Underrated, Obscure and/or Neglected Genre Faves

List creator: Brujaria Created on: September 28, 2003 - 11:53 AM PDT Description: Gems of the horror / exploitation genre that have gotten short shrift or just may have been overlooked.

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	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	The Crawling Eye (1958)			Not Rated
Immortalized in song by The Misfits, this is one of the coolest of the late '50s monster flicks that actually sports some unusually graphic (for the time) violence. Very cool.
	Flesh and the Fiends (1960)			Not Rated
Excellent little British shocker starring Peter Cushing based on the legend of grave robbers Burke and Hare. Excellently made and still holds it's own today.
	The Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969)			Not Rated
Eddie Romero's crowning achievment. The perfect introduction to the joys of low-rent Filipino cinema.
	The Bloody Judge (1969)			Not Rated
Often overlooked Jess Franco / Christopher Lee historical exploitationer that is something of a remake of Conqueror Worm and sports surprisingly good production values, solid acting and just enough sleaze to keep it from becoming a "drama".
	Beast of the Yellow Night (1970)			Not Rated
Great little Eddie Romero twist on the werewolf legends that is even overlooked by Eddie Romero fans. John Ashley is cursed by the Devil (Vic Diaz) who brings him back from the dead to do his bidding. One of Romero's best.
	Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)			Not Rated
Rather neglected Argento classic that seems to always get overlooked. More giallo than horror, but a great little movie with a fine cast.
	The Corpse Grinders (1971)
Ted V. Mikels' classic schlock fest that is mandatory viewing for fans of low-rent, unintentionally hilarious drive-in fare of the '60s and '70s.
	I Drink Your Blood (Director's Cut) (1971)			Not Rated
A long time favorite of mine, this twisted satanic hippie outing was clearly inspired by the Manson killings, but really works the theme rather than letting it coast. Sadly Bahskar passed away after this disc was released.
	Tombs of the Blind Dead/Return of the Blind Dead (1972)			Not Rated
Tombs is easily my all time favorite zombie film. Positively oozing with thick gothic atmosphere and a really great original concept, this is Spanish horror at it's finest.
	Tower of Evil (1972)
Great little slasher-esqe movie that was one of the inspirations for some of the body-count movies of the '80s.
	Horror Express (1972)
Another excellent British horror film starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Snappy dialogue and lots of atmosphere.
	The Baby (1972)			Not Rated
Ted Post had a real hit n' miss career making big Hollywood pictures, so this twisted little drive-in shocker is even more surprising.
	Frightmare (1974)
Peter Walker's classic horror outing that only bears a "2" here in the US to avoid confusion with another movie of the same name. Sheila Keith is one twisted broad as always.
	Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)			Not Rated
Spanish filmmaker Jorge Grau's atmospheric, gory and just damn cool zombie outing that gives the Italian's a run for thier money.
	Black Christmas (Special Edition) (1974)
A great, early slasher film that predated the slasher films of the '80s and really set the formula.
	The Devil's Rain (1975)
One of the finest horror films of the '70s with a great veteran cast, excellent cinematography and a thoroughly engaging plot that hooks you in from frame one.
	Snuff (1974)			Not Rated
Unintentionally hilarious Roberta Findlay trash based on Easy Rider and Helter Skelter. A tacked on "snuff" ending and a new ad campaign made this one go down in cinema history.
	Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
A great little horror/thriller that inspired slasher films for years to come. Great atmosphere and tension.
	Shock Waves (1977)
Great little drive-in zombie outing starring Peter Cushing as a Nazi doctor who created an army of living dead SS corpse that still dwell under the ocean. Really cool zombie make up.
	The Sentinel (1976)
Michael Winner's twisted, creepy and to some highly offensive, horror outing is not schlocky as some claim, but garnered a lot of negativity due to the use of real "freaks" during the ending sequence. A great chiller that got buried because of the ending.
	God Told Me To (1976)			Not Rated
Weird if not just plain bizarre Larry Cohen film about a string of serial killings that may have something to do with the second coming. A cool little cult gem if ever there was one.
	Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
Another great Bill Shatner horror outing (I hate Star Trek, but in horror movies Shatner can do no wrong). A classic of the '70s Mother Nature's Revenge genre with massive armies of spiders invading a small town.
	The Car (1977)
A satanic muscle car that preys on humans! Yeah, it sounds cheesy, but it's really well done.
	Blue Sunshine (Special Edition) (1978)
Jeff Leiberman's shocker about hippies who eat some bad acid (called blue sunshine), lose all their hair and go stark raving homicidal!
	Day of the Animals (1977)
Awesome "nature runs amok" film from the late William Girdler with great setpieces and Leslie Neilson as a complete psychotic.
	The Alien Factor (1978)
Don Dohler's low-budget sci-fi drive-in classic that exercises so much creativity and cool monsters, that the bad acting and silly dialogue make it all the more endearing. In a SE DVD no less! Now what does it take to get Nightbeast on DVD?
	The Grapes of Death (1978)			Not Rated
Jean Rollin's choice zombie film that is probably his most easily accessable film starring the curvacious Brigitte Lahie.
	Tourist Trap (1979)
A genuinely unsettling little classic that is somewhat reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with Chuck Connors turning in quite the creepy performance.
	Salem's Lot (1979)			Not Rated
Arguably the best Stephen King adaptation so far and one of the best TV movies ever, with a great cast (James Mason as the villian), great story, and lots of creepy moments. Not dated in the least.
	Wolfman (1982)			Not Rated
Ok, maybe this ain't a classic, but damn do I love Earl Owensby movies! Sadly this is the only one that has made it to DVD so far.
	Zombie Holocaust (1979)			Not Rated
A classic of the Italian zombie/cannibal genre that features some classic lines and tons of extreme gore. I still get misy-eyed over the old Dr. Butcher art and trailer.
	Humanoids From the Deep (1980)
Roger Corman's gore and nudity-filled ecological monster flick that takes the '50 monster flick and updates it with '80s exploitation. Great stuff.
	Contamination (1981)			Not Rated
One of my faves of the Italian gore genre. Since they couldn't afford a bunch of aliens running around, how about eggs that hatch splattering people with green goo that causes them to violently explode!?
	Dead & Buried (1981)
Somehow this one is constantly overlooked. Dan O' Bannon, gritty horror, really gruesome shocks and cool plot twists. How can you go wrong?
	The Living Dead Girl (1982)			Not Rated
Classic Jean Rollin outing that makes zombies as sexy and seductive as vampires, though a little more violent.
	Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
Another great little Larry Cohen outing, this time about a series of murders commited by the Mayan winged serpent god Quetzlcoatl who is living in the Chrysler building. Great quirky concept played out in early '80s fashion.
	Pieces (1983)			Not Rated
JP Simon's freshman outing is great trash filmmaking. A chainsaw killer is stalking a college campus and leaving his victims chunky parts everywhere! Gory as hell with Paul L. Smith to boot!
	Blind Date (1984)
Nico Mastorakis sure can be hit or miss, but when he's on, his movies can be top-drawer cinema on a dime-store budget.
	The Company of Wolves (1984)
The only Neil Jordan film I can sit through, this dream-like, fairy tale-esque reworking of the werewolf mythos complete with modern (for the mid-'80s) gore FX makes for one hell of a cool movie.
	The Stuff (1985)
Larry Cohen's genius rises again! During the yoghurt/granola craze of the mid-'80s, Cohen creates a killer foodstuff: Are you eating it, or is it eating you?
	The Wind (1987)
Excellent Nico Mastorakis nail-biter with a great genre cast that never overplays their parts. Really good.
	Anguish (1988)
Really weird and often surreal Spanish/US coproduction that may be a little too strange for some. The whole thing is rather ambiguous and blends Spanish art and genre cinema together as no other has before.
	Slugs (1987)
JP Simon's gore-soaked adaptation of Shaun Hutson's novel. Unintentionally funny and gross n' gory as all hell.
	Redneck Zombies - The Director's Cut (1988)
Hard-core gore and clever (and for once actually funny) humor and some downright bizarre interludes (the tobacco man) make this one of the best SOV gorefests ever. It ain't saying much, I know, but this is a good 'un.
	Nekromantik (1988)			Not Rated
Without a doubt the most perverse and disgusting film ever made. A autobahn "cleaner" brings his work home with him. This is German engeneering!
	Nightmare at Noon (1988)
Niko Mastorakis' fun, cheesy sci-fi/horror/conspiracy/action flick with Brion James as an albino covert op who poison's a towns water supply and turns them in to homicidal maniacs! Great cast.
	Fright Night Pt. 2 (1988)
Fun (without being stupid) sequel to the cool original with Roddy McDowall returning as Peter Vincent Vampire Killer and Johnathan Gries turning in a great performance as the werewolf.
	Brain Dead (1989)
Seriously neglected psychological horror film that mixes surreality with bloody shocks and a twisting plot that blurs reality.
	The Johnsons (1992)			Not Rated
One weird little Dutch movie (scripted by Roy Document of the Dead Frumkes) that is a bit uneven, but is incredibly original and downright cool.
	Carnosaur (1993)
Very underrated neo-dino pic that actually had a lot of thought put into the script. Can't say that about the sequels, but this one is damn good!
	Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
Totally trashed by the fanboy population and given Worst Film of the Year award by Fangoria Magazine (put down the crack pipe Tony!), this is one of the best remakes of Frankenstein since the days of Hammer. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
	Dead Waters (1994)
Really cool, atmospheric, strange, surreal Italian horror shot on a shoestring budget by Mario Biano who went through a living hell to get this made.
	Birth of the Wizard [Eko Eko Azarak II] (1996)			Not Rated
Very cool and really gory knock-off of Jason Goes to Hell that is far more fast-paced and violent than either of the other films in the series. Now I finally get to see it with subtitles!
	The Wax Mask (1997)			Not Rated
Inspite of the dreadful Shaw Bros-esque dubbing, this Italian reworking of The Mystery of the Wax Museum and House of Wax is silly, but highly entertaining.
	Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997)
Very cool, atmospheric, grim and gothic retelling of the fairy tale with a great cast and excellent production design that is very Hammer inspired. Excellent.
	Vampires (1998)
What's up with this? John Carpenter breaks with recent tradition and turns in a damn fine flick and everyone pans it! I don't get it.
	Session 9 (2001)
A really cool sleeper that while shot on video (the kiss of death as far as I'm concerned), manages to evoke an incredible sense of dread and paranoia. Surprisingly creepy and subtle horror.
	Willard (2003)
Totally mis-handled and edited by New Line, this is still a really cool Hitchcockian homage that is really well done with an excellent cast - both man and rodent.