Fun, Sexy & Gory: Heart of Terror

By Steve Hutchison

Here's a selection of 200 horror and horror-adjacent movies. They are ranked, rated, and reviewed by critic Steve Hutchison. All movies are considered fun, sexy, and gory. How many have you seen? It's the ultimate party mix!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Feb 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781778870866

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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Tales of Terror’s

Heart of Terror 2020

Fun, Sexy & Gory

INTRODUCTION

Here’s a selection of 200 horror and horror-adjacent movies, ranked, rated, and reviewed by critic Steve Hutchison.

All movies are considered fun, sexy, and gory.

It’s the ultimate party mix!

#1

Scream

1996

High schoolers recognize horror movie patterns in the recent deaths of other students.

8/8

Slashers were among the most successful subgenres of horror in the 70’s and 80’s, and then they became predictable, tired, soon before they completely ran out of momentum in the early 90’s. Scream reboots the trend by now fleshing out characters that live in the same world horror movie fans do, with Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and other horror villains constantly referenced.

This is both a slasher and a whodunit, but it features protagonists who try to overcome a series of murders by what they ironically have in common, as friends: their knowledge and love of horror movies. The actors are a well assorted and written bunch that does an impeccable job of reminiscing the subgenre while juggling with a complex underlying mystery the movie heavily relies on.

The jump scares are deserved; written and directed with ideal pacing, dialogue, acting and a production value rarely matched by similar movies. The intricate script throws you in all directions, and stays away from the red stuff as much as it can. Scream stimulates you mentally, proving that a good movie, disregarding its classification, can only spawn from a good story.

#2

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

1987

Teenagers held in a mental institution become the victims of a mad man who invades nightmares and kills through them.

8/8

Fully established now, the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise takes full advantage of the mid-80’s way to do things when it comes to supernatural slashers. This time around, we focus on a group of troubled kids held in a psych ward and not taken seriously when the deadly nightmares kick in. The new setting is a great stepping stone. The fact that the victims are confined adds to the threat.

Until now, in Springwood, personalities weren’t clearly defined and character arcs were privileged over character traits. The different protagonists are now full-on stereotypes. They are sympathetic, nonetheless, and, though their situation is sad, they are an entertaining bunch. Their personas become a critical part of the plot when they learn they can shape their own dreams to survive the night.

The movie is dark, magical, gimmicky. Prosthetic and animatronics play a significant role. Heather Langenkamp’s character returns and Krueger is still played by Robert Englund. The initial mythology lost in the previous entry is shunned and resumes. It’s everything the first sequel should have been. It’s is ambitious, looks great, and pushes fantasy even further than the previous films did.

#3

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

1988

Haunted by a specter in her nightmares, a teenager discovers she is propagating her death curse among her friends.

8/8

This third sequel in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is a gift to the MTV generation. It walks in the footsteps of the previous film but brings its own immature, bratty flavor. Not as dramatic but still tense, it creates ambiance through music as much as lighting and set design. The soundtrack is mostly composed of pop rock, yet the song selection still serves the eeriness.

Freddy is his threatening self but now seems self-aware, camera-conscious and plays it cool. The movie has memorable mind-fuck moments, atmospheric dream sequences and fun characters you can’t help but care for. The third movie was character-centric and so is this one. It is now established that whatever talent or strength you have or wish you had in real life you can use as weapon in nightmares.

The direction is energetic, methodically paced, the dialogue hip, though slightly awkward at times, and there is always something interesting going on. The script is dense and eventually deals with time loops, location warps, and the groundhog day effect. The new eccentricities are a hazy delight. The murders scenes are imaginative, completely over the top, lengthy and gory.

#4

RoboCop

1987

A wounded cop turned into a cyborg and programmed by a police force investigates a group of organized criminals.

8/8

Set in a near dystopian future, and a gory one, RoboCop is a blend of science-fiction, action and horror that is so genuinely unique you can hardly compare it to anything that came out prior to it. It is shockingly visionary, brilliantly written and shot with passion. The actors are compelling, always on the note, and they make wonders with the simple satirical caricature they are asked to play.

RoboCop’s character design is one of the most iconic in film history. Call it cool, bad-ass; although over-the-top, the overkill armor answers to a certain logic because the story calls for a supreme police force, seeing as local crime rate is out of control. While the main antagonists are nothing more than gangsters, another robot prototype; a defective one, comes into play to pose a challenge.

The film is wrapped in tongue-in-cheek commentary on current society projected a couple of years forward. Politics, corruption, capitalism, syndication, theft, rape; all the evils of our worlds unite into one big threat for RoboCop to struggle with. The impeccable script holds up from beginning to end, with no slow or unnecessary moments, creating one of the best revenge fantasy stories out there!

#5

Total Recall

1990

A man goes for a virtual vacation on planet Mars as a spy.

8/8

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside, to name a few; Total Recall has some of the best Hollywood actors at the peak of their career and offering some of their best performances yet. This is a smart action-packed science fiction masterpiece directed by none other than Paul Verhoeven and based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. What a delight!

It has some of the best and catchiest music in film history. It contains several futuristic concepts we haven’t seen before. It has a confusing storyline that plays with your mind but makes perfect sense when all is said and done. The script constantly gets you wondering what is real, what is virtual, and you may not get straight answers by the time the end credits roll.

Everything in Total Recall, from the cars to the architecture, has a futuristic yet somewhat primitive look. The film has its own aesthetic and looks like nothing else. The make-up required to make us believe we are among mutants is quite elaborate and very realistic. Action, aliens, technology, romance, gore; you have it all. Total Recall is, without a doubt, one of the best movies ever made!

#6

A Nightmare on Elm Street

1984

A teenage girl and her friends die one by one after being tricked and tortured by an evil figure that haunts nightmares.

8/8

Ultimate nightmare-themed horror movie, this film turns the only bad thing about sleep; nightmares, into some kind of contagious, spiritual disease that tries to kill you before you wake up. It exploits the idea of sleep deprivation in the most creative way imaginable. Like a werewolf curse triggered under a full moon, carnage is inevitable. It hides inside you, waits, and can hardly be delayed .

Not your average villain, Freddy Krueger, the eccentric antagonist, can bend the laws of physics and lives in a surreal world that he disguises as our own. Thanks to brilliant photography, a rigorous sense of pace and ominous suspense, the transitions between reality and dreams are seamless. The camera doesn’t let us in on the illusion so we are as clueless as the victims are.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is nearly perfect. The effects are visionary, the gore striking, the performances more than satisfying, the concept pure genius and the gimmick extremely catchy. Freddy comes with his sonata, his own lighting and a nice, shocking backstory. He joins Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees as one of the most marketable horror icons showing great potential for sequels.

#7

The Evil Dead

1981

Teenagers partying in a cabin in the woods become possessed by demons.

8/8

The Evil Dead is everything a horror movie fan can wish for. It is also the ideal place to start for the uninitiated. Contrary to most films of its genre, it never relies on filler and barely exposes its protagonists. It makes its way to the trigger event quickly and soon plunges the story into somewhat of an extended third act. It’s frightening, engaging, it’s a little bit funny and very gory.

Some camera shots used have never been seen before and rely on creative rigs that director and writer Sam Raimi pulled out of a hat. His magic doesn’t stop there. He gathered the right crew to produce a combination of claymation, latex, animal viscera and make-up that looks nothing like other films of the early decade. This is a good example of accessible experimental cinema.

Take The Exorcist, inject a generous dose of franticness, crank the violence to a maximum, get rid of the dialogue and you get this superficial gem! The Evil Dead is flawed when it comes to special effects, but they involve such unique cinematographic innovations that they are genuinely disorienting and terrifying, regardless. It is the quintessential horror movie and one of the best ever made.

#8

The Faculty

1998

Six students find out their teachers are from another planet.

8/8

A splendid cast is introduced very early on, including the protagonists who are presented through character cards right after an epic prologue. There are obvious Body Snatchers and Scream influences, here. It’s no coincidence that Kevin Williamson, of Scream fame, is screenwriting. The Faculty is punctuated by an amazing rock soundtrack just when you think the film couldn’t get any cooler.

The students, in The Faculty, are mentally and physically abusive, from the get go, so we’re not sure exactly what they become when they’re possessed, and that’s a grey zone that never gets addressed. Some of the infected become more aggressive and some more passive. All characters are right out of a comic book and the acting is irreproachable. In fact, the film itself is almost perfect.

The Faculty is as mainstream as horror films get, but horror buffs will see it from a particular angle. It’s an alien invasion, a slasher, a whodunit and, well, it’s teen horror. What else is there to like? The actors are amazing: Josh Hartnett, Famke Janssen, Robert Patrick, Laura Harris, Salma Hayek, Piper Laurie, Usher Raymond and Elijah Wood, to name a few.

#9

Creepshow 2

1987

A storytelling specter assists a boy in plotting revenge against bullies.

8/8

As a novelty in a now official anthology franchise, Creepshow 2 is fully animated with a decent frame-by-frame render between its segments. The wrap-around story is amusing, looks made for kids, but culminates into something sinister, of course. The comic book element has been replaced by cartoon renditions, but this sequel feels continuous otherwise.

The tales are once again from Stephen King and George A. Romero’s pens, but the directorial chair has been filled by a newcomer. Having the horror legends taking a slight step aside doesn’t impact the production quality in any way. In fact, Creepshow 2 outdoes itself on many levels. The actors aren’t as famous as they were in part 1, but they do a convincing job.

Part 1 had five stories and this one only three. First, we meet an avenging statue, then a hungry oil patch and, finally, an angry hobo. The three scripts are thin, so the limited amount of segment isn’t justified. Because the stories are longer but not denser than those of the previous film, they burn slowly. Despite a weak last third, Creepshow 2 is one of the best released horror anthologies.

#10

Starship Troopers

1997

Recruits of a young generation of space warriors face an increasing alien invasion.

8/8

Starship Troopers is an unlikely genre and subgenre cross-over made by people in perfect knowledge and control of their craft. No aspect of the making is undershot and the CG is great. The result is a virtually flawless production that meets Hollywood standards but not its conventional narrative script structure. It can be called an epic despite the fact that it doesn’t take itself seriously.

It’s a mix of war and science-fiction with scenes and antagonists right out of a horror movie. Aside some jump scares and monstrous creatures, it isn’t exactly scary. The characters are impervious to fear, resilient to pain and their pride and dedication makes them detached from potential danger, but they are vulnerable to the small things: