5 Underappreciated Horror Films II

Okay, so maybe we don't celebrate Halloween in South Africa but I can still get the Halloween spirit going! How? By going through October and throwing as much spooky stuff into the web as I can!

I know the perfect place to start too! Last year, I put together a list of five Underappreciated Horror Films. It was great fun, and I can't think of a better way to start the October Spook-fest. With that said, here's part II of the Five Underappreciated Horror Films.

Simple rules for this list:

1. No repeat entries. If a film isn't on this list, then it may be on the previous one.
2. No anime entries—that's a list all on its own!
3. Must a horror or horror-related film (obviously)

5: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

The Curse of Frankenstein... where do I start? This is one of the best horror films I've ever seen.

Loosely adapted from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, the film follows Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) as he becomes fascinated with bringing the dead back to life...yeah, okay that's creepy. He, along with his mentor, creates a monstrous creature (Christopher Lee) which subsequently escapes. Things just get worse from there.

I love Hammer Films; they made up the majority of the first list of horror films—something I only realized later. Anyways, this was the first on-screen collaboration between Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and they went on to work together on multiple films including Dracula in 1958 and The Mummy in 1959. What makes Curse of Frankenstein so interesting is the focus on the doctor himself. Many adaptations focused on the monster that he creates—largely as a villainous beast. This particular adaptation portrayed the genius doctor as a cold, calculating and ambitious; willing to do anything to get what he wants/needs.

The focus on the doctor as the monster works better than one would think and it's a genuine shame that the film doesn't get much attention anymore.

4: 28 Days Later (2002)

I've only seen a few over the years, and came to the conclusion that zombie films weren't really my thing. I enjoyed the Resident Evil movies and a few others, but for the most part I don't really watch zombie movies. That said, 28 Days Later is a fantastic picture.

Essentially a group of people have to navigate the streets of a post-apocalyptic London in the midst of a zombie outbreak.

It's great fun and as suspenseful as you could want with a zombie film, and sadly it doesn't get much attention.

3: Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Johnny Depp plays a New York constable sent to the village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of grisly murders.

If I say anymore than that I'll spoil the film for those who haven't watched it! Well, anyways; you guys probably knew Tim Burton would land up here somewhere—it was just a question of where. Burton has done so many creepy films that it was hard to choose one; in the end I went with Sleepy Hollow because I felt like this film has somewhat slipped through the cinematic cracks. It's also kind of a personal favorite of mine.

2: Vampyres (1974)

This 1974 film follows two vampire women as they lure men into their lair in the English countryside for blood. Things get more complicated when a young vacationing couple discover them and the film just goes crazy from there.

Vampyres was met with a mixed reception upon its release in 1974. The film's explicit depictions of bisexuality and gore were heavily criticized but it developed a cult following in the following years and was remade in 2015.

This film came out at the height of the lesbian vampire craze of the 60s and 70s. One of the larger influences on horror films at the time, at least as far as I can tell, were the Hammer Films.

Throughout the fifties and sixties, Hammer Films featured some very risque stuff and then in 1970 went crazy with a little-known gem called The Vampire Lovers and set off the lesbian vampire trend.

Hammer Films seemingly made the whole genre more popular so more lesbian vampire movies came out—including this one. There's nothing inherently wrong with this but in the case of Vampyres specifically you get a sense that the film doesn't quite know what it wants to be. It feels like the film's trying to balance the sex with the violence and, for the most part, it does so very well. On the other hand there are instances where it just comes off as: "Oh, we need more violence in this scene so...."

All in all, it's easy to see how this one has faded into obscurity; it's not terrible but it could've been much better.

1: 30 Days of Night (2007)

I know, I know, another vampire movie—but seriously this one doesn't get enough attention! Based on the graphic novel of the same name, 30 Days of Night follows the residents of a small town in Alaska as they are besieged by a clan of bloodthirsty vampires. Oh, and it's polar night for them—30 days without the sun—so the vampires don't have to worry about getting toasted!

This film is a mixed bag for me. On one hand, it's pretty good and has a lot going for it. It came out in 2007, while the Twilight series was at its most popular and I half expected to get the brooding, pretty vampires that were so popular at the time. Imagine my surprise at seeing these predatory, feral beings onscreen for the first time; they actually made vampires scary—which was quite a feat given what was flooding the market! The cast is phenomenal with Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and Danny Huston delivering really good performances. The concept isn't very original but the way it's executed kind of feels fresh and new.

On the other hand, this movie has a lot of problems. The script is incredibly wooden in places. Sometimes a line works well and then falls flat towards the end. The transitions are a little... arbitrary; we're told that a certain amount of time goes by (18 days), and the cast's performances sell the claustrophobia that their characters would be feeling under the circumstances, but the transitions themselves feel awkward and arbitrary. There's also a subplot or two that is addressed once or twice and never resolved - which is frustrating to say the least.

Final Thoughts

So, there we have it; a little something to kick off the spooky season of Halloween! I'm curious to know your thoughts, do you agree or disagree with these picks? What would you consider to be an underappreciated horror film?

Hit me up on Facebook and let me know all that stuff.

I'll be doing other lists as well as some reviews leading up to October 31st, so stay tuned!