All the very guiltiest guilty-pleasure horror movies
If you haven’t already, check out The Devil and Father Amorth, the acclaimed documentary that sees The Exorcist director William Friedkin film Father Amorth’s ninth exorcism on a woman who has been experiencing troubling fits and behavioral changes that psychiatry could not fix. There’s no doubt this real-life exorcism will float the dark, scary boat of every horror junkie out there.
While The Exorcist is a timeless classic in the horror genre, it still contains some outdated and campy moments (we’re pretty sure there’ll be no pea green spew in The Devil and Father Amorth). In celebration of these moments and our love for the horror genre overall, we’re ranking some of our fave guilty pleasure genre flicks of all time.
You know movies that are so bad, they’re good, and then bad again? That’s why they’re guilty pleasures, right? No need to tell the world you love nothing more than to grab a bowl of popcorn, crack a cold one, turn down the lights, and watch Attack of the Killer Tomatoes – it’ll be our dirty secret.
Tokyo Gore Police (2008)
Directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Meatball Machine Kodoku) and starring Eihi Shiina (Audition) as a vengeful police officer, what this film lacks in storyline and crafted dialogue it makes up for with outlandish imagery and crazy levels of gore. If you’re looking for a mindless, fun film to switch off to and quench that bloodthirst, this is it!
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Tacky? Yes! Dated? Definitely! Filled with ridiculous monster fun? Abso-fuckin-lutely! You can’t deny that scene in which Trish (Gina Philips) scrambles to get her brother Darry (Justin Long) out of that pipe pit as the mystery killer approaches his country house is butt-clenchingly tense. Jeepers creepers, folks!
Sharknado (2013)
In what appears to be the gift that keeps on giving, the Sharknado franchise shows no signs of slowing (Sharknado 6 is set to be released on July 25 – get it in the diary, folks). The movie stars party girl Tara Reid (The Big Lebowski) as she battles in a Los Angeles that’s been taken over by two of nature’s most destructive forces – tornadoes and sharks. As the movie’s logline itself states: “Enough said!”
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Heartbreakers), Freddie Prinze Jr. (She's All That), and Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions) attempt to avoid death by a vengeful killer fisherman. It’s tacky, it’s cliché, and it’s almost definitely one of your fave guilty pleasures.
Clownhouse (1989)
Forget It with its colossal budget, fancy pants graphics, and performance from the endlessly gorgeous Bill Skarsgård. We live and breathe for the campy B-movie fun of the outrageous 1989 circus slasher, Clownhouse, following three home alone brothers as they’re menaced by escaped mental patients who murdered a group of traveling circus clowns and stole their identities. What’s not to love?
House (1986)
This 80s cult horror centers around a troubled writer who moves into a haunted house after his auntie commits suicide, only to discover that the monsters he creates for his horror novels don’t necessarily stay on the pages. While it might have been slated by critics, it’s become somewhat of a cult classic over the years, serving up fun twists, sinister scenes, and some grade-A effects (you know, before CGI came along and ruined everything).
Blacula (1972)
What’s better than watching a campy Dracula-themed beat? A blaxploitation thriller named Blacula of course! The story of an African prince turned into a vampire by Count Dracula isn't just an important film in the history of African-American horror; it’s also a major part of the 70s blaxploitation era overall, as one of the first (and we think best) films in the movement.
Class of 1984 (1982)
This absolute belter B-movie of the exploitation variety is the embodiment of the term “Well, that escalated quickly.” What starts out as a high-school music teacher (Perry King) hunting a hoodlum student (Timothy Van Patten) for attacking his wife (Merrie Lynn Ross) turns into an all-out classroom hall war.
Night of the Comet (1984)
Yes, it’s outrageously 80s and yes, the zombies are far from scary. But Night of the Comet is a truly enjoyable throwback to 50s sci fi and one of the ultimate feminist horrors, seeing the big-haired heroines Regina (Catherine Mary Stewart) and Sammy (Kelli Maroney) fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists after a comet wipes out most of the Earth’s population.
