Coming out of the ’80s, arguably the definitive golden age decade of horror, the ’90s had a lot to live up to. And, in certain ways, it did so. There were some cerebral entries like Jacob’s Ladder and Stir of Echoes, mega-talent-laden fare such as The Silence of the Lambs and Cape Fear, and a few films that make for perfect starter scary movies, e.g. Arachnophobia. And, while some of the sequels to the ’80s (and late ’70s) IPs didn’t live up to any of their predecessors, like Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, there were still a handful of movies like Child’s Play 2 and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth.
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Then, of course, there were the iconic movies that kicked off franchises of their own, most notably Candyman, Scream, The Blair Witch Project and, well, Leprechaun. But what about the ’90s scarers that don’t get enough love? Let’s go through a few of them now.
1) Graveyard Shift
Several entries on this list are pretty far from high art but are perfect fodder for horror movie buffs who like putting something silly on at midnight. One of these is Graveyard Shift, a Stephen King adaptation that is quite different from its source material.
The narrative follows a drifter who enters a Maine town looking for work. He gets it at a textile mill, where he is to work overnight cleaning out the rat-infested basement. However, he and the mill’s employees are forced to try and avoid a giant bat-like creature that is picking them off one by one. Worse yet, the mill’s owner is an abusive monster who is not-so-slowly going insane. The best parts of Graveyard Shift are the location where it was shot (Harmony, Maine) and the performances by Stephen Macht and Brad Dourif.
Stream Graveyard Shift on Hoopla.
2) Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Even though it had a truly great trailer, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was mostly ignored when it hit theaters. And, when it did, it was heavily edited to its detriment.
If watching the unrated version, however, it’s one of the unsung horror franchise movies of the ’90s and a respectable attempt by New Line to capitalize on their success with A Nightmare on Elm Street (they would try the same thing with Friday the 13th three years later via Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday). It has a compelling and lengthy swamp set piece, a creepy tone, and roles for both Dawn of the Dead‘s Ken Foree and The Lord of the Rings‘ Viggo Mortensen. At the very least, Leatherface is about one thousand times better than Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.
3) Nightbreed
One of the more ambitious horror films of the ’90s, Clive Barker’s Nightbreed was like Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III in that it was cut to death for its theatrical release. But in this case, it was more because the studio wanted to edit it into something more marketable.
This is why you should seek out Barker’s cut of the film, most commonly called Cabal (the title of the novella). It’s visually and emotionally stunning, stuffed with excellent practical effects, and has a fantastic villain turn by none other than The Fly director David Cronenberg.
Stream Nightbreed on Prime Video.
4) Popcorn
Popcorn is not the easiest movie to track down, but it’s a search with a worthy payout. It’s a horror comedy with an emphasis on horror that has a surprisingly strong plot for a slasher and a few horror vets in Cujo‘s Dee Wallace, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child‘s Kelly Jo Minter, and The Stepfather‘s Jill Schoelen.
However, while they’re all great, this is a movie worth watching for its villain. With a great design and an even better performance behind it (no spoilers), this is one of those slasher antagonists who really sticks with you. It’s also a horror movie that loves horror movies, six years before the release of Scream. And, to that point, it has a character impaled by a giant mosquito prop during a screening of a giant monster movie. There’s merit to that.
5) The People Under the Stairs
One of Wes Craven’s best movies, The People Under the Stairs was a somewhat surprising hit for the director. Not because it’s weak, but rather because it couldn’t have been the easiest thing to sell. In the ’90s, a horror movie about gentrification could not have been the easiest thing to market.
The People Under the Stairs‘ greatest accomplishment, outside perfectly casting Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, and young Brandon Adams, was how it handled the sociopolitical issue at its core. It doesn’t forget the scares, but it makes you think even more than it makes you shudder. The film is still moderately well known to horror aficionados, and outright well known to fans of Craven, but general audiences should seek it out.
6) Braindead (AKA Dead Alive)
Like The People Under the Stairs, Braindead (or Dead Alive as it’s known in North America) is a film that is well-known and highly regarded in the horror community, but not so much outside of it. And to an extent that’s surprising, as it was directed by Peter Jackson.
Jackson recently confirmed that this and his equally gory and ridiculous Bad Taste are heading for a 4K release, so it will finally be far more accessible than it has been for a long time. Hopefully, at that point, more people will expose themselves to what is undoubtedly one of the best, most outlandish zombie films ever made. Braindead is Evil Dead II cranked up a few more notches.
7) Return of the Living Dead 3
The Return of the Living Dead is one of the earlier meta horror movies, essentially serving as a comedic commentary on Night of the Living Dead while also bringing some scares and new style of its own. Return of the Living Dead Part II is a less effective retread of that inventive film.
Return of the Living Dead 3, however, is far different. Directed by Brian Yuzna of Re-Animator fame, it’s an entirely new type of zombie movie. It’s a love story where one of the lovers dies and is reanimated, only to suffer an agonizing hunger that can only be satiated with either the typical scarfing of brains or by shoving metal through her skin. It all amounts to a twisted take on Romeo on Juliet, with Mindy Clarke delivering outstanding work in the lead role.
Stream Return of the Living Dead 3 for free, with ads, on Prime Video.
8) The Addiction
Abel Ferrara has always made genre films that play with the genre of which they’re a part. For instance, Body Snatchers, King of New York, and Bad Lieutenant. The Addiction is no different.
Technically it’s a vampire movie, but what it is even more so is a tale of addiction and withdrawal. The Conjuring‘s Lili Taylor is phenomenal as Kathleen Conklin, an introverted young woman who is attacked by a vampire and begins coping with the symptoms that follow. Also excelling in the film are Oz‘s Kathryn Erbe, Jungle Fever‘s Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, and Christopher Walken.
Stream The Addiction on ARROW.
9) Demon Knight
Tales from the Crypt was a solid hit for HBO in its early days. It managed to run for seven seasons (1989-1996), after all. And towards the end of that run, John Kassir’s iconic Cryptkeeper host character made his bid for big screen audiences’ attention.
The result was Demon Knight, featuring Tales from the Crypt vets Billy Zane and William Sadler as well as franchise newcomers Jada Pinkett Smith and Thomas Haden Church. It’s a fun, breezy horror-comedy about a charming demon who is trying to eliminate the holder of a very special key. While the whole cast is excellent, it’s Titanic‘s Zane who runs away with the movie, giving a villainous turn that is charismatic, rageful, and genuinely funny.
10) Virus
Virus isn’t great by normal standards, but it is fun in that midnight movie kind of way. It’s essentially a low-rent version of The Thing, which is ironic considering it had an absolutely massive budget for a horror film ($75 million in 1999 dollars).
Based on the Dark Horse comic by the same name, we follow the crew of a tugboat as they lose their cargo then stumble upon a seemingly abandoned Russian vessel. But this Russian boat was actually in communication with a space station, one that was attacked by aliens. Now, the boat is infected with an alien presence that merges robotics with human tissue, resulting in plenty of fun and gross body horror moments. Jamie Lee Curtis and the ever underrated William Baldwin make for solid leads who aren’t given much to work with, but the real scene-stealer is the late Donald Sutherland, who delivers a performance not far off from Jon Voight’s work in Anaconda (in other words not traditionally great, but extremely entertaining).
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