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Needles in a Haystack: Top 5 Overlooked Horror Films to watch anytime
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Even though Halloween has passed, audiences can be scared all year long with the help of movie theatres and the Fearnet channel. Not everyone has time to watch a movie marathon of their favorite films on that day, which makes going to Blockbuster or turning on your television more convenient. Any video store is likely to have a horror movie section waiting to be exploited.
Much to the disappointment of many moviegoers, not every horror film was immediately deemed a gem when it’s first released. Sometimes the movies were simply ignored due to poor timing, a weak story or an actor’s lack of passion in their work. Here are five films that were overlooked in theatres that you can explore either on television or at local video store. Simply sit back, relax and enjoy the show if you dare.
The Hunger (1983) - Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) and John Blaylock (David Bowie) appeared to be just like any other ordinary married couple. They often went out clubbing and even killed their human prey together. The one caveat in their relationship was that they have to drink blood once a week in order to survive. The Blaylocks weren’t like any other couple because they were vampires who believed their relationship can literally last forever. Only Miriam knew that John’s definition of forever was different than hers. She knew that she won’t be able to save John as he literally aged before her eyes. She decided to seek out a new partner and chose Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon). Will Sarah like being an immortal with Miriam, or will she choose another route?
Even though The Hunger was a horror film, it also mixed romance with high style. The different cinematic combinations may have been to blame for its failure at the box office. At the time of its release, most scary movies went for obvious shocks and gore. The audience didn’t have the patience for the buildup that led to a shockingly questionable ending. Tony Scott went for style more than content as his first foray as a film director, which hindered the exploration of Sarah and Miriam’s relationship. Another issue was Hunger’s weak commercialized ending that strayed from Whitley Strieber’s book. Maybe the rumored remake will improve upon the ending the second time around.
Manhunter (1986) - Will Graham (William Petersen) thought he was done being an FBI profiler after he helped lock up serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox), but he was wrong. He was resurrected from retirement by his former boss Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina) to catch “The Tooth Fairy.” Despite Lecktor nearly killing Graham before, he had to ask for the imprisoned doctor’s help to catch this new killer who chose his victims at random. Can Graham catch the Tooth Fairy (Tom Noonan) before he kills him or someone else?
Honestly, there’s no clear reason as to why Manhunter wasn’t successful at the box office. The film had all the right ingredients for a scary film: an intrepid hero, a disturbing killer and another villain waiting in the wings. Sadly, the film just came out at the wrong time and paid the ultimate price. Director Michael Mann helmed a superior horror film that paved the way for The Silence of the Lambs five years later. As Lecktor, Cox portrayed the infamous doctor differently from Anthony Hopkins’ version of the character. It’s hard to say which one did the better job, but the Academy deemed Hopkins the winner with an Oscar for less than 30 minutes of work. Draw your own conclusions.
The Dark Half (1993) – What if you had an alter-ego who wanted you dead? Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) came across that dilemma when his seemingly fictitious literary pseudonym George Stark started killing people. The police think its Thad committing the murders when in fact there was a supernatural spirit named George Stark doing just that. Stark was an evil incarnation of Thad’s unborn twin that never fully developed. The twin instead developed into a tumor in Thad’s brain that was removed when he was a child. Was George a real danger to Thad and his family, or should Thad look to himself as the culprit? Can Thad survive whatever danger came his way?
Director George A. Romero seemed like the perfect person to helm Half because of his classic zombie movies like Dawn of the Dead. Pairing Romero’s talent made him a synch to adapt Stephen King’s novel into a film. He did succeed in getting the film onto the screen, but the only problem was that Half seemed to get lost in its own scares. A big reason that it was ignored by most people was it took two years to be released in theatres. Another issue was that Hutton seemed coolly disinterested about being in the film. Despite a strong dual performance as the villain and the hero, he always had a look of needing to be somewhere else that sort of ruined his credibility. The film is still worth a look regardless of its apparent flaws.
Brainscan (1994) - What happens when you literally become part of a videogame? Disaffected youth Michael (Edward Furlong) thought the new videogame he got was going to be fun, but he got more than he bargained for. Michael woke up from the game thinking it was a dream that he killed someone. Much to his dismay, he found evidence that the crime really did happen. Soon The Trickster (T. Ryder Smith) began popping up to help Michael elude suspicion from Detective Hayden (Frank Langella). Michael has to choose whether to turn himself in or to let the body count rise instead. Does he make the right decision?
Like many videogames, Brainscan was ignored because it seemed enjoyably unrealistic. Michael should’ve just thrown out the game instead of continually playing along. Beyond Furlong’s interaction with the Trickster, the rest of the film suffered from being like every other ordinary scary movie. The melodrama of Michael’s relationship with Kimberly should’ve either been left out or better established to make the audience root for them. Another weakness was that Langella’s character was never fully fleshed out as an adversary to Furlong. He was more of a pawn that was sacrificed to the cinematic horror gods. Maybe he’ll have better luck in The Box.
The Alphabet Killer (2008) – Police officer Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku) had the perfect life: a great job and a loving fiancé in Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes). In the course of two years, she lost everything due to mental illness brought on by an unsolved homicide. She believed that the killer would kill again when no one else did and it drove her to madness. After her stay in a mental institution, Megan found a job in the records department to keep her mind occupied. She befriended Richard Ledge (Timothy Hutton) who also suffered from the same illness. He counseled Megan as the Alphabet Killer claimed another victim. She persuaded her ex to allow her to work the case, but her illness started to resurface again. Can Megan catch the killer before madness sets in permanently?
Killer was a slight imitation of The Silence of the Lambs that worked against it from being widely released. Dushku’s performance as the troubled cop made this otherwise weak film worth the effort, because the story rested on her shoulders. It was Megan’s obsession to catch the killer, not another generic serial killer story. Most of the supporting cast came and went without really registering on-screen. A big disappointment was that the killer became apparent within ten minutes into the story. Maybe this Killer would’ve been more recognized if the producers took the effort to better disguise who the villain was until the very end. Hopefully, Dushku will have better luck in her future films.
In order to find a genuinely exciting scary movie, moviegoers need to take a risk and find films that aren’t part of the Saw franchise. Search for imperfect ones if necessary, because sometimes there are diamonds in the movie rough. Another critic’s trash is someone else’s treasure. Take a chance in being scared. You’ll thank yourself later.
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