Editorials
9 Films That Shaped Me As a Horror Fan
Hello, fellow horror fans! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ari, a relatively new contributor and critic at BD. I helped cover SXSW 2017 this year alongside Trace, but even if you haven’t had a chance to catch any of my posts here just yet (or at Dread Central, where I previously wrote for a bit), I’m glad you decided to start with this one. I feel like this will doubly serve as a nice introduction to who I am and what gets me going as a horror fan, as well as (hopefully) inspire you all to take a trip down memory lane and reflect on the genre films that ultimately made you the horror diehards you are today.
I recently had some drinks with a few other genre fans and we began sharing memories of movie scenes that terrified us at an early age, whether from straightforward horror fare or otherwise. This got me thinking about pivotal moments over the years in my horror education–times when a shocking or unsettling scene or really unforgettable movie-watching experience managed to shift or expand my tastes in the genre right then and there. As someone who is equally content taking in an atmospheric, slow-burn Satanic thriller or simply enjoying a good ol’ girl-to-bloodthirsty-beaver transformation, my taste in dark genre films tends to run the gamut these days. Like many of you though, I have gone through different stages in my lifetime as a horror fan, gravitating exclusively towards specific subgenres at certain points and adventurously exploring unfamiliar or lesser-known titles at others.
In any case, you’ll find a list of a few films below that I feel really contributed to my horror education over the years in one way or another. Not all of these may qualify as “horror” in the traditional sense (though almost all are), but each played a significant role in my appreciation for the various aspects of the genre at a given time in my life. They are listed in chronological order based on the time of my first viewing of each film, just FYI. Happy reading and be sure to let us know what films you’d put on your list!
Beetlejuice (1988, Dir. Tim Burton)
Beetlejuice was the first film I recall being ridiculously obsessed with as a child. My mother and I actually rented the VHS so many times from our town’s video store that the owner finally just gave it to us. (I still have that VHS, too!) Still, as much as I loved re-watching about 95% of the film, I had issues finishing it. While Betelgeuse’s turn as a giant snake or the Maitlands’ transformations into horrifying monsters never phased me, the final scene in which Otho’s attempted séance-turned-exorcism causes the couple to appear and begin decaying in their wedding attire scared the crap out of me. Maybe it was the super creepy stare that Geena Davis delivers right into the camera or just the overall dark atmosphere of the scene when compared to the rest of the film… whatever the case, it took quite a while for me to finally watch the film all the way through. Needless to say, I was very proud of myself when I did and found myself searching for movies with more straightforward scares after that.
Dracula (1931, Dir. Tod Browning)
I first caught Browning’s Dracula on TNT at my grandparents’ house one weekend. My grandpa had recently introduced me to the amazingness that was TNT’s MonsterVision, so in my mind the network was just about the best thing on TV. While this film didn’t actually air as part of the MonsterVision lineup that night, my viewing of it was made possible in large part thanks to TNT’s support of the genre back then and Dracula immediately became one of my early favorites. As you’ll see, I got away with watching a lot of horror films at an arguably inappropriate age, and I like to think that Browning’s classic, evenly paced approach to the well-known horror story and Lugosi’s menacing, but not outright nightmare-inducing performance was a nice way to ease me into the types of films I would soon encounter in the coming years.
Demons 2 (1986, Dir. Lamberto Bava)
Now this is where things took a turn. Right before I started school (yep, I was maybe 5), I would go to the video store with my dad and he would let me pick a few movies every weekend. I naturally hung out in the horror section and due to some very loose supervision at night and the fact that the VHS tapes at our video store were packaged in clear cases instead of their original boxes, I got away with renting and watching some rather intense titles. I remembered picking movies that had the scariest cover art, and with Demons 2 boasting a more overtly unsettling (though notably busier) design than its predecessor, I actually caught this film before I ever saw Bava’s original. Let’s just say that I was definitely not ready for it. From oozing limbs to outrageous dog-to-demon transformations, Demons 2 was the first outright gore-fest I was ever witness to and it definitely gave me a few sleepless nights. Still, it somehow only served to reinforce my love for the thrill of being scared and I thus made it a regular mission as a kid to keep upping the ante with each new movie I discovered–mostly during my weekends at Dad’s, that is.
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991, Dir. Rachel Talalay)
By the time I saw Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare in the mid-’90s at a friend’s house, I had a pretty good idea of who Freddy Krueger was: one of the most famous boogeymen in horror who stalked victims in their dreams while sporting a killer glove, dusty hat, and that sweater. He was arguably the most well-known horror villain in pop culture at the time, but given my preoccupation with “mini monster” movies like Gremlins, Critters, and Ghoulies at that age, I just hadn’t quite made my way over to the Nightmare films up to that point. Still, while Freddy’s Dead was not the most representative of the franchise, I fell in love with the series then and there. The film’s outlandish death scenes and Englund’s maniacal performance punctuated with biting humor and those killer one-liners gave me a whole new appreciation for the power of a great, iconic villain. I soon caught up on the other five films in the series (New Nightmare had not been released on home video just yet), and A Nightmare on Elm Street fast became one of my favorite horror franchises.
Scream (1996, Dir. Wes Craven)
This was where my love of horror really took a pivotal turn. As a preteen with a strong penchant for sarcasm and a love for twist endings in stories, Scream was both a breath of fresh air and a wonderful retrospective of sorts for me when I caught it on home video in ’97. Given that my family and friends who typically didn’t love horror films really dug Scream, it notably made me excited for the possibility that horror might again become something universal that I could share with others I knew without being labeled a blood-and-guts-obsessed weirdo. Most of all though, Scream solidified my love for the slasher and Sidney Prescott quickly became my favorite final girl ever. I loved how Neve Campbell brought Kevin Williamson’s sharply-written lead to life, and Sidney also became something of an empowering figure for me at the time–particularly as an admittedly effeminate young outcast who tended to gravitate towards strong female characters in film and TV. Needless to say, my love for the genre became far more unabashed after I encountered Craven’s modern classic, and the film and its sequels have since held a very special place in my heart as my favorite horror franchise.
Auteur Filmmaking is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days in reference to big name directors like Quentin Tarantino and even Wes Anderson, but the truth is that film is a collective medium, and no one person can be responsible for every single aspect of a particular production. However, the smaller a film’s budget, the bigger the individual impact of every creative decision behind it – and the easier it becomes to identify a genuine auteur.
This isn’t necessarily a judgement of value, as blockbuster filmmaking comes with its own challenges and a good movie remains a miracle regardless of how big the crew is, but I’ve always been more interested in soulful b-movies produced by handfuls of passionate artists than blockbusters backed by creative armies.
That’s why I love exploring low-budget franchises that never left the hands of their original creators, as you really get to know the artists involved with these flicks and can accompany their evolution over a period of time. With that in mind, I’d like to invite readers to join me in this multi-part series as we look into a vampire saga helmed by one of the most fascinating auteurs of the 1990s. Naturally, I’m referring to Ted Nicolaou’s criminally underrated Subspecies!
The Birth of an Unlikely Horror Franchise
A proud graduate of the University of Texas’ Film program, Nicolaou got his start in the industry as a sound technician working on Tobe Hooper’s original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. From there, the filmmaker would go on to work for notorious indie producer Charles Band, the founder of both Empire Pictures and Full Moon Productions. According to Nicolaou, Band would usually contact him with an offer to direct a feature after more prominent filmmakers, such as the late, great Stuart Gordon, had already refused, meaning that his projects tended to have lower budgets and more inexperienced crew members.
The plans for Subspecies began almost immediately after the fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, with screenwriter David Pabian turning in an initial draft of the film after a Romanian producer contacted Band and explained that Romanian tax incentives could cover the cost of film production there so long as Full Moon took care of the post-production process. Since Stuart Gordon was unwilling to travel to Romania, Ted Nicolaou ended up taking over the picture.
However, while the financial incentives meant that this Romanian-American co-production could look and feel much more expensive than it really was, with Nicolaou scouting for locations in advance and selecting real castle ruins to be featured in the movie, the director was soon faced with an incredibly difficult shooting process. In interviews, Nicolaou would later describe the experience as something of a nightmare, with language barriers and the generalized distrust of capitalist outsiders sabotaging many of the team’s plans for the film.
In fact, the script, which had already been altered by Band, ultimately had portions of it rewritten by both Jack Canson and Nicolaou himself in an attempt to adapt the story to their unique limitations.
Radu Is One of Horror’s Greatest Underrated Villains
In the finished film, which was released directly to video in 1991, we follow a pair of American anthropology students, Michelle (Laura Mae Tate) and Lillian (Michelle McBride), as they reunite with their Romanian colleague Mara (Irina Movila) in her native land. The group intends to study the folklore surrounding the secluded town of Prejmer, but their research is cut short by the return of Radu Vladislas (Anders Hove) – the evil son of a vampire king (Angus Scrimm) who had previously established a truce with the region’s human residents. It’s now up to Radu’s human-loving half-brother Stefan (Michael Watson) to protect the girls from a fate worse than death as the power-hungry vampire seeks to control a magical artifact known as the Bloodstone.
Right off the bat, you may have noticed that the film’s premise sounds decidedly old-fashioned when compared to other vampire movies from around the same time. While the 1990s saw the rise of cool-looking bloodsuckers with badass elements borrowed from Westerns, as well as the sexy aristocrats of Anne Rice’s stories, Subspecies has a lot more in common with Nosferatu and the Hammer Horror series than any of its contemporaries.
This is both a blessing and a curse, as the film falls victim to overly familiar genre tropes while also standing out as a rare example of a ’90s vampire flick that isn’t afraid to flex its muscles as a Creature Feature. In fact, I’d argue that the presence of age-old clichés is a small price to pay when confronted with one of the most compelling vampire antagonists in all of cinema.
Named after Vlad the Impaler’s real-life brother, Anders Hove’s Radu is such a fascinating character and the main reason why Subspecies is still worth watching 35 years later. From his animalistic mannerisms to the joy he feels in simply existing as a chaotic creature of the night, and that’s not even mentioning the iconic makeup that almost certainly inspired the undead from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Radu is a hypnotic presence harkening back to a time when audiences didn’t mind purely evil villains that couldn’t be redeemed through tragic backstories or sex appeal.
Gothic Atmosphere on an Indie Budget
Of course, the film’s Romanian setting and authentic art direction do a lot of the heavy lifting whenever Radu isn’t around. From the masked festivals of the village to the visually interesting selection of local extras, Subspecies’ multicultural elements help it to stand out when compared to similar flicks from the ’90s.
That being said, Nicolaou’s unique eye for special effects and exciting action sequences – as well as Vlad Paunescu’s excellent cinematography – make the movie a delight for fans of expressionist cinema and old-timey gothic horror. While the crew is obviously dealing with limited resources, many of the flick’s blemishes (such as the odd stop-motion demons that serve Radu) end up feeling more like charming idiosyncrasies than actual flaws.
I’d argue that the only real issue here is pacing, as there are long stretches of film where the protagonists are simply bumbling around without realizing what’s really going on around them. Thankfully, the gorgeous visuals and surprisingly effective soundtrack usually make up for this. Besides, how can you dislike a movie where shotgun shells are loaded with rosary beads and our lead vampires duke it out in a dramatic swordfight that would feel out of place during the golden age of Hollywood?
Your overall enjoyment of Subspecies will mostly depend on whether or not you find low-budget corner-cutting and janky practical effects charming rather than distracting, but I know I’ll keep coming back to this Full Moon feature again and again in the future.
That being said, while this first movie is worth revisiting by its own merits as the birth of an indie horror icon, I’d like to invite you to join us as we look into the cult sequel Bloodstone: Subspecies II soon.
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