Here’s a not so secret about me, I un-ironically love bad horror movies. My favorites are campy horror movies from the 50s and 60s, typically star Vincent Price or Christopher Lee, and are overacted by a factor of 10,000. Whether these movies are actually good can be debatable. I don’t think I’d call The Blog a good movie (let alone a good horror movie), but I would call it an entertaining one.
When I’m having a tough time and need a good laugh, I like put on one of these movie. There’s no denying the VelociPaster is a mess of a movie, but I will laugh my butt off when there are explosions being heard and the screen just says “VFX: Car on Fire”. Leprechaun (the 1993 version with pre-famous Jennifer Aniston) has some actual scary moments, even if it is hard to take Warwick Davis’s character seriously when he’s laughing like a Saturday morning cartoon villain.
Recently, I was able to watch Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which is a classic B Horror movie from the late 1980s. It is a glorious example of a so bad it’s good kind of horror movie. There were some genuinely horrifying moments between the campy acting and costumes. It was a clear throw back to the creature features of the 1950s (30 something teenagers et. all). However, I was actually disturbed by the clown klown that was luring a little girl away from her family, or the klown pretending to be a statue outside of a pharmacy, or the ending where it’s implied that pretty much everyone but the final characters die in the town.
Also the costumes are by far the creepiest clown costumes - beating out all three It movies by a landslide.
Old B horror movies might be my go to, but sometimes a gem of a B horror movie comes out now. However, these movies typically aren’t shown in theaters.
Thanks to the streaming wars and Internet critics, B horror movies have had a bit of a renaissance. Some are actually pretty good, others are so bad they’re good (VelociPaster on Amazon Prime falls here), and then you have the so boring I can’t watch this anymore. That last category is the worst. I watch B horror movies for a cheap thrill and a hearty laugh, not because I want to fall asleep.
Willy’s Wonderland, starting a completely mute Nick Cage, is one of those so bad it’s good. I love this movie. Did it scare me? Not really. I may have jumped a couple of times because of a loud noise or jump scare. I did laugh my butt off and did care about the characters (even if I knew most were gonna die). My cat, however, did find the movie scary and didn’t like the humans dying (she’s a sensitive kitty).
It was because I’d watched Willy’s Wonderland that a new horror movie popped up on my recommendations.
Haunt (2019) is a legit intense B horror movie. It’s not the most amazing horror movie I’ve ever seen - it is very much a B horror movie and was made with a shoe-string budget. However, what it lacks in effects it makes up for solid performances and seriously creepy moments. This movie doesn’t rely on jump scares. There’s only one that I can think of and it’s deserved for all of its dumbness. Instead, this movie uses voyeuristic techniques, long stretches of silence, and effective theming to create a fantastic horror experience. There are still a few funny moments - the movie takes place in an extreme haunted house experience and knows how to have fun with the setting.
It’s not The House October Built, but Haunt knows what it’s doing.
B horror movies walk a fine line. They still need to be scary on some level, while still being fun. There might be a wink at the camera and some self awareness, but the best also take the material they are working with seriously. There’s a reason Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Leprechaun are considered cult classics. Heck, I’d argue Poltergeist is a classic B movie with an A list director to give it credibility.
But the overarching message of this post is a simply silly one: horror movies can be comfort movies, especially the campy, overacted ones with 30 somethings playing teenagers.
Until next week.
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