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  • Evil Dead

    April 15, 1983 (United States)

    One of the most innovative splatter films of all time, Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead though completed in 1981 only received domestic release in 1983. Not a tremendous success initially, it has since become a cult classic. Its sequel in 1987 was a remake/reboot, followed by a proper sequel Army of Darkness, a TV series, and remakes reboots in 2013 and 2023. It is widely sampled in gothic, punk, industrial songs. 

    “Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.” [IMDb]

    Writer & Director: Sam Raimi

    Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor

    IMDb: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0083907/

    Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evil_Dead

  • Carnival of Souls

    September 26, 1962 (United States, Lawrence, Kansas, premiere)

    “After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.” [IMDb]

    IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055830/
    Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Souls

    Director: Herk Harvey
    Stars: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger

    https://archive.org/details/CarnivalOfSoulsVideoQualityUpgrade

  • Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

    April 7, 1974 (UK)

    One of Hammer Horror studio’s lesser successful films originally, though it obtained recognition only later. While it is a vampire film, it centers around the vampire hunters – retired soldier Captain Kronos (Horst Janson) and his hunchbacked companion Professor Grost (John Cater). They pick up unlikely Romani companion Carla (Caroline Munro of Dracula AD 1972 plus other Hammer productions) and answer the call of an old friend Doctor Marcus (John Carson) to investigate supernatural murders committed by an untraditional bloodline of vampires. The creative characters and the break from the rigid Hammer formula likely dulled the initial response to the movie, but in the end, what sets it apart is its most endearing quality. Its depiction of obscure elements of vampiric folklore and swashbuckling more than stoney crypts, bloody rituals and the abuses of Dracula breaks from the established format.

    Writer & Director: Brian Clemens
    Stars: Horst Janson, John Carson, Shane Briant, John Cater

    Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Kronos
    IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071276/

  • Last Stop On The Night Train

    aka L’ultimo treno della notte, Nigh Train Murders

    April 8, 1975 (Italy)

    L’ultimo treno della notte, released with the English title of The Night Train Murders or Last Stop on the Night Train debuted in 1975. It’s a particularly brutal horror revenge film directed by Aldo Lado along the lines of Last House on the Left and I Spit On Your Grave (both influenced by Ingmar Bergman’s Virgin Spring). Flavio Bucci (Suspiria), Macha Méril (Deep Red, Vagabond) , Irene Miracle (Midnight Express, Inferno) with soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. It was included in the UK’s infamous ‘video nasty’ list of banned films in 1983. Filming took place in Innsbruck and Tyrol. It takes place on Christmas holiday, following two students who are violently killed on the train by a group of thugs and a sadistic voyeur who only encourages them to push further (trigger warnings here). When the killers happen to visit the parents of the victims, their actions are revealed and a brutal revenge sequence is what follows.

    Director: Aldo Lado
    Stars: Flavio Bucci, Macha Méril, Gianfranco De Grassi

    Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Stop_on_the_Night_Train
    IMDb: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0073836/

  • Basketcase

    April 2, 1982

    Directed by Frank Hennenlotter (Frankenhooker, Brain Damage) and depicts the long gone seedy Times Square of New York City where he grew up and debuted his first films. Centering around the revenge murders carried out by Duane and his deformed  brother Belial, Basketcase is truly an original application to the slasher genre that was becoming a popular formula ain the early 80s with films like Halloween and Friday the 13th. Made on a minuscule budget, the results have become one of horror’s cult classics and a must in any New York centric film collection next to Taxi Driver (in my opinion, anyway!). in 2017 the original 16mm print was restored for preservation by the Museum of Modern Art, receiving a remastered DVD release.

    Writer & Director: Frank Henenlotter
    Stars: Kevin VanHentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083624

  • Premutos

    One of the most off-the-wall bizarre horror movies I ever witnessed. Everything but the kitchen sink. Definitely stands a rewatch before I give it a full write up. This German produced low-budget horror involves the waking of a demon and an undead army, set to a rather boring cast of characters who are at long length slaughtered in a variety of absurd ways that each seem to outdo each other. Witness a panzer tank, chainsaw, skateboard and other unexpected instruments of death.

    https://m.imdb.com/de/title/tt0144555/

  • Phantasm

    Independently made, written and directed by Don Coscarelli in 1979, Phantasm stands out among horror franchises in imagination, creativity, surreal and macabre atmosphere. Set around the events taking place at a cemetery and funeral home, Phantasm incorporates sci-fi and horror with an antagonist from another world transforming corpses into undead labor, pit against cool-dude muscle car musician, his kid brother, and their ice cream truck vendor friend, all as reluctant heroes. Bizarre as it may be, the plot foundation is much more developed than the supernatural slashers like Halloween and Friday the 13th which only ever sought to explain (and so badly you’d rather they didn’t) the origins of their villains as an afterthought.

    Phantasm became a cult classic that introduced The Tall Man, played by Angus Scrimm (*August 19, 1926 – † January 9, 2016), aided by spherical killing machines. These chrome orbs have become instantly recognizable as one of horror’s most innovative devices to date. Several sequels followed, as Regie and Mike follow The Tall Man’s wake of desolated small towns across the US, exploring this weird inter-dimensional horror tale, rife with horror fan service and self awareness that keeps the story in the family.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasm_(film)

    https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0079714/

  • Two Thousand Maniacs

    Two Thousand Maniacs is the 1964 follow up to Blood Feast by Herschell Gordon Lewis, ‘the godfather of gore’. One of the earliest examples of hicksploitation films, it was lauded by Lux Interior of The Cramps as an all-time great. It performed well in drive-in theaters despite being heavily cut down from Lewis’ abundant use of bright red blood, cannibalism, and torture with attention to detail and an over the top approach. This formula would establish itself as a classic in horror films to come, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and attracted the admiration of a new generation of filmmakers like John Waters.

  • Screaming Dead

    Location: Cheltenham, UK
    Active: 1980-1985, 1997-1999, 2014-present

    Formed in Cheltenham UK in 1980, Screaming Dead were a punk band that took aspects of camp horror movies for their name and songs, as well as their graphic design. Before terms like goth or deathrock were being tossed around as genres in the UK, ‘horror punk’ was an apt description, though their inclusion in any gothic rock collection by todays standards would be essential for variety and originality. Their first demo circulated as a tape before they were picked up by No Future records for their next two singles ‘Night Creatures’ and ‘Paint It Black’, with their following releases ‘Danse Macabre Collection’ and ‘Dream Of Yesterday’ on their own imprint label, Angel Records, before disbanding in 1985. 

    Guitarist Tony McCormack went on in 1989 to form gothic rock/pagan band Inkubus Sukkubus. The 1993 CD release of ‘Bring Out Yer Dead’ is the best compilation of the bands original material. However, in 1997 McCormack reformed a version of Screaming Dead, this time with a female vocalist, re-recording the bands early material on the ‘Death Rides Out’ album, which unfortunately often gets mistaken as the original material to those just discovering the band now. This incarnation lasted until 1999, and not much was heard again until 2014 when the other members, this time without McCormack reformed for another stab at it, releasing ‘The Resurrection EP’ in 2016 and touring the eastern USA in 2018.

    Links: 

    Discogs.com: https://www.discogs.com/artist/263703-Screaming-Dead
    Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_Dead

    Related: The Waste, Inkubus Sukkubus

    This profile is in development. Contributions?

  • Flesh For Frankenstein

    March 17, 1974

    Flesh For Frankenstein released March 17, 1974 directed by Paul Morrissey starring Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Arno Jürging

    Flesh for Frankenstein is a film by Paul Morrissey produced back to back with Blood For Dracula, sharing the cast of Udo Kier, Arno Jürging and Joe Dallesandro. The interpretations of these horror classics takes on elements of 70s softcore porn, arthouse style, eurotrash culture and schlock hammer horror. Though Andy Warhol’s name is attached to the releases, this is purely out of financial consideration, with little to no artistic contribution. Filming took place at Cinecittà in Rome with an Italian crew. It was filmed in 3D, which can be evident in certain scenes even in 2D viewings when objects extend towards the viewers perspective. Not only does the film achieve a distinct visual and artistic style, but the embedded social commentary takes a clear jab at squanderous bourgeois privilege.  

    Directors: Paul Morrissey, Antonio Margheriti

    Stars: Joe Dallesandro, Udo Kier, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Arno Jürging

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071508
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesh_for_Frankenstein