This month’s installment of Deep Cuts Rising features a variety of horror movies. Some selections reflect a specific day or event in April, and others were chosen at random.
Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.
This month’s offerings include an anthology, a creature-feature, some found footage, and two slashers.
The House of the Dead (1978)
Directed by Sharron Miller.
The House of the Dead — also known as Last Stop on 13 Street and Alien Zone — is an American stab at an Amicus-style anthology film. Shot in Oklahoma with students from OSU, this low-budget horror omnibus does a creditable job of capturing the macabre spirit of The House That Dripped Blood and The Vault of Horror.
This regional horror collection delivers four sub-stories as well as a wraparound about an adulterous husband (John Ericson) who finds himself in the company of a storytelling mortician (Ivor Francis). The morbid narrator specializing in those who died unique deaths recounts a teacher who abhorred children, a homicidal photographer, a pair of competitive detectives, and a hapless man who falls prey to a series of urban traps. Not every segment is as good as the next, but overall this is an entertaining batch of weird tales.
The House of the Dead is currently streaming on Tubi.
Killer Party (1986)
Directed by William Fruet.
Horror doesn’t need a special day to pull a prank; jokes gone terribly wrong is a whole subgenre. Regardless, don’t expect to find too many April Fool’s themed or set horror movies. April Fool’s Day and Slaughter High immediately come to mind, but another ’80s joke-themed slasher is gaining recognition after going unnoticed for a number of years. That movie is, of course, Killer Party. The story follows three sorority pledges (Sherry Willis-Burch, Joanna Johnson, Elaine Wilkes) as their house’s April Fool’s party is plagued by sinister events and a disguised killer.
This Canadian gem changed its title to something more generic after MGM caught wind of Paramount’s own April Fool’s slasher, however Killer Party is still quite unique. What can be best described as three different movies shoved into one, this unpredictable yet charming horror-comedy is a thoroughly weird and good time.
Killer Party is currently streaming on SCREAMBOX and can be purchased on Blu-ray from Shout Factory.
Komodo (1999)
Directed by Michael Lantieri.
For this year’s Earth Day (April 22nd), horror fans may want to watch a creature-feature or something related to the environment. Komodo works for both, seeing as the titular reptiles attack on an island polluted by an oil company. Along with his therapist (Jill Hennessy), a teenager (Kevin Zegers) returns to the place where his family was mysteriously killed. It’s there that they, as well as Billy Burke‘s character, are then hunted down by a bank of voracious Komodo dragons living on the island.
Komodo doesn’t break new ground idea-wise, but anyone who caught this movie back in the day remembers it for the solid special effects. This movie mixes practical and digital, and both are fairly convincing (for the time period). Academy Award winner Lantieri is better known for being a special effects supervisor, and his one movie as a director is best appreciated as an exercise in craft.
Komodo has yet to find its way to streaming, but it’s still available on DVD.
Red Velvet (2008)
Directed by Bruce Dickson.
Easter isn’t a popular setting in horror, and there are very few watchable movies with bunny-dressed killers. So when looking for something to watch around Eastertime, maybe think outside the box, as far as hidden gems go. It’s true that the antagonist in the indie horror-comedy Red Velvet isn’t specifically referencing a bunny with his choice of disguise, but it’s hard not to see something rabbitish about the mask.
In Red Velvet, two residents from the same apartment building (Henry Thomas, Kelli Garner) end up at the same laundromat. They start off on the wrong foot before Thomas’ character entertains his new companion with a made-up story about a killer stalking people at a cabin in the woods. This movie is rough around the edges, but the leads turn in likable performances, and the horror parts are both gory and darkly humorous.
Red Velvet is currently streaming on Tubi.
The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan (2018)
Directed by Burt Grinstead.
Found footage is plentiful, however even the more enthusiastic fans know how taxing it can be to find something truly effective. And just when it seems like everything’s been done in this subgenre, one creative couple realized it’s not always about coming up with something new. On the contrary, Burt Grinstead and Anna Stromberg understood it’s all about the execution. That alone can make a familiar concept feel new, exciting and, most of all, scary.
In The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan, the namesake (Stromberg) is a student investigating a chilling cold case as part of a school project. She befriends a local cop (Grinstead), and together they uncover disturbing new information in this unsolved mystery.
The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan is currently streaming at Roku and Plex.
No genre is as prolific as horror, so it’s understandable that movies fall through the cracks all the time. That is where this recurring column, Deep Cuts Rising, comes in. Each installment of this series will spotlight several unsung or obscure movies from the past — some from way back when, and others from not so long ago — that could use more attention.