Entertainment Earth

10/21/2008

The Top 10 Horror Films of the 90's

The 90s presented a change in horror. With the success of Wes Craven's Scream, a new vision of the slasher film was born. One with an admitted lower amount lower amount of gore, self referential humor, a cast filled with pretty WB stars and, sin of sins, NO nudity. They were big box office hits, and, sort of took the stigma away from the genre. While, a few of these films were actually decent, most were forgettable. But, even the best of those ain't on this list. Big budget horrors were also all the rage with fare like Bram Stoker's Dracula, Silence of the Lambs, etc. This is my least fav era in movies, but it is not without it's own masterpieces.

10. - Shock master Takashi Miike's most famous films is masterful, in it's slow fake out first hour. It seems like a normal, nice relationship movie, that is until the feel of the film changes. And, when it does (and, trust me) you will know that time comes. The acting is phenomenal, with the lovely Ehi Shiina really being the very definition of her role. And, the horrific climax will leave punched, shocked, and gasping for air.

9. - Sam Raimi's jump to big budget films was with this kick-ass mix of superhero action and Gothic horror. The movie is a stylish and ass kicking tribute to comic books and Universal horror flicks. This was the best horror superhero film, until The Crow, that is...

8. - Adopted from the magnificent best seller by Thomas Harris, this big budget horror/ thriller pulled in amazing performances and some very shocking moments. It also gave the genre one of it's best villains in Hannibal Lector, who's a motherfucking cannibal, for crissakes! This was the first, and so far, last horror film to win best picture at the Oscars. It is also has to be the only best actress to ever get hit by cum on her face!

7. - Another great adaptation of a great horror novel, Interview is a sumptuous, beautiful movie. It also happens to have one of Cruise's best performances. That and Winston's make-up FX are outstanding. Cruise bleeding and rotting scene is fucking amazing. Winston is greatly missed.

6. - Quite simply put this is THE scariest movie of the 90s. Beautiful Virgina Madison and Tony Todd have a great chemistry, and the movies has some truly shocking, horrific, and terrifying moments. It is a shame that the sequels lost the focus of this film and this great character and were total pieces of shit.

5. - This jaw droppingly over-the-top mix of extreme gore, humor, and Martial arts is one of the wildest splatter films ever made. Filled with exploding heads, punches through the gut, mutant men, and other crazy shit. A must see for all gorehounds!

4. - Man, this goth classic has it all. Kick ass action, lots of violence, an undead superhero, killer metal music, and a smoking hot Asian girl in Bai Ling. But that's not all. It also has an amazing cast, including a great performance by Brandon Lee, who died tragically during the filming of the movie. Plus it is a hauntingly beautiful movie with some gorgeous, breathtaking, stylish shots and set-pieces, that to this day, define just what the term "goth" is. And, even more so, is the fact that despite the bloody violence, it's a movie that has a lot of heart and power to it. A modern masterpiece.

3. - Peter Jackson may have moved to Hobbit land, but this classic remains the goriest film ever made, with only the enjoyable, but vastly inferior Permutos: Lord of the Living Dead presenting it with a challenge to that crown. Either way this is one of the greatest splatstick films ever. Body bisections, decapitation, hands through mouths, killer intestines, and other wonders abound, but it really shines during the amazing lawn mower zombie massacre, which has to be worshiped by any self respecting gore lover. The zombies making love, the priest that "kicks ass for the Lord", the zombie baby running rampant through the park, the dinner scene... fuck I could go and on, about this one!!!!!!

2. - To me this movie is better than The Silence of the Lambs. In fact this might be the best serial killer film, ever. The leads are so good, and the writing perfect. They all bring the proceedings to life quite well. The movie is dark and somber, with one of the most smashing endings to ever appear in a genre film. While the movie has some very shocking moments, and realistic corpses, it's most horrific scenes, are one hell of a jumps-scare (fans of this movie, you know what I am talking about) and a scene where a man describes how he was forced to kill a hooker with a blade strap-on. Nightmarish!

1. - Both Rodriguez and Tarantino had already proven their love for graphic violence and had attested to their love of horror and exploitation films, so the prospect of them making a horror film, together was an awesome one! And, this adrenalinizied, wild gorefest does not disappoint! Simply put this my fav film of either of them, as well as my fav vampire movie. The dialogue is priceless, the cast is killer, the gore and FX ferocious. But. this mix of heist and vamp movies has so much more to love: hot stripper vampire babes, a cool as hell hero, great soundtrack, and the best dance involving beer and a boa, ever. I flipped out when, I saw this fucker in the theaters, and I still flip out for it!



4 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree with your list 100%. I'm glad you included the Crow.

Giovanni Deldio said...

The Crow is an amazing film. Too bad the sequels, never lived up to the original, in any way, shape, or form!

Anonymous said...

Great choices. I'm a little surprised that you didn't mention my 2nd favorite horror movie of the 90's, "Jacob's Ladder". (My #1 is "Braindead" (The uncut version of "Dead Alive")).

Giovanni Deldio said...

Truth be told, i never, ever liked Jacob's Ladder. No offense to any of it's fans, but I think it is overrated and I hate the ending.