Our favourite theatrical, cheesy, and wacky horror movies are at the epicentre of pop-culture horror nerds like myself. The best ones often fly under the box office hits’ radar, so here’s a list to watch for spooky season.
Image credit: IMDB
Rocky Horror Picture Show
1975 brought us perhaps the ‘Campiest’ horror musical meld by Jim Sharman. A box office flop at its time, Rocky Horror Picture show is now one of the most loved pop culture movies of its time. Deemed too sexually suggestive on its initial release, audiences overcame their prudeness and enveloped themself in this story following a couple, Brad and Janet, stumbling across into Frank – N – Furters lab where hes created a man. Filled with campy costumes, over the top and sumbliminally sexual songs, its worth a watch this halloween.
Hocus Pocus
Directed by Kenny Ortega in 1993 for Disney, Hocus Pocus follows the now iconic Sanderson sisters. Three witches are summoned by a cursed candle lit by the new kid in town, Max. What follows is a wacky, cheesy, light-hearted movie. Made for kids but loved by adults, the film was reimagined in its new sequel which released in 2022, aptly named Hocus Pocus 2.
Scream
In 1997, Wes Craven created what seems to be a never-ending series of meta-slasher movies with returning loveable characters. The final girl, Sidney Prescott, (played by Neve Campbell for nearly every installment after the first) escapes several killers who all don a cheap Halloween scream mask.
Filled with twists and turns, jump scares, and meta jokes to poke fun at the other horror movies in the 90s, it’ll either make you laugh, or scream!
Jennifer’s Body
2009 brought us Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried in this dark comedy-horror. It follows the demonic possession of Jennifer (Megan Fox) who has a craving for human flesh. Still, when her ‘best friend’ Needy (Amanda Seyfried) finds this out she plans to stop her before she kills anyone else.
The movie flopped at its time but has become a pop-culture phenomenon with an amazing rewatchable-ness for every Halloween or spooky sleepover.
M3GAN
Blumhouse churns out campy horror movies like no one else. In 2022 we got M3GAN, probably the wackiest, overdramatic, and funniest movie on this list that can still be considered horror. It follows an AI doll voiced by Jenna Davis.
Without giving away too much for the few die-hard horror fans who still have not seen it, there’s blood, guts, knives, and a dancing doll – it even has a singing scene!
The Substance
This is the newest movie on this list, having only come out in September. With Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore, The Substance caused worldwide walkouts for how little its trailer revealed. The movie turned out to be wilder, weirder, more over-the-top, and downright bloodier than audiences expected.
With an interesting, dystopian undertone to the film, it follows a new drug that can create a new you, from you. However, the movie takes a turn and monsters are made. It has an overall important message about femininity in older women and societal expectations of how they should look.
Why do we love these movies though? I think it’s because unlike new-wave horror movies like those produced by A24, campy horror movies don’t make us think. They let us sit back and enjoy, they’re easier on the eyes and often pack jokes and slapstick humour along the way rather than psychological torture. Often, they have better soundtracks and sometimes, like in Hocus Pocus, have whole musical numbers.
If you can go see a campy horror movie this Halloween, the Vue offers £4.99 cinema tickets so it won’t cost an arm and a leg. Let’s give campy horror the love it deserves!
Feature image credit: TheNews-Gazette.com
[…] claimed as a camp-horror by Brig, Jennifer’s Body is brought up once again yet this time it is to discuss its possible future. A […]