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90s horror

byron lomax

byron lomax

Commander
Red Shirt
Lately I've decided to collect and watch some 90s horror films. The general consensus is that the decade is pretty thin on the ground in quality and quantity of good horror, in comparison to the two decades before - perhaps even the decade after. Here's a short list of what I consider to be good 90s horror:

Jacob's Ladder
Candyman
Ring (Japanese original)
Misery
Sleepy Hollow
Perfect Blue (anime)
Cronos
Sixth Sense
Silence of the Lambs

Some would not consider JL or PB to be properly classified as horror, though I would (and I recommend them to anyone who has not seen them yet) . One film I hear a lot is the Italian zombie movie "Dellamorte Dellamore" (also known as "Cemetery Man") which is soon to be re-released on DVD over here, so I'll definitely check that out.

Anyone else have more suggestions? I'm generally not a fan of CG monsters or the slasher-parody flicks in the late 90s.
 
Bram Stokers Dracula.

Aside from a weak performance by Keanu Reeves and an occasionally weak script, I think the movie is pretty good. I really enjoy the visual style and atmosphere.
 
Also, more faithful to the book than other versions.

( The other day I read a news article about the bad weather in Eastern Europe and it said the port of Varna had been closed.
I could not help but think of the film. )
 
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When a Stranger Calls Back.

This sequel is really pretty creepy and I like it better than the original. It came out in 1993 and not even in the theaters, but on Showtime. Sounds like it shouldn't be good, but it is. The opening scene is every bit as good as the original's opening, but unlike that one this one keeps the tension pretty much throughout the whole film.
 
I believe The Exorcist III and the Night of the Living Dead remake were both early '90s. Those are two I enjoy. I just got Mimic on Blu-ray; that's a good one.

Dead Alive (or Braindead, depending on the copy) was 1992.

There were some bright spots here and there, but it definitely wasn't horror's best decade.
 
Greg Cox said:
Set Harth said:
Also, more faithful to the book than other versions.
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Have you seen the Louis Jourdan version from the eighties? That's still the most faithful version I can recall . . . .
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Same here. It's very faithful. It's long, as I recall; about two-and-a-half hours.

Although it does combine and alter some of the characters, which Dracula adaptations love to do. "Quincy Holmwood" or something like that. :lol:
 
Bram Stokers Dracula.

Aside from a weak performance by Keanu Reeves and an occasionally weak script, I think the movie is pretty good. I really enjoy the visual style and atmosphere.
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Dracula was pretty goofy but it wasn't bad. Need to watch that again soon.

When a Stranger Calls Back.

This sequel is really pretty creepy and I like it better than the original. It came out in 1993 and not even in the theaters, but on Showtime. Sounds like it shouldn't be good, but it is. The opening scene is every bit as good as the original's opening, but unlike that one this one keeps the tension pretty much throughout the whole film.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give that a look.

I believe The Exorcist III and the Night of the Living Dead remake were both early '90s. Those are two I enjoy. I just got Mimic on Blu-ray; that's a good one.
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I really need to check out Exorcist III - I've heard from more than one source it's underrated, plus it features Brad Dourif in a role similar to his appearance in the X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea".

The mention of Dracula reminded me of Nadja, a low-budget black and white vampire flick. Some laughably pretentious dialogue, but a good movie overall.
 
byron lomax said:
I really need to check out Exorcist III - I've heard from more than one source it's underrated, plus it features Brad Dourif in a role similar to his appearance in the X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea".
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Saw it in the theater. Gotta love Dourif and George C. Scott.
 
^ The Exorcist III is one of my faves as well.

I also quite like Peter Jackson's The Frighteners (1996) with Michael J. Fox. And I'm pretty sure Seven (1995) isn't considered a horror movie per se (more a "thriller" or "crime drama"), but it's certainly has some horrifying elements to it.
 
^

The Frighteners was supposed to be a horror movie? Seemed more like a comedy with some horror in it, rather than a horror with some comedy...
 
Set Harth said:
byron lomax said:
I really need to check out Exorcist III - I've heard from more than one source it's underrated, plus it features Brad Dourif in a role similar to his appearance in the X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea".
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Saw it in the theater. Gotta love Dourif and George C. Scott.
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Yeah Exorcist III is very good, and contains one standout pant wetting moment that still scares me every time I see it. People who've seen the film will probably know the bit I mean :)
 
The Prophecy with Christopher Walken, I like a good religious horror film. The others in the series are OK, but none are as well put together as this one.
 
Another vote for Exorcist III, great film.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare is severely underrated as 90s horror goes. Craven's meta-test for Scream, it is superior both to that film, and most of the other Nightmare movies.
 
Pingfah said:
Another vote for Exorcist III, great film.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare is severely underrated as 90s horror goes. Craven's meta-test for Scream, it is superior both to that film, and most of the other Nightmare movies.
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I second both motions. Exorcist III, it should be noted, was based on William Peter Blatty's novel Legion and is definitely worth seeing.

And New Nightmare is quite clever. (I actually edited the novelization, which was very first movie tie-in I ever worked on. How time flies!)
 
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