2008 Woodie Awards
Top five halloween films to scare, excite
Andy Bockelman
Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: Entertainment
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There has never been a shortage of entertaining movies to watch during the tail end of October. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. were kings of movie monsters in the past, but there have been thousands of horror flicks made since their day. From auteurs like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick to franchises like "Halloween" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street," audiences have always craved terror. In recent years there have been plenty of gruesome movies released, but while films like "Saw" have found huge success, other horror films have been overlooked, despite being fine pieces of work. The following is a list of underrated horror movies that have come out in the last several years.
1. "Shaun of the Dead": Not really underrated per se, but the fact that it is classified as more of a comedy than a horror feature is inaccurate. Following the exploits of a loser named Shaun (Simon Pegg) as he attempts to win back his girlfriend (Kate Ashfield), the film takes a huge turn when an unexplained wave of zombies is thrown into the mix, and the result is a spot-on spoof of zombie movies. It revitalizes the genre, much in the same way that Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" did with Westerns, and brings equal elements of humor and horror to the screen.
2. "Red Eye": A hotel manager (Rachel McAdams) who is eager to return to her job finds out that the stressful late night flight she is aboard is the least of her worries; sitting next to her is a threatening man (Cillian Murphy) who has an agenda in which she is a crucial part. Directed by Wes Craven, this thriller is not quite up to the standards of "Scream" and such, but its action-packed sequences make up for a fairly weak story. Murphy manages to be just as, if not more, disturbing as he was in "Batman Begins" when he played The Scarecrow.
3. "Slither": An alien invasion takes place in a small rural town, starting with an infestation of the richest man in town (Michael Rooker). As he begins the process of building a nest to breed more of the nasty little slugs, his wife (Elizabeth Banks) and the town sheriff (Nathan Fillion) work to stop the outbreak before it gets any worse. This throwback to classic creature features has great gory effects and is slimy enough to make anyone shudder with disgust.
1. "Shaun of the Dead": Not really underrated per se, but the fact that it is classified as more of a comedy than a horror feature is inaccurate. Following the exploits of a loser named Shaun (Simon Pegg) as he attempts to win back his girlfriend (Kate Ashfield), the film takes a huge turn when an unexplained wave of zombies is thrown into the mix, and the result is a spot-on spoof of zombie movies. It revitalizes the genre, much in the same way that Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" did with Westerns, and brings equal elements of humor and horror to the screen.
2. "Red Eye": A hotel manager (Rachel McAdams) who is eager to return to her job finds out that the stressful late night flight she is aboard is the least of her worries; sitting next to her is a threatening man (Cillian Murphy) who has an agenda in which she is a crucial part. Directed by Wes Craven, this thriller is not quite up to the standards of "Scream" and such, but its action-packed sequences make up for a fairly weak story. Murphy manages to be just as, if not more, disturbing as he was in "Batman Begins" when he played The Scarecrow.
3. "Slither": An alien invasion takes place in a small rural town, starting with an infestation of the richest man in town (Michael Rooker). As he begins the process of building a nest to breed more of the nasty little slugs, his wife (Elizabeth Banks) and the town sheriff (Nathan Fillion) work to stop the outbreak before it gets any worse. This throwback to classic creature features has great gory effects and is slimy enough to make anyone shudder with disgust.
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