By now, your non-horror living friend is hopefully having a good time enjoying the spooks and specters that I’ve recommended. Hell, maybe they’re even asking about specific films and you’re showing them all sorts of horror goodness! In that case, you’ve got a fledgling horror fan and my work is done! Go take this eager young student and show them the ways of the genre, enlightening them to all the majesty it has to offer!
But for some of you, maybe your pupil is still on the fence. Maybe they’re not as excited about the genre as you had hoped they would be by now.
If that’s the case, it’s time to crank things up a little bit and start hitting them with the outrageous, the offensive, and the absolutely hilarious! That’s right, we’re going into B-Horror territory!
Check out the rest of the How To Start Getting Into Horror Series.
First of all, let’s talk about what’s great about B-Horror. It’s still rooted in horror, bringing some scares here and there, but it fully embraces its inanity, its ridiculous “over the top” cheesiness, creating a package that is meant to make the viewer think, when the credits roll, “I had a blast!”
To that end, I recommend beginning with Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn. Here are my reasons:
- You don’t need to watch the original. The first 10-ish minutes of the film recaps the original and then proceeds with a whole new storyline.
- Speaking of the original, I think starting with that film would be a mistake. Regardless of its cheap budget, it’s still, in my opinion, a really effectively scary film. We don’t want to thrust someone who’s slowly making their way into the genre with something this intense. Plus, tree rape. That’s enough of a reason to postpone this film for a little while.
- It’s got Bruce Campbell, who is loved for his wide variety of roles, such as Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules, Burn Notice, and his cameos in the Spiderman films. Introducing your pal to the Mr. Campbell that we horror fans love him for makes this film 100% worth it.
- While gory, the film embraces the ridiculousness of the gore and amplifies it by 1,000, making it ridiculous and hilarious, not horrifying and/or sickening. We want to avoid the tummy rumbles that come with gore, so this should keep things safe.
- When you cut to the quick of it, it’s a damn fun film. And it leads into Army Of Darkness, which is the best next step for B-Horror!
If your pal enjoyed Evil Dead 2, then you know you can continue with cheese and insanity by showing them films such as Troll II, Critters, Dead Alive, The Frighteners, and similar such titles. Remember you want to keep things light-hearted. However, making sure there’s a sprinkling of gore, a dash of blood geysers, and a pinch of scares never hurts the recipe.
Another quick recommendation I have: They’re great movies to show with several friends around, everyone hooting and hollering. If your non-horror companion is amongst a group of friends who have a good time, they’re bound to have a good time as well. Plus, they’ll feel safer when they’re in the middle of a group of people that they know and trust.
The main thing to impart here is that these films are meant to be watched and appreciated for what they offer, which is a chance to have fun. After all, if you can’t enjoy a movie for what it is, what’s the point?
