Horroroften stretches the limits of filmmaking more than any other genre. Horror films explore people’s fears and can commonly feature metaphorical stand-ins for political and social circumstances in the form of monsters and spirits. The requirements of bringing harrowing realities and fantastic visceral moments to life and making them believable have historically pushed for new and improved visual effects techniques. For instance, the creative team forHollow Man, one ofKevin Bacon’s horror movies, created new technology to properly portray the protagonist’s invisibility.
Horror movies also often approach storylines from unprecedented anglesor reinterpret legends about monsters to address real-life social issues. For instance,Jennifer’s Body, agreat horror comedy movie, juxtaposes cheesy 2000s postfeminism with supernatural horror in the form of a vengeful teenage girl to create a feminist classic. However,Jennifer’s Bodydidn’t get the recognition it deserved until recent reassessments reclaimed it. It isn’t rare forhorror movies to be unlike anything elsemade before and there are plenty of examples from the 1990s.
Wes Craven’sA Nightmare on Elm Streetchanged horror cinema forever by introducing one of the most iconic villains in the genre’s history: Freddy Krueger. His appearance has become immortalized by Halloween costumes every year and because he presents a unique kind of danger — he can get you into your dreams, when sleep may be considered a safe time. Craven didn’t return to the franchise that he started for a decade, by which time, there had been six movies.
The suit that Freddy wears inWes Craven’s New Nightmareis how the director originally envisioned him.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmarewill always be the lowest-grossing entry in theNightmare on Elm Streetfranchise. Unfortunately, it was too ahead of its time, and Craven would have to wait a couple of years to find success with meta-horror withScream.Wes Craven’s New Nightmarebreaks the fourth wall by featuring real-life people playing themselveson a movie set. Its witty writing and the homages it pays to the original movie earned it critical acclaim, and it is considered one of the best in the franchise today.
The Blair Witch Projectchanged millennials' lives as kids with scenesthat belong in the horror movie Hall of Fame. It revitalized the found footage niche of horror and created one of the biggest movie-based conspiracy theories ever. Due to the marketing, which involved the making of a website trying to present the film’s story as real-life occurrences, horror film buffs were trying to prove the events did really happen.
The Blair Witch Projectwas a revolutionary horror film thatpopularized a subgenre and inspired manyindependent filmmakers. Young people with an interest in horror who don’t have studio sets, budgets, or actors, are known to make their own found-footage horror films with whatever limited resources they can gather. The film was ahead of its time and continues to enthrall directors who pick apart details to learn what choices work for a horror movie and what don’t.
John Carpenter has had one of, if not the most, illustrious careers as a horror filmmaker. HisHalloweenspawned one of the longest-running horror franchises in Hollywood history and its villain, Michael Myers, lives on as a horror icon today. However, he wasn’t always appreciated for his films when they were released,The Thingbeing the biggest example of a Carpenter film that only found admiration years after its releaseas a celebrated cult classic.
Among his underrated horror movies isIn the Mouth of Madness, a film that was too inventive to find an audience when it was released. It follows an insurance agent who discovers that the person he’s investigating has made his morbid imagination manifest.In the Mouth of Madnessfollows the main character’s descent into chaosas he loses his grip on reality. Carpenter pays tribute to H.P. Lovecraft with the monsters in the movie, but the real horror comes from realizing a man imagined the monsters attacking the town.
After a series of flops, includingWes Craven’s New Nightmare, the director was looking for a film to establish himself on the scene again. The opportunity presented itself in the form of a Kevin Williamson screenplay, which played on the elements of the slasher genre with a meta sense of humor.Screamrevolutionized slashers by introducing Ghostface, acharacter who helped reshape genre expectations, and injecting an element of self-awareness into the writing.
It became a surprise hit in 1996 despite being released around Christmas, as everyone immediately loved the sense of humor and the actors' performances.Screamrevived both Wes Craven and Drew Barrymore’s careersand helped Neve Campbell break through. However, despite Ghostface creating a sense of mystery, the critics were disappointed by the use of humor to undercut the suspense, and the world was definitely not prepared for the violence on display. That garage door murder has become iconic today but wasn’t appreciated back then.
Dark horror movies that inspire viewers' inner gothsare in demand today like never before. The recent remake ofThe Crowfailed to live up to the original movie, but interest in the film proves that there is an audience for it. Unfortunately, this was not the case in 1990, asMaria Sargenti’sMirror, Mirroronly found a cult following upon release and a lukewarm reception from critics.
Mirror, Mirrorfollows a bullied teenager’s journey as a powerful black magician after she finds a haunted mirror that grants her special abilities. It explores the protagonist’s sexual awakening and symbolically addresses the dark side of temptation through the character’s gradual transformation into a homicidal person. It is somewhat similar toThe Craft, and one can only wonder if it would have found more success if it came out a few years later.
Joel Schumacher, most infamous for hisBatmanmovies that flopped, also made memorable thriller movies over the span of his career. However, his earlier works were often in the horror genre. After making waves with his movieThe Lost Boys, which has become a cult classic today, he directedFlatliners, starring Kevin Bacon in the leading role. It follows a group of medical students who try to simulate death.
Their experiences are invigorating, and they start making observations to figure out the nature of the afterlife, but it soon dooms them as they start facing permanent consequences. Despite having such a brilliant premise, the repetitive form of storytelling earned the film lukewarm reviews. The pattern was necessary to establish how dangerous the experiments were, but that wasn’t appreciated upon release. There was a remake in 2017, albeit much worse, which proves thatcurrent audiences are more attuned to the sort of storyFlatlinerstells.
Adrian Lyne is most famous for his sleazy romance movies likeFatal Attraction,Flashdance, andIndecent Proposal. So, it’s praiseworthy that he pivoted hard to make a psychological horror movie in 1990 and delivered such fantastic direction.Jacob’s Ladderfollows the titular Jacob, played by Tim Robbins, who was a soldier in the Vietnam War and is currently mourning the death of his child.
Jacob’s Ladderwas remade in 2019, but the extremely negative reception proves that viewers prefer the 1990 version.
Openly challenging the U.S. government’s handling of the war, the film delves into Jacob’s experience of being drugged while serving. His PTSD and his grief intersect to create a haunting and claustrophobic atmosphere in which the movie is set, being told from his perspective. Unfortunately,Jacob’s Ladderbarely made any profits at the box officeand didn’t find much in the way of appreciation until its release on VHS. The audiences were likely not prepared for the visceral editing of the film that blends the Vietnamese battlefield with the urban setting of NYC.
Alien V Predatoris one of thosehorror movies that gets a lot of flackbut has enough likable elements in it, including the energetic action sequences involving the two iconic creatures from both franchises. Paul W. S. Anderson has unfortunately struggled to win over critics throughout his career. Be itMortal Kombator theResident Evilmovies, even working on famous properties didn’t earn him much of a fandom.
However, one of his movies that was panned when released has been reassessed in recent years as a must-watch classic for fans of sci-fi horror. The film in question is, of course,Event Horizon, which follows a motley crew’s misadventures while trying to salvage the titular Event Horizon starship that seemingly disappeared years ago.The sinister buildup of suspense as viewers encounter clues of a possible being residing on the ship, waiting to pounce, and the film’s special effects too, earn it the recognition todaythat it always deserved.
Guillermo del Toro’s vision as a director is almost second to none, especially when it comes to designing fantastic worlds and beings. HisPan’s Labyrinthfeatures the Pale Man, ahorror movie monster who is actually nightmare fuel, with his eyes in his hands, held open over his face. Long before he found fame, del Toro made an attempt at horror filmmaking that feels today like it should have made him a bigger name in the industry when it came out.
Mimictells the story of creatures invented by a scientist to kill off roaches that were causing children to fall ill, often fatally. These creatures outlived their purpose and turned into terrifying monsters who can change their shape to imitate anyone.The film’s treatment of evolution as a premise, and del Toro’s vision with practical effects, brings to life a horrifying worldthat is no less imaginative than the ones found in his more famous works, likeThe Shape of WaterandHellboy.
Kevin Bacon had already made his horror cinema debut inFriday the 13th, where his character is murdered by the killer through his bed in a scene that’s attained iconic status today. However,it wasn’t until the 1990 filmTremorsthat Bacon got the chance to star in a horror movie as the lead. He and Fred Ward play friends in the movie, who rise to the occasion when their town is attacked by creatures burrowing from the underground.
Viewers didn’t like the comedic writing of the film, even though it is now considered to be a classic horror comedy. The creatures are terrifying too, and in today’s world where kaiju movies have become some of the highest-grossing films of the year,Tremorswould have been highly successful. The sense of humor that defines the characters' survival tactics has found more appreciation today, and the film is considered to be one of the most classic 1990shorrormovies.
