The New Blood

Rawhead Rex and The Thing.

EDIT: Sorry, posted before the poll was up.

Tough List. I went with Re-Animator, as it was such a tour-de-force in the 80's but I'm not quite sure how it would hold up today (Although how he could not be entranced by Barbara Crampton strapped naked to a table with a severed head?).

Near Dark is also 80's iconic, but as Lance Henrickson and Bill Paxton have also been in recent films, he probably has some preconceived notions on the actors so you don't get that complete blind-taste test comparison.

Suspiria would make a good third choice, but after watchng it again recently, 70's + Argento does have a noticably dated feel. It be a great selection to compare with one of the director's more recent works and get a contrast/comparison.

Haven't seen Black Sunday or Martin, myself, but, of the others, Re-Animator has the most going for it. It's a nice mix of the iconic (Frankenstein, Lovecraft) and comedic innovation that can only come from a winking familiarity with the classics. It will also give Patrick the taste for early Gordon, and I'd recommend following it up with the equally-good From Beyond.

Near Dark has some of that innovation, but little of the wit; Henry is almost more grim drama than horror movie; Suspiria's appeal is almost entirely visual; and I haven't seen the Hitcher in years and fear that it's lost some of its edge. Hellraiser is neat to look at and has a cool premise, but it takes itself so seriously that it threatens to turn dopey. Zombi is glacially-paced. I vastly prefer the Beyond. Can't remember much about the House on Haunted Hill.

I've only seen the Thing 17 times. Sorry.

I've always had a fondness for The Hitcher so I voted for that one. Have you seen From Beyond thats a good one.

I'm a teen horror nut, so I've seen almost all of these films. Horror’s probably my favorite genre, so I can't say (without bias) how many of these are essential. I can say that all of them are very good.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is one of the more important slasher films ever made. It holds up pretty well, even though if you've seen a David Fincher film, you'll feel some moments of déjà vu.

Near Dark is the best vampire film of the 80s (Fright Night is a close second. Sorry, I can't muster up much love for Lost Boys. It's got a great cast and one of the best bar fights in the history of cinema. Too bad the 3rd Act sucks.)

Even though I love it, The Hitcher should be seen by Ripoll around the time the remake hits theaters. Hauer is great as usual; the diner scene is fantastic and has been aped too many times.

Ripoll, have you seen any Argento films? Suspiria, while one of Argento's better made films, is not a very good introduction to his filmography. It's notorious for dividing audiences. I'd try Deep Red first.

Zombi 2 is a bit overrated. I've never seen a very good transfer of it, but the 3rd Act is pretty fantastic. It's also got the shark scene.

I haven't seen the original House on Haunted Hill in 8 years. I remember loving it, but then again, I was 9 (I loved Creepshow back then too. Now? Not so much.)

Re-Animator is the Holy Grail amongst this collection of films. It shows why Stuart Gordon and Jeffrey Combs are so amazing. It also has some of the best FX of the 80s.

I'm not a huge Clive Barker fan. I don't think Hellraiser is too hot, though it's probably the best Barker film. Just stay away from Candyman, even Tony Todd's valiant performance can’t save that trash.

Martin is by no means a classic, though it's one of the better off-beat horror films. Haven't seen this one in ages, might wanna give it a rent soon.

I've never seen Black Sunday. Hell, I haven't seen much Bava, and I haven't exactly seen as much Argento/Fulci as I'd have liked. I think I might just dedicate this Halloween to catching up on all the Italian horror films I haven’t seen/want to see again.

Chalk me up as another one for Re-Animator. Pure gold.

Disagreed. Candyman is by far the best Barker film, which may be because it's barely a Barker film. Bernard Rose completely recontextualized the story, and Virginia Madsen gives a terrific performance. There's no point in watching the sequels, as neither of them were involved.

Back on topic: Agreed! Near Dark is the classiest title on the list.

I have not seen From Beyond, nor have I seen any Argento.

I'd mention that neither has Alex, but we've beaten that horse to death.


As I side note, I recently rewatched the original Vincent Price "House on Haunted Hill". It was probably my all-time favorite saturday afternoon "Sir Graves Ghastly" horror feature, but the ravages of time have taken their hold and then some. For those who remember it fondly, keep those memories intact, and skip seeing it again.

This could be very enlightening for all of us or a terrible train wreck. Either way it's sure to be great.

I chose Re-Animator because it's the most accessable to a guy his age. It should work as a good gateway drug to other classics. I would follow it up with Black Sunday just for the beautiful black & white imagery alone.
It's way too soon for Fulci. We'll have to introduce some Argento first before we even THNK of that.

I vote for Dr. Herbert West... and that Patrick then immediately watches "Bride of" after the original. And then reads the Dynamite Entertainment comic miniseries Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator. (You've seen the Evil Dead trilogy, right?).

Near Dark is my alternate.

I was worried about being able to find all these without the aid of Netflix (cheating) or amazon (I have no credit card to call my own).

Then I checked out my favorite local video store, Video Vila, [shill] while doing research for my month long Peace Frog feature "31 Days of Terror" where I plan to spend the month of October watching one of the worst, most low-budget, cheesy, tasteless horror movies I can find, and reviewing them.[/shill]

And holy shit do they have the best selection. They got tons of Argento, Garris, Fulci, etc.

The one problem being that it's all VHS, so I can't take screen grabs of any of them. Maybe, once I write the article, I can ask someone else who owns the DVD to take screen grabs for me?

And of course I've seen the Evil Dead Trilogy, Darkmite. I may be young and naive, but that doesn't mean I'd pass up a good tree-rape.

why the fuck not?

i voted for suspiria,as i dont think it gets enough credit, but re-animator is a good call.

Re-Animator is a good call and I agree with whomever (Bob?) that said it was probably the most accessible, but yeah - Suspiria is a great, fucked-up film.

Only 18.

And yeah, I think Re-Animator would be a good deal.

So, I'm off. We'll work out the details later, Alex.

Re-Animator, definitely. Although I have a soft spot for Hellraiser, as it was the first horror flick I ever saw.

But...what about classics like Them!, or Creature From the Black Lagoon?

Patrick's only 18. His eyes can't see black and white nor stay focused on a static scene that lasts more than 5 seconds.
These kids today and their MTV and their pokemons with the poke and the mon and the blldldldgglh!

I'm casting a write in vote for Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies go to College

Zombi has a zombie fighting a shark. Patrick can die happy after that.

That's why Ted Turner invented colorized classics.

EDIT: Re-Animator arrived in the mail today. Millenium Edition, Alex.

It begins.

that millenium edition is fucking sweet. i wish i could find it in stores.

I got it through Blokbuster Online though (basically our version of Netflix) so I only received disc 1. No special features on disc 1.

Thankfully, YouTube has me partially covered.

I could listen to that song a hundred times.

But still: Why the fuck not?

You've gotta build that credit up sometime (if you feel you can be responsible about it).


Unless you've seen it, for a later selection I'd replace the original House on Haunted Hill with the original The Haunting. You can never go wrong with Robert Wise (though 9 out of 10 Trekkies disagree).

I think I saw more horror films before I turned 18 than I have since.