10 Underappreciated 90s Horror Movies

It was a dry patch for horror, but there were some sunny spells.

cemtery man
Audifilm

It's fair to say that the 1990s weren't exactly a golden age for horror movies. After all the creative and artistic progression that had been made in the two decades beforehand, the genre seemed to hit a wall, and stagnate; and a great many of the movies that came out of that period weren't pretty.

That said, there are still plenty of films that came out that era which we fondly look back on today. Some of these well-remembered films are genuine genre landmarks (The Silence of the Lambs, Candyman, From Dusk Till Dawn), whilst others are perhaps a little overvalued (Interview With The Vampire, Scream, The Blair Witch Project).

However, there are always those other movies which, for whatever reason, seem to dip under the radar a little. They may be revered by a smaller, cult following, but the wider audience tends to forget about them - assuming they even knew of them to begin with.

The following 10 movies rank among the best horror titles of the 1990s, yet seem to be often overlooked when we reflect on that era. If you've never seen them before, they all come highly recommended; and if you'd forgotten about them, I'd say it's high time you gave them a second look.

10. The Addiction

cemtery man
October Films

Though he made his name with notorious video nasty The Driller Killer, indie director Abel Ferrara hasn't done much since that can be classed as horror. This 1995 vampire movie is a notable exception, though it's far from your average blood-sucking B-movie.

Lili Taylor (later squandered in the dreadful remake of The Haunting) takes the lead as Kathleen, a shy New York college student whose life is transformed overnight by an encounter with a strange, threatening woman (Annabella Sciorra). A bite on the neck later, Kathleen goes from timid philosophy major to violent predator on the mean streets.

It all sounds like a generic enough vampire movie, but in execution it's far removed from the norm. It's shot in black and white on a low budget, with a script laden with academic, literary and philosophical references, giving it a heavy arthouse sensibility.

The Addiction may come off a bit elitist and ostentatious for some tastes, but it is wonderfully atmospheric, and a welcome antidote to the flashier, trashier vampire movies we've seen before and since.

It's also a fun watch for fans of TV classic The Sopranos, as it boasts earlier appearances from series stars Edie Falco and Michael Imperioli, as well as the aforementioned Annabella Sciorra.

 
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Ben Bussey hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.