Halloween Horror Movie Guide, Pt. 2: Almost Great
Not every modern horror film is a masterpiece — Part one covered those. These are the films that will likely never be considered classics, but are quite enjoyable and well worth your time.
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
This isn’t quite a horror film. Until it is. Then it really, really is. Kurt Russell leads a surprisingly recognizable cast for a movie that I’d never heard of.
When the doctor and deputy sheriff of an old west town are kidnapped by cannibalistic troglodytes, the sheriff and the doctor’s husband feel compelled to go rescue them. Accompanied by an arrogant gunslinger and the backup deputy sheriff (the assistant to the regional manager of sheriffs), they make the days-long trek to the lair where the hostages are being held.
Most of the film is a slow-burn by horror film standards, but it’s a really good adventure movie in which the characters have a true motivation and encounter real adversity. It all builds to an epic conclusion which is well worth the wait.
8.5/10
The Babysitter (2017)
Streaming: Netflix
This movie probably won’t scare you unless you’re the age of the child whose babysitter turns murderous satanic cult leader, but it will make you laugh unless you’re the age of the parents who leave their child with a murderous satanic cult leader.
Unlike Housebound, this one skews all the way toward comedy in the horror/comedy genre, but the horror elements are still there. It’s a fun, bloody home invasion/coming of age parody that’s original and funny enough to tread its own path.
The idea of this film is not to be realistic. None of the events are remotely believable, but the surreal nature evokes a bad dream a kid might have while his parents are away. It’s literally never boring; grab a beer and enjoy.
8.5/10
Stake Land (2010)
Streaming: Netflix
This is really a zombie movie masquerading as a vampire movie, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a welcome change of pace from the tired zombie genre.
One of the last “hunters” who goes by the name Mister trains his protégé Martin as they travel from the post-apocalyptic South up to Canada to find New Eden, the last vampire-free haven.
Aside from some logical issues overlooked (where are they getting gasoline???), this is a great, fast-paced adventure. While it can be said that some of the other films on this list are slow-burns, that absolutely cannot be said about Stake Land. The pace is blistering and never gives up. While it’s not necessarily “scary,” it is indiscriminately gruesome and rarely adheres to horror movie tropes.
8.4/10
From Dusk till Dawn (1996)
Streaming: Netflix
This is really a two-part film. The first part follows two murderous, bank-robbing brothers (George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino) in their attempts to flee to the Mexican border. In their efforts, they kidnap a family, and commandeer their RV.
The second part is the situation in which the brothers and their abducted family find themselves when they reach their rendezvous point — a Mexican biker bar that’s only open from dusk till dawn. The reason for the strange, floating hours of the establishment becomes apparent when the proprietors and some of the patrons reveal that they aren’t exactly what they seem.
8.2/10
The Houses October Built (2014)
Streaming: Netflix
A group of friends travel in an RV through the South looking for the scariest haunted houses (or “haunts” as they call them). They bore of the standard fare and begin to look for underground “extreme haunts.” They find themselves in a world of anonymous crazies who take scaring people very seriously, and neither the audience nor the characters know if it’s for real.
The cinematography style is handheld cam, but it’s a worthy entry in the found-footage genre and not nearly as distracting as most. It actually provides a sense of believability to the story and is used to disconcerting effect for several scenes. The acting and dialogue are also surprisingly believable, which help to make this movie terrifying in the best, most unsettling way.
8.1/10
