6 More Amazing Horror Films That Flew Under the Radar
Dance of the Dead
Directed by Gregg Bishop
Sometimes, when the dead rise up, they don’t do it at the most convenient times. For example, in this film, the dead come back and decide to feast on the living while the prom just happens to be taking place. So basically, zombie prom.
Yeah, it could have gone the way of direct to DVD status, but it avoids those trappings with an original setting for a zombie massacre to take place and a great young cast, who bring a sort of undead Breakfast Club feeling to the whole thing.
httpv://youtu.be/kmdUJJSQzhI
The film focuses on one couple mainly, and how they approach the prom and the relationship very differently, and in the end it all sort of comes down to them needing to set aside their differences to try to save the day. It sounds cliche, but again, astonishingly, it all works really well.
The minute I saw this poster I was upset my old high school school didn’t do a zombie themed prom.
I often approach zombie films with much hesitancy, as it is a genre I ADORE, and this is one of the few zombie films I actually found really enjoyable. Using zombies as your audience for a shitty garage band? Yeah, that is f***ing awesome, no way around it.
I also clump this movie in the “awesome endings to horror films” category. Romero needs to see this so he can remember how to do zombies right.
Troll Hunter
Directed by Andre Ovredal
I fully realize some people are going to call “bullsh*t” and say this is not a horror film, and to some extent, I would agree. It is not violent nor it is particularly scary, but is is ALL AWESOME and it has TROLLS in it, so it had to be included.
I realize some categorize it as “dark Fantasy”, but that just sounds like a term people would use for a fan fiction piece about Frodo having sex with a ringwraith, so I am sticking with horror. Plus it is just a great film that more people need to see.
Humans in the foreground, troll in the background, to give you an idea of scale.
This is a “found footage” movie, much like The Blair Witch and Cloverfield. In this film, some teenagers decided to make a documentary about a bear poacher, but when they finally find the guy, they find out he is actually a troll hunter. Yes, he hunts GIANT trolls that roam the Norwegian countryside at night. Sounds like it could be dumb, huh? Well guess what? It is so awesome, you will get a trollner. That is like a boner, only it results from watching this awesome movie and it is not sexual.
httpv://youtu.be/TLEo7H9tqSM
To really grasp how incredible this movie is, you need to understand that this film is based off an actual Norwegian legend. There are clusters of boulders and rocks in Norway that look freakishly like what we assume trolls would look like if they were real, so the legend says that the trolls turn to solid rock in daylight but assume their normal forms at night and hunt by living off of bears and other wild animals.
So the movie plays it up exactly like that, and one man knows about it and hunts them. With giant floodlights that turn them to stone or make them explode when they are exposed to it.
Also, I need to say, without exaggeration, that this movie is the only movie I have ever seen that nails the cg effects perfectly. As a result of using a handheld camera, lighting and resolution can be lower, resulting in images that are seamless. The trolls are massive and intimidating, and the first time he shines his light on one of them and they turn to solid rock is one of my favorite effects scenes of the last five years. Hilariously, the movie had a freakishly low budget, and it just shows you what you can achieve with originality and ambition.
This is one such real life rock formation that helps fuel the legend. I am pretty sure this thing does stand up at night, just saying.
Also, shockingly, this is another movie with a great ending, which we all know, happens so rare in this genre. This movie made me feel as an adult what Goonies made me feel like as a kid. This movie ended and I immediately wanted to become a troll hunter. Sad, I know, but a testament to (how I may be mentally retarded) to how amazing the movie really is.
So you see, guys, good horror movies exist. They just slip into the cracks in between all the big blockbusters. The trick is finding them, watching them, buying them, and telling more people about them. That way, good horror movies keep getting made and we don’t keep getting fed the regurgitated compost they have been hurling at us for years now. Hell, the line “regurgitated compost” is scarier than most of the stuff I saw in the theater last year.
Honorable Mentions
Otis-Hilarious black comedy, stellar cast and an amazing ending. Came close to making the list, but leans a little too much in the comedy direction. Still one my fave “horror” films of all time, though.
Nightbreed-A 90’s Clive Barker movie about a bunch of mutant monsters who live under a graveyard in a crazy, steampunk city they built and how they get discovered and then have to duke it out with the humans to survive. The allegory here is the humans are really the monsters, and it is cheesy, but it is also f***ing awesome. Plus, David Cronenberg plays the bad guy. Yes, one of the sickest horror directors of all time is IN the film, and actually plays an amazingly creepy bad guy. Also, his mask is my fave “killer” mask from any movie ever.
The button eyes may be impractical, but the mask is impeccable.
The Gate- Another older gem, this is a late 80s movie about some kids who play a heavy metal record backward and open a gate to hell in their backyard. No joke, that is what it is about. And though it shows it age, when you are like 12 and you see this movie, it blows your mind. I still love it, though. The scene where the zombie guy falls over on the floor and turns into a bunch of little demons still is one of my favorite effect shots from my early days as a horror fan.
Eden Lake-A movie about a bunch of sick and twisted teenagers seriously messing with a couple while they are on their honeymoon. It begs the moral question, if need be, could you kill a child? That is a question most would not like to answer, but the kids in this movie would make you SERIOUSLY consider it. Very creepy film.
Perfect Getaway- At first you think this might just be another “tourists in trouble” horror film, it is definitely NOT, and expect many twists and turns on this ride. The acting and setting are superb, and hell, if nothing else, THOR is in this movie.
Three Extremes-Asian extreme cinema at its most brutal. How sick do you allow your movies to go? How far do you push your own threshold when you watch horror? Whatever you think, this movie pushes it much, MUCH farther. Well worth it for the Takashi Miike directed segment, but be forewarned: DO NOT EAT DUMPLINGS WHILE WATCHING THIS FILM!
Like you can see this image and NOT want to see the movie. Trust me about the dumplings, though.
Rubber–Yes, this is the movie about a tire that kills people. But it is not just a tire that kills people, it is a tire that kills people, Scanners style, with its mind. It is quite easily the most self referential film I have ever seen, and honestly, one of the most original black comedy/horror films ever made. The only reason it was not on the top of this list is because all the attention it already received on the interwebz. If you have not seen Rubber, go see it, right now. The scene when the tire learns to “walk” is pure cinema magic.
I loved Rubber, it was a movie that I first found out about watching the previews of Dale and Tucker vs. Evil (that I went out and bought after seeing the recommendation on this site), and then I found out it was on Netflix streaming. Absolutely amazing.
Thank you for giving Rubber an honorable mention. That movie was fantastic. The entire sub-plot about the people watching it all take place out in the desert was so weird but fit so perfectly with the rest of the movie. I think you should do a review for the movie, The Guard. Watched it last night and it captures a western style theme even though it takes place in Ireland. Well, West Ireland. Amazingly funny performances by Brendon Gleeson (Mad Eye Mooney from the H.P. movies) and Don Cheadle. I highly recommend it.
I watched the signal while I was deployed and to be honest if I had had anything better to do I might have turned it off early on myself. I’m glad I didn’t though I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Couldn’t agree more about Dance of the Dead, and The Perfect Host as well.
Not really sure I’d even consider Nightbreed a horror film so much as dark fantasy, but there’s some flicks I haven’t seen yet on this list so good job on that. But Dance of the Dead was a horrendously dull horror movie. Get with The Horde instead, or even The Dead if you want a nice zombie flick done right instead of just 90 minutes of premise. Otis, on the other hand, was pretty sweet. Eden Lake was all sorts of disturbing. Loved Three Extremes, but I have to disagree that it’s Asian cinema at it’s most brutal. That was downright lighthearted by Takashi Miike’s horror standards, trust me.
Nice list here. Excellent call on “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death”, a film that’s haunted me since I first saw it as a kid on the late show. I think it’s one of the most realistic depictions of mental illness I’ve ever seen in a movie. Zohra Lambert is an amazing actress. “Eden Lake” is one of the most relentlessly dark, disturbing and f@cked-up movies I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of f@cked-up sh*t. Seriously, I almost turned it off. And the ending? Ugh. Horrific. Just horrific.
Damn, you’re right about them flying under the radar. Haven’t heard of a single movie you mentioned. I normally somewhat agree with the rating on imdb, so I hope this time I won’t agree with them. I’ll give it a try though. I trust your opinion;)
I just watched The Perfect Host last weekend and found it so incredibly boring and mediocre that I almost turned it off. I watched til the end, but I doubt I’ll even remember seeing it in a couple weeks.
Definitely will check out a few of these, though. Thanks for the recommendations!
@ Alex and Mutant Turd, RUBBER really is one of my fave horror films, that beginning is just so amazing. Also, a movie that knows it is a movie? Awesome. Just awesome.
@ Trashcanman, I sort of agree on The Horde, now that you mention it, but I just found the ending to Dance of the Dead to be extremely sweet, in an odd way, so I went with that. And regarding 3 Extremes, so you are telling me there is something more offensive then woman who eat ( I cannot even bring msyelf to put the word here) to stay beautiful? Even the Art of the Devil movies are like Disney next to that concept. Yes, Miike’s entry in that film was mild for him, but Dumplings and the coat hanger scene? If it gets darker than that, I don’t want to know.
@Robeast3000, So glad that movie got under the skin of someone else, too. If you want to see an even better version of mental instability captured on film, see a film called Clean, Shaven. That movie makes us experience what the (schizophrenic) lead experiences, and it does so mostly with audio cues, very unsettling.
@ Drester, please do give them a chance and let me know if they steered you wrong, but I have faith. The giddiness Troll Hunter can muster is awesome, and the uncertainty that The Signal fills you with is unparalleled.
No mention of The Loved Ones? This movie is an Australian gem. If you liked Otis you should like this movie. It has that kind of dark humor, but it’s not the same. Definitely worth a watch. Also worth an honorable mention, The Collector.
My university produced a musical called zombie prom last year. Not at all relevant but still, Dance of the Dead reminded me of it. Damn good musical it was too
Check out Deadheads! It’s a new Zombie romantic comedy! It’s definitely under the radar right now but it just came out. All zombie fans should check it out.
@ Dawn, the only reason I left out the Loved Ones (Pretty in Pink meets Wolf Creek) is because it is just getting released stateside right now. Amazing film though, the lead actress and psycho in that film was AMAZING, and the relationship between her and her pops was wonderfully uncomfortable. @ Gale, that sounds like a badass idea. Would love to see it, any links? @ Dan, though I loved the relationship between the lead and his buddy in that flick, and I liked the zombie love story idea that he was trying to reunite with his love, some of the acting in that flick is inexcusable.
hmmm these sounds pretty good but honestly, I was utterly disappointed with Troll Hunter. I really do not want to come off as a dick/troll but it was one of the worst movies I have see in a while. My main fault with it is nothing happened… The trolls were minding their own business not killing anyone or doing anything violent. And the slaying of the trolls was equally boring. it was just “ooh they are dangerous, where is the next troll we need to kill.” I do not mind movies that do not have a legitimate plot as opposed to a structure but this movie, in my eyes, simply had zero substance, nothing to afford to the viewer
sorry in advance for offending those who enjoyed it
I like the list, and was glad to see Nightbreed get some love. That The Perfect Host wasn’t released wide as a horror movie is a tragedy.
I have to add Splinter (2008) to the list though…It has Shea Whigham, of Boardwalk Empire, and Paulo Costanzo, The brother from Royal Pains.
@ Cage, no worries man. It doesn’t make you a troll, you are just making your point, and you did not like the film. No worries, mate. @Boba, Splinter was pretty dope, but got slightly ruined by a watered down run on the Sci-Fi channel.
Rubber is one of the worst movies ever also Troll Hunter is not that good but that’s just me.
Signal is quitte good. Troll Hunter is awesome. Watched it last year with my buddies, thinking it would be a silly movie. We end up pretty impressed by it. Other European horror titles that i think flew under the radar are Timecrimes (more to sci-fi thriller, i guess), Dead Snow and Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.
I don’t know if The Beyond flew under the radar, but that’s one of my favourites. In The Mouth of Madness is John Carpenter made, Clive Barker-esque film that is full of enjoyable WTF moments. And Fido offers a nice spin on the Zombie genres. Agree with the Loved Ones though, pretty nice.
Of course, when you live in South East Asia, most horror films flew under the radar (even J-horrors)
Rubber – While you are right to say that the bit where the tyre learns how to walk is cinema magic, the film as a whole was awful. It clearly thinks it is being a lot cleverer than it really is and pretty much all the humour falls flat. The bits involving the tyre are the only good bits, but those would make up about 20 minutes of the running time. I think most of the best parts of the movie are in the trailer.
Troll Hunter – Yeah, I’d say you could call it horror. It’s certainly a monster movie, so at very least it’s a horror movie in the same way as the original Godzilla. What I find more surprising is the idea that it passed under the radar. Seriously, has anybody NOT seen Troll Hunter now? What is wrong with them?! 🙂
Just FYI, if anyone reads Dark Horse comics. Nightbreed is in the same universe as Hell Raiser.
I guess cenebites are supposed to be orderly evil, and Nightbreed are Chaotic evil, and they have a Jihad.
Interesting read.
Rubber SUCKED!
I got the joke and it was amusing for the first few minutes. But HOLY CRAP was it a snoozefest!