Editorials
Best Horror Movies of All Time – 1990s
Best Horror Movies of All Time – 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s
For many, this decade often gets the bad rap of being a weak period for the genre, or at the very least, a transitional period. The golden era of slashers had finally fizzled out, and the glut of fantastical gore driven films seemed to tire out as well. It didn’t help that advancements in computer-generated imagery shifted special effects away from practical and headfirst into digital, a move that heavily dates many of the films from this period. Many of the beloved franchises that began in the decades prior were announcing their final bow in the early ‘90s, too, with entries like Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (nothing stays dead in horror, though).
Along with the extreme advances in technology, horror entered a new sort of renaissance. The ‘90s ushered in a wave of horror grounded in realism, with a focus on serial killers. It’s also an age of self-parody and ironic humor. It brought forth new waves of found footage and Asian horror. It’s easy to dismiss the ‘90s, but the reality is that the decade had a lot of great horror to offer. Here are the best horror films of the decade:
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
This underrated gem is a creepy psychological horror that feels more like a descent into madness. Director Adrian Lyne explores the traumatic effects of PTSD through a haunted Vietnam veteran’s eyes, letting the audience experience it firsthand. Tim Robbins’ Jacob is tragic, and the film’s tone somber and gloomy. The psychedelic hallucinations? Terrifying. So much so that this one is currently getting the remake treatment.
Misery (1990)
A cautionary tale on the debauched power of fandom, this Stephen King adaptation was helmed by Rob Reiner, a director known for comedy, not horror. The result is a perfect blend of pitch-black humor and horror, with an Oscar-winning performance by Kathy Bates as psychopathic Annie Wilkes. Annie is terrifying enough in her care for James Caan’s bedridden Paul Sheldon, but the most iconic and cringe-worthy scene is the one that made “hobbling” common terminology: Annie smashing Paul’s ankles with a sledgehammer.
Tremors (1990)
Rob Underwood’s giant monster movie spawned a franchise of at least 5 sequels, a 2003 television series, and a reboot series for Syfy starring Valentine McKee himself, Kevin Bacon. As far as horror comedies go, Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are among the best duos, and the small fictional town of Perfection, Nevada, population of 14, will charm you. There’s a fun fish out of water story to this quirky town finding clever ways to survive the attacks of underground giant worm-like graboids, like maybe they were supposed to be in a romantic western instead. There’s not a lot of American made giant monster movies, luckily this is a strong showing. The practical effects are top notch, and so is the cast. Tremors is just too gosh darn likable to not make this list.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Academy-Award winner of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, the inevitable question became, “Does this count as horror?” Granted, a lot of early ‘90s horror towed the blurry line between thriller and horror, and the crime procedural aspect of the narrative certainly muddies the water. Yet, this is a film about a young FBI agent seeking assistance in capturing a serial killer building a woman suit from his victims from a cannibal. Sounds pretty horror to me. As is the sequence that sees Hannibal Lecter’s brutal escape from custody. There’s also heavy use of gothic imagery in the cinematography. Whether you’re team thriller or team horror, there’s no denying this is one of the best.
Braindead (1992)
Also known as Dead Alive in North America, this bonkers zombie romantic comedy played a major influence to the following decade’s Shaun of the Dead. Before director Peter Jackson was filming grand fantasy epics like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he began his career with highly entertaining splatter comedies. At its core, the film is about poor virginal Lionel Cosgrove who must learn to stand up to his overbearing mother for the sake of love. His mother just so happens to have been bitten by the Sumatran Rat-Monkey, a violent animal with a penchant of unleashing zombie outbreaks. From zombie babies, zombie organs, to gigantic zombie moms, this blood-drenched gore fest has it all. As fun as it is gross, this movie will leave you yelling, “I kick ass for the Lord!”
Candyman (1992)
Based on Clive Barker short story The Forbidden, this Bernard Rose directed tale of urban legend terror introduced one of the best boogeymen in horror history. Tony Todd’s masterful performance as the terrifying and tragic Candyman is timeless. He oozes charisma and terror in equal measure. The rough urban setting of Cabrini-Green gives a unique, refreshing update to the slasher aesthetic. Phillip Glass’ score is hauntingly beautiful and a highlight of the influential musician’s career. While all of this is an amalgam of great horror, it takes it a step further by delivering one of the most satisfying endings ever.
Cronos (1993)
Not only did this unique spin on vampire lore mark Guillermo del Toro’s debut feature, but it also marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the director and actor Ron Perlman, who played thug antagonist Angel de la Guardia. A dramatic tale on aging and life, the vampire at the center of this film is old antique dealer Jesus Gris, played by the amiable Federico Luppi. Gris doesn’t become a vampire by typical means, though, but through alchemy. A scarab-shaped automaton hidden within Gris’ shop injects him with a substance that revitalizes him in every way, including a thirst for blood. Equal parts charming and gruesome, Cronos is one hell of a debut and contribution to the vampire sub-genre.
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
John Carpenter, no slouch in the ‘90s by any stretch, created a Lovecraftian nightmare of insanity with a noir-like mystery that kept audiences guessing. Sam Neill, once again nailing a genre performance, plays insurance investigator John Trent, investigating the disappearance of horror writer Sutter Cane. His search leads him to the small town of Hobb’s End, a town seemingly straight out of Cane’s works. Considered the final entry in his Apocalypse trilogy, this psychological terror feels different from Carpenter’s work, at least in terms of unsettling, nightmarish imagery. It may have been written by Michael De Luca, not Carpenter, but no one can handle a complex narrative like Carpenter. There are subtle scenes of horror that crescendo into full-blown madness, like the old man on a bicycle in the dark, and minute details hidden throughout that makes this worth revisiting. Do you read Sutter Cane?
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)
Upon release, the reviewers skewered this one. Variety wrote that the film was “neither funny enough nor scary enough to be fully satisfying as either a shocker or a spoof.” I vehemently disagree. May I present exhibit A: Billy Zane as The Collector. So wickedly delightful in his role, I daresay that the movie would’ve hurt without his presence. Exhibit B: Jada Pinkett Smith and the always classy William Sadler as the protagonists willing to send those gnarly demons back to hell. Exhibit C: the amazing practical effects. Exhibit D: the stellar supporting cast. Really, I could go on all day when it comes to just how fun this movie is. Sure, its loose tie-in to the popular anthology series is tentative at best, but with such a fun, badass movie that still holds up decades later, I think that’s a rather minor flaw.
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
This collaboration between Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino blended action with horror and reminded us that vampire movies could be so much fun. Starring George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino as the criminal Gecko brothers, they take the Fuller family as hostages and hole up in a Mexican strip club with a twist: this bar served as a buffet for its reptilian vampire inhabitants. A stellar cast, gory action, witty dialogue, and a multitude of genre cameos from the likes of John Saxon, Tom Savini, and Fred Williamson makes you want to revisit the Titty Twister again and again.
Scream (1996)
I think a case could be made at this point that no other horror master had his finger on the pulse of the genre quite like Wes Craven. From gritty exploitation horror in the ‘70s, to surreal slasher in the ‘80s, to tongue-in-cheek dissection of slasher tropes and formulas in the ‘90s, Craven’s ability to intelligently introspect on horror with class and humor is something to cherish forever. Upcoming screenwriter Kevin Williamson made a bold debut with his clever script, and Craven’s direction spearheaded Scream into instant classic. The bold cold opening that saw the brutal, unexpected dispatching of a major star gripped audiences and never let go. Even now, Wes Craven, we’ll never let go.
Event Horizon (1997)
Unsurprisingly, this Paul W.S. Anderson directed sci-fi horror caught a lot of flak from critics upon release, as does most of his work. They were dead wrong, though. An uncredited re-write by screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker elevated this haunted house in space flick into something truly special. For both the unsuspecting crew of the Lewis and Clark and audience members, the discovery of just where reappeared ship Event Horizon went 7 years prior was pure nightmare fuel. Event Horizon boasts some of the most frightening glimpses of Hell in cinematic history, and Sam Neill’s Dr. William Weir makes for one fearsome tour guide.
Ringu (1998)
Released shortly after the introduction to DVD, when VHS was still common on shelves and in homes, many would discover this Japanese horror the same way the victims in the film would; by tape. Stateside, this was the mainstream introduction to Japanese horror that would usher in a popular wave of Asian horror, and the long-haired vengeful ghost. Sadako’s inhuman crawl from her well toward the TV screen was the stuff of nightmares. That most audiences experienced her terror in the same form she attached herself to victims added a new level of thrill. Hideo Nakata’s smash hit not only launched a franchise from the creepy curse of Sadako, but launched modern J-horror as we know it.
Audition (1999)
You’d be forgiven for being bored of the first, well, two-thirds or so of what plays out like a quaint love story. Sweet widower Shigeru may have found the one in fragile ex-ballerina Asami, after forming a timid connection that soon blossoms into romance. Then Asami’s façade begins to crack. The scene with the mysterious moving sack in the background signals something is very, very wrong here. Nothing prepares you for the completely sadistic, shocking finale. Needles in eyes and slow-moving wire amputations create the most unnerving introduction to the twisted work of Japanese auteur Takashi Miike.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
This seminal found footage horror isn’t the first found footage film, but it is the one responsible for the wave of found footage horror that followed. The micro-budget film raked in millions worldwide, luring in those hoping to catch similar success. Posed as a documentary on three student filmmakers studying the local legend of the Blair Witch, they soon get lost and find themselves prey to that very legend. The documentary style, combined with clever marketing and a cast and crew of unknowns, had many believing this wasn’t a fictional story. Innovative filmmaking and a new twist on wooded terror makes this a classic.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The line “I see dead people,” and the doozy of a twist has long since become mainstays in pop culture, but M. Night Shyamalan’s breakthrough hit offered so much more than that. A gut-wrenching performance from then child actor Haley Joel Osment, and an against-type turn from Bruce Willis is what lends the emotional punch. But the scenes where Osment’s Cole is terrorized in his own home by the dead? Well, they make you want to hide under the blankets, too. This set the bar so high in ghost stories that Shyamalan has struggled to keep up with the expectations placed on him after this release.
Ravenous (1999)
Antonia Bird’s idiosyncratic mix of western, black comedy, and cannibal terror is a thing of beauty. A stunningly shot pre-Civil War era horror film with a unique sense of humor and twist on the Wendigo mythology makes Ravenous one of the most unique entries in horror. There’s not a weak link in the cast, led by Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle. As strangely funny as Ravenous is, it’s also dark and disgusting. Just what we want in our cannibal films.
Soon after the New Hollywood generation took over the entertainment industry, they started having children. And more than any filmmakers that came before—they were terrified. Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Exorcist (1973), The Omen (1976), Eraserhead (1977), The Brood (1979), The Shining (1980), Possession (1981), and many others all deal, at least in part, with the fears of becoming or being a parent. What if my child turns out to be a monster? is corrupted by some evil force? or turns out to be the fucking Antichrist? What if I screw them up somehow, or can’t help them, or even go insane and try to kill them? Horror has always been at its best when exploring relatable fears through extreme circumstances. A prime example of this is Larry Cohen’s 1974 monster-baby movie It’s Alive, which explores the not only the rollercoaster of emotions that any parent experiences when confronted with the difficulties of raising a child, but long-standing questions of who or what is at fault when something goes horribly wrong.
Cohen begins making his underlying points early in the film as Frank Davis (John P. Ryan) discusses the state of the world with a group of expectant fathers in a hospital waiting room. They discuss the “overabundance of lead” in foods and the environment, smog, and pesticides that only serve to produce roaches that are “bigger, stronger, and harder to kill.” Frank comments that this is “quite a world to bring a kid into.” This has long been a discussion point among people when trying to decide whether to have kids or not. I’ve had many conversations with friends who have said they feel it’s irresponsible to bring children into such a violent, broken, and dangerous world, and I certainly don’t begrudge them this. My wife and I did decide to have children but that doesn’t mean that it’s been easy.
Immediately following this scene comes It’s Alive’s most famous sequence in which Frank’s wife Lenore (Sharon Farrell) is the only person left alive in her delivery room, the doctors clawed and bitten to death by her mutant baby, which has escaped. “What does my baby look like!? What’s wrong with my baby!?” she screams as nurses wheel her frantically into a recovery room. The evening that had begun with such joy and excitement at the birth of their second child turned into a nightmare. This is tough for me to write, but on some level, I can relate to this whiplash of emotion. When my second child was born, they came about five weeks early. I’ll use the pronouns “they/them” for privacy reasons when referring to my kids. Our oldest was still very young and went to stay with my parents and we sped off to the hospital where my wife was taken into an operating room for an emergency c-section. I was able to carry our newborn into the NICU (natal intensive care unit) where I was assured that this was routine for all premature births. The nurses assured me there was nothing to worry about and the baby looked big and healthy. I headed to where my wife was taken to recover to grab a few winks assuming that everything was fine. Well, when I awoke, I headed back over to the NICU to find that my child was not where I left them. The nurse found me and told me that the baby’s lungs were underdeveloped, and they had to put them in a special room connected to oxygen tubes and wires to monitor their vitals.
It’s difficult to express the fear that overwhelmed me in those moments. Everything turned out okay, but it took a while and I’m convinced to this day that their anxiety struggles spring from these first weeks of life. As our children grew, we learned that two of the three were on the spectrum and that anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD were also playing a part in their lives. Parents, at least speaking for myself, can’t help but blame themselves for the struggles their children face. The “if only” questions creep in and easily overcome the voices that assure us that it really has nothing to do with us. In the film, Lenore says, “maybe it’s all the pills I’ve been taking that brought this on.” Frank muses aloud about how he used to think that Frankenstein was the monster, but when he got older realized he was the one that made the monster. The aptly named Frank is wondering if his baby’s mutation is his fault, if he created the monster that is terrorizing Los Angeles. I have made plenty of “if only” statements about myself over the years. “If only I hadn’t had to work so much, if only I had been around more when they were little.” Mothers may ask themselves, “did I have a drink, too much coffee, or a cigarette before I knew I was pregnant? Was I too stressed out during the pregnancy?” In other words, most parents can’t help but wonder if it’s all their fault.
At one point in the film, Frank goes to the elementary school where his baby has been sighted and is escorted through the halls by police. He overhears someone comment about “screwed up genes,” which brings about age-old questions of nature vs. nurture. Despite the voices around him from doctors and detectives that say, “we know this isn’t your fault,” Frank can’t help but think it is, and that the people who try to tell him it isn’t really think it’s his fault too. There is no doubt that there is a hereditary element to the kinds of mental illness struggles that my children and I deal with. But, and it’s a bit but, good parenting goes a long way in helping children deal with these struggles. Kids need to know they’re not alone, a good parent can provide that, perhaps especially parents that can relate to the same kinds of struggles. The question of nature vs. nurture will likely never be entirely answered but I think there’s more than a good chance that “both/and” is the case. Around the midpoint of the film, Frank agrees to disown the child and sign it over for medical experimentation if caught or killed. Lenore and the older son Chris (Daniel Holzman) seek to nurture and teach the baby, feeling that it is not a monster, but a member of the family.
It’s Alive takes these ideas to an even greater degree in the fact that the Davis Baby really is a monster, a mutant with claws and fangs that murders and eats people. The late ’60s and early ’70s also saw the rise in mass murderers and serial killers which heightened the nature vs. nurture debate. Obviously, these people were not literal monsters but human beings that came from human parents, but something had gone horribly wrong. Often the upbringing of these killers clearly led in part to their antisocial behavior, but this isn’t always the case. It’s Alive asks “what if a ‘monster’ comes from a good home?” In this case is it society, environmental factors, or is it the lead, smog, and pesticides? It is almost impossible to know, but the ending of the film underscores an uncomfortable truth—even monsters have parents.
As the film enters its third act, Frank joins the hunt for his child through the Los Angeles sewers and into the L.A. River. He is armed with a rifle and ready to kill on sight, having divorced himself from any relationship to the child. Then Frank finds his baby crying in the sewers and his fatherly instincts take over. With tears in his eyes, he speaks words of comfort and wraps his son in his coat. He holds him close, pats and rocks him, and whispers that everything is going to be okay. People often wonder how the parents of those who perform heinous acts can sit in court, shed tears, and defend them. I think it’s a complex issue. I’m sure that these parents know that their child has done something evil, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are still their baby. Your child is a piece of yourself formed into a whole new human being. Disowning them would be like cutting off a limb, no matter what they may have done. It doesn’t erase an evil act, far from it, but I can understand the pain of a parent in that situation. I think It’s Alive does an exceptional job placing its audience in that situation.
Despite the serious issues and ideas being examined in the film, It’s Alive is far from a dour affair. At heart, it is still a monster movie and filled with a sense of fun and a great deal of pitch-black humor. In one of its more memorable moments, a milkman is sucked into the rear compartment of his truck as red blood mingles with the white milk from smashed bottles leaking out the back of the truck and streaming down the street. Just after Frank agrees to join the hunt for his baby, the film cuts to the back of an ice cream truck with the words “STOP CHILDREN” emblazoned on it. It’s a movie filled with great kills, a mutant baby—created by make-up effects master Rick Baker early in his career, and plenty of action—and all in a PG rated movie! I’m telling you, the ’70s were wild. It just also happens to have some thoughtful ideas behind it as well.
Which was Larry Cohen’s specialty. Cohen made all kinds of movies, but his most enduring have been his horror films and all of them tackle the social issues and fears of the time they were made. God Told Me To (1976), Q: The Winged Serpent (1982), and The Stuff (1985) are all great examples of his socially aware, low-budget, exploitation filmmaking with a brain and It’s Alive certainly fits right in with that group. Cohen would go on to write and direct two sequels, It Lives Again (aka It’s Alive 2) in 1978 and It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive in 1987 and is credited as a co-writer on the 2008 remake. All these films explore the ideas of parental responsibility in light of the various concerns of the times they were made including abortion rights and AIDS.
Fifty years after It’s Alive was initially released, it has only become more relevant in the ensuing years. Fears surrounding parenthood have been with us since the beginning of time but as the years pass the reasons for these fears only seem to become more and more profound. In today’s world the conversation of the fathers in the waiting room could be expanded to hormones and genetic modifications in food, terrorism, climate change, school and other mass shootings, and other threats that were unknown or at least less of a concern fifty years ago. Perhaps the fearmongering conspiracy theories about chemtrails and vaccines would be mentioned as well, though in a more satirical fashion, as fears some expectant parents encounter while endlessly doomscrolling Facebook or Twitter. Speaking for myself, despite the struggles, the fears, and the sadness that sometimes comes with having children, it’s been worth it. The joys ultimately outweigh all of that, but I understand the terror too. Becoming a parent is no easy choice, nor should it be. But as I look back, I can say that I’m glad we made the choice we did.
I wonder if Frank and Lenore can say the same thing.
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