their prey with their pubes, and then suck the life right out of them. Steve Railsback (X-Files), stars as the love struck dummy/astronaut responsible for unleashing the perpetually hungry object of his affection, played by French actress Mathilda May, on mankind. 

 

‘s 

Near Dark (1987) – This cult classic was the creation of Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Strange Days, The Hurt Locker, and Zero Dark Thirty to name a few), and tells the tale of a nomadic band of outlaw vampires who turn a small town farm boy into one of their own. The cast is littered with actors from James Cameron‘s stable, like Lance Henriksen  (Aliens), Jenette Goldstein (Aliens, Terminator 2), and Cameron’s go to guy, Bill Paxton (Terminator, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic). More than worth the price of admission on this one? The fight scene in the biker bar…Paxton is the standout, as the one and only big-screen vampire to utter the classic line, “Finger lickin’ good” after tapping the vein. Imagine if you will…You’re immortal, and you’re kind of a dick…With these vampires, it was like watching a pack of malicious cats, who get off on toying with their mice. It’s a dark, bloody, at times funny, and at times a star-crossed love story.

 

Innocent Blood (1992) – In the Werewolf Edition of Under The Radar Monster Movies, John Landis set the benchmark by which I gauge all other werewolf movies. With Innocent Blood, he attempted to apply the same formula to a different movie monster. Now, it didn’t work on the same scale as its predecessor, but it did work. Its successes were the injection of humor, romance, and of course, those classic Landis visuals. An American Werewolf In London is a horror-comedy, with the accent on horror, and Innocent Blood is a horror-comedy with the accent on comedy. I mean, seriously, check this out…After the vampy vampire, Marie sees pictures of local members of the mafia in the paper, she decides to treat herself…To Italian. That’s just funny.

 

 

Cronos (1993) – The debut film of Guillermo del Toro tells the tale of Jesús, an antique dealer who discovers an ancient mechanical device hidden within a statue. The insect-like machine comes alive long enough to “bite” the aging Jesús, and an unusual transformation takes place. He becomes younger, stronger, hornier, and hungrier…For what? You guessed it…Blood. Cronos has an awful lot of heart for a vampire film. The love Jesús has for his granddaughter, Aurora is that heart. Their scenes are beautifully written, believably acted, and at times both sad, and touching. Ultimately, Aurora becomes the one thing that tethers Jesús to his fleeting humanity, and in the only way possible…Saves him.

 

30 Days of Night (2007) – This delight was derived from the devilishly dark and disturbed mind of Steve Niles. He wrote the scariest graphic novel I’ve ever read, and then helped bring those frightening images to life on the big screen. These vampires are unlike so many others…They’re feral…They have shark eyes?…They have a language that’s almost as scary as the mouth it came from…And they have a leader, played by Danny Huston, who leads by aggressive example, and not from some exalted throne. The plot alone leaves you stricken with acute claustrophobia…Ready? Okay, here goes…Every year, the town of Barrow, Alaska must endure a full month of total darkness. But this year, that fact, attracts a cunning pack of deadly vampires, who sort of…Well…Turn the town into a month long all you can eat buffet. To quote Stan The Man Lee…’Nuff said.

 

Stake Land (2010) – This isn’t just a vampire movie…It’s a vampire apocalypse movie. Before Jim Mickle directed We Are What We Are, and Cold In July, he broke new ground and pioneered a new sub-genre with this gem. For any apocalypse film to hook their audience, you have to have characters that you give a crap about…Martin and Mister are those characters. Martin is a teenager orphaned in this vampire apocalypse and luckily meets a man who takes a risk, and takes him under his wing. The man, known only as Mister (played by Nick Damici), is a bad-ass vampire slayer that makes Buffy and Van Helsing say, “Sure, I’m good…But have you seen Mister?” This film is perfect for the horror fan who usually prefers the bleak, desolate, survivalist vibe found in most zombie apocalypse movies…Typically, I find these same fans also avoid the vampires-are-like-O-M-G-super-sexy-and-like-totally-mysterious movies, like they’d avoid a zombie virus.

 

Afflicted (2013) – Do not be dissuaded by the label “found footage film” that Afflicted is saddled with. We are all getting a wee bit tired of found footage…It’s the safety net that catches the less talented filmmakers out there…But this one feels, I don’t know, different, somehow. Derek Lee, and Clif Prowse wrote, directed, and star in a film that in the very beginning plays like a tiny independent documentary, about two friends on a bucket list road trip…Rather quickly, it evolves into a fast-paced vampire movie that feels larger than the screen will allow. Full of surprises, Afflicted proves that there are still veins in the vampire genre, that have yet to be tapped.

 

Under The Radar Monster Movies: Werewolf Edition

The year? 1981. The monster? Werewolf. The movie? John Landis‘ cult classic, An American Werewolf in London. 

Let’s just say that I had zero interest in the furry faced antics of werewolves prior to this film. This one was different…It was smart…It was funny…It had believable effects…Hell, it even had a believable romance. Landis set the bar on this genre so damn high that it was never reached again.

But a handful of films came pretty close.

 

Let’s take a chronological look at the best, most underrated, and possibly even unknown to you, werewolf movies over the years following An American Werewolf In London…

 

The Company of Wolves (1984) – This dark, gothic, fairy-tale was directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) and was based on a short story by Angela Carter, who  also co-wrote the script with Jordan. The film has a main story along the lines of, The Brothers Grimm’s Little Red Cap, a story that later evolved into, Little Red Riding Hood. But at the same time, it’s also a horror anthology in the vein of Creepshow, with other stories intertwined throughout. The special effects were quite good (for the 80’s), and the cast is an amazing array of across the pond talents like, Stephen Rea (The Crying Game),  David Warner (Time Bandits), and my personal favorite…

…Terence Stamp, who went uncredited, as The Devil.

 

Silver Bullet (1985) – This adaptation of Stephen King’s Cycle of the Werewolf short story may not be the “best” werewolf movie out there, but it has it’s moments. Starting with the creepily amazing Everett McGill (The People Under the Stairs), as the film’s antagonist, Reverend Lowe. You’ve also got pre-career trainwreck performances from both, Gary Busey and Corey Haim. Sadly, one of my favorite directors, Don Coscarelli (Phantasm) stepped away from the production after filming some of the “non-werewolf” scenes. It would have been intersting to see what the final product would have looked like with him at the helm. The film does exude that eerie New England isolationist feeling that you’ve come to expect from King, and although the special effects are dated, and not that awesome, it is still an enjoyable romp.

 

Ginger Snaps (2000) – That’s right, the next film chronologically is from the year 2000. The 90’s were utterly devoid of a single worthwhile werewolf movie, they threw out another couple dreadful Howling sequels, and Wolf (ugh), a film that no matter how hard I try, I still can’t drink the memory away. Then, after a decade and a half of waiting comes, Ginger Snaps, the dark, twisted, refreshing coming-of-age tale of two morbid sisters with a disturbingly unhealthy obsession with death. One of the sisters, who not so coincidentally is experiencing her first period, attracts the creature responsible for a multitude of neighborhood dog deaths. She is attacked, and bitten under the light of, you guessed it, the full moon. She undergoes a transformation, that for anyone who has raised a teenage girl, looks a helluva lot like puberty at first…until it doesn’t. Katharine Isabelle who was uber-creepy in the 2012 recreational surgical horror film American Mary, is outstanding in the lead role of, Ginger, a role she reprises in two subsequent sequels.

 

Dog Soldiers (2002) – British and Scottish soldiers are lead, or more appropriately, mislead into the Scottish Highlands and chucked into a life and death struggle with a pack of werewolves. This was the first film of Neil Marshall, who directed the incredibly taut, and frightening horror film, The Descent in 2005. Initially airing on the SyFy Channel, back when it was still the Sci-Fi Channel, Dog Soldiers later found its groove on the shelves of the last few remaining video stores. This cast boasts talented character actors like, Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting), Sean Pertwee who plays the latest incarnation of Alfred Pennyworth on TV’s Gotham. and of course, Liam Cunningham, best known for his performance as Davos Seaworth, The Onion Knight on Game of Thrones. This movie is dark, claustrophobic, and at times gruesome, which in my opinion are three necessary ingredients for a successful werewolf movie.

 

Late Phases (2014) – In this, the final submission to the list, a blind Vietnam Veteran, played perfectly by Nick Damici (Stake Land), is moved into a gated retirement community that is plagued by animal attacks…Once a month…When the moon is full. The special effects, or the “wolfsuits” as they are referred to on a number of these films, are not the best you’ve ever seen, but regardless of this fact, the film works. Partly due to the performance of Damici, but also director, Adrián García Bogliano‘s ability to create palpable tension and anticipation for the inevitable climax. At times this film reminds me of a straight-up revenge flick, much like the amazing movie, Red…But, ultimately, it is indeed a straight up werewolf movie, and a damn good one at that.