Editorials
Ranking the Returning Horror Icons of 2017
*Keep up with our ongoing end of the year coverage here*
This year has been tremendous for horror, from massive box office wins to surprise creative successes. 2017 has also brought a surprising number of returning horror icons, some reviving long-dormant franchises while others sought to answer criticisms on more recent entries. The resurgence of horror icons looks to continue into 2018, too, with new appearances by icons like the Predator and the Boogeyman himself, Michael Myers.
With the year winding to a close, let’s rank the returning horror icons and their films of 2017:
7. Leatherface
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has had a rather uneven run, especially when it comes to continuity. Yet when Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury were tapped to helm an origin story, the minds behind 2007’s modern classic Inside, it was enough to give fans hope that this was going to be something special. Or at the very least extremely tense and gory. I suppose on that front it succeeds in its revelry for violence, but it also somehow manages to be pretty dull, at least for the long stretch of the running time. The beginning and the end of Leatherface’s origin story are the most interesting, but somehow the character is relegated to a supporting role in his own film during the sagging middle. That’s because, inexplicably, the narrative wants to play a “guess which messed up kid is actually going to be Leatherface” type of game. Bustillo and Maury wholly deliver on what they were hired to do, in terms of gruesome sequences, but I can’t help but wonder what Leatherface’s origin story would be like had they gotten to write the script as well.
6. Alien: Covenant
The lack of xenomorphs in Prometheus was a common complaint, among many other flaws, so Ridley Scott continued with the plot threads he was most interested in while giving fans what we thought we wanted; a lot more xenomorph (and neomorph) action. The trailers looked fantastic, giving glimpses of back bursting aliens and Katherine Waterston as a potential new character on par with Ripley. What we got, though, were two different movies crammed into one. One film continued the themes of creation that Scott began exploring in Prometheus, which proved to be the most interesting aspect of the film largely thanks to Michael Fassbender’s performances as androids Walter and David. The other film, though, was a rehash of previous Alien films involving an ill-fated crew that, for the most part, didn’t even get proper introductions before being dispatched by new iterations of the xenomorph. On a visual level, Covenant is fantastic. The gore was top notch, as was anything related to Fassbender’s David playing god with the xenomorphs. The introduction to neomorphs and back bursting aliens was fantastic. Anything related to the Covenant crew, however, added a lot of dead weight. I cared about the crews of the USCSS Nostromo and USS Sulaco. I didn’t even know who most of the crew was in Covenant, even when they were dying.
5. Jigsaw
Reviving the Saw franchise after seven years of lying dormant brought a ton of excitement for the potential; if the studio is bringing the series back after its conclusion, there must be a compelling reason, right? Eh, not so much. Our own Trace reviewed it, stating, “Jigsaw is a competently made film, but it does feel a bit passionless.” It summed up the overall mixed reception to Jigsaw’s return. While imperfect, I felt like Jigsaw succeeded in its goal. I can’t say that it reinvented the wheel, nor did it offer much in the way of the series’ trademark twists, but boy did it entertain. I had a blast with Jigsaw. The kills were inventive, and the victims didn’t grate on me like they have in the past few installments. Best of all? No Mark Hoffman! That was a character that had long overstayed his welcome, so I was happy with a fresh batch of players in the Jigsaw’s twisted games. It’s always a welcome sight to see Billy the Puppet on the big screen, too, even if the latest entry didn’t reinvent the wheel.
4. Victor Crowley
One of the things that I love about Adam Green’s Hatchet trilogy, aside from the retro slasher vibe and glorious gore, is that overall it feels like one big story instead of three films in a franchise. Each one escalates the battle between Marybeth Dunstan and Victor Crowley in proper measure, from the tourists of the first film to the search and recovery team of the third film. The trilogy was given a proper send off, but that didn’t lessen the fans’ desire for more. Adam Green pulled a fast one, though, when he revealed a sneaky sequel in lieu of the original Hatchet set to screen on its 10th year anniversary. Set 10 years after the events of the first film and following survivor Andrew (played by series mainstay Parry Shen), Victor Crowley is mistakenly resurrected to begin his terror anew. Which is all you need to know going in. Except of course, everything you loved about the franchise isn’t diminished in any way. All of the gore and humor you could want, with some well-earned fan surprises in the mix. That’s a tough accomplishment, if you ask me.
3. Annabelle: Creation
This modern, recent addition to the horror icons stole our horror loving hearts with her chilling introduction in James Wan’s The Conjuring. So much so that she got her own spinoff in 2014, though it didn’t hold a candle to her previous film appearance. It performed well at the box office, and audiences were receptive enough to her standalone film that it warranted a sequel. Or rather, a prequel. New Line Cinema and James Wan tapped David F. Sandberg to helm the film after his work on Lights Out, and the result was something much more at home in The Conjuring universe. Sandberg drew inspiration not only from Wan’s work, but classics like The Haunting or the score of The Shining to craft a creepy prequel that nails its scares. Sandberg softened Annabelle’s look, attempting to make her look more like something a child would actually play with. I can’t say he was entirely successful, because she was still pretty terrifying. Not only did Annabelle’s second standalone appearance work well on her own merit, the film also nicely sets up the upcoming spinoff The Nun, boosting Annabelle: Creation’s ranking.
2. Cult of Chucky
After the comedic tone of Seed of Chucky, the series went back to its straight horror roots with Curse of Chucky. It worked. Between the new look for Brad Dourif’s serial killing doll Chucky, new characters, and toning down the comedy to let scares take the spotlight, Don Mancini re-ignited the franchise in the best possible way. Which made the direct follow up to Curse of Chucky highly anticipated. Leave it to Mancini to continue the battle between Nica (played by the fantastic Fiona Dourif) and Chucky in the most unexpected of ways. Those expecting something more in the vein of Curse of Chucky might be disappointed, but long-time fans found themselves with a sequel offering huge ideas and memorably iconic moments. Cult of Chucky earns high marks for its bold new direction and originality, bringing Alex Vincent and Jennifer Tilly back into the fold, and the utterly fantastic scene featuring three Chucky dolls. The war between good versus evil seemed impossibly uneven by the time the credits rolled, so huge thank you to Mancini for that pleasant surprise during the end credit scene.
1. IT
It says a lot about Stephen King’s source material as well as Tim Curry’s performance in the 1990 made for television adaptation that Pennywise became such an instant icon that resonated with fans. Curry’s version of the coulrophobic inducing entity that terrorized the Losers Club was so iconic that fans were instantly apprehensive of anyone else stepping into the role. Instead of using Curry’s performance as a guide, though, Bill Skarsgard and the creators behind the new adaptation smartly took it in a completely different direction. New look, new personality and mannerisms, but same terrifying evil at its core. Thanks to Skarsgard’s performance as Pennywise the dancing clown, both versions of the character stand out on their own. That weird eye thing that Pennywise does in the movie, making him even more unsettling? That’s all Skarsgard, utilizing his lazy eye to enhance the strangeness of Pennywise. Even cooler is that Skarsgard’s version has instilled a fear of clowns in a whole new generation. Andy Muschietti’s IT works for so many reasons, but in terms of returning horror icons Pennywise stole the year.
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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