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10 Great Horror Movies from the ‘90s You Maybe Haven’t Seen

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Following the ‘80s, a decade heavy in practical effects-driven horror and slashers, the ‘90s is often dismissed as a transitional period in the genre. It didn’t help that theatrically released horror didn’t have a very strong presence, though what was released in theaters was usually a high point (Candyman, Scream, The Blair Witch Project to name a few).

More recently, there’s been a resurgence for films that didn’t fare well at the box office but have since built up a cult following, like In the Mouth of Madness, Cemetery Man, or Nightbreed. But there’s still a lot more great horror still waiting to be discovered…

Here are 10 overlooked ’90s films you might not have seen.


Man Bites Dog

Though technically a crime dark comedy, the humor is pitch black with razor-sharp teeth. Shot in black and white, this Belgian film plays out mockumentary style as a film crew follows a rising serial killer in his daily routine. Ben (Benoit Poelvoorde) waxes poetic on philosophy, giving an air of sophistication, before ruthlessly dispatching various kids, bystanders, and elderly people in shocking acts of violence. The film crew remain complacent until Ben’s murderous ways begin to affect them personally. It’s grim, nihilistic, and brutal. Overlooked, this twisted satire is a precursor to films like Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.


Hardware

The feature debut by the enigmatic writer/director Richard Stanley, Hardware is a great example of low budget sci-fi horror done right. Set mostly in the single location of an apartment in the middle of a post-apocalyptic slum, a scavenger brings his reclusive girlfriend, Jill, the head of a robot he bought from a junk dealer. It turns out that the head belonged to a military grade combat machine capable of self-repair. The robot reassembles itself using pieces of metal from Jill’s apartment and proceeds to follow its programmed orders; genocide. Gritty cyberpunk horror with style, Hardware flips the bird at its minuscule budget.


The Pit and the Pendulum

Everyone is familiar with Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond, Re-Animator, and Castle Freak, but this loose adaptation of the classic Edgar Allan Poe short story is one that doesn’t get mentioned much. It’s also more of a combination of many Poe stories in one. Set during the Spanish Inquisition, horror vet Lance Henriksen plays the sinister Torquemada, the one responsible for deciding whether someone is deemed a witch or not. Atmospheric and gothic, it’s a more sedate horror story but features a lot of gruesome torture sequences. Frequent Gordon collaborator Jeffrey Combs does appear in a small role, but it’s Henriksen that shines in his villainous turn as the sadistic Grand Inquisitor of Spain.


Two Evil Eyes

This collaboration between Dario Argento and George A. Romero, with gory effects by Tom Savini, quietly slipped into home video release in 1991 without much buzz. Bringing their own take on Edgar Allan Poe (a seeming trend in the early ‘90s), Romero adapted Poe’s short story “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” while Argento (loosely) took on “The Black Cat.” Romero’s tale is mixed, but the true star and reason to watch is Argento’s mashup of Poe stories. In it, Harvey Keitel plays a creepy photographer slowly driven mad by a cat. The spiral into insanity with gory visuals is an absolute highlight.


Mister Frost

Another hidden entry of ‘90s horror made harder to find by being unavailable on physical media platforms, this supernatural thriller sees Jeff Goldblum in the titular role as a man arrested and placed in an asylum after committing multiple murders. After two years of silence, he finally speaks to Dr. Sarah Day (Kathy Baker), confessing to her that he’s Lucifer himself and plans to convince her to murder him. Naturally, she doesn’t believe him, but strange occurrences begin to happen around her. A slow burn cat and mouse game, this one favors atmosphere over overt, traditional scares. Jeff Goldblum’s chilling performance is worth the price of admission alone.


Popcorn

This wacky horror comedy slasher lovingly pays homage to the B-movie with its entertaining setup. A group of college film students decide to raise funds by setting up an all-night horror movie marathon in an abandoned theater, complete with William Castle-like gimmicks themed toward each film they’re showing. It makes for a perfect cover for the killer picking off the students one by one. The lead heroine is Jill Shoelen (The Stepfather), and horror vet Dee Wallace plays her mother. Though there are supernatural elements that are not quite fleshed out, the killer’s modus operandi of assuming his victims’ appearances add a level of fun.


The Resurrected

This direct-to-video adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is not only faithful but boasts a really fun final act with gore effects. Directed by Dan O’Bannon (The Return of the Living Dead), the plot follows a woman who hires a private investigator to find out what her husband is up to in his remote family-owned home after his behavior becomes increasingly strange. Chris Sarandon is fantastic here, playing two major roles. Though this starts out a bit slow, stick with it as the payoff is absolutely worth it. The Resurrected makes for a great hidden Halloween gem with its fall and October setting.


Necronomicon

Necronomicon Book of the Dead

A Brian Yuzna produced and partially directed horror anthology based on H.P. Lovecraft stories got a direct-to-video release in 1993 and has since slipped further into obscurity. The wraparound features an unrecognizable Jeffrey Combs as H.P. Lovecraft, reading the three stories straight from the pages of the Necronomicon in the cellar of a library. Both the segments and the wraparound are a great display of special effects by artists like Screaming Mad George and John Carl Buechler, and consultant work by Tom Savini. This anthology is still stuck on VHS, only getting a proper DVD release in Europe and Asian markets, where it fared much better upon release.


The Nameless

Almost a decade before Jaume Balaguero teamed up with Paco Plaza to terrify audiences with [Rec], he proved his uncanny ability to scare with this underseen thriller that he wrote and directed. It opens with the discovery of a mutilated child who had been missing. It’s so mutilated that only a bracelet and a leg could be used to identify her. Five years later, her mother Claudia receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her dead daughter. This begins a twisted tale of Claudia trying to uncover who is actually behind the phone call. While Balaguero may not exactly stick his landing here, it’s an atmospheric, haunting story and the director nails the foreboding sense of fear. The creepy set pieces and cinematography is also a major highlight.


Dark Waters

A surreal atmospheric horror film that feels like a throwback to the earlier works of Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava, this dreamlike story follows a woman who travels to an isolated island to find out why her father funded a monetary there before he died. Director Mariano Baino’s first and only feature length film, Dark Waters doesn’t always make much sense, but it’s visually stunning and weird. Occult horror with a demonic presence, the setting alone also makes this feel akin to something H.P. Lovecraft would’ve created.

 

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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