Editorials
6 Brutal Animated Films to Watch After ‘Predator: Killer of Killers’
The prevalence of live-action reboots of popular animated media has led to a misguided belief that animation is somehow a testing ground for ideas that can later receive a “definitive” non-animated version of the story. Not only is this belief offensive to animators, but it also ignores the fact that some stories work even better when distanced from the physical limitations of live-action cinema – especially when it comes to over-the-top genre stories.
And if there’s one series of movies that has a lot to gain from embracing a more stylized approach to filmmaking, it has to be the Predator franchise. I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so, as the latest entry in the series already seems to be a bona fide hit, with Predator: Killer of Killers benefiting from the aesthetic freedom of its animated visuals.
And in honor of this horror-adjacent spin-off reminding audiences that gnarly cartoon violence can be just as thrilling as the real thing, we’ve decided to come up with a list recommending six other brutal animated films to watch after Killer of Killers!
In order to make this a more interesting article, we’ll be avoiding the usual suspects when it comes to adult animation (such as Heavy Metal and Akira) and instead focusing on less popular recommendations. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own hardcore animated favorites if you think we missed a particularly bloody one.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
In general, I’m not a big fan of the narrative elements of the Resident Evil franchise, as I’ve always thought that the series’ overarching mythology was one of its weakest features. That’s why this is such a difficult IP to adapt to the big screen, as once you remove clever resource management and heart-pounding combat from the equation, all you’re left with is the memorable atmosphere and a collection of larger-than-life characters. In the case of RE: Damnation, however, these two elements were all that Makoto Kamiya needed in order to craft a surprisingly thrilling addition to a franchise that has long struggled with story-based mediums.
Following the fan favorite Leon S. Kennedy as he investigates the possible use of Bio-Organic Weapons in the civil war plaguing the fictional “Eastern Slav Republic,” Damnation is a refreshingly accessible thriller that miraculously outshines the game it was originally meant to promote. It also features a collection of original monsters that really should have shown up in the games by now!
5. The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
Rob Zombie’s cinematic career may not cater to every kind of horror fan, but you can’t deny that he always shoots precisely the film that he wants to make. And if you can jive with cheesy love-letters to classic B-movies combined with the occasional dose of crude humor, I think you’ll find that one of the rocker-turned-filmmaker’s most interesting projects has to be 2009’s animated curiosity, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto.
Based on Zombie’s eponymous comic-book, the film is basically a rapid-fire stream of niche genre references and crude humor, but it’s hard to complain when the animation is so gorgeous and the script is obviously the result of a deep-rooted passion for both horror and animation. In fact, I think this concept might have worked even better as a TV series, as I would have loved to spend more time in this titular haunted world.
4. The Animatrix (2003)
I love every single entry in the Matrix franchise, but even a hardcore fan like myself has to admit that the first film is the only real masterpiece in the series. At least, it would be, were it not for the existence of the 2003 animated anthology, The Animatrix. Meant to bridge the gap between the original movie and its first sequel, this experimental blend of Eastern and Western influences is so impressive that it ultimately overshadows the movie that it’s meant to be promoting.
After all, the segment connecting the film to the then-upcoming Matrix: Reloaded (as well as the Enter the Matrix videogame) is by far the weakest story of the bunch, with the rest of the anthology focusing on diverse yarns ranging from sci-fi parables exploring ethical boundaries during war to haunted house stories deconstructing childhood nostalgia – all told by masters of the craft including the likes of Shinichirō Watanabe, Yoshiaki Kawajiri and even Aeon Flux creator, Peter Chung!
If you only watch one Matrix movie after the original, make sure it’s this one.
3. Vampire Hunter D (1985)
One of the first anime productions to really make a splash in the western market, Toyoo Ashida’s post-apocalyptic thriller about a half-vampire battling monsters in a world ravaged by nuclear war still remains one of the best gateways into eastern animation over 40 years later.
After all, even if the flick’s gorgeous hand-drawn isn’t enough to reel you in, the Hammer Horror-inspired tone will almost certainly convince you that this vampire yarn deserves to be taken seriously.
And if you like this one, I’d also recommend checking out its 2000 follow-up, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.
2. Unicorn Wars (2022)
By far the strangest film on this list, Alberto Vázquez’s Unicorn Wars is a deeply absurd war film about a military unit of bears who are sent into a battle-scarred forest in order to rescue a squadron of fellow soldiers in the ongoing war against magical unicorns. This may sound like the setup to a brief sketch on a comedy show, but what follows is an exceedingly dark examination of violence, brotherhood and fascism.
And while watching anthropomorphic creatures get violently butchered onscreen might seem like an off-putting experience for some viewers, I’d recommend this Spanish gem to any genre fan who’s ever wondered what might happen if someone took the cutesy fiends from Happy Tree Friends and placed them into a grounded war story inspired by the likes of Apocalypse Now.
1. The Spine of Night (2021)
I have a huge soft spot for the rotoscoped fantasy flicks of the ’70s and ’80s, but I had pretty much abandoned all hope that we’d ever see this kind of animation again due to how impractical it is to produce – not to mention the fact that some people find this aesthetic kind of off-putting. That’s why I was so excited when I first saw the trailer for Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King’s R-rated animated oddity The Spine of Night.
A dark fantasy adventure weaving together a series of interconnected yarns about a mystical flower and the people it influences, this retro feature is one of the most visually unique movies on this list, as well as one of the most visceral. And while the script can’t quite keep up with the gorgeous dreamlike imagery, I find myself revisiting this flick just as often as its inspirations.
The penultimate season of Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996) aired its first three episodes on October 31, so it’s understandable that at least one of those three stories is set on Halloween.
Sandwiched between “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” (Russell Mulcahy, Ron Finley) and “Whirlpool” (Mick Garris, A. L. Katz & Gilbert Adler) is the most severe episode of the bunch. Maybe the entire series? William Malone and Dick Beebe’s “Only Skin Deep” traded the show’s typical sense of fun for startling amounts of bleakness and kink.
“Only Skin Deep” is, apart from the Crypt Keeper’s intro and outro, noticeably unfunny. There are no considerable attempts at making the viewer laugh. Come to think of it, if those bookends had been replaced, and there was more of a sci-fi element in the story, HBO could have easily squeezed this tale into that successor anthology, Perversions of Science (1997). In Crypt, though, “Only Skin Deep” is much too grim for an audience that had become accustomed to campiness and levity.
What makes “Only Skin Deep” feel dark, among other things, is its protagonist. Showing up to a Halloween party where he’s not welcome, and where his former girlfriend (Diane DiLasco) is attending, Carl Schlag (Peter Onorati) first comes across as your standard bitter ex. You soon realize it’s much worse than that, once Carl threatens Linda (“You know, silly me, thinking I gave you what you deserved. If I’d have done that, I’d have killed you”). Now, I haven’t forgotten that Tales from the Crypt was teeming with vile men who did women harm. Yet Carl’s brand of misogynistic menace hits differently—it borders on being too realistic for this kind of series.
Mike Vosburg’s EC-style comic cover for “Only Skin Deep”, as seen in the Tales from the Crypt episode.
Despite donning a party mask for much of the episode, Carl can’t ever mask his true nature. The invitation did say “come as you are”, after all. That inability to change and be better, however, is why Carl ends up in such a karmic predicament. His outburst of anger at the party attracts the attention of one loner partygoer named Molly (Sherrie Rose, who was also in Season Four’s “On a Deadman’s Chest”). Her bone-white, featureless “mask” and body-bag costume don’t initially register as too strange, especially on a night like this. But at a party chock-full of colorful, cartoonish, and lighthearted ensembles, it does look out of place.
Darkness attracts darkness as Carl ditches the party and accompanies the mysterious Molly to her place. Which, by the way, should have been an immediate red flag. But perhaps she’s so hot, he doesn’t seem to mind the serial killer aesthetic. Resembling a warehouse that has been converted into living spaces, but never then decorated to remove the cold, industrial look, Molly’s home (or lair) is as gloomy as this whole episode feels. It’s like the set of a grungy music video, albeit a tad cleaner. The environments in a typical Crypt episode tend to be small, overfilled, and broken-in. Warm, regardless of any weird goings-on. All that empty space in Molly’s hovel, on the other hand, elicits a creepy feeling that Carl was unwise to ignore.
Tales from the Crypt featured more sex than it didn’t, but hands down, “Only Skin Deep” boasts the steamiest scene in the show’s history. Pushing it over the line, in addition to Onorati showing bare buns and the camera never turning down one of his pelvic thrusts, is the twisted dirty talk. Carl stays in the moment, whereas Molly unleashes charged lines like “the hurt, the anger, give it to me” and “take it out on my flesh like you want to”. It’s all quite kinky, as well as tied into the story’s theme of pain.
How else “Only Skin Deep” differs from other episodes is its twists. Or rather, its lack thereof. Nothing comes as a great surprise here, particularly because the deuteragonist’s ulterior motives are so obvious. By no means is Molly a wolf in sheep’s clothing; her face is a fright mask, she practically reeks of death, and she lives in what can best be described as a serial killer’s hideout. That last-act revelation of Molly’s mask really being her face is also nothing shocking. Cleverness is certainly not this episode’s strength.
A page from “…Only Skin Deep!”, as seen in EC Comics’ Tales from the Crypt.
While “Only Skin Deep” isn’t the most universally loved episode of Tales from the Crypt, it’s an interesting preview of William Malone’s future as a director. Most notably, he went on to helm House on Haunted Hill (1999) and FeardotCom (2002), the former of which was co-written by Dick Beebe, this episode’s writer. Dark Castle Entertainment, that genre house founded by Crypt producers Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler, was instrumental in bringing out Malone’s gruesome, over-the-top vision in House on Haunted Hill. However, FeardotCom and Malone’s Masters of Horror episode, “Fair-Haired Child”, are the most stylistically compatible with “Only Skin Deep”.
As one might guess, this episode is nothing like its source material. The “…Only Skin Deep!” found in the pages of EC Comics is set during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and save for its last couple of pages, is pretty sweet in nature. There, a man named Herbert is enamored with a woman he met five years prior to the present-day story. Every year, he has come down to Mardi Gras to see Suzanne, who’s always dressed as a hag-faced witch. Well, this time, Herbert plans on popping the question and marrying someone who is, for the most part, a total stranger. Suzanne accepts his proposal, but with one condition: they stay in costume until they’re officially hitched. You can probably see where this is going…
Once they are married, Suzanne remains incognito, even when she and Herbert have consummated their vows. A semi-predictive nightmare then rattles Herbert; he dreamt that Suzanne’s real face was as wizened as her mask. Finally, in his haste to find out the truth, Herbert winds up killing his new wife. Faceless and well on her way to bleeding out, the dying Suzanne manages to say she never wore a mask.
For more traditional EC-style ghastliness, your best bet is reading the comic. It’s wickedly sad. For something less conventional, as far as Tales from the Crypt goes, the role-reversing adaptation is worth watching. It’s not the best this show had to offer, although Malone’s visual style, plus the sexual abandon, does set the episode apart. If nothing else, “Only Skin Deep” leaves an impression that, even years later, shows no signs of fading.
Season Six of Tales from the Crypt can be streamed on Shudder, starting on June 5.
Tales from Tales from the Crypt celebrates the show’s Shudder premiere by singling out one episode from each season. So don’t even think about changing that dial, boys and ghouls. More spot-“frights” are to come.
Carl discovers Molly’s collection of human ‘masks’ in the Tales from the Crypt episode, “Only Skin Deep”.
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