Horrorfilmsmay not receive many Oscar nominations, but they can be every bit as thoughtful and poignant as a drama likeSophie’s ChoiceorMarvin’s Room. Horror filmmakers often have quite a bit on their minds, and the genre can be a terrific way to express all of their views in ways either subtle or extreme. From indictments of consumerism, as famously seen in George A. Romero’s mall-setDawn of the Dead, to criticism of not respecting the dead inPoltergeist, any number of horror films have pointed a finger in one direction or another.
Some filmmakers do it more often than others, e.g. John Carpenter’s take on Cold War paranoia withThe Thingis just one of several lofty themes he’s had on his mind throughout the years. But even when the societal indictment comes from an unexpected, low-budget source, it’s the type of thing that elevates a film’s impact as a whole.
10American Psycho
An indictment of greedand toxic masculinity, Bret Easton Ellis’American Psychowas and remains a genius book, and the same could be said of its more accessible (though not easily accessible) film adaptation. The movie matches Christian Bale’s gonzo performance as Patrick Bateman via scenes involving threesomes, Huey Lewis and the News, and a chainsaw being dropped from the top of a staircase.
But the most memorable moments are the small ones. Like early in the film, when Bateman and his peers grin ear to ear as they pass around business cards like they were sides at a Thanksgiving meal. Each man views the business card not as the almost blank 3.5" x 2" chunk of cardstock that it is, but rather as an accurate representation of their identity.
Cabrini-Green Homes of Chicago, Illinois ended up being so notorious it was a general stand-in for the 1990s' public housing crisis. The source material forCandyman, Clive Barker’s “The Forbidden” (found in hisBooks of Blood) doesn’t mention Cabrini-Green Homes, but it carries the same protagonist and her desire to report on and improve her surroundings.
In other words, the through line of folklore within impoverished eras remained intact, and neither work is particularly forgiving towards those in society who view impoverished areas as inherently inferior.Candyman’s overall point is to not externalize one’s own insecurities on the unknown. What one considers unknown most likely considers them the same, and to react violently is only to unravel a thread that will seemingly last forever.
Not only one of Brian De Palma’s greatest films but one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations to boot,Carrieis a ridiculously well-crafted machine. And, like King’sreligious horror debutnovel, it has a lot on its mind.
Primarily, there’s bullying. Helping to make someone an outcast among their peers is far less objectively beneficial than including them and accepting differences as the very thing that makes life beautiful. Carrie White’s peers don’t see this, and her treatment at their hands is absolutely unforgivable. Then the movie shows Carrie overreacting to that treatment in a way that turns the audience against her. But, by that point, the audience has gotten to know Carrie so well that they’re aware she was just pushed a few steps too far, and the reaction in and of itself serves as a cautionary tale instead of an act that simply makes a villain of a previously lovable individual.
7The Howling
Joe Dante’sThe Howlinghas managed to go on to be a horror classic, arguably as much as his later, Spielberg-producedGremlins. And deservedly so, because it’s arguably thebest werewolf movie of the 1980ssave for John Landis’An American Werewolf in London.
The plot seemingly follows Dee Wallace’s journalist, Karen White, as she takes a mental health break from her job after a particularly traumatic event. But what the movie really is is a group of people grooming her and her husband to adopt their own long-held pack mentality. They don’t just want this widely-known figure to visit, they want this widely-known (perhaps even lucrative) figure to be a part of their clan.
6Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
With Cold War paranoia in full shaky swing, something likeInvasion of the Body Snatcherswas inevitable. There was a constant distrust that one’s own trusted neighbor could be a Communist, and quite frankly that level of itchy hesitance is still present in modern times. Essentially, the film is the feature-length version of one ofThe Twilight Zone’s earliest and best episodes: “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” It just has more pod people.
The originalInvasion of the Body Snatcherscould so easily have been a B-Movie, and it was often misconstrued as such back when rental stores were a thing. But it’s so much more, a smart film well-helmed by Don Siegel, who went on to direct Clint Eastwood inCoogan’s Bluff,Two Mules for Sister Sara,The Beguiled,Dirty Harry, andEscape from Alcatraz.
5Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
If any remake deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as John Carpenter’sThe Thing, it’s Philip Kaufman’sInvasion of the Body Snatchers. The film also features an A-list cast far more known than the original’s B-list cast, with Donald Sutherland andThe Dead Zone’s Brooke Adams leading the charge for survival while Jeff Goldblum,Alien’s Veronica Cartwright, andStar Trek’s Leonard Nimoy providing more than capable backup.
Just as the original film preached the dangers of Cold War paranoia, so too did Kaufman’s remake. But what the remake does that the original doesn’t is take the “distrust thy neighbor” concept to a city-wide level. In other words, the narrative moves the audience and the central characters they’re following to a location where neighbors honestly probably shouldn’t be trusted, making the characters' survival tactics all the more logical. But, even with logic on their side, it’s a moot point, as the 1978 film’s Hell of an ending will attest.
4Night of the Living Dead
It’s truly astonishing how much George A. Romero’s ingeniousNight of the Living Deadgot away with when released in 1968. The film had a massive amount on its mind, to the point that even Tom Savini’s1990s remake is solid and thoughtful, as if by extension.
The film has one of the most devastating endings in cinema, horror or otherwise. The titular night has passed and a litany of gun-toting men having a field day with the apocalyptic situation is now on the property of where the film’s events took place. Duane Jones' lovable Ben is the sole survivor, sees the group through the window, and is immediately shot. The audience is left to guess not only if the shooter knew Ben was a zombie, but if he would have even cared.
3The People Under the Stairs
The late Wes Craven revolutionized horror cinema not once but twice. First withA Nightmare on Elm Streetand then withScreamandScream 2. But even those masterworks had nothing on the braininess of his lesser-knownThe People Under the Stairs.
Furthermore, the film is legitimately atmospheric, scary, and buoyed by two gonzo antagonistic performances. The fact that it’s an effective and searing criticism of systemic racism (in 1991!) that couldn’t be done in the same way by any other filmmaker. Hands down,The People Under the Stairsis one of 1990s horror’s most underseen installments.
2Rosemary’s Baby
Roman Polanski’sRosemary’s Babyis rightfully considered one of horror’s best films. Gorgeously shot and an appreciator of the subtle slow build, it’s the exact type of film that will make the viewer distrust their seemingly kindhearted neighbor. Like Ira Levin’s novel, it’s a story that instills fear in the very concept of domesticity and pushing aside one’s own identity in favor of being part of a collective.
It also has what is unquestionably one of the best final scenes in horror movie history, and it doesn’t require Carrie’s hand bursting from a grave or Jason bursting from the water, it just requires Mia Farrow’s hand moving to her mouth and her eyes opening wider than what was thought humanly possible.
1They Live
John Carpenter’sThey Livegets better with each subsequent viewing. But it wouldn’t be like that ifthe studio had its way. Specifically, according to Carpenter, the studio heads pushed back onThey Live’s aliens being capitalists (which is the point of the film from top to bottom).
Fortunately, the film was released as Carpenter intended, and it stands as arguably his last great film. It’s certainly his most pointed, with a disdain for 1980s consumerism on full display. And should one need a further selling point, there’s also an iconic elongated fistfight sequence between the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Keith David. It’s also worth noting that putting Piper in the lead role was a terrific decision, as he proves that not only can he carry a film, but that he’s also one of the best “fish out of water” actors the 1980s had to offer, and it should have offered up much more of him outside ofThey LiveandHell Comes to Frogtown.
