I'm still mourning this season's end of True Blood. I so enjoyed the idea behind the series. I mean, come on, what could be better than southern vampires?! It got me back in touch with my hillbilly roots. But alas, True Blood will not be returning until this summer, which is too damn long to wait, and I'm still jonesing for some good down home horror. But what to watch?
Sure, there's plenty of slasher films out there with the stereotypical psycho rednecks and inbred hillbillies, but I wanted something a little different. There's more to the South than shotgun and ax toting psychopaths. Right?
With that in mind, I started a list of some of my favorite southern style horror flicks. Some are old, some are somewhat new, but all will have that unique backwoods/southern flair. And before you ask, no, Deliverance isn't on the list. I'm sorry, but the line "squeal like a pig," just doesn't git 'r done any more.
1.Pumpkinhead (1988)
This little gem tells the story of Ed Harley (Lance Henrikson), a widowed dad running an old fashioned country store that caters mainly to poor hillfolk. When a group of city kids with dirt bikes stop by the store on the way to their cabin in the woods, Ed's son little Billy goes outside to watch the boys kick up some dirt on their bikes and gets hit and killed in the process.
Devastated, Ed seeks the aid of an old witch, who conjures up Pumpkinhead, a vengeance demon, to avenge Billy's death. Later regretting his decision, Ed tries to thwart the demon and save the city kids, but slowly comes to realize that he is tied to the demon in more ways than one.
This is one movie that I've never grown tired of. From the creepy backwoods shanties to the dirty, cover-all wearing kids chanting the Pumpkinhead rhyme, its hillbilly horror at its best. Honestly though, I can't say who looked more scary, the demon or the witch what conjured him!
2.Slither (2006)
This sweet sci-fi flick pays homage to the classic B movie sci-fi monsters of yesteryear.
When a meteorite from outerspace crashes in the woods outside of a small town, it unleashes an alien horror on the unsuspecting citizens. Slimy, red alien slugs soon threaten to overtake the town as they slither their way into the bodies of their human hosts, transforming them into hideous malformed creatures.
This movie is a perfect blend of black humor and sci-fi horror, with scenes that will have you jumping in your seat one minute and rolling with laughter the next. And just wait 'til you see the mutated "tick" lady in the barn!
3.The Gift (2000)
Ok, this might be categorized more as a thriller/mystery than a horror flick, but it's got ghosts, so close enough!
Cate Blanchett plays Annie Wilson, a widowed mother of three struggling to get by in a small backwater town by using her "gift" as a clairvoyant to help make ends meet, giving psychic readings out of her home. Harassed by a client's angry redneck boyfriend, worried about her unstable mechanic friend Buddy, and haunted by visions of a murdered debutante's ghost, Annie seems to constantly find herself in the midst of unwanted drama. Then when the local sheriff comes calling to ask Annie for help in solving the debutante's murder, she discovers that her visions could end up costing her more than her time and patience. They could end up costing her her life.
Seeing Cate Blanchett play a southern plain jane mom of three was different, but watching Keanu Reeves get his redneck on was just weird. But to my surprise, he actually did a decent job of it. I'd say Hilary Swank, who played his abused wife, had the bruises to testify to that. And Katie Holmes playing as the murdered debutante and two - no- three timing fiance of the sensitive school principal (Greg Kinnear) did a great job, but then acting like a hussy in one scene then a water-logged ghost the next takes talent. I just don't know if Tom would have approved of her wicked little ways.
4.Cabin Fever (2002)
A group of horny coeds head out to the woods for some rural relaxation and end up getting more than they bargained for. Something's in the water and it's catching... and slowly eating them alive.
This was an okay flick with some decent gore and good suspenseful action. It's a flesh-eating disease done down home style. And the redneck body dump by the waterin' hole was classic,but still predictable. You just knew there was gonna be a sequel. Soooo Hollywood.
5.The Reaping (2007)
Hilary's back again, this time playing disillusioned Christian missionary turned Atheist scientist/miracle debunker Katherine Winter. When Katherine is called in to debunk the claim that the biblical 10 plagues of Egypt have come to a backwater Louisiana town called Haven, her hard core atheist attitude gets rattled. While there she discovers that a little girl is at the center of the mystery, not to mention she's also a suspect in her brother's murder.
While Katherine struggles to uncover the truth that has been hidden by the seemingly harmless townfolk, she soon finds herself and the strange little girl in a fight for their lives, and possibly even their souls.
I admit, I've always been a sucker for religious horror flicks and this film really hit the spot, especially since we've got good ol' southern religious fanatics around to up the suspense ante.
6.An American Haunting (2005)
This is the retelling of an old Tennessee ghost story from the 1800's that actually made it into the history books.
John Bell is a well-to-do Tennessee farmer with a large family who suddenly finds his peaceful existence threatened by an unseen malevolent spirit. The spirit takes a special liking to his favorite daughter Betsy, torturing the teenage girl unmercifully to exact revenge against John Bell for some unknown wrong. Soon the entire Bell family is held in the grip of terror, never knowing how or when the evil spirit will strike next.
Now, the film is based partly on actual recorded events that supposedly took place in and around the Bell family home in Red River, TN. between the years 1818-1820. Some claimed it was an evil spirit conjured up by Kate Batts, a neighbor who believed John Bell had wronged her and gotten away with it. Others believe it was Kate herself haunting the family... I dunno, maybe she was an astral traveling witch?
The whole incest angle added into the ending of the film however is pure conjecture with no proof to support it, so don't go running off telling all your friends that the south has been irrefutably proven to be the incest capital of the world. We're still trying to convince people that we actually wear shoes!
7.The Skeleton Key (2005)
There's more conjurin' going on in this film, but this time it's done hoodoo style. Kate Hudson plays Caroline Harris, a hospice worker who takes a job as a caretaker for an invalid named Ben at his creepy New Orleans plantation. Already finding it hard to adjust to the isolation and Ben's frigid wife Violet, Caroline soon begins experiencing strange phenomena around the huge old house that only add to her already frayed nerves.
After discovering a mysterious locked door in the attic, Caroline makes it her personal mission to discover what secrets are locked within. After pilfering the skeleton key and unlocking the door, she finds a macabre and strange collection of objects, the most intriguing being an old phonograph recording and a picture of two black house servants that once worked at the plantation. Before Caroline even realizes it, she is neck deep in the mystery that surrounds that dark little attic room and the darker secrets it holds.
Actually, I thought the film was a little over-the-top with the stereotypical images and characters, but all in all it was an interesting thriller with the added bonus of dark magic and mayhem.
8.Dead Birds (2004)
It's Lovecraft meets the American Civil War in this demonic horror tale.
A group of Confederate soldiers turned thieves rob a bank holding a large sum of Confederate gold, but everything goes awry when the robbery turns quickly into a bloodbath. Now on the run for Mexico, the group takes refuge in a deserted Alabama plantation overnight to escape a raging storm, but while there, they get anything but a good night's sleep! This plantation has a secret, a deep dark secret that involves the previous family, strange magical rites, and monstrous beings that haunt the very walls in which the fugitive gang is now hiding.
The story itself was interesting, mainly due to the fact that it is set during the Civil War. I dunno, I guess I just expect Lovecraftian style stories to all take place around the early 1900's with men dressed in waistcoats and smoking jackets. Weird, but true. Anyway, the concept was unique in that one respect, but overall the film itself could have been done better. Still, it was a decent flick and kept me amused. The little demon kiddies are sooo cute!
Well, that's it for my backwoods round up of favorite horror flicks. If I think of any more, I'll be sure to give ya a holler. Hope y'all have a good'n!
Cheers ~
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