Horror movies live a comeback stage of certain 90s classics which is returning icons such as Ghostface, with the long-awaited ‘Scream 5’ (2021) at the doors or the recent ‘Candyman’ (2021) by Nia DaCosta, which recovers a type of character not so common in the slasher of the first batch . The supernatural psycho killer, who now comes twice to the big screen with the fearsome Gabriel from the long-awaited ‘Evil’ by James Wan.
The premiere of this neo giallo reminds us that within horror films, murderers with powers, monstrous or possessed are already other types of myths with their own rules, probably since Freddy Krueger renewed the scenario that Michael Myers dominated in the 80s and Jason Voorhes (before he became the undead as well). We review 13 case studies, including the latest creation by master James Wan.
Freddy Krueger, saga ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’
Freddy is an icon of the 80s in all rights. An executed child murderer who returns to torment the children of his avengers, but not rising from the grave, but in the form of a sleeping demon, a terrifying bogeyman, in a green and red striped sweater, hat, burned face and a glove with blades. Wes Craven got it right and the franchise was a landmark in 80s pop culture.
Chucky, saga ‘Devil doll’
There are many malevolent dolls in the history of horror movies, but few with such bad slob as Chucky, protagonist of up to seven films, and now of an upcoming series. As a supernatural murderer we would only count the one from the Don Mancini saga, creator and scriptwriter of the franchise, since the remake has an artificial intelligence Chucky. The classic is a piece of plastic owned by the criminal Charles Lee Ray, always with the voice of the magnificent Brad Douriff. The series looks better than it sounds.
Pumkinhead, ‘Blood Pact’ saga
One of those sagas whose sequels ended up in the video store and ended up being forgotten over time. The original is a kind of dark fairy tale directed by special effects master Stan Winston, who indulged in making a supernatural monster with a murky moral background and brutal manners. She’s worth rescuing, if only for the creepy pumpkin-headed being.
Horace Pinker, ‘Shocker: 100,000 Volts of Terror’ (1989)
Perhaps the most underrated creation of Wes Craven for having always been in the shadow of Krueger. Of course, the film is not among the best of his filmography, but it is a funny example of a killer movie changing body, and also of electrocuted who swears revenge, which were almost a later trope, with imitations with a halo of prestige like ‘Fallen’ (1998) taking the same idea without shame.
Daniel Robitaille, saga ‘Candyman’
The subject of a new and well-deserved revival, the first appearance of ‘Candyman’ was an intelligent transformation of the Clive Barker story that has taken on its own life and changed. The idea of A refined African American man lynched for his interracial love showing up in a ghetto like an urban legend she’s too good not to create a franchise, but if she also wears a gaff, an elegant coat and bees around her, it’s classic movie stuff.
The Trickster, ‘Deadly Game’ (Brainscan, 1994)
One of those ’90s horror movies that played with the teenage zeitgeist of the time and tried to reflect the fascination for the world of virtual reality, updating myths like Freddy Krueger with characters that kept part of their macabre humor and a Mephistotelian presence. The plot was no different than ‘Candyman’, with murders being attributed to a protagonist who plays with fire (and video games). Sort of a rerun of the ’33rpm Death’ scheme with gamers instead of Jevis that holds up surprisingly well over time.
The Headless Horseman, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ (1999)
Tim Burton’s last (true) great film launched into seamless terror for the first time in his career, drawing on Washington Irving’s classic tale to create a whole gothic show, between the cinema of the Hammer and the aesthetics of the lo macabre of Mario Bava, but what actually hiding a full-fledged slasher (or giallo), with a ghostly assassin that cuts off so many heads in the movie that the ‘Scream’ body count fell short.
Death, saga ‘Final Destination’
One of the most successful supernatural slashers in history has the peculiarity of not having a murderer. Okay, yes. The murderer is fate, or rather death itself, which tries to collect the souls that have managed to dodge the scythe by altering chance In the real world. However, the saga has never been tempted to embody the reaper with any typical representation, but rather focuses on creating the accidental deaths in the most creative way possible, actually an imitation of the logic of ‘The Prophecy’, but with the comic sadism of ‘Rasca y pica’.
The Djinn, ‘Wishmaster’ saga
One of the few good things about the (fantastic) ‘Scream’ vibe is that Wes Craven was allowed to produce an absolutely festive supernatural slasher in which one of the KNB members directed a good collection of quite graphic murders and unusual for a time marked by the adolescent tone of the genre. Here, it is taken the idea of the Djinn, a genius who grants you a wish in the most malicious way possible, to articulate a series B saga in the spirit of following the pattern of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ in the 90s.
The Creeper, saga ‘Jeepers Creepers’
It is inevitable not to speak of Victor Salva when commenting on his bestial response to the adolescent terror of the 90s, since his condition of ex-convict for pedophilia marks all his work. But that doesn’t mean ‘Jeepers Creepers’ is not a fantastic monster movie with a supernatural killer with characteristics between Freddy Krueger and Pennywise, about which we do not know much and that is why it is scary. The second part is much better than what was said, the rest is better to forget.
Jimmy Bones, ‘Bones’ (2001)
Horror noire was not born with Jordan Peele. This kind of hyper-vitaminized remake of the blaxploitation classic ‘JD’s Revenge’ (1976) is a delicious revival pastiche of supernatural revenge with traces of ‘The Raven’ where Freddy nightmares, expressionism, haunted houses, diabolical dogs that vomit worms, Fulci, Argento, EC Comics and hip-hop groove with Snoop Dogg as a neighborhood horror icon that would scare even Candyman fit. A little gem from the B series of the great talent that is Ernest R. Dickerson, abused for no reason.
Mary Shaw, ‘Silence from Evil’ (Dead Silence, 2007)
Although prestige is accumulated by his ‘Warren Files’, James Wan’s best film is ‘Silence from Evil’ the bridge between his role as a troubadour of the torture porn and renovating supernatural horror cinema, that is, a stylized, gothic story, deliciously overloaded and full of creative freedom. This is, with creepy dolls, her Italian film influences to the maximum, and a great atmosphere work but without disregarding big gore deaths that turns her into a slasher with a kind of Mari Carmen and her creepypasta ghost dolls.
Possessed by the witch Sara Fier, trilogy ‘The street of terror’
Netflix’s fantastic ‘The Street of Terror’ trilogy brings RL Stine’s books up to date to the ‘Stranger Things’ era, starting with a love letter to the youthful slasher from the 90s who owes a lot to literary series like the eponymous one, and proposes an endless collection of assassins from many eras who come to be possessed by black magic in different incarnationsFrom Ghostface cousins to Jason Voorhees emulators, masked boys and rebellious girls.