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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

1.) MISERY – (1990)

In ‘Misery‘, The iconic Kathy Bates steals Stephen King’s story of a famous author rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels. He comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.

2.) THE LAST HORROR FILM – (1981)

A New York taxi driver stalks a beautiful actress attending the Cannes Film Festival as a series of violent killings claim the lady’s friends, in “The Last Horror Film” this rare 1980’s b-movie from director david winters

3.) DER FAN (THE FAN) – (1982)

In 1982’s ‘Der Fan’ (The Fan) a young girl worships a german pop singer named ‘R’…who, after spurning her advances, becomes the target of her obsession in this rare, and totally mental, explotation gem.

4.) PLAY MISTY FOR ME – (1971)

In this classic 1971 proto-stalker thriller, The life of a disc jockey (Clint Eastwood) is turned upside down after a romantic encounter with an over-the-top fan, played by, you guessed it, Arrested Development’s Jessica Walter putting on an unhinged masterclass of obsession.

5.) SWIMFAN – (2002)

Another Y2K teen stalker classic, ‘Swimfan’ (2002) follows A high school senior with a promising swimming career when his one-night stand causes deadly consequences. We’ll file this one under “guilty pleasures” next to FEAR and Final Destination.