Introduction: The Jungle Ate My Genre By 1988, the Italian cannibal film genre was about as lively as a piranha-bitten leg floating down the Amazon. Natura Contro — known variously as The Green Inferno and with shameless audacity as Cannibal Holocaust II — was its death rattle. Directed by Antonio Climati, a man who once … Read More “Natura Contro (1988): The Last Supper of Cannibal Cinema” »
The Opening Bite Every decade coughs up a horror movie so peculiar that it feels less like a finished product and more like a fever dream scribbled on a cocktail napkin. For the late 1980s, The Kiss is one such specimen. Directed by Pen Densham and starring Joanna Pacula as a cursed supermodel and Meredith … Read More “The Kiss (1988) – The Compelling Beauty of Meredith Salenger” »
Introduction: A Cabin, a Killer, and a Missing Script The late 1980s were drowning in slashers. If you owned a hockey mask, a knife, or a halfway spooky legend, congratulations—you could headline a horror movie. Into this overcrowded ski lodge of blood stumbled Moonstalker, a 1989 American slasher written and directed by Michael O’Rourke. You … Read More “Moonstalker (1989): The Slasher That Couldn’t Find Its Ski Poles” »
Introduction: The Submerged Knockoff There’s a reason most horror movies take place on land. Land is where your budget can afford to buy things like lighting, sets, and competent dialogue. But in 1989, Hollywood decided the ocean was the new haunted house, leading to a bizarre glut of underwater horror: The Abyss, DeepStar Six, The … Read More “Leviathan (1989): When “Alien” Went for a Swim and Forgot How to Float” »
Introduction: The Slasher on Skis Most slashers take place in sleepy suburbs, summer camps, or sorority houses. Iced said, “Hold my hot toddy” and shoved the formula up a snowy mountain. The result? A 1989 VHS-era gem where ski poles are weapons, icicles are murder tools, and hot tubs aren’t for relaxing—they’re for electrocution. Directed … Read More “Iced (1989): When Slasher Films Went Skiing Without a Helmet” »
Introduction: When Horror Goes Overboard There are bad horror movies, and then there’s Houseboat Horror. A 1989 Australian slasher film shot on video, it’s often described as “the worst Australian film ever made.” That’s not hyperbole. That’s history. This movie is so bad that it feels less like a feature film and more like a … Read More “Houseboat Horror (1989): Sinking Faster Than the Titanic” »
Introduction: Summer School of Pain Hell High is the kind of movie that thinks it’s reinventing the slasher wheel by handing the machete to a neurotic biology teacher. In reality, it’s just a busted tricycle of clichés, screeching down the hill of bad taste. Directed by Douglas Grossman in his one and only attempt at … Read More “Hell High (1989): Detention With No Release” »
Introduction: When Rats Rule the Quad If cinema is a buffet, then Food of the Gods II is that suspicious casserole in the corner that you don’t expect to like but, three bites later, you’re grinning like a maniac. A loose sequel to the 1976 film (itself loosely inspired by H.G. Wells), this Canadian gem … Read More “Food of the Gods II (1989): The Cheddar Apocalypse” »
Introduction: Deep-Sea Disaster Let’s be honest: DeepStar Six was doomed from the start. Released in early 1989, it was the first of several “underwater sci-fi horror” knockoffs trying to cash in on the hype surrounding James Cameron’s The Abyss. Unfortunately, while The Abyss went on to showcase groundbreaking visuals, complex characters, and a genuinely thrilling … Read More “DeepStar Six (1989): The Abyss… of Mediocrityy” »
Introduction: The Pit of No Return Some horror films are forgotten gems, waiting for rediscovery. The Dead Pit is not one of them. Instead, it’s the kind of VHS relic that lurked on dusty rental store shelves with a gimmick cover (this one had glowing zombie eyes when you pressed a button) to trick gullible … Read More “The Dead Pit (1989): Brains Optional” »