I’m about to be THAT person. You can’t really call yourself a horror fanatic if you haven’t sat through all 15 hours of IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS, the ultimate three-part horror documentary made by fans for the fans. The 2019 thesis of love honoring 80s horror severed into a trilogy, thus completing its finale in 2022 gives all fans of the genre the nostalgia of looking back on the decade’s greatest, most underrated, and hidden gems of what many would consider, the golden years of gore and horror. So what comes next?
Well, the 90s of course! The 90s, for some reason, and I’ve been saying this for years, have gotten a lot of shit for not living up to its monumental surgence of horror films the decade prior- and I feel that’s a bit unfair. Although, I’m glad to see someone else agrees with me! After all, how are you gonna crap on a decade that gave us Hannibal Lector, Candyman, and grand ol’Dolly Dearest!
Per the press release:
The early ‘90s proved to be a tough transition time for horror films in the wake of an overabundance of genre output in the ‘80s. Horror was in search of a new identity. Some call it a “lost decade” of horror. We disagree. This was an exciting time for filmmaking that we cannot wait to explore in In Search of Darkness: 1990 -1994, the first part of two planned long-form documentaries exploring the pivotal final decade of the 20th century.
Following the success of the 80s installment, writer and director David Weiner is going balls to the wall diving into the 90s decade of horror in the same fashion as its 80s counterpart:
“After such a positive critical and fan response to our In Search of Darkness ‘80s trilogy, I am excited to dive into In Search of Darkness: 1990 -1994. The ‘90s was a decade of transition for horror, yet there is so much more creativity and imagination on display upon a closer look. With so many memorable genre films, miniseries, TV shows and topics of discussion available to tackle, I welcome constructive input from our vocal horror community to help spotlight the things that they are most excited to see in our documentary, which will be presented on-screen through interviews, clips and motion graphics with the same spirit and celebration on display in our ‘80s trilogy.”
That being said, the doc wants YOU to have your voice heard. Horror fans are strongly encouraged to go to 90shorrordoc.com to share their thoughts in a survey and comment on the In Search of Darkness: 1990 -1994 synopsis — giving you, the fans your say and final thoughts.
Don’t sleep on the opportunity for your voice to be heard! The survey participation ends September 1, 2023, with pre-orders kicking off this October!
Yep. You read that headline right. When we see “based on true events”, I always take that with a mighty grain of salt and throw it over my shoulder like a silly superstition. Film inspiration is almost ALWAYS taken from somewhere: a newspaper clipping, a weird memory, or even a lucid dream from the creator. However, did you know the legacy of the gelatinous Sci-Fi national treasure, THE BLOB, is based on a “supposedly” actual event based on a police report taken in Philadelphia back in 1950?
Suck it, Roswell.
In the September 27th, 1950 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, readers were exposed to a pre-Bat Boy-like headline that simply read, “Flying ‘Saucer’ Just Dissolves.” Take that with your cup of coffee on your way to the office, Philly folks.
The piece stated that two veteran police officers, Joe Keenan, and John Collins, both spotted a mysterious object falling from the sky while the pair were making their nightly rounds. Of course (and who wouldn’t be curious), the patrolmen duo followed the strange object’s descent to the corner of Vare and 26th Street, where they were met with a rather large, glittery mass of something that they later described as a pulsating, “purple jelly”; six feet in diameter, filled with a crystal like-substance, and letting off a mist.
According to both officers – and possibly the coolest detail – the globby substance seemed to vibrate and move on its own, with one other report claiming this thing crept up a nearby telephone pool. Regardless of whether it actually did or not, the fact that Aunt Fannie’s jello mold from hell was moving at all is, clearly, kind of terrifying and indicative of some type of living organism.
After the pair called for backup, James Cooper and Sergeant Joe Cook arrived at the chaotic scene, making it a total of four officers in the presence of the wondrous blob. At this point, Collins decided it was a good idea to touch the thing, tiny globules stuck to his hand and evaporated rather quickly, leaving behind an odorless scum of a residue.
Well, at least it didn’t latch on and slowly eat away at his body like this poor dude.
As with the goo retrieved by Collins, the rest of the blob seemed to disappear entirely about 30 minutes after the cops’ first sighting. The following day, the men in blue addressed the local media, claiming what they saw was, indeed, a living thing… possibly from outer space. And behold, a story was born that has endured two cinematic versions throughout the past sixty years.
The story sounds like a common episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE or something Scully and Mulder would have encountered on one of their many X-FILES adventures. But before Rod Serling could get his hands on the idea, it became the inspiration for the 1958 creature feature starring Steve McQueen, and then, 30 years later, reignited in Chuck Russell’s fantastic and gory vision. Whether you think the article itself holds any substance or chalk it off as pure tabloid garbage, this wasn’t the only report that has surfaced containing gleaming purple goo falling from the sky; albeit this IS THE ONE that inspired the first film.
Reports go as far back as 1846 wherein Loweville, New York residents claimed to have witnessed an object in the sky crash to the ground. The object in question was described as a “heap of foul-smelling luminous jelly” about four feet in diameter that also evaporated within minutes after hitting the ground. The most fascinating occurrence, however, seems to come from Australia back in 1969, when scientists managed to collect and study over 200 pounds of jelly-like material following a meteor shower in the area. These samples were found to contain amino acids – you know, the chemical building blocks of life.
Fortunately, nobody got sucked down a garbage disposal or overtaken by the putrid pink goo in a phone booth. But according to reports, one of the officers ended up tiny, pulsating globules stuck to his skin that later evaporated completely. In any case, if you’ve ever touched old, wet food clinging to dirty plates in your kitchen sink, I can imagine that would be just as disgustingly horrifying.
Why yes, Freddy you are, just like this batch of horror movie sequels I’m about to slash my way through.
In most cases regarding film franchises and sequels to blockbuster films, a trilogy is usually the answer and the most notable way to wrap up a movie series. It’s pretty damn rare for a movie to break that trilogy trope, entering into a fourth film and beyond that. Well, the 80s slasher movies era, I’d say, are solely responsible for a pitfall of sequels that broke all the rules that came before it. Friday the 13th was the first of the slasher films to stick its impervious middle finger to the rule of three and laid out the groundwork for a brigade of horror movies to follow. Of course, they weren’t the first film property to ever do this, as the Universal Monster films along with the Abbott and Costello crossovers offered a myriad of sequels and continuities to their previous installments. Jason was just the one to resurrect the flow of sequels beyond just three.
And he’s really good at resurrecting shit. Including himself.
Myers tho… I never want to hear Halloween and Resurrection in the same sentence ever again.
Anyway, some of these part-fours are better than others, and in some horror franchises like The Omen and Psycho, Part IV was their downfall and a rather unsatisfying ending to their retrospective counterparts. However, as the slasher genre ran dug a rabbit hole of sequels that continues on to this very day with movies like SCREAM and SAW, they created a shift in the horror movie game saying that more is never enough and really changed the way things had happened up to that point, whether they continued in a positive way or not. That being said, let’s forego the bad and take a look at the five best Part Fours of the horror game that not only satisfied our craving for our beloved franchises’, but had us clamoring for MORE.
If you’re new here, I’m just gonna start with the goddamn obvious.
Holy Blonde-Haired Michael Myers, how I love thee. Let me count the ways. After the commercial failure of Halloween III: The Season of the Witch, Moustapha Akkad, took control of John Carpenter’s immortal classic and gave fans what they wanted six years after the third movie bombed with viewers- The return of Michael Myers as well, the title so boldly states so audiences KNEW they were coming to see Myers come back from what was certain death to fuck up the lives of everyone in Haddonfield. A disfigured Dr. Loomis is back and on the trail of pure and simple evil as he hunts down his only heir left-niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), daughter of Laurie, who had died eleven months earlier.
Halloween 4 has no damn business being as great as it was, but it is, perhaps, the best of all these part fours’ mentioned. We have a beautiful aesthetic that puts the viewer right there in the film with you, not to mention one of the best openers to any horror movie- ever. Rachel (Ellie Cornell), a final girl who is terribly underrated and probably the most relatable and likable character of the whole film series. And a highly satisfying ending that WOULD have been the absolute tits had the franchise decided to move forward with Jamie taking Michael’s place, like an heir to the boogeyman throne. But ya’ know, Revenge fucked all that up, and gave us the Thorn storyline instead. If I wanted to watch a Thorn timeline, I’d watch The Omen movies, thank you very much.
Ahh, well at least we have this one, and I’ll die on the hill of stating that Halloween 4 is the absolute GOAT for sequels and nostalgia as a whole, what with all the 80s’ feel to it that just brings you back to your childhood on Halloween day and night. ERM, without being chased up on a roof by your crazy uncle, that is. Or maybe you had a weirdo uncle like that? I don’t know. Either way. It’s the best and you can’t tell me any different.
In that same year, the highly anticipated follow-up to Dream Warriors, which was a damn masterpiece all on its own, was delivered to our eyeballs at the peak of Freddy-Mania. Dream Master, which follows the last of the Elm Street/Westin Hills teens and their group of friends into a whole new nightmare, was the biggest audience draw of the NOES franchise, ranking in a box-office gross of almost 50 million-only to be surpassed by Freddy Vs Jason sixteen years later. Those numbers backed up the greatness that is Dream Master, giving us a fresh new spin on the Springwood Slasher by mixing in a bit of light humor with sheer terror.
Freddy’s sick sense of humor first appeared slightly in Dream Warriors, but he really took it to another level in part 4 with those one-liners.
Alice (Lisa Wilcox), the film’s new heroine, is much like Rachel Carruthers. She’s incredibly relatable, especially for us introverts, and a total badass who finds her strength within herself, and well, with the help of her deceased friends. Also, incredibly underrated and hell she shouldn’t be. Not many people escape the claws of Freddy and managed to do so not once, but twice. Alice rules and can stand shoulder to shoulder with Nancy any damn day of the week.
Plus, Dream Master has a Dramarama song in it. Automatic win.
This might be a hot take for some Jason fans out there, but The Final Chapter for me, is by far superior to part 2 and 3. I know many might not share my sentiment, but whether you agree or not, I think we can all unanimously be of the same mind that part 4 of the Friday the 13th films, rules, and it rules HARD.
I can’t really explain why I seem to favor this one over the previous two, not counting the original of course, but maybe it’s because since this was supposed to be the final Friday film, hence the title, they ramped up the gore, the kills, and the nudity along with some actual likeable characters you want to root for. The previous Friday films, did have some decent characters of course, but you weren’t crazy invested in them like perhaps Tommy (Corey Feldman) and his sister Trish (Kimberly Beck), who offered some light-hearted moments and even some character development throughout the movie. We also have Crispin Glover, who does a whacky dance that I think all of us horror fans have tried to replicate at least once, and the cool as hell Ted White as Jason, who, like others mentioned in this article, doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his contribution to the franchise.
The film also opens up with what I think is, right behind Jason Lives of course, as the coolest intro to ANY of the Friday films of the series. Nostalgic recapping of the first three movies in a homicidal instrumental montage? Yes please. We need more of these.
Saw IV, or The Continuing Adventures of Jigsaw, The Guy Who Really Loves Messing With This One Extremely Incompetent Police Department Who Can Never Catch Him, Even After He’s Already Dead. Whichever you prefer.
I think if you’re going to try and pass the torch from one homicidal maniac to another, SAW IV is a good example of how to do it and do it well. Part 4 of Jigsaw’s torturous tale is even more violent, if at all possible, than the previous three, and that says a lot when the third film has one of the most fucked up traps Jigsaw ever concocted-The Rack. Seriously, fuck that scene.
With John Kramer (Tobin Bell) and Amanda (Shawnee Smith) now dead, that doesn’t mean the punishments are over. Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is still alive in the clutches of someone ELSE carrying on the work of Jigsaw and Agent Lindsey Perez (Athena Karkanis) and Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) are brought in on the case. Lieutenant Daniel Rigg (Lyriq Bent) is being framed as Kramer’s helper so he goes on the run and finds himself in the middle of Jigsaw’s shenanigans in a game of his own. The movie ends with one of the most WTF twists not seen since the first movie and a violent death you’ll not soon ever forget. Really incredible writing and they went to such painstaking lengths to sort of sew everything together to provide us with an amazing degree of continuity.
Some people think theSAW movies are nothing more than torture porn. I say those people fail to realize the deeper messages sprinkled throughout the series. With SAW IV, it’s a clear criticism of health insurance in the United States and the logic healthcare uses to determine whether someone is fit to live. Inserting these sorts of commentaries within a film like SAW is not only ballsy, but brilliant.
Speaking of ballsy, truly, the most horrific scene in that film is John Kramer’s dick. That’s something no one wanted to see, you bastards.
While I’m not TOO keen on changing an entire formula of what made a movie works in the first place, I guess there’s only so far you can go with the premise of a killer doll and how many times his soul is going to get stuck in a pseudo My Buddy plastic body. So what do we do? Bring in his female counterpart who is definitely more crazy than he is, all the while worshiping Martha Stewart and making Swedish meatballs in between murders.
Chucky (Brad Dourif) is back thanks to his old girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) and some voodoo for dummies. But the rekindled courtship doesn’t last long, and Chucky gives Tiffany a taste of his own medicine by killing her and transferring her soul into a doll, pretty much to spite her. The now fate-intertwined pair must both find human counterparts to finally free themselves, and the pair pretty much fall in love all over again while doing it.
I mean, it’s totally a toxic love, but hey, I’m here for the shit show.
Bride of Chucky is a far cry from the first film, as the original 1988 horror flick served to scare the shit out of people, and scare the shit out of us it did. But, I gotta say, adding Jennifer Tilly to the franchise and turning it into a campfest actually worked and it worked well. We laughed our asses off at the theater when this came out and I still do 25 years after the fact. I’ll never get over the fact this movie had the straight BALLS to have a doll sex scene. Well, shadow humping but still. It was goddamn weird and wild.
Bride of Chucky ushered in a whole new era for the killer doll without making it stale and it really was the smartest way to do it. Also paving the way for the Chucky series we have now.
Tiffany said it best, “Barbie, eat your heart out.”
As you can see, the power of four is not to be fucked with in the horror genre friends. Some other notable nods are The Final Destination and I’m gonna go there- Puppet Master 4 (hey it’s a fun movie, don’t judge me). Thoughts on my assessment here, nuggets? Or feel free to tell me I’ve lost my fuckin’ mind. Either way it’ll be fun time for both of us!
