Here's some more movies for y'all to check out. What I'm thinking is that I'll post 31 films for the month of October...a horror movie for each night. These'll be the first ten to get things going.
'Body Melt' - 1993
A really trashy Australian flick. I would put this in the same class as 'Street Trash' or 'Dead Alive' as far as trashiness goes. Basically, some big corporation is testing a new chemical (that will supposedly advance the human species) on a suburban housing development, with disgusting consequences. The humor is gonzo and offbeat, and there's enough gore to make it a cult horror classic.
'Where the Dead Go to Die' - 2012
Okay, before you're turned off by the 2012 release date, this is one of the most completely fucked movies EVER released. Let me give you the backstory: This film was made by an ex-Juggalo rapper on his PlayStation animation software. Yes. It obviously should be the most laughably bad thing ever, but look up the trailer on YouTube. The animation might be rudimentary and the voice-acting sub-par, but this is a really really REALLY creepy and psychedelic thing which (if you can get past some pretty disturbing subject matter) will blow your mind. A document of true 'outsider' filmmaking.
'Lost Highway' - 1997
Pretty much David Lynch's only 'straight' horror flick. I mean, it's still a Lynch film which means the plot makes little to no sense on the surface and everything is just completely wrong, but it IS terrifying. Especially Robert Blake. Maybe a little too slow and atmospheric for your basic horror audience, but I highly recommend it, especially if you're unfamiliar with Lynch's work as it's a great starting point.
'Slime City' - 1988
Another one in line with 'Street Trash.' This one's not quite as funny, but it's still a low-budget movie about 80's cokeheads melting into puddles.
'Blood Diner' - 1987
TERRIFIC splatter-horror-comedy. I've heard somewhere that this was deliberately intended to piss off a film studio. It certainly seems that way, as the humor is racy (and often racist) and the deaths are gleefully offensive. I'd have to cite the fat guy getting choke-slammed until he pukes the best part of this film. The story? Oh yeah...you've got some brothers whose dead uncle was a crazy satanist. Now they've re-animated him, but they have to create a Frankenstein-style female monster for his spirit to inhabit. They also run a vegetarian restaurant that isn't really vegetarian, they just feed dead folks to a bunch of yuppies. Everything about this rules, and you won't be bored for even five minutes.
'Videodrome' - 1983
I love, love, love David Cronenberg's films. 'Scanners' is probably his scariest film, but you just can't fuck with this one. Surreal like a Lynch film, but not as alienating, this is one wild ride. Sure, it's a comment on violence in the media and its effect on the mind, but it's got gun-arms, insane television hosts and a guy being sucked into a TV as well.
'Dead Alive' - 1992
I would hope most of ya have seen this one, or at least have heard of it, but if not, here goes: Before he was the money-generating Hollywood director of 'Lord of the Rings,' 'King Kong,' etc. Peter Jackson did low-budget splatter films in his homeland of New Zealand. This is the second of these, and the best. Jackson has gone on record saying that most of his modest budget went to fake blood and guts. It shows. This is perhaps the most violent movie I've ever seen, and that's considering it was one of the first horror films I saw in junior high. You just can't top this. The comedy is goofy and off-beat, the blood is ridiculous, and above all Peter Jackson is an amazing filmmaker no matter what he does.
'The Dunwich Horror' - 1970
I wasn't overly impressed by this, but it IS an H.P. Lovecraft story, and a pretty faithful adaptation. Plus, Electric Wizard liked it enough to write a cool song about it. Definitely a high point in the late 60's/early 70's 'psychedelic' horror style. 'Suspiria' is better, though, but I already wrote about that one.
'Real Killers' - 1996
Apparently this film is also known as 'Killers,' but the copy I rented back in high school had the 'Real Killers' title. I figured it was a big-budget thing, but as I'm now researching it, it seems like it was a barely-released independent feature. I can't find much info on it. It's an exploration of the media's glorification of violence and its effect on youth. I think this was directly inspired by the Menendez brothers who killed their parents for no reason. This film, if you can find it, has one of the craziest fucking twists ever.
'Shrunken Heads' - 1994
I mentioned this one before in my review of 'Forbidden Zone.' That film, the only one made by the Oingo Boingo troupe (before they became a band) is like a Rocky Horror Picture Show/Eraserhead hybrid. This one is definitely Richard Elfman's project, not his brother Danny's. Sure, Danny scored the film, but it's fucked-up in an entirely different way than that fellow's projects. The first half of the movie plays like some no-name 80's kid's film...like 'Space Camp' or some such bullshit....everything is soft-focus, the heroes are a trio of young boys, and it's all about comics and stopping bullies and shit like that. Then, they die. Then, their friend Mr. Sumatra (a voodoo priest apparently) resurrects them as shrunken heads. THEN the real movie starts. I can't really describe this one...it's a very odd picture...the happy-go-lucky 50's vibe stays throughout the rest of it, but it's also offensive, demented, violent, and a lot more artful than most b-grade flicks. Also, it's a Charles Band production (Full Moon) which automatically means it's worth seeing.
I'll definitely be back with more of these...
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