Why 1990 Was One Of The Best (And Weirdest) Years For Horror Movies

It's hard to say what happened in 1990 that made horror suddenly so exciting. The slasher genre wasn't entirely dead yet, but it was in its death throes; "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" was released in 1991, and "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" two years later. The genre was getting weirder and more ambitious, leaning harder into special effects and psychedelic stories. Slashers were sliding forward, and they were slicker than they had ever been. 

There was also a strong element of cartoonish satire leaking into the genre. The 1990s were a time of increased cheekiness, and the success of filmmakers like Tim Burton and now-disgraced "Ren & Stimpy" creator John Kricfalusi demonstrated that "weird" artists had a place in the mainstream. Perhaps horror producers, sensing that strange monsters, bizarre filmmakers, and amazing creature effects were now the words of the day, decided to start funding wilder, more ambitious projects. 

1990 saw films from Clive Barker ("Nightbreed"), Joe Dante ("Gremlins 2: The New Batch"), William Lustig "Manaic Cop 2"), Tobe Hooper ("I'm Dangerous Tonight"), two from Frank Henenlotter ("Basket Case 2," "Frankenhooker"), two from Brian Yuzna ("Bride of Re-Animator," "Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation"), and two from Lucio Fulci ("Cat in the Brain," "Demonia"). Even the great Roger Corman directed his final directorial effort, "Frankenstein Unbound" in 1990. This was the year that artists could play.

There was a lot of milking of I.P. in 1990, of course, but in most cases, the sequels served as 'roided-up deconstructions of the films that came before. I am about to list many, many impressive, effects-heavy horror films from 1990, and you will see the number 2 a lot. There were many great Part 2s in 1990. 

The timing of so many Part 2s from the 1990s is a little odd, but in almost all cases, the sequels were not only better than the originals but also served as high-octane criticisms of their predecessors. That's certainly true of Joe Dante's "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," a film about Gremlins being unleashed in a New York high-rise. That film descends into creature chaos partway through, with the title monsters ripping apart the very fabric of cinema. Quite literally, the Gremlins murder film critic Leonard Maltin, and actually make their own film break after infiltrating the projection booth. 

Frank Henelotter's "Basket Case 2" was made eight years after the original, but it picks up right where it left off. But whereas the original "Basket Case" was a grungy product of the New York no-wave art movement, the sequel was a jazzed-up creature feature about mutant outsiders and the twisted souls that love them. It's less a horror movie and more an exciting tale of human monsters. Between "Gremlins 2" and "Basket Case 2," we have some of the best films of the entire decade. 

There was also William Lustig's "Maniac Cop 2," which, like "Basket Case," takes the low-fi appeal of the original and soups it up to a more salacious, slicker degree; the scene wherein the titular Maniac Cop (Robert Z'Dar) trashes a police station is one for the ages. And we certainly can't forget John Lafia's "Child's Play 2," which is a bigger, more fun version of the 1988 original. Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) is a marvelous horror creation, and "Child's Play 2" was a great expansion of his myth from the first movie. 

There was also "Troll 2," "Puppet Master 2," "Predator 2," and "Witchcraft II: The Temptress."

A lot of the above movies are cartoonish and whimsical, however. 1990 was the year of "Frankenhooker," after all. But 1990 also saw a rise of more ambitious and much more thoughtful horror movies. Straddling the line was Clive Barker's "Nightbreed," a myth-heavy movie about a subterranean city of monsters living right under our noses, and its link to a vicious serial killer played by David Cronenberg. That film was, like "Basket Case 2," also about how monsters are merely misunderstood outsider, and how they're perfectly happy to live in their own warm, loving communities ... even if there's cannibalism and/or death there. 

Some 1990 horror movies were contemplative. Joel Schumacher's "Flatliners" was about young adults conducting death experiments on themselves, killing themselves, and then bringing themselves back to life. It was a dour, serious movie about how death can be taken too lightly. William Peter Blatty made the slow and terrifying "The Exorcist III," which followed a murder investigation in a psychiatric ward. That film was quiet, oh so quiet. 

Until it screamed. One of the best films of the year is Adrian Lyne's "Jacob's Ladder," about a Vietnam veteran who begins having visions of demons lurking in the streets of the city. Less scary, but no more adult was Jerry Zucker's ultra-hit "Ghost," a love story about Demi Moore reconnecting with the ghost of Patrick Swayze. 

And then there were some fun, light, Spielbergian monster movies as well. I will never say a bad thing about Ron Underwood's "Tremors," a movie about giant subterranean worm monsters, and Frank Marshall's killer spider film "Arachnophobia" is a hoot and a half. 

What happened in 1990? Who can say? But it may be one of the best years ever for the horror genre.