There are fewer than ten days left until Halloween, and it’s time to recommend horror films to watch or revisit during this month so closely tied to the American holiday, which has long since been adopted here as well. This time Tumblr’s HalloWatchlist has been entrusted to Mike Flanagan, an undisputed fan of the genre, who each Monday highlights his favorite films for every decade. This week the focus is on the 1990s, and the director of Carrie selects six films.
Mike Flanagan’s 1990s HalloWatchlist
The 1990s, as far as horror goes, were an underrated decade, yielding genuine gems while veterans like the late Wes Craven and John Carpenter were still active. In Flanagan’s list there is a film by each of them: A Nightmare on Elm Street: New Nightmare (1994, “Before Scream” — Flanagan says — “Scream deconstructed the franchise it created”) and the beautiful Lovecraftian nightmare In the Mouth of Madness, 1994, with Sam Neill, which Flanagan defines as “one of the most underrated films of the ’90s.” There’s also Candyman – Farewell to the Flesh by Bernard Rose, from a story by Clive Barker, “one of the best examples of urban folklore”; Jacob’s Ladder, 1990, by Adrian Lyne (“an incredible existential horror”), The Exorcist III by William Peter Blatty (“a sequel wildly underrated”) and the BBC television film Ghostwatch of 1992, described as “an experience to be had once in a lifetime” (now everyone’s searching for it on the web!). In our view six films are certainly not enough, but we’ll make do. James Gunn also shared a list, this time of 12 body horror titles to watch before Clayface.
The James Gunn list of body horror before watching Clayface
In preparation for watching Clayface, the DC superhero film in which body transformation plays a central role, James Gunn recommended the following 12 classics of the genre: Shivers (David Cronenberg, 1975); Invasion of the Body Snatchers ( Philip Kaufman, 1978); The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979); Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980); The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982); Basket Case (Frank Henenlotter, 1982); Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983); Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon, 1985); The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986); The Blob (Chuck Russell, 1988); Cronos (Guillermo del Toro, 1993) and Slug (dr? No, it’s Slither, from the same James Gunn, 2006). We personally approve of this selection, in which Cronenberg naturally dominates, and we’re especially glad Gunn didn’t include the Canadian director’s French “nieces.” And you, which films will you rewatch or discover for the first time this Halloween?
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