In the endless archive of horror cinema, it’s easy to forget some of those particularly
terrifying gems that have managed to slide down the back of the cabinet - seemingly lost
to the dusts of time without getting the true horror fan treatment that they deserve.
Well guys, it’s safe to say that you had a lot to say about Part 1 of this Top 5 Scary
list - but fortunately for us, there are many, many more forgotten horror movies that deserve
our attention.
So, we better take a look, eh?
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 2.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from John Carpenter’s mind bending supernatural
masterpiece, Prince of Darkness - and although it’s definitely not a forgotten horror movie,
because anyone worth their salt knows what's good - it perhaps doesn’t get the recognition
that it deserves.
So, there you have it.
Consider it recognised.
Now, as is always the case - we’re obviously not going to please everyone on this list
- so if you’ve got any honorable mentions, please - let them be known in the comment
section below.
Kicking off at Number 5 - House, 1986
Alright, I won’t sugar coat it - this film definitely isn’t for everyone - and if you’re
going in to this film with the intention of being scared witless, you’re going to find
it a little bit jarring - to say the least.
Because while at times House is definitely a more than capable slow-crawling spook fest
- the point of this film lies in it’s intelligent, tongue in cheek satire of horror - and even
more surprisingly - the fact that it’s absolutely hilarious for the most part.
Box art and all - House, directed by Steve Miner and starring William Katt, is an intelligent
dissemination of every single horror cliche that you can imagine.
And that definitely put some people off after it’s 1986 release - but when you look back
at House, the point of it is that it’s a pastiche to horror fans from every generation.
It’s a haunted house flick - but it’s also a creature feature, and then it’s a
family-friendly ghost story - and then it’s a psychological critique on the Vietnam War
and the plight of War Veterans.
Yeah, exactly.
It turns up the heat where it needs to, but for the most part it’s a love letter to
the horror genre, while also managing to slide in some incredible low-budget special effects.
House is definitely a horror film frozen in time - but it’s worth slipping back into
every now and then.
Coming up next at Number 4 - Session 9, 2001
Yes - now we’re getting into the meat and bones - because 2001’s Session 9 genuinely
turns up the spooks to a level that I wasn’t exactly expecting - and that’s a good thing
- because for one, the pacing of this film is second to none - with a masterful narrative
that manages to slowly drip feed us enough curious intrigue to keep us guessing throughout.
While it may seem it on the surface, Session 9 is so, so much more than some cheap hack’
n slash thriller that the promotional material sold it as - and it’s actually an incredibly
intelligent slow-burner, more akin to the likes of 1973’s Don’t Look Now, drawing
inspiration from the likes of Hitchcock and Kubrick - rather than the horror contemporaries
of the early noughties.
Written and directed by Brad Anderson, Session 9 tells the story of Gordon, played by the
incredible Peter Mullan - who is an absolute gem, may I add - who’s the owner of a small
asbestos removal company.
He’s down on his luck, and he decides to take a job that you’d never want to take
- removing asbestos in an abandoned mental asylum.
Yeah, exactly.
I’ll say no more, because for those of you that haven't seen it, this film needs to be
experienced with a fresh pair of eyes - but trust me, it’s worth it.
Great film.
Next up at Number 3 - The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane, 1976
Alright - picture Home Alone - except, there’s no goofy traps - no wet bandits - zero Macaulay
Culkin - and one hundred percent Jodie Foster, in an incredibly intelligent horror film about
a particularly closed off teenage girl.
Yes, you heard that correctly - the one and only Jodie Foster, in her first ever main-title
role - at just 14 years old, following the success of her role in Taxi Driver.
Don’t get me wrong, this is perhaps much more of a psychological thriller than a cut
and shut horror film - but it’s a genre-bending mashup that delivers wholeheartedly on both
the suspense and the cerebral spooks - mainly down to Jodie Foster’s knockout performance,
and her cold, dead stare.
Also - it co-stars the awesome Martin Sheen - so yeah.
There’s no excuse.
Directed by Nicolas Gessner and written by Laird Koenig, based on his novel of the same
name - The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane - tells the tale of 13-year-old Rynn
Jacobs - a child whose absent father, and subsequent secretive behaviour has drawn the
suspicions of her small-town Maine, New England neighbours.
Now listen, this film is definitely a product of its age - and it’s a straight up Seventies
pseudo-horror, but unlike many of its contemporaries - The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane
actually manages to deliver on it’s promise of making you feel utterly on edge the whole
time through.
Also, like I said - Jodie Foster - it’s worth watching just for that.
Swinging in at Number 2 - Eyes Without A Face, 1962
Alright guys - not going to lie - I hate this film.
Back in school, I studied film and we did a semester on German Expressionism and French
New Wave Cinema - and we had to watch this film pretty much on repeat - and every single
damn time it was terrifying.
There’s something about black and white cinema that just gives me the spooks - and
when you surgically splice the narrative of this horror show on top of that - you get
this.
And it’s messed up.
1962’s Eyes Without A Face pretty much paved the way for an entire genre of transplant-based
horror - but none of them even come close to the uneasy sense of despair that this film
is dripping with.
The thing is, French New Wave wasn’t exactly known for its ingenious narrative or script
writing - but in that respect, Eyes Without A Face nailed it with its simplicity.
A plastic surgeon’s daughter was horrifically disfigured in a car crash - and he’s hellbent
on getting her a new face.
That’s all you need to know, and then just watch - wide eyed as some of the most unnerving
scenes in cinema play out.
And finally - coming in at our Number 1 spot - Mute Witness, 1995
Which is in fact - perhaps the definition of a forgotten horror movie.
And that really is a crying shame, because 1995’s Mute Witness is an absolutely resounding
horror film - and I also don’t say this lightly, it’s horrifying.
Although, perhaps not in the sense that you’d expect.
I almost feel like it was a precursor to the same, played out torture-gore-fest cinema
that we were plagued with in the early 2000’s - but unlike those, this one actually had
substance to it - and it had it in bundles.
Written, directed and produced by Anthony Waller - Mute Witness pretty much went to
every length possible to even get made, and it was a bit of a struggle to say the least.
Mute Witness tells the tale of Billy, a special effects makeup artist without the ability
to speak, who’s working on a low-budget slasher film in Moscow.
Things quickly take a turn, as Billy stumbles upon a crew shooting what appears to be a
snuff film - and slowly, she stumbles down the rabbit hole of a terrifying, international
ring of human-trafficking criminals.
Oh.
And also, it stars my man Sir Alec Guinness.
Which pretty much sums this film up, really.
Completely unknown cast, completely unknown director - but the late, great Sir Alec Guinness
took one look at the script and was like - yup.
This is a great horror film.
Let’s make it.
This one is definitely worth a watch guys.
Thank me later.
Well, there we have it horror fans - our list for the Top 5 Scariest Forgotten Horror Movies
- Part 2.
What do you reckon?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below, as well as any choice picks for
the forgotten horror greats worth mentioning.
Before we depart today’s video - let’s take a look at some of your more resounding
remarks from over the past few days.
First up, New Wave says -- My guy changes his hair more than he changes his underwear!
-- Hhaha.
Well New Wave, that’s one way to put it I guess.
I can’t say you’re wrong though, my hair grows pretty quick.
Hey, editors - can we get a little timeline of my hair?
No worries if not.
Next up -- King In Yellow says --
Random question Mr. Jack - why TwoCoatsJack?
Pirate name?
Just kidding, but seriously what’s the story.
-- Well, King In Yellow -- although a Pirate name would be pretty awesome, since you asked,
my instagram handle actually comes from a coat that I used to have - that if you zipped
it in the right way - it became two coats, so if your friend was cold - you could give
them a coat.
Two Coats Jack - when it’s cold - I got ya back.
-- Yeah.
It sounded cooler in my head.
Well on that awkward note horror fans - cheers for sticking around all the way until the
end.
If you were a fan of this video - make sure to hit that thumbs up button - as well as
that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5
Scary Videos - and until next time, you take it easy.