Tremors

'Jaws'-like poster design for 'Tremors' (1990)

One of the surprise hits of 1990, Ron Underwood's (City Slickers, Mighty Joe Young) Tremors skillfully blended horror, suspense and easy humor in its story about a pair of down-on-their luck handymen named Val and Earl (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, respectively), who become stranded in the remote desert town of Perfection, Nevada, and end up helping defend the town against giant carnivorous earthworms called 'graboids.' Michael Gross and country singer Reba McEntire turn in amusing performances as survivalist couple Burt and Heather Gummer. The plot was classic drive-in B movie material, but was handled so deftly, it seemed entirely fresh. One of the things that set Tremors apart from other, similar giant monster flicks was that the characters were all likable and well-drawn. We genuinely cared about what happened to them, which made the subterranean threat all the more compelling. The film was followed by two sequels, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, and Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, as well as a straight to video prequel entitled Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, which was set in the late 1800s. ('Tremors' is available for rent from Netflix, and may be purchased on DVD from Amazon.com.)

Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

Poster for 'Evil Dead 2' (1987)

All three of the films in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy can safely be called cult classics, however each is very different in tone. The first Evil Dead is almost entirely a horror/gore movie, whereas the third film, Army of Darkness, is more of a sword-and-sorcery epic. They're all fun, however of the three, Evil Dead 2 is the strongest in terms of pure horror comedy. Both elements work well in the film. The story finds our hapless hero, Ash (Bruce Campbell) once again terrorized by an unknown evil at that remote cabin in the woods. Nobody does frantic insanity better than Bruce Campbell, and the scene where he battles his own demonically-possessed hand is truly classic--especially the moment when he screamingly, laughingly, chainsaws the offending appendage. (Evil Dead 2 is available for rental from Netflix, and may be purchased on DVD and Blu-Ray from Amazon.com.)

Re-Animator

Jeffrey Combs in 'Re-Animator' (1985)

Jeffrey Combs, who's been winning rave reviews for his portrayal of Edgar Allan Poe in the one-man show, Nevermore, currently playing at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood, first made a splash in the ghoulish 1985 black comedy/horror film, Re-animator. Combs plays Herbert West, a young man who has a very good head on his shoulders..and another one in a dish on his desk! The film was directed by Stuart Gordon from a script based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story, Herbert West: Reanimator, and is an updated reworking of the Frankenstein story about an ambitious but unorthodox medical student who is determined to bring the dead back to life, one body part at a time. Gouts of gore, heart-in-mouth action, and wicked black humor made the film an instant cult classic. The film spawned two sequels, Bride of Re-Animator (1991), and Beyond Re-Animator (2003), neither of which were quite as much fun as the original. (You can rent Re-Animator at Netflix, or purchase the DVD through Amazon.com.)

Theatre of Blood

'Theatre of Blood' (1973) was Price's favorite film performance.

Of the 181 films in which Vincent Price appeared during his career, his favorite was Theatre of Blood, a wry black comedy/horror film about a deranged actor named Edward Lionheart (played by Price, of course), who begins killing off pompous theatre critics using death scenes from Shakespearean plays. The film co-starred the always-interesting Diana Rigg as Lionheart's protective daughter, Edwina, along with a stellar cast of British stage and film stars including Ian Hendry, Jack Hawkins, Coral Browne, Harry Andrews, Michael Hordern, Robert Coote, Arthur Lowe, Robert Morley, Dennis Price, Milo O'Shea, Madeline Smith and Diana Dors. Price is at the top of his game here, hamming it up with shameless glee as he metes out gory death to his weasely detractors: ('Tonight we shall play Cymbeline as it has never been played before!') Interestingly, it was while filming Theatre of Blood that Vincent Price met Coral Browne, whom he would marry the following year. (You can rent 'Theatre of Blood' at Netflix, or buy the DVD from Amazon.com.)