It’s October..the leaves are falling..it’s a little chill in
the air..and for some folks pumpkin spice is available. October of course
brings with it Halloween, costumes, candy, spooky decorations, and movies! Lots
of Horror marathons to get you through the month of October, we all know the
staples like Jason, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Meyers. In this article I’m
going to break down 5 Horror films for that culture that you should watch. Some
are straight up horror films, others are more thrillers, and some are just
campy.
5. Blacula
Released in 1972 during the Blaxploitation era. The film
follows a vampire who has been dormant for centuries and awakens in 1970’s Los
Angeles to wreak havoc. The film was one of the first Horror films to focus on
Black characters and has its place in history because of it. It contains the
common tropes of a 1970’s Blaxploitation film and has it’s fair share of gore
in it as well. It spawned a sequel in 1973 “Scream Blacula Scream”
4. Bones
Turn on BET during the month of October and you’re bound to
find this movie on. Starring Uncle Snoop, Pam Grier, Bianca Lawson, and Clifton
Powell. This film was released in 2001 and directed by Ernest Dickerson (Juice,
Never Die Alone, The Wire, Dexter, The Walking Dead, The Purge). Snoop Dogg
stars as Jimmy Bones, a street hustler murdered by people he trusted the most.
He returns from the dead years later to enact his revenge. The film is a homage
to the Blaxploitation era, while the production values may scream B-movie but is actually a decent film with its fair share of
gore.
3. The People Under
The Stairs
Directed by Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm Street) and
starring Brandon Adams, Ving Rhames, Bill Cobbs, and Kelly Jo Minter. The film
was released in 1991 and while classified as a horror and depicting killings it
isn’t gory but more disturbing. Disturbing along the lines of “Black People don’t
do that shit”. Brandon Adam stars as a kid who finds himself trapped inside the
home of a very strange family and finds out just how strange the family is and
how their behavior has affected other people. The film touches on subjects that
are still relevant today such as gentrification, child abduction and abuse, and
class warfare.
2. Tales From The
Hood
You should know this anthology film or at least
seen clips of it. Released in 1995 and directed by Rusty Cundieff with Spike
Lee executive producing. The film stars Clarence Williams, David Alan Grier, Paula
Jai Parker, Joe Torry and several others. Among the different topics covered
throughout the film are domestic and child abuse, police brutality, slavery and
racism, inner city gang violence and more. All with a horror twist that’s truly
entertaining and provides social commentary. A sequel followed years later in
2018 that was rather lackluster, skip this sequel and watch this classic over
and over again.
1
1. Candyman
Released in 1992 and starring a guy who is
frightening just by standing Tony Todd. The film follows the urban legend of
The Candyman a ghost who was brutally
killed in the 19th century. Say his name five times in a mirror and
he’ll kill those who speak of his name. The film is very gory and Candyman as I
mentioned is frightening, add the setting of the notorious Cabrini-Green
projects in Chicago. This film was a horror film made just for the culture and
it delivers on all cylinders. It spawned two sequels “Candyman: Farewell to the
Flesh” and “Candyman: Day of the Dead” with a remake scheduled for release in
2020 co-written and produced by Jordan Peele. Candyman the character is a
legend in the Horror genre along with the Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger’s , etc.
If you enjoy horror movies and have never seen this film do yourself a favor
and check it out.
These are just the top five Halloween films for the culture, but there are several more out there, What are some other great Halloween movies for the culture?
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