The 1990s were a contentious decade for horror movies, with many films from the era not holding up to the scrutiny of modern sensibilities. Though perhaps not as highly regarded as the previous decade,the greatest 90s horror moviesshowed off what the decade was capable of, from clever slashers that deconstructed the genre likeScreamto thrilling intersections of horror and drama likeThe Silence of the Lambs.Sadly, not every scary movie ages quite as well as these masterpieces, as the 90s has demonstrated repeatedly.
There are many things thatcan date a movie quite substantially when looked back on through a modern lens. In many cases, it’s changing social norms and the constant evolution of pop culture that reflects poorly on films of the past. However,especially bad special effectsor outdated filmmaking practices can be just as destructive to a given movie’s longevity, especially in the horror space, where such aspects are especially important.
While not considered to be theworst entry in the veneratedHalloweenfranchise, the legacy sequelHalloween: H20has only gotten worse with time. Much like 2018’sHalloween,Halloween: H20sees the return of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode after 20 real-life and in-universe years. Here, it’s revealed that the former is actually the latter’s long-lost brother, a startling lore addition that remains controversial, even to this day.Halloween: H20got some things right, but has aged particularly gruesomely in several key aspects.
Essentially taking the same premise as Halloween: H20 and upgrading it with more thoughtful cinematography, better performances, and more creative kills.
The simple fact that 2018’sHalloweennow exists renders the movie somewhat obsolete. Essentially taking the same premise asHalloween: H20and upgrading it with more thoughtful cinematography, better performances, and more creative kills,2018’sHalloweenalmost feels like a patch of its outdated older sibling. This is only compounded byHalloween: H20’s infamously bad Michael Myers mask, one of the most important things to get right with theHalloweenfranchise.
It’s easy to forget that 2017’sItwasn’t the first feature-length adaptation of Stephen King’s iconic horror novel. As early as 1990, a straight-to-TV two-part movie with the same title invaded screens on syndication, famously featuring Tim Curry as Pennywise the dancing clown.Even if Curry’s performance in the villainous role is iconic, there’s no denying that the modern version of events is strongerfor more than a few reasons.
The film was also hamstrung heavily by TV censorship at the time, which did away with iconic scenes like Pennywise devouring Georgie’s arm.
First and foremost,the lean budget of 1990’sItlimited the film greatly in portraying Pennywise’s dizzying powers of fright, coming off as unintentionally funny as it attempted to squeeze terror out of simple balloons. The film was also hamstrung heavily by TV censorship at the time, which did away with iconic scenes like Pennywise devouring Georgie’s arm. With the 2017 version being free of such limitations, while having a massively increased production value thanks to the magic of modern cinema, it’s hard not to feel like the originalItis anything more than a curious artifact.
Speaking of Stephen King adaptations, undoubtedly one of the strangest of them all is none other than 1992’The Lawnmower Man. Very loosely based on a short story of the same name,Stephen King actually suedThe Lawnmower Manin an effort to remove his name from the project,considering its abysmal quality and dramatic departures from the original narrative. Rather,The Lawnmower Manfabricates essentially an all-new plot surrounding mad experiments involving elaborate virtual reality simulations.
The Lawnmower Man: Ending & Virtual World Explained
The Lawnmower Man is a strange early 90s cyberpunk horror film very loosely based on a short story by Stephen King that remains oddly compelling.
The Lawnmower Man’s special effects already looked dated by the time of their release in 1992, and to modern eyes, they somehow look even worse.Outside the terrible CGI, the plot itself has some questionable depictions of intellectual disabilities that haven’t aged gracefully, either. Never considered to be an unambiguous classic,The Lawnmower Manis even lowlier of a horror movie by present day standards.
7Jack-O
1995
Often confused on a surface level with 1988’s creature featurePumpkinhead,the similarly gourd-themedJack-Oisn’t quite as well-known. Featuring a suspiciously similar pumpkin-headed monster,Jack-Otells the story of a terrifying animated scarecrow that rises from a shallow grave to punish the ancestors of the family that executed its creator. The aptly-named Jack-O-Lantern proceeds to go on a killing rampage in search of its vengeance, though not without a few awkward missteps that are very indicative of the film’s time period.
Despite its far-out premise,Jack-Oattempts to offer some ham-fisted commentary on the rise of the right-wing American cultural war as perpetrated by figures like Rush Limbaugh, hilariously parodied in the film by a televised stand-in referred to as “Rush Gingbaw.“But the film has no graceful way to marry these ambitious statements with the actual horror, as Jack-O-Lantern’s rampage happens more-or-less in the background. Today, the film’s political themes feel very much a product of their time.
One of the earliesthorror movie appearances of Elijah Wood,The Facultymay be fondly-remembered by those who haven’t seen it since it’s late 90s premiere. Sadly, looking back from a modern perspective,there are a few areas in which the science fiction mystery thriller fails to withstand the test of time.The Facultytells anEvasion of the Body Snatchers-style story evoking the great B-movies of the 50s, with alien creatures invading an average high school.
It’s cast of shallow student stereotypes problematically includes an outcast girl who pretends to be a lesbian, but is in actuality secretly straight, something that the movie frames as a relief.
It’s because of this high school setting thatThe Facultyages so remarkably badly, catering to behaviors and slang that late 90s teens may have found cool, but seem painfully outdated today. It’s cast of shallow student stereotypes problematically includes an outcast girl who pretends to be a lesbian, but is in actuality secretly straight, something that the movie frames as a relief. It’s not surprising that a horror movie likeThe Facultydoesn’t have the best LGBTQ takes, but it’s still disappointing nonetheless.
A horror anthology film with an urban twist, it’s easy to guess whyTales from the Hoodaged poorly from its very title.The film’s narrative weaves through a collection of four short horror films as told through the framing device of a trio of drug dealerstalking to a funerary director they’re buying from. Some of these segments are stronger than others, but the worst of them present some disastrous attempts at social commentary that feel out-of-place in the modern age.
Tales from the Hoodmixes in very real racist threats like police brutality and terrorist organizations like the KKK with fantastical elements, creating an odd polarization of the film’s tone.By modern standards, it seems absurd to attach such serious themes to ghoulish and fantastical elements like zombies and monsters.This is especially true in a cinematic landscape following the release ofGet Out,which actually managed to perfect this balancing act in a meaningful way.
Of all the mythological creatures and deities to turn into horror movie villains, the humble leprechaun seems like an odd choice. Still, that didn’t stop 90s filmmakers from trying, and the legacy ofLeprechaunspeaks for itself.The plot concerns an American who attracts the ire of the titular malicious fae after stealing his pot of gold, resulting in the trapped Leprechaun rising again to terrorize a family after being trapped for ten years.
Leprechaunwasn’t exactly a critical success upon its release in 1993, and the years since haven’t been any kinder to it.From the bad performances to the uncanny makeup and cringeworthy attempts at humor, everythingLeprechaundoes is a testament to the laziest filmmaking practicesof yesteryear. Yet somehow, the film managed to spawnan entireLeprechaunfranchise, featuring a whopping 8 movies.
In nearly every quantifiable aspect,Se7enis a chilling horror-thriller worthy of the conversation for the most disturbing widely-released film of all time. Featuring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a leading pair of detectives tracking down the perpetrator of a grisly series of murders themed around the biblical seven deadly sins,Se7enis a triumph of acting skill, tone, and visceral discomfort. Sadly, the film has aged incredibly poorly for one single reason out of its control entirely.
Se7en Ending Explained (In Detail)
David Fincher’s 1995 thriller Se7en boasts one of the best shock endings in cinema, but it’s far more than a simple twist and an iconic line.
The reveal of Kevin Spacey as the film’s elusive serial killer is a tough pill to swallow with present-day knowledge.In 2017, several alarming allegations of sexual misconduct came out against Spacey, which went on to tank his career. While Spacey was acquitted of all criminal charges, his new reputation puts his sexual crimes inSe7enas the deranged John Doe in a disturbing new light.
One of the most important films to help popularizethe found footage horror genre, callingTheBlair Witch Projectoutdated may be a tad sacrilegious.The film was assuredly clever with what it was able to accomplish with so little, stringing the viewer along with a slow burn of dread as it expounded upon the story of a documentary crew searching for an elusive witch. That being said,The Blair Witch Projectoffers very little payoff for its impressive foundation of tension.
Famously,the advertising campaign ofThe Blair Witch Projectmisled many prospective viewers into thinking the footage was genuine, something that could’ve been easily disproven with the internet today. It’s not absurd to suppose that the film owes a large portion of its success and popularity to this confusion over its authenticity, the idea that the film could be a genuine documentary carrying its scare factor.
1Brain Twisters
1991
The Lawnmower Manwasn’t the only horror film to attempt scares via the digital landscape. EnterBrain Twisters,a seldom-seen conspiratorial sci-fi thriller centered around a mad scientist of a college professor that subjects his students to devious virtual realities, resulting in deadly violent outbursts. Another early exploration of the digital age through a sufficiently cheesy horror story,Brain Twistershas become a quaint time capsule of a film years later.
Tim Burton’s New Horror Movie Couldn’t Resist Honoring Jenna Ortega’s Wildly Popular Wednesday Scene
Much of Jenna Ortega’s popularity stems from her role as Wednesday Addams, so it’s no surprise that Beetlejuice 2 would honor the Netflix series.
It almost goes without saying that the crude CGI depicting the film’s digital worlds looks absolutely abysmal by today’s standards, not even being particularly impressive in 1991. As if that weren’t enough,Brain Twistersalso goes heavy on the exacerbating 90s wardrobe choices, with some eye-sore outfits worn by the college students that look positively foreign by today’s fashion trends.One of the most intensely 90s horror movies ever made,Brain Twistershasn’t exactly aged gracefully.
