Landing on Shudder after a long trip through post-covid movie release hell, this messy, goofy gore-fest pulls out all the stops in it’s quest to create a classic Slasher that thankfully hits more than it misses.

Directed by Armando Fonseca and Kapel Furman, this genre blending B-Movie stars Natallia Rodrigues as a detective investigating the ancient mask of Anhangá—a vassal of a pre-Columbian god—who, by some Nazi trickery, is re-incarnated as a bloodthirsty wrestler (really) and embarks on a sacrificial killing spree involving blood raves, intestinal strangulation, kidnapped kids, ex-mercenary exorcists, cosmic body melting and much, much more.

Right from the first scene, Skull The Mask exposes it’s directors as obsessive movie lovers. From film noir nods to Alien and Hellraiser homages, the film hops between cliches with such glorious abandon it brings to mind movies like Psycho Goreman in its imperviousness to analysis as anything more than glorious, gore-soaked grindhouse fair.

While occasionally taking itself too seriously, Skull The Mask rips through it’s 87 minute run time with an ever growing kill count and some seriously jaw dropping visuals in between some go-nowhere character development and a corrupt cop subplot that offers little payoff.

But we’re not here for character development, we’re here for the kills, and Skull The Mask offers up some great ones as Brazilian Wrestler Rubik Jr. dispatches the citizen of Sao Paolo with body slams, boomerang hatchets and flying drop kicks.

While the low budget is obvious, inventive camera work, hilarious fight scenes and a glorious abandon in it’s weirdness elevate Skull The Mask from bargain-bin slasher to a very watchable oddity. And while it’s not one of the best films on Shudder, for adventurous Horror fans it’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.

Despite a cult-like devotion to an image of safe and family friendly fun, it turns out not everything is always magical in the mouse’s kingdom.

From failing floats to alligator attacks to knife fights, Disney’s theme parks have had their share of sad, strange and surreal deaths over the past decades that add a dark shadow to an otherwise picture perfect park going experience.

Read on for a list of 13 notable Deaths At Disney from both California’s Disneyland and Walt Disney World in Florida.

Deaths At Disney: Alligator Attack! (2016)

With some very strong Florida energy for Walt Disney World, one of the most gruesome Disney Deaths occurred on June 14, 2016 when a 2-year-old boy from Nebraska was bitten and dragged into the water by an alligator at 9:15pm on the shore of the Seven Seas Lagoon.

Horrifyingly, his parents tried to save him and the boy was pulled into the water in front of their eyes. His body then surfaced the following afternoon, in the vicinity of where he went missing.

Since the incident, Disney has added warning signs and rope-barriers to waterways around the entire resort and, for a short time, references to alligators were removed from a number of attractions, including The Jungle Cruise.

However, these actions did little to help Disney shake accusations of a  cover-up, with local press alleging Disney removed nearly 100 alligators from the park in the year leading up to the incident.

Deaths At Disney: Knife Attack!  (1981)

On March 7, 1981 18-year-old Mel Yorba was fatally stabbed with a knife during a fight with a 28-year-old man after the victim supposedly attempted to pinch the man’s girlfriend in Tomorrowland.

His family sued the park for $60 million and while the family did not receive the full amount (They got $600k in the end) the jury found the park negligent for not summoning outside medical help during the assault.

Disney, forever obsessed with their image even in the face OF AN ACTUAL MURDER, sent the victim to the Hospital not in an ambulance, but a Disneyland van with a park nurse.

Deaths At Disney: The Gang Murders Someone (1987)

The second homicide in the park’s history, on March 7 1987, a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in the Disneyland parking lot after keeping it real went wrong as revellers left the park after closing.

The incident began as an early-morning shouting match between apparent rival gang members before escalating into a brawl that devolved into a shooting match in the parking lot around 1am.

About two hours after the brawl, Long Beach police and California Highway Patrol officers arrested no less than 13 Samoan youths as they drove north on the San Diego Freeway in Long Beach in a van and a Cadillac, Long Beach Police Lt. Rod Mickelson said at the time.

Keleti Naea, the shooter, contended that he thought the gun, which belonged to the victim, was a toy when he picked it off the ground and fired at Tai, but that wasn’t enough to escape being convicted of 2nd degree murder for his role in the shooting.

Deaths At Disney: America Sings (1974)

A classic among Deaths at Disney, this incident befell poor Deborah Gail Stone, a fresh faced, bubbly 18-year old employee who had just graduated from Santa Ana High School, and was, as the immortal Joe Bob Briggs would say “mashed to bits” after slipping between a revolving wall and a stationary platform inside the eternally creepy America Sings attraction.

On  July 8, 1974 she standing was in the wrong place during a ride intermission and, as the revolving platforms revolved, she was ground to a pulp between the wheels of the  attraction.. Investigators say it was unclear whether this was the result of inadequate training or an “operator error”, as the ride was brand new, having only opened about a week earlier.

In classic Disney fashion, America Sings was closed for a mere two days while crews installed simple warning lights and breakaway walls to prevent further incidents of mashing to bits.

Deaths At Disney:  The Matterhorn Decapitation (1984)

One of the grisliest Deaths at Disney was 1984’s Matterhorn incident, when 48-year-old Dolly Young from California was killed after she was thrown from a  bobsled car and was then struck by the next oncoming bobsled, crushing her and separating her head from it’s shoulders between the cars wheels and the steel track.

A later investigation had found that her seat belt was not buckled, and it remained unclear if she deliberately unfastened her belt, the seat belt had malfunctioned, or another passenger had unfastened it. Dun dun dunnn!

Deaths At Disney: Mono-doh! (1966)

Photo by Heather Maguire on Unsplash

The first of many, many Deaths at Disney’s California location was on June 8, 1966, when 19 year old Thomas Cleveland was killed while attempting to sneak into the park by climbing onto the monorail track.

Ignoring the shouted warnings of a security officer he was struck by the train and dragged nearly 50 feet down the track.

A Quote from author David Koenig’s 1994 book Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland attributed to the the security guard there at the time stated that he had to “hose the kid off the underside”.

Deaths At Disney: Killer Coral Cafe Menu (1982)

In one of the more bizarre Deaths at Disney (and the 6th death in  the history of Orlando’s park in a mere 11 years), a 2-year-old local girl from Florida died on April 6, 1982 in Walt Disney World after being crushed, by of all things … a falling menu board.

Reports says she was standing in line with her family outside the kitschy tiki-themed Coral Isle Coffee Shop (now re-branded as the Kona Cafe) when she and her 12-year-old sister were playing with a rope tied to a large menu board.

In a Rube Goldberg worth series of unfortunate events (and a great advertisement for birth control), the unattended girls pulled on the rope, freeing the sign from it’s fasteners, and the board fell on top of the toddler, crushing her.

Deaths At Disney: Oh no, Not The Bees! (1992)

In a Death worthy of Nicolas Cage himself,  an off-duty cast member fell to his death from the ledge outside the Top of The World restaurant on On November 12, 1992.

And while falls and suicides are surprisingly common Deaths at Disney, this one is a little more weird.

The strange accident began as Brian Hribek, 24, a host at the Disney hotel’s Top Of The World, was showing his roommate the view from an observation deck on the 15th floor of the hotel.

As he sat on the 4 ft high security barrier in broad daylight, a swarm of “giant wasps” began attacking him without warning. As he tried desperately to swat them away, he fell over the edge and the wasps had claimed their victory.

The victim slammed into a 4th floor landing deck of the monorail, killing him instantly and with much splattering.

Reporters on the scene were told by employees ” We noticed the wasps…They were huge, all over the place…Then a little while later, someone came in screaming, ‘Call 911!’ ”

Disney officials said they do not know where the wasps came from. A reporter who walked on the deck two hours after the accident found dozens still swarming…looking for more victims…

Deaths At Disney: Mini Golf Car Fire (2018)

A recent and still unsolved entry in our Deaths at Disney, August 18, 2018 saw a person found dead inside of a burning car near Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course at the park, shocking local residents.

Brian Christ, 49, was found dead in a burning vehicle at 4:11 a.m, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. but it was not the result of an automobile accident.

Deputies have not released details about how Christ died, but said that no foul play is suspected and detectives were not looking for any suspects. Disney remained tight lipped about the incident, and has not commented to this day about just what happened. Suspish.

Deaths At Disney: A Dream Come True Parade Crushing (2004)

Imagine dying in a mascot costume? How humiliating right? Well imagine no longer.

A tragic entry in our Deaths at Disney, Javier Cruz, 38, a father of two and an eight-year Disney veteran, was playing Pluto in the daily afternoon parade like he had countless times before.

Preparing backstage, he was shockingly killed after being run over by the Beauty and the Beast float in the “Share a Dream Come True Parade”. We’re guessing that was not his dream come true.

“We think very few guests saw it, if any,” said park spokesman Bill Warren at the time.

On the day of his death, he was dressed in character near the end of the parade line and was ready to pass through a gate into public view near Splash Mountain when the float struck him.

In a scene that’s tragic, but honestly pretty hilarious to imagine, Cruz tripped and before he had time to escape the oncoming float, was crushed to death by the giant golden princess float that loomed over him.

Floats and characters that left the backstage area before the accident continued down the parade route toward Main Street, U.S.A., Warren said, but floats and characters behind Cruz did not.

Deaths At Disney: Shotgun To The Head (1992)

While we’re not counting the spate of suicides among our “Top Deaths At Disney”, this one is just too salacious to leave out.

On September 12, 1992, 37-year-old Allan Farris entered Epcot at Orlando’s Walt Disney World after closing, yelling and demanding to see his ex-girlfriend who worked at the park.

Ferris then confronted a guard at the park who approached him, and after again demanding to see his former girlfriend, two other guards then confronted Ferris.

In a big Florida move, Farris produced a 12-gauge shotgun – with its stock cut off – from a nylon bag and went into full psycho-mode, firing three blasts at the first guard, who was miraculously unharmed.

The two other guards also ran, but after Ferris fired one shot, both stopped and were held hostage for 10 minutes in a restroom near Kodak’s Journey Into Imagination pavilion.

Given the serious nature of the event, Police deputies immediately surrounded the area, and Ferris released his hostages. He then emerged, walking around the pavilion with the gun clenched to his chest.

“Shoot me. Shoot me. You’re going to have to kill me,” Ferris yelled.

After exchanging words with deputies, he put the gun to his head and fired, evaporating his head into a cloud of red mist.

As expected, he was pronounced dead on arrival at the Orlando Regional Medical Center. Investigators attributed his actions to a recent breakup with his long-time girlfriend.

In a quote worthy of a true crime podcast, a friend said  “He was a big man . . . but he got pushed to the limit. Something just happened to set him off.”

Deaths At Disney: Killer Coaster (2003)

Howdy folks! We’re heading to the old-west for one of the most calamitous Deaths at Disney in Frontierland history , yee-haw!

On September 5, 2003, a 22-year-old man died after suffering severe blunt-force trauma and extensive internal bleeding in a derailment of the Big croller coaster that also injured ten other riders.

The derailment was the result of a mechanical failure that had occurred because of omissions during a maintenance procedure. Fasteners on the left side guide wheel on the floating axle of the locomotive were not tightened and secured in accordance with specifications.

As the train entered a tunnel, the axle came loose and jammed against a brake section, causing the locomotive to become airborne and hit the ceiling of the tunnel. The locomotive then slammed down on top of the first passenger car, crushing the victim.

Deaths At Disney: Gondola Death Drop  (1999)

One of the sadder Deaths at Disney saw 65-year-old part-time custodian Raymond Barlow killed as he was cleaning the Fantasyland Skyway station platform on February 14, 1999, when the ride was turned on by staff likely unaware he was there.

He was in the path of the ride vehicles and after beging struck by the oncoming and adorable Gondola, he grabbed a passing seat in an attempt to save himself.

Sadly, He lost his grip, fell 40 feet (12 m), and landed in a flower bed near the Dumbo ride, where he expired from his injuries.

The Skyway ride, which was already ancient and in poor repair, had been scheduled to be closed before the accident occurred, was permanently closed in November, 1999.

As a result of the accident, OSHA fined Walt Disney World a whopping US$4,500 for violating federal safety codes in that work area.

Heading Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

We’re talking that almost indescribable fusion of mistakes that add up to a glorious, grin inducing, wildly entertaining pile of pure crap.

Whether it’s wooden acting, bargain basement effects or totally nonsensical (or non-existent) plots, there is a certain magic to really great good bad movies that elevates them from the gutter to the pantheon of cult classics. And the magic that makes great “good bad movies” is that it’s never boring.. it may be cheap, confusing, infuriating or even insulting to your intelligence… but never boring. The moment you’re predictably bad, the spell is broken. A great bad movie surprises you with it’s idiocy, wows you with it’s plot holes., stuns you with it’s costume choices… in other words, it’s never what you expect.

Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller….the genre doesn’t matter to good bad movies, and since watching even the best movies can get kinda well, predictable, we’ve collected an ever-updating list of the best bad movies you can watch in 2021 and beyond.

Striptease (1996)

A titan of good bad movies and equal only to Showgirls in terms of “what the fuck kind of stripping is this?”, Striptease is bad in every way a movie can be, yet we cannot look away. C-section scars? Check. People in completely different movies yet acting in the same scene together? Oh yeah. Casual racism? Sure. Burt Reynolds in a wig? You bet.

It’s really got it all.

Bizarrely enough, Striptease was actually based on a book of the same name (which is actually pretty good) , and it’s author, Carl Hiassen, is on record as loving the movie. Go figure.

Snake Eyes (1998)

How can a Brian De Palma movie end up on this list?

Two words. Nicolas. Cage.

An absolutely unstoppable, scenery annihilating performance as a manic cop trying to stop terrorists at a prize fight, Cage obliterates any chance of the movie making much sense (why is he dressed in the same outfit as Wild At Heart?) while simultaneously making it a goddamn classic of good bad movies.

Between the wigs (so many wigs!), the totally ridiculous stunts, the “where is this guy from?” character actors galore and some honestly jaw dropping camera work there was a lot that could have gone worse for Snake Eyes, but thankfully it careened of the road of good taste, burst into flames and crashed squarely onto our list of good bad movies.

Roadhouse (1989)

Mullets. Karate. Friendship.

These are the building blocks of one of the best good bad movies of all time, Roadhouse. Starring the flowing hair of Patrick Swayze as well as actor Patrick Swayze, this cinematic classic tells he story of “cooler” Dalton, who arrives at the worst bar in town to clean it up for reasons that are, actually, pretty unclear for the entire film.

He fucks. He fights. He dispenses Confucian wisdom to slack jawed yokels between palling around with blind blues musician Jeff Healy and perennial human block of wood Sam Worthington (as the only tougher bouncer on earth). It’s glorious trash.

If you could distill Kenny Powers, Donald Trump Jr. and Mac from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia into a single person, then have that person make a movie FOR that person, you’d get Roadhouse.

Unlawful Entry (1992)

“Don’t mind me, just holding in a huge dump NBD”

The 90’s were awash in good bad movies, and no genre got more shit shovelled into it that the “Thriller”.

A strong and hilariously overwrought entry, 1992’s Unlawful Entry slides into the good bad movies list with a laundry list of classic 90’s cliches: hysterical wife, cuckolded husband, weird dancing, fax machine related drama….it’s got it all.

When a crackhead breaks into their house, yuppie couple Kurt Russel and a sleepwalking Madeline Stowe attract the attention of “why do I look like I’m about to shit constantly” Ray Liotta, a cop who’s idea of protect and serve involves serving his junk to your wife. As things go in these type of movies, his IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS creepiness is ignored until it’s too late, and mayhem ensues.

Like many good bad movies, it’s tough to pinpoint exactly why Unlawful Entry is so enjoyable, but a perfect storm of hysterically bad acting, dumb-as-fuck characters and occasionally some T&A had us howling until the end.

Demon Wind (1990)

We’d be lying to you all if we didn’t include on of the top good bad movies to emerge in the last few years: DEMON WIND.

From it’s laugh out loud intro (an old woman just says “WIND” over and over), to the Karate magicians (yep) to a completely insane conclusion, Demon Wind not only hits every target as a good bad movie, it obliterates them like an atom bomb: bad acting, bad effects, bad music…bad everything.

But we don’t want to give too much away, after all, a constant state of confusion is key to truly enjoying Demon Wind.

Showgirls (1996)

A true good bad movies classic, Showgirls asks the question “what if ‘A Star Is Born’ was written by a pervert and directed by a lunatic?”…well, you get Kyle McLaughlin delivering dialog like this:

“You got low self-esteem baby, you’re a fantastic fuck”

We won’t waste much time here, it’s a bad movie classic that everyone knows: you know it’s bad, we know it’s bad, you love it, we love it. It has everything: horrible acting, horrible hair, horrible sex scenes… and some of the most quotable lines in cinema history.

Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

Is Book of Shadows the most Nu-Metal movie ever made? It’s possible. Is it one of the worst sequels of all time? Perhaps. Is it one of the best good bad movies ever made? Absolutely.

With little relation to what made the first film a legitimate classic (no found footage or puzzle-box narratives here folks), this trash heap combines some classic “bad movie” DNA to create an abomination of cliches well worth a Saturday night watch. A paint by numbers teen horror film (with actors clearly in their early 30s) smushed into a bad haunted house scenario with a heaping helping of XTREEEEM Y2K angst (it looks like an Airwalk discount store threw up on everything), there’s not a tense moment to be found. Seriously: They show you the ending 2 minutes into the movie. It’s…bizarre to say the least.

Instead we get a nearly constant laugh-out-loud calamity that’s sure to have you chuckling from start to end. This is definitely no Halloween III.

The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

A staple of good bad movies since time began, the “unrelated sequel” is a surefire way to craft a movie that doesn’t make any goddamn sense just to cash in on name recognition.

Take a hastily made 90s b-movie teen horror, Frankensteined into a sequel of the Stephen King classic, throw it into a blender of late 90s cliches, laugh-out-loud death scenes and horrendous casting and you’ve got a shit smoothie so enjoyable that it propels Carrie 2 into the “so bad it’s good” hall of fame.

Its plot follows the younger half-sister of Carrie White, also empowered with telekinesis, who finds that her best friend’s suicide was spurred by a group of popular male classmates who exploited her for sexual gain. Lots of #metoo mayhem and bargain basement CGI ensues as Rachel offs the high school one by one with the power of her mind.

Battlefield Earth (2000)

Avatar? Jupiter Ascending? Cloud Atlas? Please, sit down… the true king of the Sci-Fi good bad movies mountain has arrived: Battlefield Earth.

After his Pulp Fiction comeback, John Travolta returned to being a laughing stock in this overblown, overlong and over budget adaptation of Scientologist guru L. Ron Hubbard’s barley readable sci-fi novel, delivering what’s often called the worst film of the last 100 years.

Set in the year 3000 the “Psyklo” master race (aliens who look like feral Kiss fans) invade Colorado (rural Quebec, but sure) with their advanced and unstoppable technology and enslave humans to…mine gold (what?). A hero is born, (yadda yadda yadda),  the caveman slaves get zapped with a brain ray and boom: they can fly spaceships. Yes, it’s that bad.

Beyond the bargain basement effects, the insane Travolta performances, Forrest Whitaker and Berry Pepper also immolate their careers on this monstrosity what makes this even more badly watchable is that director Roger Christian shoots every scene on a weird askew angle, like a fever dream. It’s awful. It’s nauseating. It’s a blast.

Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)

Possibly the sleaziest entry into the Friday The 13th slasher series, “Part V” is so trashy, so exploitative and so cheap that it lands on our list of good bad movies without much effort at all.

After 4 movies the filmmakers asked themselves “what can Part V offer?” Their answer? More nudity, and more murders than any of the previous films in the franchise—a insane 22 deaths in 90 minutes by the time the credits roll (that’s a new corpse every four minutes, nerds).

But how to fill this insane bloodshed quota? Well Part V doesn’t just stick to randy teenage victims; entire tertiary characters and subplots are introduced are introduced and dispatched just to build the body count (including an almost impossibly obnoxious redneck mother and son). Needless to say: the plot is limited to say the least.

Profane, problematic (and slightly pornographic), Part V is also unbelievably entertaining: reports say the actors were never told it was to be a Friday the 13th until after they were on set, leaving some hilariously tone-deaf performances intact.

Straight outta Austin, TX comes the latest Shudder exclusive Horror movie to drop this year, the meta-horror comedy ‘Scare Package’. With a concept from writer Cameron Burns and director Aaron B. Koontz, and a host of other indie film Directors, this 7-ish part anthology touches on classic tropes of our favourite film genre from the VHS era with a lighthearted touch that will no-doubt entertain die-hard fans, but may leave casual viewers underwhelmed with too many unfunny and confusing moments in it’s frenetic free for all of ghosts, ghouls and gore.

Like all anthologies, you need a framing story, and in ‘Scare Package’ it comes in the form of a day at Rad Chad’s Horror Emporium, a sprawling Texas video store lorded over by the titular Chad (Jeremy King), a hyperactive hybrid of Guy Fieri and Joe Bob Briggs who’s new hire Hawn needs a crash course in Horror cliches to handle their obsessive clientele. As Chad rattles off the tropes of horror on a tour of the store, we hop into each Director’s segments, with unfortunately mixed results.

Early segments like “One Time In The Woods” from director Chris McInroy, an uproariously goofy spin on the “melt movie” had us in stitches, and Emily Hagins “Cold Open”, who’s Jon Michael Simpson bookends the movie with a wide-eyed turn as hapless horror villain “Mike Meyers”, landed a lot of laughs with a light touch.

Other segments like the Werewolf support group story “M.I.S.T.,E.R.” and the underwhelming “Girls’ Night Out Of Body” land with a thud at best, with themes that have been done better than in ‘Scare Package’. The remaining segments, including a far-too-long conclusion to the framing story, and the completely baffling Kung-Fu VR battle / ‘Get Out’ possession story “So Much To Do” are only saved by a hail-Mary horror-host cameo so glorious we can’t in good conscience spoil it for you.

With a slow trickle of Horror films in the summer months on Shudder, ‘Scare Package’ offers enough laughs and gore to keep Horror movie fans from switching channels, but sadly it’s inconsistent tone and uneven direction keep this from being a classic in the vein of Tales From The Darkside, Creepshow or VHS. If you’re a dedicated drive-in mutant, we’d say “Check it out”, but for us this is a one time rental.

‘Scare Package’ is streaming now on Shudder.

With another certified Screamish list of course! 

Whether you are new to Shudder or lost in a sea of selections, we’ve chosen a weekend’s worth of classics and modern gems to get the most out of your subscription.

Don’t have Shudder yet? Fear not: we have you covered!

Sign up using code ‘SCREAMISH’ for 30 FREE days.

BLOOD MACHINES 

From the minds of Synthwave icon Carpenter Brut (Franck Huesco) and Director duo Seth Ickerman, the hyperkinetic, hallucinatory ‘Blood Machines’ stormed 2019’s festival circuit before landing exclusively on Shudder. In it, a rogue A.I. escapes a coven of cosmic witches with a pair of grizzled space pirates in hot pursuit. A non-stop, 55 minute Sci-Fi / Horror space opera, you won’t see something this jaw-dropping anywhere else.  

Revenge 

A stylish and bloody rape-revenge thriller from first-time director Coralie Fargeat, ‘Revenge’ turns a contentious subgenre upside down and delivers one of the best Horror movies on Shudder. Free-spirit Jen is enjoying a romantic getaway with her wealthy boyfriend until his two sleazy friends arrive for an unannounced hunting trip. When they cross the line and end up leaving her for dead, a brutal, unrelenting battle begins to escape her attackers and the scorching desert alike. 

Demons

Nothing hits quite like a classic of Italian 80s Horror, and our love for ‘Demons’ is well known. Easily one of the best horror movies on Shudder, there’s a lot to love about Lamberto Bava’s 1985 classic, from it’s tongue-in-cheek ‘movie within a movie’ plot to it’s mountains of goofy gore, to an EPIC cocaine fueled hair metal soundtrack. But what we love most about Demons is that it never stops being a total fucking blast from start to end. 

Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon

Turning the slasher genre inside out, Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon is a mockumentary love letter to every 80s masked murderer and sleepaway camp schlockfest, creating a wonderful ‘what if’ world of real-life movie monsters that’s well made, wildly entertaining and actually sort of sweet…in it’s own co-ed murdering, head splattering kind of way. Seen through the lens of a community college film crew, Leslie’s awkward attempts to rise the ranks of slasher-dom will have horror fanatics and casual fans equally entertained with a mix of genre in-jokes and star Nathan Baesel’s wide-eyed, goofy excitement at finding his ‘Final Girl’. 

The Last Drive In: Season 2 

We are Drive-In mutants! We are not like other people! The legend himself Joe Bob Briggs (and Darcy The Mail Girl, of course) returns to Shudder with the best in Blood, Breasts and Beasts for another season of The Last Drive-In. With a hand-picked line-up of the best horror movies on Shudder, PLUS interviews with genre legends and Darcy’s fant-ass-tic Cosplay, we could never choose just one episode, so just watch em all! Joe Bob Says “Check It Out!” 

Luz

Luz hides in a police station from Nora, who is possessed by a demonic entity, longing for the woman it loves. Nora tells a story about Luz’s rebellious past at a Chilean school for girls to a doctor, now easy prey for the entity, who stalks her across town. Spare and sharp, LUZ is a stunning debut feature from Director Tilman Singer, creating a new style of possession story built on intricate sound design and explosive performances in place of jump scares.  A must see for fans of slow burning Horror like Hereditary or Suspiria. (Read our full review for more!)

Elvira Mistress of the Dark

With such big…history, Elvira remains one of the most beloved icons in Horror, and her 1980’s madcap comedy ‘Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark’ still holds up as a tongue-in-cheek groan fest sure to make you smile. Our horror-movie hostess turns a puritanical community on its ear when she arrives in town to claim her inheritance and once the stuffy locals get an eyeful of the scream queen’s ample assets, all hell busts out & breaks loose.

Editor’s Note: this list has been updated as of June 11th 2020!

Dead Heat

Two cops stop at nothing to catch paranormal bad guys in this messy but oh-so fun 80’s horror comedy. After two detectives discover a secretive corporation are using zombies to carry out crimes (and one of said detectives is turned into a zombie himself) the clock races to solve this murder case before his own body decays! DEAD HEAT’s bizarre combo of gore, humour and 80s slapstick action make for one of the best selections on Shudder. Did we mention the “star” studded cast? Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo and Vincent Price all take turns chewing the scenery in this schlocky romp that anyone can enjoy.  

BLACULA 

One of the best movies on Shudder AND one of the best Blaxploitation flicks of all time? Sign us up! Blacula is a 70’s horror classic often overlooked. In it, 18th century African Prince Mamuwalde (the iconic William Marshall) visits Count Dracula in Transylvania to seek his support in ending the slave trade. Instead that damn honky count curses his guest and transforms him into a vampire! Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin to wreak havoc, stay funky and seek out human blood in 1970s Los Angeles.

Sugar Hill

When a New Orleans nightclub owner gets murdered by the mob, his girlfriend Diana “Sugar” Hill calls upon a voodoo high priest Baron Samedi to summon the undead to carry out her plan for revenge! This stylish, smart yet hilarious horror flick has something for genre lovers of all types.

TROMA’S WAR 

When a group of Americans crash onto a Carribean island, they didn’t expect it to be infested with scummy terrorists and pig faced mutants preparing for a full out war on America with biological weapons! One of Troma’s most unfairly ignored romps, this balls-out, tongue in cheek parody of Stallone, Chuck Norris and Charles Bronson’s nonsensical VHS blast-a-thons doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it does provide a lot of laughs, some of the funniest kills on Shudder and some unforgettable 80s haircuts!

Knife + Heart

Paris, Summer 1979. Anne produces an underground gay porn film. When one of the actors is brutally murdered, Anne is caught up in a surreal investigation that turns her entire life upside down. This stylish ode to 70s era De Palma, Argento and Friedkin, shot on 35mm features a score from M83 and is not to be missed! We could talk all night about it…but Read Our Full Review For More!

A TALE OF TWO SISTERS

Things take a turn for the absolute worst after two sisters are reunited in this classic Korean horror now available on Shudder! When Suomi and Su-yeon return to live at their country home, the girls’ father has remarried and strange events soon lead to dark revelations. This dark and dreary horror classic is a perfect fit for anyone who enjoys “feel bad” movies (we sure as hell do) as well the stylish settings and absurd humour make for an engrossing and unique take on the genre. 

Editor’s Note: this list has been updated as of June 2020!

Who doesn’t love a good demonic possession? From the iconic pea-soup spewing Linda Blair in ‘The Exorcist‘ to the more metaphysical nightmare of ‘Twin Peaks’ ancient evils controlling you in secret, the genre of Horror is chalk full with tales of demons, ghosts and even evil computers possessing our bodies and wreaking havoc outside our control. With so many examples to choose from, and so many classics in the history of movies, we’ve still managed to narrow it down to 8 great examples and have hand-picked our best possessions in Horror for you to enjoy. Dive into the list below and let us know what YOUR favourite is on our Instagram!

• DON’T DELIVER US FROM EVIL
• POSSESSION
• THE WAILING
• THE EVIL DEAD
• EXCORCIST III
• REC
• THE POSSESSION

From director Albert Shin, ‘Disappearance at Clifton Hill‘ is equally calculated and confident, with a certain cold charm in its execution, burning ever so slowly, drawing you in, until a hallucinatory conclusion changes everything. With fantastic performances from the leads, an impenetrable Tuppence Middleton as Abby and an implacably odd David Cronenberg as a local conspiracy nut that’s half Evil Kinevil and half Art Bell, the strangely specific personalities of small town Ontario add a layer of almost “David Lynch lite” to everything, an off-putting anxiousness to every interaction Abby has in her investigation. Canadians, being ever so polite, don’t seem to appreciate appreciate an outsider asking questions. At first relishing the familiar mystery tropes of retro-diner document drops, staticky VHS tapes and her very own ‘yarn wall’, Abby’s initial glee in stirring up trouble quickly turns to fear when things turn very real, very quickly as she steps on the toes of the local land development baron, a pair of tiger owning French magicians, and her own estranged family.

‘Disappearance at Clifton Hill‘ is propelled not only by it’s perfectly cast characters (especially the mysterious Podcaster played by Cronenberg and unforgettable supporting roles Marie-Josée Croze as a chain smoking Quebecois magician and Elizabeth Saunders as a tiger taming, white trash gambler) and well paced screenplay co-written by Shin and James Schultz but also by a discordant, hypnotic score by Alex Sowinski and Leland Whitty of Canadian band BADBADNOTGOOD and naturalistic but suitably ‘Modern Noir’ cinematography from Catherine Lutes that pairs the lurid red lights from facade of Niagara Falls presented to tourists with the drab, damp reality of a seasonal small town that time is passing by.

Like any good crime story, ‘Disappearance At Clifton Hill‘ lets out a little of its mystery at a time, almost totally bereft of any ‘action’ in the traditional sense, and with an unreliable narrator to boot, until the tension is nearly unbearable. And it’s in this quiet, more believably sinister telling of its tale that the film displays it’s unique, and uniquely Canadian take on the classic potboiler, leaving its audience to ask as many questions as the story answers.

‘Disappearance At Clifton Hill‘ is out now on Amazon Prime VOD. Watch the trailer below for a taste.

As a formerly British colony, Hong Kong’s Category III Horror movies enjoyed the artistic freedoms of the west, the monied influence of European art house auteurs and the captive, ravenous audiences for grindhouse fare that only Asia can produce. Combined, these unique factors led to some of the most outrageous, inventive and downright disgusting exploitation films of the last century like the infamous soft core Horror ‘Erotic Ghost Story‘ or the 1996 champion of poor taste, ‘Ebola Syndrome‘.

While China never officially cracked down on expression in the Hong Kong colony, the golden age of Category III Horror is seen to have lasted between 1988 and 1997 before cautious filmmakers had fled, retired or hung up their gross-out gloves to avoid a boxing match with Chinese censors. If you’ve never experienced the world of Hong Kong’s Category III films then buckle up, we’ve picked 5 killer Category III Horror Movies from Hong Kong to get you started.

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)

One of the granddaddies of all Category III Horror cult hits, “Riki Oh: The Story Of Ricky” follows our “Hero”, Ricky, incarcerated for assault and manslaughter in a futuristic prison who survives by resorting to more extreme violence against whomever gets in his way. Considered to be one of, if not the most violent movies of all time, The Story of Ricky is non stop slaughterthon without any consideration of continuity, believability or good taste. The only time you can catch your breath from laughing is to pick your jaw up from the floor. Highly recommended.

Watch ‘Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky” on VOD

Also, any movie that gives us this classic GIF must be seen.

Dr. Lamb (1992)

Another well known Category III Horror film, “Dr. Lamb” (1992) follows an abnormal taxi driver who lusts for blood every time it rains, leading to several young women being horrifically killed as a grizzled detective hunts him down. Based on a real case from Hong Kong, this police procedural jumps between almost slapstick comedy and downright brutal violence in a way that only this genre can. Incredibly hard to find in an uncut version, this one is begging for a Vinegar Syndrome or Arrow re-release!

The Blue Jean Monster (1991)

A cop comes back from the dead to avenge his own murder all while his body is decomposing and his marriage is on the rocks.  One part Robocop, one part Dead Heat, all weird, ‘The Blue Jean Monster‘ is a classic slice of 1990s Hong Kong Horror Movie madness, and has been long been a favourite of Category III Horror film fans. Having earned itself quite a reputation over the years as a truly bizarre bad taste mixture of police thriller, gory horror, slapstick comedy and domestic drama, this is an awesome intro to the surreal world of 90s Hong Kong cinema. Another very hard to find film, there was an excellent ‘Legendary Edition’ DVD of ‘The Blue Jeans Monster’ released a decade back, but it’s sadly out of print.

The Untold Story: Human Meat Roast Pork Buns (1993)

One of Hong Kong’s most notorious Category III Horror films ever made, The Untold Story: Human Meat Roast Pork Buns (what a title!) features everything that makes extreme HK cinema so unique: brutality, seriously dark comedy and insane energy that spills off the screen in every scenery chewing performance. Reportedly a true story, the film follows a down on his luck gambler who’s secret recipe for Pork Buns has bodies washing up in Kowloon bay and the police at his door. Sweeping the Hong Kong film awards on release, this one’s considered to be not only the best Category III Horror film, but one of the best Hong Kong made films of all time.

Watch ‘The Untold Story’ on Streaming / VOD

Men Behind The Sun (1988)

From the depths of Kong Kong’s Category III Horror film history comes Men Behind The Sun (Hei Tai Yang 731), a “holy shit this actually happened” account of one of history’s most brutal and sadistic war crimes, the story of Unit 731, brought to the screen in 1988 by director T.F. Mous. Covered in our ‘most disturbing films of all time‘ list, this one lives up to its reputation as one of the most violent, stomach churning and realistic depictions of WW2’s brutality and also on of Hong Kong’s most epic, over the top gore-fests ever put to film.

Watch ‘Men Behind The Sun’ on Streaming now.

28 Days Later (2002)

One of the heaviest hitters of any Horror film, ’28 Days Later’ is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror movie directed by Danny Boyle. Depicting the breakdown of society following the release of a highly contagious virus, it focuses upon the struggle of four survivors to cope with the destruction of the life they once knew and became a massive hit, credited with reinvigorating the zombie genre of horror fiction.

Watch ’28 Days Later’ On Streaming/ VOD

Deranged (2012)

‘Deranged‘ is an inventive 2012 South Korean science fiction / horror mystery film directed by Park Jung-woo. Former doctor Jae-hyuk tries to find a cure after his wife and children come down with a mysterious infection that causes people to spontaneously drown themselves. As the bodies pile up and chaos reigns, a conspiracy surrounding the cure marries the medical thriller and horror genres together for a supremely satisfying watch.

Watch ‘Deranged’ On VOD

The Crazies (2010)

The Crazies is a 2010 remake of the 1973 Horror film of the same name by George A. Romero, who also produced. The surprisingly good reboot lands in the fictional town of Ogden Marsh …the “friendliest place on Earth”…..whose town water supply is accidentally infected with the “Trixie” virus. After an incubation period of 48 hours, this virus gradually transforms the mental state of the infected into that of cold, calculating, depraved, bloodthirsty killers …and all hell gloriously breaks loose.

Watch ‘The Crazies’ on Streaming/VOD

REC (2007)

REC is a 2007 Spanish horror movie, co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, and the first in a 4 part series. One of the few great “found footage” flicks, REC sees TV host Angela and her cinematographer following fire services on a call to an apartment building for a normally mundane newscast. But once Spanish police seal off the building after an old woman is infected by a virus which gives her inhuman strength, things really get gruesome.

Watch ‘REC’ on VOD

Pontypool (2008)

Ultra low-budget 2008 Canadian horror movie ‘Pontypool’ is a strange one. Directed by Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo) and adapted from Tony Burgess’ novel Pontypool Changes Everything, it stars ‘Come to Daddy”s Stephen McHattie as Grant Mazzy, a DJ who barricades himself in the booth of a local radio station and tries to figure out a way to warn his now bloodthirsty listeners about a new deadly virus and its unlikely mode of transmission: the English language.

Watch ‘Pontypool’ on Streaming / VOD

Infection (2004)

A rare 2004 Japanese horror movie, ‘Infection‘ (Kansen) is directed by ‘Tales of the Unusual”s Masayuki Ochiai, where in a run-down hospital a doctor’s mistake unwittingly creates dark consequences for all. After being ignored for far too long, a patient with an unknown disease is being kept in isolation and though he is still alive, his body mass is liquefying into green goo. As the staff battle the secretive head surgeon to find the cause, things spiral into surreal madness and it’s everyone for themselves as the infection spreads.

Buy ‘Infection (Kansen)’ on DVD

The Omega Man (1971)

The Omega Man is possibly the funniest, funkiest Zombie / Horror movie ever and an absolutely awesome watch. Charlton Heston plays a doctor / scientist / soldier / baddest motherfucker left alive after a bio-engineered plague wipes out the world and must defend his home from a cult of murderous survivors known only as “the family”. One of the 70’s most classic b-movies and by far the best ‘I Am Legend’ adaptation of the three, it’s got it all: Guns, Gore, the awesome outfits of Rosalind Cash, Heston in a nazi costume (?!), some sweet 70s boobs and great cinematography of an abandoned Hollywood.

Watch ‘The Omega Man’ on VOD

Ebola Syndrome (1996)

The goofy, gruesome and totally over the top  ‘Ebola Syndrome’ is a bloody Category III sleazefest from Hong Kong director Herman Yau and has earned its considerable reputation among gorehounds and Asian horror cultists as among the most cringe-inducing films of its kind. A serial rapist and killer contracts Ebola on the run in Africa and after some mild cannibalism and necrophilia returns to Hong Kong to spread terror on a virus fuels killing spree in this anything but feel good feature packed with off-colour racism, needless brutality and bizarre acting.

Watch ‘Ebola Syndrome’ on YouTube

1.) Unfriended (2014)

Unfriended kicks off the “inside-the-computer” style of techno-horror when it unfolds over a teenager’s laptop screen (including Skype, YouTube, LiveLeak and other actual websites), where she and her friends are gruesomely dispatched in the group chat by an unknown entity who’s out for vengeance. Endlessly re-watchable exploitation film fun, Unfriended is hardly high-brow but delivers equal parts gore and guffaws as it’s Swiss-cheese plot careens from screen to screen.

2.) Evilspeak (1981)

in ‘Evilspeak‘ Iconic weirdo Clint Howard plays a tormented military-school nerd (apparently in his mid-thirties!) whose fascination with the occult leads him to feed an arcane tome into his personal computer, translating the writings into actual working spells he uses to exact sweet revenge against his cruel classmates and teachers. Before long, he is able to summon an army of snarling devil-pigs to do his evil bidding and everything goes to hell, literally. An incredibly early techno-horror flick, this one is essentially a gender-bent rip-off of Carrie, but the goofy 80s graphics, hair-metal motifs and a genuinely hilarious turn by Clint Horward make Evilspeak one of the better old-school killer computer movies.

3.) Brainscan (1994)

A pre-rehab Edward Furlong helms this amazingly 90s take on techno-horror where the evil half-goblin half-chicken (?) ‘Trickster’ emerges from the totally radical CD-ROM game ‘Brainscan‘ and forces players to commit mayhem and murder in the real world. Half ‘Lawnmower Man’ half ‘Nightmare on Elm Street” Brainscan holds a special place in our guilty pleasures, as the wildly dated graphics, music and ideas of what constitutes stalking make it a time capsule of grunge goodness.

4.) Demon Seed (1977)

In 70’s techno-horror classic ‘Demon Seed‘ a brilliant scientist’s marriage is strained by his devotion to his latest projection, the creation of an AI supercomputer (has this even been a good idea?). When this tension drives the scientist to move out, the computer, naturally, goes totally fucking nuts. It takes over the house, imprisoning and impregnating the scientist’s wife with a giant polygonal robot tentacle…penis, growing a monstrous mutant baby in the basement before it tries to take over the world. When it comes to ‘Demon Seed’, weird is an understatement.

5.) Pulse (Kairo) (2001)

A sinister spine-tingling techno-horror from Japan whose artistry lies in the power of suggestion rather than a barrage of blood and guts or digital special effects, 2001’s Pulse (Kairo) slipped under the radar in North America during it’s release before an unfortunate American remake buried the superior original in the wake of bigger hits like ‘The Ring’ and ‘The Grudge’. In the film, a website which at first appears to be merely a scary hoax with an irresistible marketing ploy, turns out to be run by a sinister and deadly force. As people repeatedly tap into the site’s frightening images of the dead, the supernatural force begins destroying their lives.

6.) Chopping Mall (1987)

One of our all time 80’s B-movie favourites, ‘Chopping Mall‘ sees group of teenagers (including the incomparable Barbara Crampton!) fighting for their lives overnight against renegade robots programmed to patrol a high-end shopping mall. Completely bonkers, ‘Chopping Mall’ puts everything great (and no so great) about the 80s in one high-energy, logic-free techno-horror blender for a side-splitting midnight movie.

7.) Ghost In The Machine (1993)

in 1993’s ‘Ghost In The Machine’, computer nerd / serial killer Karl is undergoing a CAT scan at the hospital when a surge of lightning courses through the building and Karl’s soul is transformed into electrical energy, freeing him to continue his killing spree by using the power of electricity itself. In this techno-horror rip-off of ‘Lawnmower Man’, Karl offs his victims in increasingly hilarious and unexplainable ways including a flame-throwing hair dryer and an unforgettable ‘final-destination’ style microwave murder all while deliciously dated “VR” graphics swirl across the screen.

8.) Virus (1999)

John Bruno, special effects supervisor on Terminator 2 tried to reinvent the haunted house sub-genre with a techno-horror twist in his directorial debut with 1999’s ‘VIRUS‘, much as Ridley Scott did in Alien, but sadly missed the mark. However ‘VIRUS’ still holds it’s own for sheer gross-out, practical effect insanity, as Jaime Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland and a Baldwin battle mutant robot-human hybrids infected with an alien computer virus on-board a sinking ship. It’s a lot to digest but well worth a weekend watch when you want to see gears, guts and gore galore.

Mysteriously appearing in our social feeds, the new throwback indie game “WORLD OF HORROR” is described as “..a love letter to the cosmic horror work of Junji Ito (伊藤 潤二) and the 1-bit aesthetics of early Macintosh computers”. Players are armed with clues, spells….and dwindling sanity as they investigate mysteries all over the city and in the realms beyond. While Horror games are nothing new, it’s refreshing to see something beyond another Resident Evil or yet another movie tie-in that emphasizes imagery and atmosphere over action, and the inspiration of Ito’s iconic artwork, one of our personal favourites, gives ‘WORLD OF HORROR‘ a timeless and terrifying edge we can’t wait to dive into.

Junji Ito is often called the “David Cronenberg” of Japanese comics, an author who has changed how Japan viewed ‘Manga’ forever. His uniquely macabre imagination has scarred readers for over three decades with a blend of body warping afflictions, surreal spiritualism and crawling cosmic horrors. With the works of Kazuo Umezu, Hideshi Hino, and H.P. Lovecraft among his inspirations, Ito has crafted a unique style that is hard to mistake for anyone else’s and ‘WORLD OF HORROR‘ is almost guaranteed to get under your skin.

Watch the trailer below and check out a few screen shots to get a better feel of the Junji Ito inspired vibes throughout. A WORLD OF HORROR demo is available for both Mac/PC (don’t worry, there’s not much horsepower needed for this one) and the full version is a scant $15 USD. Check it!

VFW (Fangoria Studios)

In ‘VFW’, the gloriously sour Fred (Stephen Lang) and his cadre of iconic character actor cronies (including William Sadler, Fred Williamson, Martin Kove and David Patrick Kelly) spend their days, and nights, drinking in a run down VFW hall and telling tall tales of their times in Vietnam to whoever’s unlucky enough to listen. When runaway teenager Lizard (Sierra McCormick) seeks refuge from the enraged owners of a half-million dollars worth of Hyper, a deadly new drug she has stolen, the vets must prepare for one last stand against an army of angry mutants out to get it back. One part zombie standoff, one part old-army-buddies fight back with some ‘Escape From New York’ punk-apocalypse thrown in for good measure, ‘VFW’ absolutely revels in it’s riotous levels of gore; gallons of blood burst forth as the vets improvised weapons turn the gutter punks into dog food and the violence so quickly escalates into absurdity that it’s hard not to grin as angle-grinders and flagpoles dispatch the horde of Hyper addicts who swarm the heroes.

VFW (Fangoria Studios)

Begos evokes a grind-house feel to cinematographer Mike Testin’s muted, murky images which keep the claustrophobia front and centre, while the performances from the heroes and villains alike are outlandish, scenery-chewing fun that effortlessly bounce off each other with the feel of a lifelong friendship or appropriately moustache-twirling menace. Long time collaborator Steve Moore delivers a suitably scuzzy, minimal score which only adds to the efficiency of the film and further anchors it in loving 80’s era aesthetics. In fact there’s very little VFW falls short on, and whatever minor technical hiccups or clunky line-readings made it to the final cut are whisked away in a whirlwind of head-splitting violence in a matter of seconds. This film moves fast and fearlessly towards it’s inevitable conclusion and while we can see it coming a mile away, anticipation never makes a roller coaster less surprising.

Refreshingly simple and effective with no sequel-bait in sight, ‘VFW’ lands with a serious impact and marks both ‘Begos and the reinvigorated Fangoria brand as the new standard in indie horror. Check the trailer below and catch it on VOD now!

1.) Street Trash (1987)

An absolute legend of goopy, gory and grin-inducing ‘Melt Movie’ madness, 1987’s Street Trash was James. M Muro’s only directorial credit (under J. Michael Muro) before he went on to work as a director photography and cinematographer for some of Hollywood’s biggest films (Crash, The Abyss, and countless others). In the film, NYC hobos begin melting into psychedelic goo after drinking 60 year old liquor, while the psychotic Vietnam vet who rules their junkyard begins killing at random. Packed full of technicolour splatter, ridiculous performances, gross out humour and some inventive, high-energy camera work, Street Trash remains an underground classic from a one time director that you’ve got to see to believe.

2.) Phase IV (1974)

Saul Bass might be the single most accomplished graphic designer in history, but many forget he was a one time director as well. Working in the mid 20th century, when the importance of graphic design was just on the upswing, Bass branded a staggering array of major corporations with his iconic, minimal designs as well as creating some of Hollywood’s most memorable title sequences for films like Psycho, Vertigo and even Goodfellas. But with all this accomplished, the strange, surreal monster movie Phase IV, remains Bass’ only directorial credit.

In Phase IV, Arizona ants overrule the food chain on their way to a desert lab, hoping to kill two scientists and a woman who discovered them in this ultra-rare, ultra-weird bug-out creature feature packed full of stunning microphotography. Upon its initial theatrical release, the film had mixed reviews which likely led Bass to hand up his hat and become a one time director, however in time it’s gained a cult following for it’s ecological-disaster messaged and surreal look and feel. Writer/director Panos Cosmatos has said Phase IV was a very significant influence on the look and feel of his science fiction film Beyond the Black Rainbow,

3.) Man Bites Dog (1992)

Rémy Belvaux, the Belgian actor-writer-producer and one time director, never made a follow-up to his 1992 début film. But since that first feature was Man Bites Dog, a black comedy that became an underground cult classic, his notoriety was guaranteed. For all the film’s brutality, it was clearly the work of someone with a mischievous attitude, and It was in the same spirit of mischief that Belvaux hurled a custard pie at Microsoft’s Bill Gates in Brussels, the 1998 incident leading to his arrest and making news worldwide.

In Man Bites Dog, the mockumentary follows activities of rampaging, indiscriminate serial killer Ben which are recorded by a willingly complicit documentary team, who, eventually become his accomplices. The film generated controversy wherever it was shown: The director of the Tokyo Film Festival was fired for booking the film, which was then banned in Japan, It was screened in heavily edited versions in the US and Australia (though it did win awards at TIFF) and in France, the advertising standards authorities demanded the be altered from its blood splattered original. With all the furor you’d imagine Belvaux would ride the hype train to Hollywood, but it was not meant to be. Shortly after Belvaux effectively retreated from cinema, with the exception of the occasional low-key acting job, until moving into a role at French advertising agency Quad Productions where his commercials for the agency won him a number of awards before his death in 2006 from an advanced case of suicide.

4.) Angst

Werner Kniesek from Salzburg, Austria killed three people out of pure, psychotic lust in 1980, a case that rocked the country and became the basis one time director Gerald Kargl‘s only full-length feature “ANGST“. Having made experimental shorts in the 1970’s, Kargl became fascinated with the psychology of serial killers and the Kniesek case in particular, putting himself into nearly half a million euros in debt to make his feature film, which says ruined him for years to come. “ANGST was my first fulltime feature. After this – which I produced completely on my own – I was happy to direct a lot of commercials. Finally I was able to pay back all the money I lost.”, he said in a rare interview.

In ANGST, A killer is released from prison and breaks into a remote home to kill a woman, her handicapped son and her daughter. ANGST was exceptional at the time in Austrian cinema for two reasons: it is both a “true crime” semi-documentary (one of the only true-crime films made at the time), and a highly stylized ‘slasher film’ in the tone of the classic Italian ‘Giallo‘ tradition. With wild, inventive camerawork from cinematographer Zbigniew Rybczynsk, and eerie score from Tangerine Dream’s own Klaus Schulze, Angst remains one of the most brutal, and brutally effective, slashers of all time.

5.) Maximum Overdrive

With over 30 Films and TV Shows based on his books, it was inevitable that Horror legend Stephen King would take up the Director’s chair, and in 1986 he did just that, Directing and Writing his only feature film, the bizarre, hilarious “Moron Movie” (his words) entitled MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE. Based on his own short story “Trucks”, this comedic tale of cosmic horror sees a rogue comet bringing the world’s machines to malevolent life as it passes a bit too close to earth, leading the one and only Emelio Estevez to fight back for survival. The film was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Director for King and Worst Actor for Estevez in 1987,…but both lost against Prince for Under the Cherry Moon. Yikes! While the film was intentionally campy, it was a commercial disaster and King had no desire to go back behind the camera. In a 2002 interview with Tony Magistrale for the book Hollywood’s Stephen King, King stated that he was “coked out of my mind all through its production, and I really didn’t know what the fuck I was doing”.

6.) Death Bed

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats is a surreal 1977 Horror Film written, produced, and directed by one time director George Barry. A passion project of Barry, who grew up in the same neighbourhood as Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, Death Bed sat unreleased for decades and was almost completely lost to history, while Raimi and company crafted The Evil Dead and became cult icons.

Following the film’s completion in 1977, Barry sought a theatrical release to recoup his $30,000 budget, but failed to find a willing distributor. Barry received an offer from an LA distributor to release the film on VHS in the UK and offered to pay Barry $1000 for a VHS release if he could supply them with a print of the film, complete with credits. Barry, unable to afford the $3,000 that credits would have cost to create, declined, and the print was sent back to him. Despite his knowledge, Portland, an obscure British label, released a pirated VHS of the film from this early print in the UK, without Barry’s knowledge, with the film eventually receiving further VHS releases in Australia, New Zealand and Spain. 

Despite its pirated VHS releases outside of the US and notoriety as one of “the worst movies ever made”, Barry (quietly operating a bookstore in his hometown for 40-odd years) remained unaware that the film had received any sort of release until 2001, when he discovered a forum post about the film by French film journalist Jean-Claude Michel on the website “Scarlet Street”, leading to interviews by journalist Daniel Craddock, who had written a review of the film, and, in turn, author Stephen Thrower, for his book Nightmare USA. As a result of this new found exposure, the film received its first two official releases, with a theatrical showing at the San Francisco Indiefest on February 15, 2003, and DVD release Cult Epics the same year, where Barry, after 26 years was finally able to complete the credits for his only film.