Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1972)- This may be the most underrated zombie movie ever made. The late Bob Clark, who gave us such classic movies as Black Christmas (1974); Porky's; and the best Christmas movie ever, A Christmas Story; delivers a horror film that while cheaply made, is gory, effective and utterly creepy. The ending may be one of the best I've seen in a horror flick. I couldn't sleep for weeks as a kid after seeing this. (*On an interesting side note, I used to watch a show when was a kid called Creature Features, every Saturday at 3 P.M. I think... Anyways, the intro to the show was filled with scenes from this movie with the creepy instrumental of some Led Zepplin song played over the top of it. Fun stuff.)
Maniac (1980)- Ah, Joe Spinell; He played Cicci in the Godfather I&II, Gazzo in Rocky I&II, and an utterly insane killer in Maniac. He is truly creepy, unsettling, and dare I say brilliant to watch in this role. It's bloody, disturbing, and makes me never want to see anothe rmannequin wearing bloody human scalps again. The classic Tom Savini "shotgun scene" is also in this. Great movie, a must see/own. (*Fun trivia; The corpse at the end is the corpse of Jason's mother from Friday the 13th. Also, the song Maniac, from Flashdace, was originally the movie's theme song, but with harsher lyrics.)
Stir of Echoes (1999)- This is a well made, smart, creepy little supernatural thriller... and it has Kevin Bacon in it. How can you not love that guy, especially when he is having creepy visions of dead people? I didn't expect much form this one, as most movies like this tend to suck, but this one didn't suck at all. Just think of this as Footloose, minus the dancing and cool soundtrack, and full of murder, rape and ghosts.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)- Remakes. I am not usually for them, and am usually pretty vocal about it. This one however, actually improved on the original; the new version is bloody, balls out, tense and an overall visual treat. Wes Craven's original is still great in many ways, but Alexandre Aja's version continued where his 2003 classic, High Tension left off , and proved that he is a director to watch in the genre. The movie works on basically all levels. I really love it when a horror movie can be brutal and unrelenting, especially these days, and that's why this remake gets my seal of approval.
See you tomorrow with #27...
