What's Your Favorite Scary Movie? Interview Extracts (Part 2) - Favorite "Bad" Horror Movies

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE “BAD” HORROR MOVIE?

DUSTIN AUSTEN (DUSTY A.)

Horror Filmmaker – Bad Friend (2004), GG13: The Haunted World of Claire Wilmenson (2013), Urban Cannibal Massacre (2013), Grindsploitation (2015)

Blood Hook (1986) hands down, without a doubt. This movie is so ridiculous in the fact that you honestly can’t tell if it’s so bad it’s good, or if it’s a cleverly disguised satire of the genre. Either way, it’s so beloved in my family that the VHS is on display in our bathroom. Take that as you will.

ANDREW JONES

Horror Movie Writer, Producer and Director – Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012), The Amityville Asylum (2013), Theatre of Fear (2014), Robert the Doll (2015), The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund (2015)

I know Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) is much maligned but I consider it to be a criminally underrated movie. If you look at that film on the surface it has some outlandish elements that are difficult for mainstream audiences to appreciate. I know that it pales in comparison to The Exorcist, but if you look at the movie as a purely visual ride through the metaphysical it's fascinating. In terms of style and atmosphere it has more in common with the Italian horror films of the 1970’s than it does with mainstream American cinema. It's surreal for sure, but also strangely compelling.

WILLIAM MALONE

Filmmaker – Creature (1985), Tales from the Crypt (1994-1996), House on Haunted Hill (1999), Masters of Horror (2006)

The Brain Eaters (1958). The music is so wonderfully over-wrought. It’s a moody masterpiece. The runner-up would have to be The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962). Virginia Leith turns in a tour de force performance as a disembodied head.

ERIC MILLER

Writer and Producer – 2001 Maniacs (2005), Night Skies (2007), Ice Spiders (2007), Mask Maker (2010), Swamp Shark (2011), Tornado Warning (2012)

Night of the Lepus (1972). They played it straight and never gave up the joke, not for one frame. It’s giant killer rabbits for crying out loud, but they treat the whole thing with tremendous respect and pretty decent filmmaking skills. 

AARON MOORHEAD

Filmmaker – Resolution (2012), V/H/S: Viral (2014), Spring (2014)

Blood Gnome (2004). I saw it on the shelf of Blockbuster one day when I was young and bought it because of how horrible it looked. It was indeed that horrible and I thought, "If this is on the shelf at Blockbuster, my film can be too." Now I understand why that was the case, but I'm glad it didn't discourage me.

JIM O’REAR

Actor, Stuntman, Writer and Filmmaker – Day of the Dead (1985), Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990), The Deepening (2006), Scream Farm (2008), The Hospital (2013), Camp Massacre (2014), The Hospital 2 (2015)

Is there such a thing as “bad” horror? Ha ha ha… I actually like a lot of horror films that the general public would consider “bad.” One of them would be Bloodsucking Freaks (1976). It’s completely ridiculous, poorly acted, and has horrible production values but it always stands out in my mind. I think it’s because it’s really a dark comedy with statements about society that’s disguised as a horror film. I like a lot of Troma stuff too. Their films could be considered bad by most but they are a lot of silly fun.

CHUCK PARELLO

Writer, Director and Producer – Henry II: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1996), Ed Gein (2000), The Hillside Strangler (2004), Dr. 420 (2012)

I’d have to say Don’t Answer the Phone, which was filmed in 1980. My weird friends and I have seen this very cheaply made gem at least 6,000 times and can recite all of the demented dialogue by heart. The plot line, which seems loosely inspired by L.A.’s Hillside Strangler case, involves a muscular Vietnam veteran/porno photographer named Ramone who commits a string of grisly strangulation murders.

I first saw DATP on a double bill at a second run movie house and I couldn’t believe how crazy and over the top violent it was. Yet it had personality to spare and was very darkly humorous, so I knew right then and there that there would be many more viewings of this flick in my future.

The now late Nicholas Worth played the psycho killer in DATP and his performance in parts is so howlingly bad that it has to be seen to be believed! I actually ran into Nicholas at a 7-Eleven store in L.A. some years back and I couldn’t stop gushing to him about how much I loved DATP. He seemed a little dubious about where my effusive praise was coming from and finally said about the film, “It was a piece of shit, but thank you for liking it anyway.”

Taken from What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?

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Killian Gore asks over 100 horror filmmakers and fans from all over the world the same 13 questions regarding their favorite scary movies. Includes interviews with such horror legends as Joe Dante (Gremlins), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes), Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad), Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th), Bill Johnson (Texas Chainsaw 2), Jack Sholder (Nightmare on Elm Street 2), Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn), Mark Shostrom (Evil Dead II) Richard Stanley (Dust Devil), John A. Russo (Night of the Living Dead), William Malone (House on Haunted Hill), Greydon Clark (Wacko), Jeff Burr (Leatherface), Chuck Parello (Ed Gein), Adam Marcus (Jason Goes to Hell), Tom Sullivan (The Evil Dead), Michael A. Simpson (Sleepaway Camp 2 & 3), Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut), Victor Garcia (Hellraiser: Revelations) and Sean Clark (Horror's Hallowed Grounds). Plus lots more from the makers of the Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hellraiser, Evil Dead, Night of the Living Dead, Child's Play, Gremlins, Phantasm, Sleepaway Camp and the Wrong Turn movies, as well as some of the most hardcore horror fans on the planet! Mr. Gore asks questions about favorite horror films, directors, sequels, franchises, monsters, remakes, TV shows plus favorite "bad" horror movies and Halloween costumes! "A Very Entertaining Book!" - Tim Ritter (Truth or Dare?" A Critical Madness)