The thing is with horror cinema--sometimes there’s just so much *good stuff* zipping
through those terror fueled airwaves, that more often than not--it’s incredibly easy
to miss all kinds of long, forgotten classics--that would otherwise have enriched your life of
horror fandom in more ways than you could ever expect.
And yeah, whilst that may be laying it on a little thick, it’s also important to note
that this is our third resounding attempt at scouring through the dusty shelves of horror
cinema to find some of the greatest films that never truly received the recognition
they deserved.
Or, on the flipside--were just straight up forgotten.
Hey, it’s a trying task--but someone’s gotta do it, right?
Hello horror fans--what’s going on, and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Forgotten Horror Movies--Part 3.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from 1980’s The Changeling--not to be confused
with the similarly named period-piece starring Angelina Jolie--because Peter Medak’s resounding
psychological thriller is one of the greatest underappreciated and long-forgotten horror
films of the 20th century.
Really, it’s that good--but we also very recently featured it on Scariest Horror Movie
Endings list--and you know that I like to keep things fresh, so consider this today’s
most honorable of honorable mentions.
Well--we’ve managed to make it all the way to a Part 3 for this list, so it’s safe
to say that there’s quite a few forgotten horror classics lurking beneath the floorboards,
so let’s take a look shall we?
Kicking off at Number 5 -- Horror Express, 1972
Anddd--yes.
I know what you’re thinking.
In some cases, early 70s B-Movie horror is a little too campy for everyone’s tastes--but
if you’re thinking about diving into some of the most well crafted, long forgotten classics
of horror cinema--then 1972’s Horror Express is *the* film for you.
You see, whilst it’s cultural significance was by no means lost on the majority of die-hard
horror fans--the real shame is, if this film was produced and released perhaps under a
more palatable manner--Horror Express would have received the true recognition it deserves.
For a low budget horror movie though, this film hits *hard*--and it’s down to a pitch-perfect
performance by the king of horror himself, the late, great Sir Christopher Lee, who plays
a brilliantly convincing British Anthropologist stuck on a train filled with frozen ancient
aliens and subsequent zombies.
Yeah, that’s always a winning combination.
Written by Arnaud d’Usseau and directed by Eugenio Martin, Horror Express tells the
tale of Professor Sir Alexander Saxton played by Lee, who in the year 1906 is travelling
on the legendary Trans-Siberian Express from China to Moscow--hauling a crate containing
the frozen mummified remains of a strange, primitive humanoid creature that was discovered
in a cave in Manchuria.
Yeah, there’s obviously a lot of set up to it--but don’t worry, because Christopher
Lee carries this movie with more wry smirks and authoritative bass-y dialogue than his
own Heavy Metal Christmas Album, as things quickly go terribly wrong on the most iconic
of horror narrative locomotive devices.
Come on, everyone loves a train murdery mystery slash zombie invasion, right?
Horror Express is pure nostalgia, dripping with atmosphere--and crammed with some of
the greatest character actors in the history of cinema--pinned neatly behind a surprisingly
innovative narrative for its time.
The fact that it’s sadly a bit too dusty for most peoples horror collection is a shame--and
reason enough for you to pick it up!
Coming in at Number 4 -- Burnt Offerings, 1976
And whilst we’re on the topic of mysteries--we may as well throw this one on to the campfire,
because this particular Burnt Offering, whilst not being anything new or ever groundbreaking
in the field of horror cinema--is just a straight up good, old fashioned horror movie, with
perhaps one of the most disturbing endings of many movies of its ilk.
And by ilk, I mean Haunted House Horror--because that’s exactly what this film is--and it
rips many, many pages out of the likes of 1963’s The Haunting, that it’s probably
one of the main reasons as to why this film got so slaughtered by critics--giving it the
terrible reputation that it’s never quite recovered from.
Why?
I don’t know--because this film is worth rediscovering for it’s cast alone--Oliver
Reed and Bette Davis--who knock this film out of the park as the titans of cinema that
they are.
You see, the mid to late seventies were a time of shock and awe cinema--but Burnt Offerings
is neither of those things.
It’s a slow burning, atmospheric crawl through a demonic Old American Mansion, that’s a
little bit predictable in places, with perhaps too many deliberate ghosts in its closet--but
the simplicity in its plot is the scaffolding for the most important part of horror content.
Fear.
Because although dated, this film can stick summon the creeps through every darkened keyhole
and every wilted garden.
Written and directed by Dan Curtis, based upon the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert
Marasco, Burnt Offerings tells the tale of The Rolf family, who need a break from their
cramped, New York apartment--and decide to take their summer holiday out in the coastal
pleasures of Long Island.
Of course, that’s the worst possible decision--but we know that, not Oliver Reed and Bette Devies,
which makes it all the more worthwhile when the Old Mansion gradually begins to feast
on their flesh and blood, whilst a creepy old lady in the attic hides from the rest
of the family.
This film got a really bum deal by everyone else--but that doesn’t mean that it’s
horror credentials were for nothing.
Give it a watch.
Next up at Number 3 -- Stir of Echoes, 1999
Kevin Bacon.
My man.
And truth be told, this film might not be as truly great as it is without Mr. Bacon
giving one of his most convincing performances to date.
Which is also equally crazy that for the most part, 1999’s Stir of Echoes is completely
overlooked when it comes to contemporary horror.
BUT--just like Dark City, it may have to do with a particular syndrome of the late 90s--where
a chain of some of the most iconic movies of the last millennium were released in a
quick succession before this one--being, The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project--and
The Mummy.
Yeah.
That’s some tough competition.
And sadly, that was one of the prime reasons as to why Stir of Echoes got shuffled to the
back of the pile.
But fear not, because that’s why we’re here!
Written and directed by David Koepp, the man responsible for writing the screenplay for
Jurassic Park, Stir of Echoes is loosely based upon the 1958 novel of the same name by Richard
Matheson, the man also responsible for penning 1954’s I Am Legend.
Yeah, and as you may already tell--this film’s got quite the pedigree behind it.
It tells the tale of a man named Tom Witzky, played by Bacon--alongside his wife Maggie
and his son Jake, who supposedly possesses the supernatural ability to communicate with
the dead.
Although Tom is a sceptic of his sons powers, the rest of his family aren’t--and so one
evening during a party, he jokingly agrees to be hypnotised by Maggie’s sister--a true
believer of the spirit world.
And then, just like that--the echoes within his mind are stirred, and Tom tumbles down
a rabbit hole of supernatural intrigue and the callings of a disturbed spirit and her
grizzly murder.
I won’t say any more, because like any good horror mystery--the best experience comes
with pulling at the thread for yourself, but this film is surprisingly fantastic--and well
worth a watch.
Swinging in at Number 2 -- Dark City, 1998
Anddd--I’m in the mood to change things up a bit for this one.
Because for the most part, this entry isn’t a horror movie in the traditional sense--and
in some ways it isn’t a horror movie at all--BUT--I do believe that from a purely
visual perspective, 1998’s Dark City is a fantastically terrifying mish-mash of all
things that you Top 5 Scary Viewers enjoy.
Now, that’s also not to say that this film doesn’t hit the mark when it comes to narrative,
because holy moly does this movie cover some weighty themes--and I won’t say anything
to give it away, other than the fact that this film was perhaps a cultural precursor
to The Matrix.
Written and directed by Alex Proyas, the man responsible for the fantastic 1994 dark thriller,
The Crow, starring Brandon Lee, Dark City is a film of such unfortunate timing that
it’s no wonder that it was forgotten to the sands of time.
And for the most part--it’s down to one film.
Titanic--released a few months prior, that pretty much washed out any other movie’s
chance at the Box Office--particularly a neo-noir stylised gothic science-fiction mystery.
Yeah, Titanic wasn’t the only cause of ships sinking in the late 90s.
But that’s fine--because hindsight is our friend, and now we can truly pay our dues
to how damn awesome Dark City truly is.
And you’ll also be pleased to know that this film is absolutely stacked when it comes
to it’s cast--Kiefer Sutherland, Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Richard O’Brien, William
Hurt and Ian Richardson--all of which give resounding performances throughout.
I really, really don’t want to give away any of the plot points--because the true joy
of this film comes with discovering things as the Dark City slowly reveals them--but
trust me, this film is awesome.
If you were a fan of The Crow, or anything that directors like Terry Gilliam has ever
produced--then you’ll adore Dark City.
Give it a watch.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot--Next of Kin, 1982
And if we’re talking about horror credentials--holy moly, is this film the true definition of
an underrated masterpiece.
And it’s perhaps one of the most fitting entries on this Top 5 List series, because
1982’s Next of Kin is so damn good that every horror fan needs to take a look at it
just to realise exactly what they were missing.
Let’s have a brief history lesson first though--and talk about one of the most intriguing
subgenres in cinema--Ozploitation.
In Australia before the period that ran between the early seventies and the late eighties,
film culture wasn’t exactly the most open and free that if could have been, and expression
in film in particular was stemmed by the Australian Government, banning pretty much every movie
that wouldn’t meet their strict censorship standards in a post-world war 2 society.
But then came the New Wave--and some of the most batshit crazy horror movies in cinema
were born--which is a matter for a whole other video, but the point is--the culmination of
all of those things that were learned throughout the Ozploitation Era--peaked at 1982’s Next
of Kin.
Written and directed by the awesome Tony Williams, and starring Jackie Kerin and John Jarrat--as
in yes, that John Jarrat--the guy that plays the terrifying Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek--Next
of Kin is pretty much The Shining, meets Psycho--with a little pinch of 1980’s The Changeling
thrown in.
Now, I won’t say anything about the plot--because there are too many twists and turns in this
movie that half the joy of watching it comes with the breathlessness in those sporadic
moments were the dial gets turned up to 11.
This film is as Australian as it gets--and the final act of this film is even *more*
Australian than that.
The cast is fantastic, it’s beautifully and vividly shot--it’s genuinely terrifying
for the most part, and it is one of the most entertaining horror movies ever to come out
of Australia, it’s a shame that it’s often widely forgotten--but give it a watch.
You won’t be disappointed.
Well, there we have it horror fans, our list for the Top 5 Scariest Forgotten Horror Movies--Part
3.
What did you guys think?
Do you agree?
Do you disagree?
Let us know your thoughts, as well as any of your own choice picks, down in the comment
section below.
Before we depart from today’s video, let’s first take a quick look at some of your most
creative comments from over the past few days.
Lee Cull says --
New audible credit, and a recommendation from Jack?
My endless acquisition of The Horus Heresy is put on pause this month.
-- Well, everyone needs a break every once and awhile, Lee.
But, jokes aside--if you haven’t already read The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie,
then definitely use your audible credit on that.
Logan Ninefingers is one of the most awesome and underrated characters of all time--and
don’t even get me started on The Bloody Nine.
On that recommendation--unfortunately that’s all we’ve got time for in today's video--OUTRO.