My favorite holiday of the year! Jason Sechrest sent me an e-mail telling me of a Top 20 Horror Films list on his website (JASON CURIOUS), which I checked out. He has some great choices.

This led me to consider doing something similar, so I thought I'd list 13 Little-Known Horror Films that you probably haven't seen, but should, because they're so scary! In alphabetical order:



1. ALICE, SWEET ALICE
(1976) Directed by Alfred Sole. a.k.a. COMMUNION a.k.a. HOLY TERROR

I consider this film a Catholic horror film because the church, the religion and how it permeates people's lives is such a big part of this movie. When Alice's little sister (played by Brooke Shields) is murdered during her first communion, she becomes the main suspect. Alice is a withdrawn, brooding child, and it's not hard to imagine that she could be the killer, especially when the murderer wears her raincoat and a creeply mask that also belongs to her. Very creepy and suspenseful.



2. THE CAR
(1977) Directed by Elliot Silverstein.

A great way to work out your road rage. James Brolin plays a sheriff's deputy in a small desert town trying to sort out his personal problems when a demonic car shows up, running over bikers and pedestrians. When the police try to stop it, it soon becomes clear that there is something more going on than just a psycho behind the wheel. Often referred to as "JAWS on wheels", that is really not doing the movie justice. There are lots of fun things going on here, as the car singles out individuals as victims and some of the murders are too far out to believe! Also stars Ronnie Cox as an alchoholic policeman, but Kathleen Lloyd steals the film as Brolin's sassy girlfriend. Watch this one, and I guarantee you'll mimic the car's horn next time you get behind the wheel.



3. COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE
(1970) Directed by Bob Kelljan. a.k.a. THE LOVES OF COUNT IORGA

Set in modern day Los Angeles, a group of young people (in the 70's, young people meant late 20's/early 30's) attend a seance held by aristocratic celebrity medium Count Yorga, who is, in reality, a vampire. A young woman is trying to contact the spirit of her mother, who was Yorga's lover, and he plants a hypnotic suggestion in her mind to come and see him when he calls her. In the film's most frightening sequence, one of the couples drives Yorga home but get their VW van stuck in his long dirt driveway on the way out. They decide to sleep in it and resume the next morning, but after having sex, someone prowls up on the vehicle. The girl wakes up and opens the curtains, the crickets stop chirping, and Yorga's face is in the window! This scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. After this attack, the others who were at the party start to figure out what is going on, and when Yorga kidnaps the girl from the seance, they decide to break into his house and put an end to him once and for all. The film has some erotic scenes, such as when one guy drops his cross and is gang-bitten by vampire women. Another fun scene is when the vampire hunters try to prove that Yorgan is undead by visiting him and rudely trying to keep him up past dawn. Yorga squirms as it gets closer and closer to sunrise, but is too polite to ask his guests to leave!



4. DEEP IN THE WOODS
(2000) Directed by Lionel Delplanque. a.k.a. PROMENONS-NOUS DANS LES BOIS

A great French slasher film! A troupe of actors are hired to perform "Little Red Riding Hood" for a creeply little boy's birthday party in a big mansion isolated in the woods. When it gets late, the boy's grandfather invites them to spend the night, but not to go outside, as a serial rapist/murderer has been stalking the woods. The group drinks and parties, and soon, someone in their Big Bad Wolf costume starts murdering them one by one. Soaked in atmosphere, this creepy film gives you a French perspective on the American slasher movie. Scary and gory, but some great cinematography. Very well done.



5. THE FOG
(1980) Directed by John Carpenter.

Forget that piece of shit remake (yes, I know Tom Welling took his shirt off, but trust me, he's looked better shirtless elsewhere)! For atmosphere, suspense and thrills, you MUST see the original. When the small coastal town of Antonio Bay, California, celebrates its 100th anniversary, the ghosts of lepers whose ship was diverted into a reef and crashed in a conspiracy by the town founders sets off a curse which lets the hook-wielding ghosts attack the town wherever a mysterious fog appears. Adrienne Barbeau plays the local radio DJ in probably her best peformance! If you liked HALLOWEEN, you must see this movie!



6. HELLBENT
(2004) Directed by Paul Etheredge-Outzts.

Finally! A gay slasher film (and no, I'm not talking about BONESAW, available from Adonis Pictures!)! When two young gay men are killed in the park making out in the back seat of a car, four friends unknowingly park in the same spot the next night, taking a short cut through the woods to the big West Hollywood Halloween carnival. This incites the wrath of a big muscular guy in a devil mask carrying a sickle...the killer of the two men from the previous night (maybe it's his parking space). He follows the four through the carnival, picking them off as they try to find Mr. Right...or Mr. Right Now. With characters you actually care about (when was the last time you saw THAT in a FRIDAY THE 13TH movie?), the gay angle turns conventional slasher cliches on their head. Lots of fun.



7. THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK
(1972) Directed by Charles B. Pierce

This was a huge hit when it was originally released, but that was over 30 years ago, so a lot of you probably haven't seen it. The film is about a supposedly real Bigfoot-like creature that terrorizes the small town of Fouke, Arkansas. Shot in documentary style using real locations and real townspeople gives the film a disturbingly authentic quality. The acting, by amateurs, is surprising realistic, making you feel like you're right there as it's happening. Slow in spots and with some eye-rolling songs ("Travis Crabtree", for one), this real star of this film is Boggy Creek, itself. If you liked THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, check this one out.



8. THE LEOPARD MAN
(1943) Directed by Jacques Tourneur.

Yes, I know it's an old movie. Yes, I know it's in black and white. However, don't let that stop you from seeing one of the scariest films made during that time. A black leopard escapes during a nightclub publicity stunt and several people begin to turn up dead, their bodies clawed and mangled. But when the big cat is killed, the deaths continue, prompting the police to look for a human murderer. The film contains a few truly horrifying scenes: an hispanic woman sends her daughter to the store to get flour for dinner, even though it's dark outside. She locks her out, refusing to let her back in until she returns with the flour. But the girl soon sees the leopard and pounds on the door as the mother continues to cook. Also, a woman arranges a lover's rendevouz in the cemetary, but it isn't her boyfriend who shows up. Scary, scary, SCARY!



9. OPERA
(1987) Directed by Dario Argento. a.k.a. TERROR AT THE OPERA

Dario Argento is pretty well known for his incredibly beautiful cinematography, violent murders and senseless plots. Mostly know for SUSPIRIA and DEEP RED, here is another one of his best, but lesser-known films. A young operetta is stalked by a psychotic killer who ties her up, tapes needles under here eyes so she can't close them and forces her to watch him murder his victims. An ingenious (and at the same time, ridiculous) trap is set for the killer involving a theatrical performance, and clues suggest that the psycho may have ties to the young opera singer. Visually stylish with murders you will not forget.



10. ROOMS FOR TOURISTS
(2004) Directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano. a.k.a. HABITACIONES PARA TURISTAS

Five city girls get stranded in a small isolated town in Buenos Aires. The townsfolk seem friendly, and one of them offers to put them up at his hostel where they find themselves being tortured and murdered. As they try to escape, they have to find out who in town is in on the hostel's activities, and whom they can trust. Gory, intense and truly frightening, this film sounds like a HOSTEL rip-off, but it was made one year earlier than that film. Shot in black and white, this movie has one of the most startling, horrific and shocking endings I've ever seen. I still can't stop thinking about it.



11. SESSION 9
(2001) Directed by Brad Anderson.

If you like your horror movies to build slowly and create suspense instead of big shocks, this movie is for you. Four men are hired to remove asbestos from an abandoned mental hospital. One of them finds old spools of tape recordings and obsessively starts to listen to the case of a schizophrenic patient who murdered his family. The other men become more paranoid, and tensions begin to rise between them. Is the old hospital haunted and having an odd effect on them, or could it be something else? The movie starts slow and builds to a level of suspense that by the end, is almost too much to bear. One of my favorites.



12. STRAIT-JACKET
(1964) Directed by William Castle.

A gay favorite! If you're still watching reruns of AUNTIE MAME or THE WOMEN, put that dvd remote down immediately and go out and get this movie! Joan Crawford finds her husband (a very young and hot Lee Majors) in bed with another woman, gets and axe and kills them both while her daughter sleeps in the next room. Joan is sent to a mental hospital and gets out 20 years later, intending to start a new life with the help of her now-adult daughter. Things don't go the way she planned, however, as she keeps hearing a child's nursery rhyme (a variation of the Lizzie Borden song) and sees knives, axes, decapitated heads and other horrors that remind her of her crimes everywhere. The scene you will never forget is where Joan meets her daughter's fiance for the first time. This was spoofed in DIE, MOMMY, DIE! The murders are horrific for this kind of movie, too, and showman Castle gimmicked the movie so that when you bought a ticket, you got a little cardboard axe. Must-see viewing for the gay community.



13. TOWER OF EVIL
(1972) Directed by Jim O'Connolly. a.k.a. THE HORROR OF SNAPE ISLAND a.k.a. BEYOND THE FOG

I wonder why so many of the best horror films came out during the 70's? Originally released as THE HORROR OF SNAPE ISLAND, but best known as TOWER OF EVIL, this stepping stone between Hammer horror films and what would be 80's slasher pics is chock full of gore, creepy mood and violence. When four people are attacked on a deserted island with a lighthouse, the sole survivor is hypnotized into revealing what happened to the others. A team of investigators return to the island to discover the truth and to find a hidden treasure left by a secret cult. The tiny island is inhabited, however, and is as fond of these new visitors as he was the last. Very 70's, very British-mod, lots of groovy fun with sex farce star Robin Askwith in a small serious role.

And finally, I want to end this list with my favorite movie of all time:



THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES
(1971) Directed by Robert Fuest.

This film should be another gay cult classic. Set in 1920's London, doctors are being murdered in very bizarre ways: blood drained by vampire bats, stung to death by swarms of bees, head crushed by a frog's mask, etc. The police are baffled until they realize that all of the victims operated on a young woman five years ago. She didn't survive the surgery. Could her husband, famed organist and theology master Dr. Anton Phibes be responsible, even though he supposedly died in a car accident on the way to the hospital to see his wife? One of the most stylish films I've seen, with art-nouveau sets, elaborate costumes, wonderful music, dancing, posing and an incredible performance by Vincent Price. The movie has high moments of camp (for example, after draining a man's blood, Phibes takes time to dis his art collection). Do yourself a favor and see this!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

JBK