Despite the nostalgia it evokes nowadays, horror in the 1990s gets a bad rep. Everyone claims it was at a creative standstill until the advent of Wes Craven's Scream in 1996. Yet anyone who probes deeply into the decade will learn it's unnecessarily maligned by fans and critics alike.
It's true that horror experienced a renaissance in both the 1970s and the 1980s. The genre was more popular than ever thanks to groundbreaking films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. But what of the 1990s? There's obviously Scream, Candyman, and The Silence of the Lambs. What other commendable offerings does the era have? In an attempt to debunk the myth that 1990s horror was otherwise stale, here are ten underrated horror movies you have to see.
Lisa (1990)
Lisa is a teenager who feels stifled by her overprotective mother. Yet when Lisa unknowingly gets involved with a serial killer — they talk on the phone without ever knowing each other's true identity — she will need her mother if she wants to survive.
Although technically released in 1989 for a limited time, this low-key thriller was given a wider showing in 1990. It's a well-acted study of the bond between mother and daughter, both of whom are at their wits' end with each other. Their disagreements only show the strength of their relationship. It's definitely a subversive coming-of-ager, but it's never as sordid as other lurid movies coming out at the same time.
Amityville: It's About Time (1992)
When a husband and father returns home from a business trip in Amityville, New York, he brings back an antique mantle clock. Now, he and his family are subjected to a series of dangerous occurrences that have to do with the clock's dark origin.
The Amityville films are notorious because of how varying in quality they are from each other. However, a number of them have been slandered simply due to their connection to this divisive franchise. It's About Time is yet another sequel where a cursed object from the haunted house makes its way outside of Amityville. It's a nasty and nutty direct-to-video horror with some bloody effects.
Troublesome Night (1997)
In this Chinese anthology set in and around urban Hong Kong, four interconnected, creepy stories are told. In the first tale, friends encounter the supernatural during a camping trip. Then, a couple's wedding anniversary gets spooky. Thirdly, a man has a romance with a ghost, and, lastly, characters from the first segment visit a haunted house.
The long-running Troublesome Night franchise includes nineteen films so far. Most of which have been written off as cheaply made comedies. As expected, the original remains the best. Though it never rejects the excessive slapstick found in other Hong Kong comedies at the time, this Troublesome Night works in some scares, too.
Slumber Party Massacre III (1990)
During a high school senior's slumber party, a stranger among them starts to kill the guests one by one.
The original movie in the Slumber Party Massacre trilogy was important. Like this and the first sequel, it was directed by a woman. As horror fans all know, horror back then was not really open to female directors. Then, the movie cleverly subverted slasher tropes. The direct sequel Slumber Party Massacre II is celebrated for its inanity, but not a lot of people talk about the final entry. The third film doesn't reinvent the wheel nor does it break it. There's a welcome return to the more grave tone of the first film.
Ghost in the Machine (1993)
After a serial killer who uses people's address books dies, his soul becomes digitized and enters a nearby computer. Now, he travels through electrical grids and computer networks in search of new victims. In particular, a single mother and her young son.
To say Ghost in the Machine was flayed upon its release is an understatement. Pretty much no critic liked this techno horror. In hindsight, the same people would still dislike the movie. It's not visionary and its visual effects have clearly aged. But there are some striking sequences here if you look past the dated technology.
The Guardian (1990)
A couple with a newborn son hires a live-in nanny named Camilla. Little do they know, their new employee is not remotely who she claims to be.
William Friedkin's The Guardian had a turbulent time getting off the ground. At one point, Sam Raimi was going to direct before he dropped out. Then, the script was overhauled several times. The writer's script eventually bore no resemblance to its source material, a novel called The Nanny. The film's writer even had a nervous breakdown, which urged Friedkin to step in. After the movie's release, critics like Roger Ebert eviscerated The Guardian. He gave it one star and put it on his "Most Hated" list. Friedkin has denounced the film since then. That being said, there is a shred of a good movie somewhere in this muddled folklore-horror.
Trilogy of Terror II (1996)
In this sequel to the 1975 TV-made anthology, three more self-contained scary stories are visualized with one actress playing a different character in each episode. It opens with a cheating wife who has to brave a rat-infested graveyard if she wants her dearly departed husband's fortune. Next, a grieving mother gets more than she asked for when she uses dark magic to revive her son. Finally, the infamous Zuni fetish doll targets a scientist.
Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) surprised fans of the original with this sequel the night before Halloween in 1996. It was made for basic cable so it's considerably more grisly than the antecedent film. While people will say the first Trilogy of Terror is superior, this one is still a worthy, more consistent followup.
Mirror, Mirror (1990)
After moving into a new home with her mother, a socially awkward teenager discovers an ominous, full-length mirror left behind by a previous tenant. As the teen struggles to fit in at school, the mirror starts to respond to her innermost desires and wishes.
Mirror, Mirror is a sinister horror movie about wish-fulfillment gone awry. It's an indicator of how the genre was transitioning from youthful slashers to something more overtly supernatural and slightly grotesque. All the while, still appealing to horror's key demographic. Throughout the 1990s, Mirror, Mirror spawned three sequels that have little to do with the original story.
Afraid of the Dark (1991)
Lucas is an 11-year old boy who needs an operation if he wants to save his diminishing eyesight. As he copes with the idea he might lose his vision entirely, Lucas suspects there is a serial killer in the area. One who preys on the blind. Is Lucas' fear founded, or is this all the result of his overactive imagination and his fear of going blind?
This French-British cat-and-mouse thriller possesses some evocative imagery that captures the stress the protagonist is under. Afraid of the Dark is a captivating, giallo-esque film that more people should seek out.
Office Killer (1997)
Due to downsizing, a magazine editor named Dorine is forced to work at home. But when she witnesses a co-worker's accidental death, she develops a taste for murder. Dorine has found a way to cope with her loneliness. Now, she seeks out others who can satiate her thirst for blood.
Office Killer goes for broke by dabbling in multiple subgenres like slashers, dark comedies, and psycho-horror. The final outcome is hit or miss with viewers. The film's uncertainty about what its own identity is perfectly reflects its own main character, too.