Worst2First: My Top Ten Horror Films of the 1990s
Worst2First:
My Top Ten Horror Films of the 1990s
#25 - Arachnophobia (90)
#24 - The Frighteners (96)
#23 - Funny Games (98)
#22 - Event Horizon (97)
#21 - Army of Darkness (93)
#20 - From Dusk Til Dawn (96)
#19 - Fire in the Sky (93)
#18 - Tremors (90)
#17 - The People Under the Stairs (91)
#16 - Dead Alive (93)
#15 - Halloween H20 (98)
#14 - Interview With the Vampire (94)
#13 - Wes Craven's New Nightmare (94)
#12 - Audition (99)
#11 - I Know What You Did Last Summer (97)
**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**
#10
1998
Kevin Williamson defined the 90s with his sleek, hip style of writing that appealed to teenagers as well as adults, offering a tongue-in-cheek humor to classic horror. "The Faculty" is one of those films, an action-packed sci-fi comedy hybrid involving students at a small high school who discover that their teachers are actually aliens bent on taking over the world, and set out to stop them. Directed by Robert Rodriguez ("From Dusk Til Dawn," "Sin City"), "The Faculty" featured a who's who of the best 90s films had to offer including Josh Hartnett, Salma Hayek, Jordana Brewster, Elijah Wood, Clea DuVall, Famke Janssen, Pipper Laurie, Robert Patrick, Usher, and Jon Stewart.
#9
1992
Generally you think of serial killers in films to be found in the rural areas of Texas, a small suburban town, or an idyllic campground, but not the inner city. "Candyman" took the horrors of classic slashers and teleported it to the ghettos of Chicago, where the local urban legend of Candyman says that he would appear in a mirror after saying his name five times, sporting a hook for a hand and kill you gruesomely. For Helen Lyle, this myth is simply that - until she finds it's all too real, as the titular Candyman stalks her and desires her for reasons she doesn't understand. Tony Todd creates the supernatural killer and molds it all his own, and the film itself is a striking look at racial injustice and the poverty that plagues African Americans, as well as giving birth to a killer that actually has a truly tragic backstory you can't help but feel sorry for.
#8
1990
Director Adrian Lyne crafted a unique, spellbinding, and darkly mysterious horror with "Jacob's Ladder," a film that finds Jacob (played with perfection by Tim Robbins) plagued by horrific nightmares and images after returning from Vietnam as well as dealing with his son's death. Is everything just in his mind, or is there something more deadly going on? The film is shot with brilliance, offering an unflinching, dark look inside the terrors of the human psyche as never been done before, crafting visuals that can't easily be forgotten.
#7
1992
When you have the directing pedigree of Frances Ford Coppola, you expect nothing more than sheer brilliance, and that's what "Bram Stoker's Dracula" delivered. The character of Dracula has been used in countless films since its creation by Bram Stoker in 1897, but none met the sheer elegance and dark sophistication as this iteration, which earned three Academy Awards for Costume Design, Effects, and Makeup. Supporting a classic Gothic horror landscape, the film finds the titular villain being played with gleeful sophistication by Gary Oldman, who is utterly transformed due to the impeccable makeup designs. The film also features a stellar cast including Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Cary Elwes and Tom Waits.
#6
1999
Uttering the now-iconic line, "I see dead people," Hayley Joel Osment cemented his short career in cinema and re-vitalized the ghost subgenre. Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist who tries to help Osment's Cole Sear deal with his troubling issues - he literally sees dead people everywhere, and they all need his help. This is often too much for even the most toughest adults, but having a child deal with this type of continual trauma is excruciating, and Osment delivers a powerful performance. The film was the magnum opus from director M. Night Shyamalan, who introduced the world to his now predictable twist endings, but when the film came out, audiences were shocked silent. The film also earned six Academy Award nominations for the biggest categories the Academy had to offer - Picture, Supporting Actor (for Osment), Supporting Actress (for Toni Collette), Director, Writing, and Film Editing.
#5
1999
To say "The Blair Witch Project" was the mother of found footage films isn't necessarily accurate, as there were other films released before this that focused on that subgenre (such as "Cannibal Holocaust"), but it is accurate that "The Blair Witch Project" birthed the digital advertising age, marketing the film as an actual found footage film where the participants actually disappeared. This faux-documentary finds three college students who travel the woods of small town Kentucky in search of the fabled Blair Witch, and finding more than they bargained for. Most horror films spend a huge amount on effects and visuals, but here less is definitely more, as we don't really get to see much happening, but experience it nonetheless due to fantastic sound effects and the shaky camerawork of the actors. The film became one of the highest grossing independent films ever, and set the stage for the found footage subgenre to gain momentum for decades to come.
#4
1995
Blending horror with crime drama, "Se7en" finds two seasoned detectives on the search for a serial killer who kills his victims based off the seven deadly sins. David Fincher's second directorial work showcases his magnificence behind the camera, shooting the film is a very dark, gritty sense that leaves you continually filled with dread as you inevitably wait for the next grotesque murder to take place. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey lead the all-star cast in this tightly woven thriller that'll leave you with unforgettable images you'll never get out of your head.
#3
1990
What would a decade be without at least one film based off the novels from Stephen King in it? "Misery" was surprisingly directed by Rob Reiner, who was better known for directing comedies like "When Harry Met Sally" and "The Princess Bride," but here he proves he more than has what it takes to direct a nail-biting thriller. When local writer Paul Sheldon (played perfectly by James Caan) suffers a car accident, he's rescued by Annie Wilkes, who is Paul's biggest fan - until she learns that he plans on killing off her favorite character in his novels. What follows is an intense, claustrophobic cat-and-mouse game between the two, a battle of wits and determination that culminates in one of cinema's most shocking and horrific horror movie moments in modern history. Not only was it perfectly directed, but performed too - especially by Kathy Bates, who won an Academy Award for her unhinged performance as Annie Wilkes, and shows the dangers of fanatic devotion.
#2
1996
Leave it to Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson to turn the horror genre on its head by offering a meta look at ways to survive a horror movie - within a horror movie. Generally slasher films include the traditional trope of characters who meet their end in grisly ways, but really don't offer anything more than that. "Scream" introduced a new world of moviegoers to this genre, but gave real character development and growth to the characters before they're dispatched, making them more well-rounded and relatable. The first few minutes of the film itself is a thing to marvel, as it involved a then-unheard of twist that viewers never saw coming, and only accelerated in its tension and suspense following. The film made a household name out of its star Neve Campbell, and re-vitalized the slasher genre with thoughtful writing and another iconic horror film legend in the killer Ghostface.
#1
1991
Throughout the history of cinema, only three films have managed to win the Big Five Oscars - Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Writing: 1934's "It Happened One Night," 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and "The Silence of the Lambs" - a feat unheard of in horror cinema. Not only was the film a critical darling, but it terrified audiences then and now, giving rise to cinema's most famed cannibals, Hannibal Lecter. The film centers on FBI cadet Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who is investigating a serial killer, while also dealing with the recent death of her father. She is instructed to interview psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), who's also a psychopath and cannibal, to get into the mind of the killer. What follows is a unique battle of wits between the two, as Lecter manages to draw out the best in Starling and make her a more effective agent. There's a lot to unpack in Jonathan Demme's masterpiece, most notably how Hopkins could win the Best Actor Oscar for portraying Lecter, since he only appears on screen for less than twenty minutes - but whose character is still remembered and feared today.
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