This post is about some of my favorite horror movies. I have probably seen a couple of thousand films in this genre. This handful of titles comes from a decade in movie history that I enjoy a lot, the 1980s.
I will start this blog post with an intro. Working towards these 5 horror comedies.
Feel free to scroll down to the movies, if you're a little impatient. You can start reading underneath the Dracula poster.
I love the 80s!
I was born in 1981, most of my best memories are from the 80s. Whenever I look back at that time, a nostalgic feeling - a sentimental longing - overcomes me. So many good memories!
We don't laugh enough (when we get older)
Yesterday I learnt that kids laugh about 300 times per day. And adults 5 times.
As we grow up, we tend to get so serious.
Watching movies is one way to escape reality but also to have a laugh.
Whenever I feel like I need a laugh and want to watch something not so serious,
I tend to pick a movie from the 1980s. And if I'm not watching a film, I also really enjoy listening to music from that era.
Without going into sociopolitical or historical reasons, the 80s seemed to be a fun time.
It is a decade that I look back on with a smile on my face. This fun or humor was often reflected in its movies.
How I got into Horror
When I grew up, I soon became an avid reader. Probably around my early teens, I really got into scary stories. I remember having read all the books with the symbol of a ghost on the side, in the kids department of the library. At a certain moment, I discovered the books of Stephen King and starting devouring them one by one.
(as I later did with the movie adaptations of his books)
From Books to Movies
Having read the above, it won't come as a surprise to you that - when I started to watch movies - I soon discovered the 'HORROR' genre there too. I guess it started out by coincidentally stumbling upon some scary movies on TV (we only had cable TV when I was 12 years old, in 1993). I remember one of them was Arachnophobia (a horror comedy about Spiders). It scared the hell out of my little sister and merely made me laugh.
A little later, I started visiting video rental stores with friends. What attracted us most, besides the porn section - we were too scared to hire those movies - was definitely the HORROR department. Just looking at the pictures on the VHS covers, or some random posters, was enough to make our teenage minds go wild. I vividly remember the impression this particular movie poster - promoting Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula (1992) - made on me in the early 90s.
At the time, I had just started learning English. And I kept trying to understand and grasp the meaning of the little sentence at the top of the poster: "LOVE NEVER DIES".
AND NOW BACK TO 80s HORROR__
Gremlins (1984)
This is probably one of the first horror comedies that I watched a dozen times. Not just because I thoroughly enjoyed it, but also because it always played on TV during the Christmas holidays. Gremlins stars the 'oh so cute' mogwai Gizmo.
I remember watching this movie with my brother when I was 12 years old and he was 3.
Our mom didn't like that. I tried to explain the scenes in such a way, that it didn't scare him. Apparently, I didn't really succeed. He loves movies but has never become a fan of the horror genre.
To be honest, that might also be due to the far scarier horror movies that I showed him when he was in his early teens ;)
From Comedy Horror to Horror Comedy
Critters (1988)
I don't remember it clearly. I either watched this first on TV, or after renting it from a video store. One thing I do remember, is that I liked it so much that I wanted to see it again on my birthday sleepover party. At the time, in the mid 90s, we used to hold movie marathons on birthday parties. I must have been around 14 years old and I managed to rent this for my birthday. I felt very proud as I probably looked 12. I was a small kid with kind of a baby face back then. I have no memories of that exact birthday party, but the movie surely made an impression on me. It probably also scared my early teen friends quite a lot.
Critters is an action packed, kind of bloody, scifi horror movie that oozes 80s nostalgia. There are 3 follow ups that are forgettable. A very young Leonardo DiCaprio plays a role in part 3.
The Shining (1980
This is a picture of one of my very favorite scenes of this movies. The creepy effect was mainly due to its cinematography and camera movement. It can be considered a classic example of the huge potential of the so called 'steadicam'. For those who are interested in the use of this camera rig in The Shining, here's an interesting article for further reading:
http://www.tested.com/art/movies/457145-shining-and-steadicam/
The Shining is, besides Gremlins, one of the (horror) movies that I've watched most times. For someone who has seen over 5000 films, watching a movie ten times or more is definitely an exception. It's one of these movies that I can watch again and again. I also don't mind watching fragments or scenes. But, as soon as I do, I find it very hard to stop watching.
The movie drags me in as does the Overlook hotel (in the film) with its visitors. As soon as you're in, it's extremely hard to get out.
The Evil Dead (1981) / Evil Dead II (1987)
I probably discovered this film in University, while studying film history. It definitely wasn't in one of my school books, but more likely recommended by a classmate. I watched it many times and enjoy it on every occasion. It's a fairly low budget horror movie with a great atmosphere, beautiful gore scenes and - effects. It is also one of few films/ franchises of which I really enjoy Part 2. The second is probably even funnier!
(John Carpenter's) The Thing (1982)
A remake of a 50s movie that was an adaptation of an even older book. John Carpenter's The Thing is definitely one of my favorite scifi horror movies, together with Alien that just falls outside this decade, as it's from 1979.
It's just one of these films that I enjoy on all fronts. From story, to settings, to atmosphere. From acting to soundtrack. Enough said.
TO BE CONTINUED
There are dozens of more horror movies from the 80s that I really enjoy. But these are the first 5 that came to mind. How do you like 80s horror? What are your favorites?
Please hit me up in the replies section...
Image Sources:
The Gremlins: http://www.fullpeliculashd.com/buscar/?q=gremlins
Critters: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/critters-1986
The Shining: http://www.indiewire.com/2013/03/23-7-facts-about-stanley-kubricks-the-shining-100294/
The Evil Dead: http://basementrejects.com/review/evil-dead-1981/
The Thing: https://houseofgeekery.com/2014/11/14/why-i-love-john-carpenters-the-thing/