One thing you have to give the ’90s is that it tried. Filmmakers and studios alike flung ideas at the giant dart board of horror during this era in an attempt to hit a bullseye and successfully launch a profitable new horror wave (much like the slasher boom of the ’80s, the rise in J-horror remakes in the early ’00s or the found footage craze we have today). So, we saw failed attempts at creating new franchisable boogeymen, creature features, more Stephen King adaptations and a lot of direct-to-VHS fare. It wasn’t until the latter half of the decade that horror really hit big with films like Scream, The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense which turned profits and launched either sequels or imitators.
Ah, but financial success doesn’t always mean “quality” and quality – to many – is what ’90s horror lacked. I’m here to perhaps turn that perception around. I present 20 horror films I consider highlights from the very diverse ’90s.
IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER…
20 Great '90s Horror Movies
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Cemetery Man
Michele Soavi's macabre 1994 story of death, love, but mostly death is poetic, stylish and humorous. Rupert Everett nails it (and Anna Falchi) as the dour groundskeeper of a cemetery where the dead can't sit still.
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Jacob's Ladder
Between Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal, director Adrian Lyne directed this truly scary 1990 film. War vet Tim Robbins swims in a sea of chaotic visions filled with demons and is haunted by his past in Vietnam. This is the stuff nightmares are made of.
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Event Horizon
Arguably Paul W.S. Anderson's best film. Released in '97, this sci-fi/horror hybrid played like a haunted house movie in space complete with bursting lights, loud banging and sinister visions. The film is anchored by a great turn from the always-stellar Sam Neill.
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Deep Rising
Before G.I. Joe, before Van Helsing and before The Mummy movies, director Stephen Sommers closed out the '90s with sharp monster movies from '98. Treat Williams gives us a great character to latch onto with John Finnegan and the story is clever and fun as hell. Stick around for the monster created by Rob Bottin!
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Body Snatchers
Abel Ferrera put his stamp on the Invasion of the Body Snatchers story - with the help of writers Stuart Gordon, Dennis Paoli and others. Set on a military base, the film delivers on a high creep factor courtesy of Meg Tilly's pod person. R. Lee Ermey and Forest Whitaker also show their faces.
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Cronos
Guillermo del Toro's 1993 directorial feature debut is filled with blood-letting, immortality, thugs, strange devices and, best of all, resonating dark beauty. An impressive start for Del Toro that set him on a terrific path in cinema.
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In the Mouth of Madness
The nature of rabid fandom collided with a Lovecraftian twist in John Carpenter's 1994 film (also starring Sam Neill at his snarky best). The script, by Michael De Luca (who borrows a few tricks from his script for Freddy's Dead), allows Carpenter to go nuts, layering paranoia, dread and creature feature thrills.
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The Blair Witch Project
The greatest trick this 1999 "found footage" film ever pulled was making some people believe it was real. No joke. Directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick scared audiences with simple gags and, at the time, a refreshing storytelling technique.
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Tremors
This 1990 movie sits handsomely in the pantheon of "all time greatest monster movies," no question about it. First and foremost, that has to do a lot with the well-written, colorful cast of characters (played by Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, et al.). Then there's the amazing FX work of the Graboids, bringing the big beasties to wonderful life.
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Candyman
Clive Barker's "The Forbidden" comes to terrifying life in this 1992 film by Bernard Rose. The film transcends slasher status (at its core, it's an urban legend come to life) under Rose's precise direction, Philip Glass' score and strong performances.
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Dead Alive
Dead Alive (aka Braindead) got its release here in the States in 1992 and brought with it a tidal wave of unparalleled bloodshed and energy that, to this day, still delivers the gory goods.
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Demon Knight
The first title released under the Tales from the Crypt Presents banner in 1995, Demon Knight is pure rock 'n roll. It's colorful, violent, funny and boasting a script that's a hell of a lot better than it had any right being. And - c'mon - let's be honest: Billy Zane is the man, right? (Director Ernest Dickerson went on to become a regular director on The Walking Dead.)
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The Exorcist III
Beyond delivering of the best scare moments of all time, The Exorcist III (1990) is just a solid horror film, plain and simple. Writer-director William Peter Blatty - whose only other time in the director's chair was the weird-but-cool The Ninth Configuration - proves he has the chops to not just deliver good characters (and performances to back them up) but some bits of nastiness as well. The finale fumbles, still, The Exorcist III is worth checking out.
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Bram Stoker's Dracula
Whatever drugs Francis Ford Coppola was rumored to be on during the making of this 1992 adaptation shows on the screen. It's a fever dream, a monster movie with Skinemax-level eroticism, a romance... Anthony Hopkins chews the scenery and the make-up FX are top notch. It's a giant, gothic, not-entirely-perfect romp.
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House on Haunted Hill
Before Hollywood really went full tilt boogie into "remake mode" during the '00s, we received this 1999 redo of William Castle's black and white classic. Director William Malone kicked things up a notch with a unique vision, some biting humor and intense thrills.
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Ravenous
Want a fine example of just how diverse the '90s got? Look no further than this 1999 cannibal tale set in the mid-1800s. So smart, so quirky...nobody went to see it. Worth seeking out.
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Scream
Horror's true shot in the arm came in 1996 and Wes Craven was the man to bring it to us. Apropos, considering the impact he had in horror in the '70s and '80s. Scream is both a loving commentary on horror films and a great slasher film in its own right.
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Stir of Echoes
This 1999 adaptation of Richard Matheson's story went overlooked because it came out in the wake of The Sixth Sense. Guess what? I find it to be a better film. It's a traditional ghost story, but what makes the movie work is director David Koepp's portrayal of a Chicago neighborhood rocked by a dark secret and Kevin Bacon's understated performance.
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Lord of Illusions
Clive Barker's post-Nightbreed 1995 directorial effort is a fun, bizarre supernatural mystery led by Scott Bakula's smooth portrayal of Harry D'Amour. Sure, it's a bit clunky, but Bakula, the cult-driven plot and the film's backdrop set in the Los Angeles magic scene all work.
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The Frighteners
What happens when you throw a bunch of money at the director of Dead Alive and Heavenly Creatures? You get this madcap spookshow from 1996 that stars Michael J. Fox as a man who scams the living with his ghost buddies until he's caught up in a deadly plot. The script is actually really good and nicely layered and there's an unexpected mean streak that runs through the film. It doesn't overpower the film's playful tone, however. Still...this came from Hollywood? Crazy!
