Matthew Reine
We’re still a few weeks away from Halloween 2015 and I’m still in a spooky cinematic mood. As a result, I’d like to keep up the horror film discussion here at CXF. Get ready for more scares, thrills, blood, and gore leading up to the very last Halloween of my 20s.
We all learned in my previous piece how the slasher film’s re-emergence in the late 1990s breathed new life into the genre. In addition to the slashers I covered in that post, it seemed that there were more horror films in the late 90s and early 2000s than ever. It at least appeared that way for a young kid like myself. Young people are naturally drawn to these dark pictures so on the eve of the new millennium and beyond, I started to take more notice of the stuff that was just hitting theaters at the time. I remember so many commercials for all sorts of horror films: slapstick, science fiction, psychological, supernatural, you name it. I notice how a lot of these very movies don’t really receive the amount of attention other, more popular films got. The following five films have their audience, sure, but they don’t have the buzz nowadays. Some because they were legitimate snoozers but some just slipped through the cracks for whatever reason. Let’s see:
Cube (1997)
Up first is Cube. This was a low-budgeted, Canadian film that was unlike anything audiences had seen at the time. While it debuted at festivals in ‘97, it didn’t hit American theaters until late ‘98 so it had the opportunity to build up a good reputation and word of mouth.
Six strangers suddenly awake in an unmarked room and figure out they’re trapped in a maze that’s inhabited by a plethora of deadly traps. They now must work together to get out of this structure alive which brings trust issues and sacrifices. Mathematics are a big theme in play here as they’re used to decide which rooms are safe.
An excellent concept but a pretty underwhelming film to say the least. I looked really forward to renting this on VHS when it was released but wound up wanting more by the end. It had two sequels, neither of which were anything to write home about. I am interested however in seeing what a proper studio remake can do and what do you know, a remake is actually currently in production.
I used to always confuse this movie with Sphere, a film from around the same time Cube was released starring Dustin Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson about a ship that’s uncovered at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by a force field – or sphere – that causes problems for a gang of scientists.
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
You know, I recall so many horror films from 1998. My generation knows this year all too well. In addition to Urban Legend, Bride of Chucky, and Halloween H20, you had stuff like The Faculty, the terrible Psycho remake and Disturbing Behavior.
This little-talked about movie starring Katie Holmes and James Marsden was about a small Washington town whose local high school is overrun by a group of kids who seem a little… off. They’re always happy and seemingly flawless but after witnessing some erratic conduct from some of them, it’s uncovered that there’s a strange procedure being done to make the teenagers act this way. It’s now up to our main characters to stop it. I remember laughing my head off at one particular part of the previews where a student asks Katie Holmes on a date and after she rejects him, he flips out replying “WHY NOT?”. I looked up the trailer for this film before writing this entry and I was not disappointed when that part was came on. I laughed out loud.
The movie wasn’t very good to be honest but I do appreciate that it was at least trying to do something other than the typical slasher. It gave a bit of a Twilight Zone feeling at first but then it devolved into a mindless story and horrific acting. Remember that scene in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror where Homer goes back in time and finds out that Ned Flanders is the supreme ruler of the world who forces everyone to smile? That’s what this movie reminds me of the most.
Idle Hands (1999)
Now Idle Hands was great. It was the perfect blend of horror and comedy that had viewers laughing and rocking to the very end with plenty of gory moments to compliment. Devon Sawa stars as Anton, a teenager who accidentally murders his family and two best friends after his right hand becomes possessed causing it to move beyond his control producing dire consequences. His friends return as zombies to help him find what’s come over his body and squash the evil for good. This includes them actually hacking his hand clean off but the vengeful limb doesn’t stop and destroys everything in its path.
Devon Sawa seemed to be an up-and-coming star in the late 90s but after the first Final Destination film, he seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. IMDB tells me he had a recurring role in the 2010 CW series, Nikita, but he hasn’t been in much since.
A truly awesome moment from Idle Hands was when one of my favorite bands, The Offspring, appear as themselves performing at a school Halloween party. Lead singer, Dexter Holland, even gets some speaking lines before he’s scalped by the hand in one of the funnier death scenes I can remember.
Stir of Echoes (1999)
Before he was Hollow Man, Kevin Bacon was building up his resume in the world of horror. He actually appeared in the very first Friday the 13th film and made a few other appearances in horror flicks through the 90s. None of them better though than Stir of Echoes. Here, Bacon’s character, a non-believer of supernatural occurrences, is put under hypnosis and winds up having recurring dreams of a young girl from his neighborhood who disappeared years earlier. Every time he awakens from these visions, he becomes severely dehydrated which leads to a funny gag when he opens the fridge and we see nothing but cartons of orange juice inside.
As he is continually haunted, he becomes obsessed with the girl, and is determined to get to the bottom of her disappearance. What he finds out though, he may not like.
I enjoyed the hell out this flick when I first saw it. Admittedly, this wasn’t an appropriate film for a 13-year-old to see in theaters but I was more captivating by the mystery more than anything. A smarter film than many people give credit for and kept me on the edge of my seat. A 2004 direct-to-DVD sequel starring Rob Lowe of all people was released to crickets.
Valentine (2001)
Even at the time, I hated Valentine and its overall misogynist overtones. Not to mention its lack of originality. Here, a killer wearing a white mask (sound familiar?) resembling Cupid stalks and hunts down the four women during the romantic holiday who made his life a living hell years earlier. The story opens at a school dance where a shy, nerdy kid named Jeremy Melton asks several girls to boogie with him. All three girls shut him down while a fourth graciously accepts his offer. After they hit it off, some bullies intervene. The girl, embarrassed, claims Jeremy sexually harassed her, protecting her reputation. The bullies proceed to beat him up and strip him naked for the entire school to see. Uh oh, Now he wants payback!
Valentine is very paint-by-numbers. Nothing we haven’t seen since Scream became huge. This was also Hollywood’s attempt at making David Boreanaz a leading man after the steam he built up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. It didn’t work (which is a shame since I actually like him) and he returned to television later on starring in the popular Fox series, Bones.
