Halloween is fast approaching, which means it's time for horror movie recommendations. Viewers who have already seen the classics and hits might be looking for something a little less mainstream. Luckily, the horror genre boasts many cult films. These horrors were ignored (or even reviled) on release but later developed a devoted fan base, or influenced future generations of filmmakers.
Often, these are movies that were ahead of their time, or served up thrills that audiences weren't ready for. With the rise of home video, many of these movies were able to find new audiences in people's living rooms, even if they flopped in theaters. The advent of streaming accelerated this even more. The upshot is that there's a horror movie out there for even the most obscure tastes, from artsy slashers and found footage films to creepy sci-fi and revisionist comedy-horror.
'Blood and Black Lace' (1964)
Blood and Black Lace tells the story of a fashion house in Rome, riddled with scandal, as a masked killer begins picking off models one by one. It's an early giallo film by Italian horror master Mario Bava, who also directed the excellent horror anthology film Black Sabbath.
The film has a unique visual style that makes bold use of primary colors. It blends an arthouse sensibility with a B-movie enthusiasm for gore. This proved to be an effective combination. Blood and Black Lace influenced several directors and has been directly referenced by Martin Scorsese, Pedro Almodóvar, and Dario Argento.
'The Craft' (1996)
Four teenage girls, all outcasts at their LA high school, begin dabbling in witchcraft to get revenge on their enemies. But they quickly learn that playing with such forces is more dangerous than they thought. The Craft is to '90s teen movies as Heathers was to '80s teen movies: a dark, female-led story that mocks the genre clichés of the time.
While not well-reviewed on release, The Craft has garnered a devoted fan base, particularly on social media. Its strength might be the nuanced way it depicts friendships between teenage girls - and how they can break apart. A sequel was released in 2020, but it doesn't touch the original.
'Witchfinder General' (1968)
Witchfinder General dramatizes the story of real-life English lawyer Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) in the 17th century who claimed to have been tasked by Parliament with hunting down and eliminating witches. Hopkins accuses a young woman Sara (Hilary Dwyer) of being a witch, so her fiancé Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy), a soldier, sets out to stop the wicked witchfinder.
It was a key film in the folk horror subgenre, along with The Wicker Man and The Blood on Satan's Claw. The script isn't quite as clever as The Wicker Man's, but it makes up for it with a killer performance from Price. Edgar Wright is also a fan and included Witchfinder General among his 1000 favorite movies.
'The House That Screamed' (1969)
Lilli Palmer stars in this Spanish horror as the strict headmistress of a boarding school for troubled girls. She is cruel, and regularly beats the girls when they break the rules. However, the school is soon plunged into disarray when pupils begin vanishing mysteriously.
The film does a good job of capturing the isolation and frustration of the girls at the school. Cristina Galbó gives a moving performance as Teresa, a new girl at the school who longs to escape. Director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (who also made Who Can Kill a Child?) deserves praise too for the immersive gothic visuals. Fans of Psycho and Dario Argento's Suspiria should try it.
'The Love Witch' (2016)
The Love Witch follows a modern-day sorceress (Samantha Robinson) as she tries to use spells to find a man. However, none of the men can live up to her expectations, so she kills them. It's a bizarre black comedy, deliberately made to look like a 1960s horror movie. The cast nails the look, sound, and mannerisms of that era.
The film also boasts vivid, carefully coordinated cinematography, clearly inspired by '50s melodrama director Douglas Sirk. It's a truly unique vision from director Anna Biller, who also produced, edited, and scored the film. She has said that her goal with The Love Witch was "reclaiming the figure of the witch, the femme fatale, an old sort of male fantasy figure, and make it a femme fatale seen from the female side."
'Quatermass and the Pit' (1967)
Professor Bernard Quatermass (Andrew Keir) investigates a mysterious object discovered near the London Underground. Quatermass realizes that the device is a Martian spacecraft that seems to have a mind of its own. The craft begins to influence the people around it, awakening in them deadly primal instincts. The professor seeks to understand the object but the press and the military try to thwart him.
The film is a great fusion of high-concept sci-fi horror and a slow-burning mystery story. It's aged surprisingly well too - especially when compared with a lot of other Hammer horrors - and its scariest moments still hit hard. Most importantly though, it hangs together thanks to the stellar, committed performance from Keir.
'REC' (2007)
This Spanish found footage film follows reporter Angela (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) covering an infectious outbreak in an apartment building. They are sealed into the building with the residents as a strict quarantine is imposed. We see all this unfold from the viewpoint of Pablo's camera. Think The Blair Witch Project meets 28 Days Later.
It's a simple premise which the filmmakers execute in an economical and sparse style. It works, adding realism to the film. The tension ratchets up practically from the get-go, and the directors cram a ton of scares into the film's lean 78-minute runtime.
'Deep Red' (1975)
Deep Red is another cult classic giallo film from Suspiria director Dario Argento. A jazz pianist (David Hemmings) witnesses a murder by a killer wearing black leather gloves. He and journalist Gianna (Daria Nicolodi) set out to identify the culprit, and stumble upon a web of mysteries in the process. Argento's directorial pyrotechnics are on full display here, including a camera that never seems to stop moving. He also tosses in a truly evil-looking doll for good measure.
The film influenced several horror directors. In particular, David Cronenberg imitated one of the deaths in Deep Red with the head-exploding scene from his movie Scanners. Halloween II similarly copied a kill scene where a character is murdered with scalding water. Deep Red is also a favorite of Quentin Tarantino, who said the film "rattled" him as a teenager.
'Dressed to Kill' (1980)
Dressed to Kill is an erotic thriller by Brian De Palma, director of classics like Carrie and Scarface. Dressed to Kill doesn't rise to the heights of those films, but it's more than worth watching. It's essentially an American giallo, right down to the chilling score by Pino Donaggio.
The film follows call-girl Liz (Nancy Allen) after she witnesses the murder of a woman by a blonde wearing sunglasses and wielding a straight razor. The plot takes many twists and turns from there, morphing into a bloodier, more explicit Psycho. De Palma shows off some visual flair as well with his effective use of split-screen, POV shots, and mirror images. He's also like George RR Martin in that he ruthlessly kills off even the most likable lead characters.
'Jennifer's Body' (2009)
Jennifer's Body is a comedy-horror starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried and written by Diablo Cody, the screenwriter behind Juno and Young Adult. It had a disappointing run at the box office and received mixed reviews. However, it's since developed a cult following and its critical standing has improved.
The film's advertising marketed it as an erotic horror, but it's really a tongue-in-cheek story of female friendship, with some possession thrown in. The dialogue is witty and entertaining, and the cinematography is beautiful (one shot of a falling locket is especially memorable). In recent years, some of the film's champions have argued that Jennifer's Body was ahead of its time as a feminist film.