Five Underrated Horror Films More People Should See
Fashionably Undead 9: An Experiment in Terror is fast approaching, and as we gear up for the big event, we’re highlighting some of the amazing folks from the horror community who are bringing the party to life. Isabella L. Price, this year’s Fashionably Undead master of ceremonies, is Seattle's only Horror Hostess, combining a love of horror and burlesque performance. She has a background working in film, costume design, screenwriting, podcasting, and teaching, and she currently hosts a monthly horror show at the Northwest Film Forum called Nocturnal Emissions. We sat down with Isabella to ask her about horror films she feels more people should see.
What are five underrated horror films that you feel more people should see?
Isabella: I love this question. There are about five movies that every horror fan talks about ad-nauseum: Halloween, Friday the 13th, Child's Play, Sleepaway Camp, and Evil Dead. It's not that I don't like those movies but I'm tired of talking about them. There are so many amazing movies that get pushed further and further into the margins because we only focus on a handful of movies.
1. Ganja & Hess
Isabella: A movie that horror fans need to see, first and foremost, is 1973's Ganja & Hess. This movie is a beautiful vampire film about addiction, alienation, black identity, and co-dependence. If you are a fan of movies like Only Lovers Left Alive, Bram Stoker's Dracula, or Interview with a Vampire, then you have to see Ganja & Hess.
2. It Comes at Night
Isabella: My next pick would be 2017's It Comes at Night. This film suffered from bad marketing and was looked over by audiences. People were promised a zombie flick a la The Walking Dead and instead got a quiet, slow, meditation on adolescence and human connection. There are so many tense shots in the movie, it doesn't answer all the questions, and it's very relatable. Being a teenager is hard but being a teenager during the apocalypse...imagine that!
3. Crimson Peak
Isabella: Next would be 2015's Crimson Peak. It goes without saying that Guillermo del Toro is a genius. His use of practical effects and his dream-like, fairytale quality creates something so lush and unique. Lush! A lush nightmare! That's how I would describe it. Crimson Peak also suffered from bad marketing, it was made to seem like it was going to be some jump-scare schlock, but it was more than that: it was a ghost story built out of a telenovela. Also, Tom Hiddleston's butt is in it!
4. The Girl with All the Gifts
Isabella: 2016's The Girl with All the Gifts is next. This movie is from the UK and maybe that's why hardly anyone in the states saw it. This movie has an amazing premise to it and a really incredible message about the weight that is often placed on black girls in a society that maligns them at the same time.
5. Overlord
Isabella: For a complete departure, my last film is 2018's Overlord. I'm known as a "horror snob" but that's just slander! I like low brow movies with brains, which is like how I would describe myself: low brow with brains. This movie is a hyper-violent gorefest with evil Nazis, mutants, and flamethrowers. I don't know why it wasn't nominated for an Oscar.
Learn more about and buy tickets for Fashionably Undead 9: An Experiment In Terror at mopop.org/fashionablyundead