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“Horror” might not be the first thing you think of when you think of the 90s, a decade that gave us the popularization of grunge music and some A+ romantic comedies starring Meg Ryan, but the horror genre was alive and popping. Teen horror films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer made big money at the box office while several franchises kept on trucking by churning out new sequels. Let’s face it, these were scary times.
However, as with every decade, there were plenty of horror films in the 90s that simply did not get their due. As much as we celebrate the visceral body horror of Audition and the claustrophobic chills of Misery, there are still some greats that might not immediately jump out hidden on those VHS rental store shelves.
‘Mirror, Mirror’ (1990)
When teen goth Megan moves from LA to Iowa, the culture shock she experiences drives her further into her shell. Though the popular Nikki befriends her, she is bullied at school. Her connection with a (clearly haunted) antique mirror in her room takes on violent proportions as Megan goes from shy to homicidal.
Starring the always-great Karen Black in the role of Megan’s mother, Susan, Mirror, Mirrorhas the vibes of a teen drama only to take a decidedly grim turn when the mirror corrupts Megan. She unfairly judges her mother for moving on after her father’s death. The volatile interactions between them and her friendship with Nikki remain highlights of this classic horror film about an outcast gone bad. Mirror, Mirror is available to watch on Tubi.
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1990)
More often than not, this Night of the Living Dead remake is dismissed as a quick cash grab, but let’s not be so hasty. Starring horror icon Tony Todd in the role of Ben and Patricia Tallman as Barbara, this take on the genre classic might stick to the same essential plot as the original. Still, it modernizes the story in some exciting ways.
With makeup artist Tom Savini in the director’s chair, the gory effects of the first film are colorized and turned up to 11, with enough updates to the story to keep the audience on its toes. Indeed, it’s hard to feel like it wholly warranted the criticism it was subject to on its release, often referring to it as redundant to the original. Revitalizing the character of Barbara and giving Ben a greater sense of purpose than survival alone, it still packs a punch. Night of the Living Dead is available to rent on YouTube.
‘Mimic’ (1997)
With a contagious disease taking the lives of hundreds of children across New York City, Dr. Susan Tyler creates a genetically engineered hybrid insect to eliminate the virus-carrying cockroaches. Though this is successful, this “Judas breed” grows to epic proportions, establishing its own colony in the city’s sewer systems. Dragging new victims to their deaths, Tyler is racing against the clock to end the threat she inadvertently caused.
Today, if Mimic is referenced, it’s generally concerning onset woes, with many involved disappointed by the end result. However, as of 2011, there is a Director’s Cut edition of the film. While it’s easy to feel like there were some missed opportunities here, it’s still one of the best movies of 1997 due to its disturbing imagery and great performances. Mimic Director’s Cut is available to watch on HBO Max.
‘The Reflecting Skin’ (1990)
A young boy named Seth lives in the isolated farmlands of middle America during the 1950s, engaging in unintentionally cruel childhood pranks with his friends. His older brother Cameron returns after the threat of being outed and potentially imprisoned leads their father to self-immolate. Once there, he becomes involved with a widow named Dolphin, who Seth is convinced is a vampire.
Taking the everyday terror of being surrounded by expansive nothingness and the petty cruelties of local youths with no future ahead of them as its focus, The Reflecting Skin uses vampire mythology as a lens through which Seth views his mundanely horrific reality. As such, there are no easy answers here, and the scares are very much rooted in the lived experience of countless middle-American children during a repressive era. The Reflecting Skin is available to watch on Hulu.
‘Lord of Illusions’ (1995)
A cult leader named Nix attempts a human sacrifice in the Mojave Desert in the early 80s but is killed when ex-cult members arrive and save the girl who is intended to die. Over a decade later, an occultist private investigator excitedly accepts the “easy work” of a simple insurance fraud claim, only to be dragged into the ongoing horror of the magician Philip Swann, one of the former cult members, and the girl he saved from certain doom all those years ago.
One of Clive Barker’s less celebrated entries in the film canon and his last directorial feature to date, Lord of Illusions continues Barker’s preoccupation with body horror and broken characters chasing their own doom. Top-notch performances from Scott Bakula, Famke Jannsen, and Kevin J. O’Connor ground this noir cult horror entry, making it an essential watch for fans of Barker as well as anyone who enjoys a moody, off-putting body horror film. Lord of Illusions is available to watch on Tubi.
‘In The Mouth of Madness’ (1994)
John Trent is an insurance investigator sent to uncover the truth about the disappearance of a famous horror writer named Sutter Cane. Trent is convinced that this is all simply a publicity stunt by the most successful genre writer on the planet, though his partner Linda Styles is not so sure. They wind up in Hobb’s End, a town that serves as the center of Cane’s fictional universe, and reality quickly begins to fray.
Directed and scored by the great John Carpenter, In The Mouth of Madness concludes what the director refers to as his “Apocalypse Trilogy,” including prior entries The Thing and Prince of Darkness. Like those two films, it was not particularly well-received on its initial release, but it has been regarded as one of the great horror films of its era. Toying with Lovecraftian themes and delving into common creator anxieties about a creation one can no longer control, this is one of the greats. In The Mouth of Madness is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
‘Tales From The Crypt Presents: Demon Knight’ (1995)
A man named Frank is being pursued by a mysterious entity known as The Collector through the New Mexico desert. He is in a fiery car crash but is pulled to safety at a local boarding house by a man named Willy. Once there, he discovers the place was once a church, which buys him some time against the demonic force hot on his heels. However, as demons tend to be, this one is persuasive, leveraging his charm to undermine Frank’s attempts to keep him out.
Demon Knight is a film offshoot of the Tales From The Crypt TV series, and it bears the show’s love of campy, over-the-top horror tropes. However, the complicated crew The Collector and Frank encounter at the boarding house and performances from legends like Billy Zane, Jada Pinkett, Dick Miller, and others give the film its staying power. Demon Knight is available to rent on YouTube.
‘Copycat’ (1995)
Dr. Helen Hudson is a criminal psychologist who is nearly killed in an attack by a serial killer after a lecture. Though the killer is put away, her psychological wounds cause her to develop severe agoraphobia. When a new killer begins to replicate several infamous murders committed by real-life serial killers, she is forced to help the police that are handling the case before she becomes a target once more.
Though it might fit slightly more soundly in the realm of thriller, a bleak sense of inevitability makes Copycat feel like a horror film. Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter put in top-notch work as two women who are a bit too similar for comfort but eventually become uneasy friends through shared loss and terror. Copycat is available to watch on Starz.
‘Wolf’ (1994)
When Will Randall accidentally hits a black wolf one night, he is bitten by the beast and begins exhibiting wolfish signs himself. As his marriage falls apart and he is demoted from his job, the object of his ire becomes the younger man who has usurped him both at work and in his wife’s affections. As he attempts to gain control of his life, he spirals on a personal level due to his wolf-like behavior.
Werewolf films aren’t the easiest thing to pull off, but Wolf is easily among the subgenre’s best. Rather than focusing on the transformation of man to wolf and back again, the primary struggle is a middle-aged person who feels he’s becoming obsolete. Fighting against the dying of the light in the only way he knows how, the examination of toxic masculinity the film presents here was way ahead of its time. Wolf is available to watch on Hulu.
‘Wes Craven’s New Nightmare’ (1994)
This meta slasher introduces us to the woman behind Nancy of the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise, Heather Langenkamp. Showing her interactions with a Freddy-obsessed fandom and her on-set woes, the movie takes on the film of a reality TV series before that was the cultural phenomenon we know today. Naturally, Freddy is just around the corner, having discovered a way to leap from dreams to the real world, leaving Langenkamp to fight him off just as her character Nancy once did.
Referring to any of the iconic Nightmare On Elm Streetfilms as underrated might seem like a stretch, but there are several entries in the franchise that just don’t get the credit they deserve. At the top of the list is New Nightmare, in which Wes Craven’s uncanny ability to step outside his greatest creations and view them as an audience member hits its peak. The creator would soon show off similar skills in kickstarting the Scream franchise, making this an essential lead-in. New Nightmare is available to watch on HBO Max.
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