#24: Duel
Year: 1971
Master of cinema Steven Spielberg jump started his illustrious career with the TV movie entitled Duel, written by the great Richard Matheson (both script and short story). When a typical businessman (Dennis Weaver) commuting to work notices he is being stalked and terrorized by a massive, malicious gasoline truck - he flips out. Thing is, we never get a clear look at the driver, is there even anyone behind the wheel? Is it just the deluded paranoia of Weaver's stressed out mental state, or is somebody really out to kill him? With obvious budgetary restrictions for TV, Spielberg really plays to the tension and mystery surrounding the driver, injecting powerfully gripping sequences that foreshadow his visionary brilliance. Shot entirely on location in a mere 13 days, Duel is a rare breed of action film melded with psychological horror; a true suspense film!
#23: The Ghost and the Darkness
Year: 1996
Based on the true tale of colonial engineer Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, penned by legendary script-man William Goldman, The Ghost and the Darkness is that rare breed of period action/horror not revolving around Victorian vampires. In 1898, Tsavos East Africa, a British architect (Val Kilmer) is sent to Africa to build a bridge. Before long it becomes clear that two 9 foot man-eating lions are not only stalking the grounds, but one by one eating villagers for lunch (140 or so, most likely inflated for cinematic drama). Patterson and the villagers turn to a famed, badass hunter (Michael Douglas) to put the deadly animals down so they can resume bridge building. In addition to one of Tom Wilkinson's early film roles, the flick features some awe-inspiring effects work by our late great favorite Stan Winston. RIP good sir!
#22: Battle Royale
Year: 2000
Anyone who's seen this flick isn't soon to forget it! In the not so distant future of Japan, a class of 9th grade students are cast away for three days on an island, pitted against each other and forced to barbarically butcher one another until only a single survivor is left standing. With a dizzying vibe and chaotic defiance of rule or logical law, the late Kinji Fukasaku's film is an experience reserved for only the hardiest of hearts. For real, take caution because this film can leave many a chiseled thug from Watts as brittle as a box of glass. As violent and out of control the film is, it's insane to think that not a single person in the cast required a stunt double. As it is, with over the top pools of carnage, pitch dark humor and vivacious photography by Katsumi Yanagishima, Battle Royale is indeed a heavyweight bout!
#21: Deep Rising
Year: 1998
Here's a glorified B-movie if we've ever seen one, just thinking of the premise alone makes us smile! When a band of armed jewel larcenists overtake a luxurious ocean liner, they soon discover that all the passengers have disappeared and have been unceremoniously replaced by a gaggle of giant underwater squid-like alien beings - ones who harbor an unquenchable thirst for human blood. They lash deadly tentacles and systematically off each thief one by one. With nary a dull moment, action packed explosions and set pieces, it's safe to say the special effects in the movie are the crowning achievement, hardly outshined (if at all) by the acting, directing, story, etc. I'm not sure which is funnier, the fact Harry Ford turned down the role, or that producers at some point thought he'd be interested in doing it. Still, Famke Janssen has never looked better!
#20: Demons
Year: 1985
Co-written by Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava's (Mario's son) warped, high voltage scourge of ghoulish hell is easily one of the best times to be had on our list. When two girls take up some free entertainment at a newly refurbished West Berlin movie theater, they soon encounter a multiplying horde of ravenous demons who don fangs and claws, bubbling green slime from their frames like inhuman toxic dumpsites. As the action ratchets and all avenues of exit are cut-off, it's up to the two girls and the other survivors to stay alive and off as many demons as they can. When the few finally get released, droves of beastly creatures usher into the German streets, threatening to overtake the entire capital. As if more fun is needed, keep your eyes peeled for a poster of Argento's The 4 Velvet Flies (his 3rd film) strewn on a back wall in the theater lobby.
#19: Final Destination
Year: 2000
So what if the cast of this flick has a Dawson's Creek feel, you have to admit that the plot of Final Destination conjures a pretty original premise. When a high-school senior becomes plagued with catastrophic visions, he narrowly avoids his own demise by getting off a flight to France for his graduation trip. The plane explodes minutes later, and in the following days, all of the survivors mysteriously die one by one in a spectrum of elaborate fatalities. Originally conceived as an X-Files episode, FD is inspired by the real-life TWA flight 800 accident of 1996 and has a host of throwback in references to horror of old - dropping character surnames like Lewton, Chaney, Hitchcok, Marnau, Shreck, Browning, etc. Perhaps a guilty pleasure, and why Sawa never hooked up with Ali Larter is beyond me, but Final Destination is still worth the thrill-ride!
#18: Freddy vs. Jason
Year: 2003
Ronny Yu's major pop conglomeration not only pitted two of the most well known horror villains against one another, but did so ultra-successfully. With a modest summer 'blockbuster' budget of 25 million (the highest for a Friday the 13th film), Freddy VS Jason took in over $100 million at the world-wide box office, yet dubiously cast aside any initial plans for a sequel. As it is, FvJ is offered a pretty satisfying over the top blood-battle fraught with a slew of winking in-jokes, references to past Elm Street and Friday the 13th set-pieces, gruesome fatalities, even kitschy line readings. What's cool about the film s the way Freddy and Jason kind of do their own thing for the better part of the film, all leading up to the final sadistic showdown where, even when the violence slips into hyper-animation (cartoon-like), never fails to entertain.
#17: Maniac Cop
Year: 1988
Director William Lustig channels some of the cynical nihilism he exhibited in his 1980 film Maniac, this time infusing a mean spirit in a script penned by horror-head Larry Cohen (It's Alive, Q). When New York City is being ravaged by a cadre of grisly slaughters inflicted by a man in a police uniform, City Hall is desperate to suss the killer and quash the crimes. Despite birthing two inferior sequels, Lustig's film takes a highly immoral subject matter and peppers it up with cheap, exploitative b-movie tenets that add a little levity to the overall tone. With a respectable body count of 19, a co-starring role from Bruce Campbell as well as cameos by Sam Raimi, Richard Roundtree and director Lustig himself - Maniac Cop is still ruling the streets 20 years later!
#16: Manhunter
Year: 1986
Perhaps not a typical action flick, or at least not until the climax, Manhunter is hard flick to codify, pulling from vast array of genre conventions. What's unequivocal about the flick however, is its ability to down right creep one out. The story puts an FBI profile agent on a headlong search for a Miami serial killer that appears to randomly pluck victims off the street. The profiler (William Peterson) turns to a like-minded serial killer named Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox) to get inside the mind of the murder as a way to track him down. With a cold, sterile approach that neither glamorizes nor castigates the serial killers themselves, director Michael Mann creates a moody, straight forward action/crime/horror/drama amalgam that despite its 'Miami Vice' reflection and painfully anachronistic score, still remains quite a horrific feat!
#15: The Mummy
Year: 1999
Stephen Sommers 1999 re-imagining of Universal's black and white 1932 monster flick may have lacked Boris Karloff's memorable performance as the mummy, but it more than made up for Karloff by injecting a massive dose of action and incredible special effects into the classic story. Brenden Fraiser also manages to only come off as slightly annoying in his role as Rick, the film's wisecracking protagonist. Too bad Sommers couldn't recreate the perfect blend of action and horror as seen in The Mummy with his later project Van Helsing.
#14: Dead Heat
Year: 1988
With Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams as our two leads, Dead Heat could have easily landed on our comedy/horror list as well. When two bumbling cops are assigned to solve and quell local crime-sprees, they soon discover that those perpetrating said crimes are in fact dead, resurrected by some sinister mastermind keen on keeping their self blame-free. With a brisk 86 minute run time, Dead Heat's a fun-filled tongue in cheek buddy-cop film set against the backdrop of a maddened zombie takeover. 20 years removed, the special effects hold up well enough to avoid complete cheese or laughable anachronism. You throw in a role by horror vet Vin Price and the always entertaining Darren McGavin, you instantly have a solid movie. And if you're wondering about the title, look no further than Piscopo's filthy '88 perm-mullet - HOTNESS!!!
#13: Near Dark
Year: 1987
Aside from boasting our only female director on the list (Kathryn Bigelow), Near Dark also binds two genres we don't often see overlap; that being horror and western. A young man (Adrian Pasdar) soon realizes the girl he's trying to court is just a cog in a well oiled machine of unruly vampires who set out to drain all the desert blood they can. After initial hesitation, the man slowly joins the wild gang of flesh-fiends, perusing barren highways in stolen cars in search of a bounty of warm meals. It's a vampire road picture, inked by Eric Red, author of the other road horror on our list The Hitcher. Despite Johnny Depp failing to land the protagonist role, Near Dark reunites a small team from Aliens, featuring Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein (Michael Biehn passed), remaining one of the most unheralded vampire flicks to be seen.
#12: Planet Terror
Year: 2007
Robert Rodriguez's unabashed send up to sleazed out monster movies, while still young, is too damn cool to keep off our list of best action/horror flicks. When a military experiment for fighting terrorism goes awry, a swarm of flesh-eating corpses rises from the soil and set out to imbibe as much epidermis as inhumanly possible. It's up to a badass leather-clad named Wray (even if about 5'2''), his amputated ex-girl, the local town sheriff and his hillbilly, barbecue slinging brother to save humanity as they all know it. With kick-ass, eye-popping special effects that will render your side in stitches from either laughter or unease, not to mention funny cameos by Josh Brolin, Nicky Katt, Michael Parks and Bruce Willis - Planet Terror is in a demented, entertaining orbit of its own. Really, how can you top a fine chick with a Howitzer for a leg? Yeah, thought so!
#11: Maximum Overdrive
Year: 1986
It doesn't take a genius to figure out why preeminent horror scribe Stephen King only directed one picture. Maximum Overdrive is not a very good movie, but that in no way should imply that the flick is without merit altogether - because this is one sick, twisted, super cheesy romp through auto-motive terror that we find pretty damn enjoyable. When Earth's atmosphere is tainted by a trailing comet, all the machines begin to animate and homicidally aim for human targets. The crux of the film takes place near a truck stop, where a gang of maniacal 18-wheelers wreak bloody havoc. Starring Emlio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington and Yeardley Smith - with an unforgettably RAD soundtrack by '80s rippers AC/DC, Maximum Overdrive certainly hasn't lost the speed 22 years later.
#10: The Hidden
Year: 1987
Released in the same year as The Lost Boys and Predator, there's no wonder why Jack Sholder's The Hidden lives up to its namesake - as it truly remains one of the most criminally underappreciated flicks to be released that year. The plot revolves around a malefic alien that's made its way to America, savagely killing humans and assuming their bodily identities. Cue our unlikely hero and FBI agent (Kyle MacLachlan), who spearheads a relentless hunt for the odious creature before it murders more people and possibly threatens to reproduce. Despite its esoteric nature, The Hidden boasts a fun, break neck pace that incorporates trashy low-budget grue sequences that somehow lend charm to the overall sentiment of the picture. What starts as a typical action/thriller morphs into a wildly entertaining blood bath; The Hidden seriously need be found!
#9: Total Recall
Year: 1990
Arnie's pulling an unprecedented list trifecta with Paul Verhoeven's 1990 Philip K. Dick adaptation. While some may not immediately associate this movie with horror, we'll have you note that the original cut of Total Recall landed an X-rating for excessive violence, resulting in re-edits and footage excision in order to lower it to a releasable R (while still retaining a 77 kill count). The picture is basically a freaky, psychic, surrealistic series of Martian escapades in the life construction worker Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger). A complex story entailing the corrupt monopoly of clean air and government malfeasance is deftly blended with skilled action sequences and stunning but not too gaudy FX work. Fascinating side bar, not only was David Cronenberg set to direct, he actually inked a few drafts before Verhoeven took the reins.
#8: Blade
Year: 1998
Before Wes Snipes was ducking the IRS for tax evasion and hawking late-night Total Gyms alongside Chuck Norris, the guy was off fighting rabid vampires in Stephen Norrington's Blade. When Earth's twisted future is fraught with blood-sucking fiends, everyone turns to the brute and brusque force of a half-man-half-vampire who seems to have about 6 black belts and a military armory he has no qualms about putting to work. With a sleek, cool, no-nonsense leather-clad mien - Blade is the 21st century horror equivalent of Shaft, if you can dig it. With an impressive body count of 88 and a sweet vampire turn from horror stalwart Udo Kier, the flick is a high octane action movie through and through, cleverly spiced up with revamped (pun?) gothic horror tropes. Despite David Fincher dropping out, Blade still remains as sharp as can be!
#7: The Omega Man
Year: 1971
Russian Hitchcock acolyte Boris Sagal brings esteemed writer Richard Matheson's tome 'I am Legend' to the big screen (no, not Willy Smith's version). After an apocalyptic war decimated Earth in the year 1977, a scientist (Charlton Heston) kept alive via vaccination endures as the last living man on the planet. Soon he encounters a colony of sadistic nocturnal albinos known as 'The Family', a rag-tag team of survivors (biological weapons) preying on all they can to survive. Strapped with a Smith & Wesson M76 submachine gun and an infrared laced Browning Automatic Rifle - Heston locks himself down in his apartment and not only protects his own safety but lays waste to any pale and plagued demon he happens to set his scope on. The Omega Man is a smart action/horror flick with a cerebral plot and carried by an all-time bona fide screen legend.
#6: The Hitcher
Year: 1986
Really though, what could be better than Rutger Hauer planting a severed finger in basket of fries? In Pony Boy's fries no less! While it would have been interesting to see the alleged three hour first cut of the film, The Hitcher, thanks in large part to the general creepiness of Hauer, remains as one of the most intensely chilling action/horror entries we've seen. When a young man offers a ride to a stranded and sadistic motorist, a deadly cat and mouse game has the driver not only fending for his own survival, but for his own innocence as well. Not only is the young driver (Thomas Howell) stalked and repeatedly tormented, the serial killing sadist actually tries to pin all of his own murders on the poor innocent. Written by Eric Red, with a nice supporting role by Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hitcher is truly on the road to action/horror hell.
#5: The Terminator
Year: 1984
While primarily associated with science fiction, Jim Cameron's dystopic vision of 2029 Earth is not only murky and menacing, it's flat out disturbing. When a vicious cyborg is sent back in time to kill a woman named Sarah Connor, her only chance for survival comes via aide from Kyle Reese, a soldier who's also been wrinkled through time. With a budget of less than $6.5 million, Cameron relied on his own creative ingenuity to bring his alternate world to life. His focused visual approach and technological foresight overcame any budgetary constraints, resulting in one of the coolest, darkest, mean-spirited 'end of humanity' yarns to come out in the last 25 years. Interesting to note; O.J. Simpson was originally considered for the title role - but I guess Cameron wasn't really going for a 'life imitates art' approach!
#4: Army of Darkness
Year: 1992
With an original script of a mere 43 pages, Sam Raimi's wildly inventive trilogy bookend Army of Darkness holds today as one of the most silly, irreverent zombie flicks we've seen - doing an equally impressive job seizing the heart with fear, also splitting the side with laughter. Literally picking up where Evil Dead 2 left off, this third entry sees our favorite b-movie action hero Ash (Bruce Campbell) transport to 1300 AD, where in attempt to regain the Necronomicon "Book of the Dead", must crack and defeat a horde of 'deadite' zombie spine. With a m�lange of a high-energy pacing and period set-pieces, a healthy dose of violence, a wacky sense of humor brought to life by the immortal Campbell, even the oddly compelling stop-motion skeletal battalion at the end - all of it shines a bright light on the Army of Darkness!
#3: Predator
Year: 1987
"I ain't got time to bleed" - the immortal words of one Jesse the Body Ventura in John McTiernan's blood-soaked jungle flick Predator. Besides spawning a few sequels and two state governors, Predator still holds today as one of the coolest, most entertaining action/horror films. When a commando squadron finds itself on a mission deep in the Central American wild, they soon encounter a brutally cunning alien alpha-being, who with chameleon-like shape shift ability, savagely fells each soldier one by one. With a body count of 64, extremely durable special effects that have maintained their power for over 20 years, and a menacing score by Alan Silvestri - we couldn't dare omit one of Arnie's halcyon efforts. Costarring Bill Duke, Carl 'Action Jackson' Weathers, Shane Black (acclaimed screenwriter), and Kevin Peter Hall in the titular role.
#2: Jaws
Year: 1975
Not only did Spielberg's arduous production of a giant killer fish spawn a handful of sequels, the flick served as the initial paradigm of the modern day blockbuster. When a large great white shark brutally hunts the waters of Amity Island - a small coastal New England town, it's up to the local sheriff, a grizzled shark expert and a young marine scientist to put end to the ruthless killings. The technical on set difficulties regarding mechanical shark 'Bruce' (as they called it), actually proved auspicious as the limited screen time and properly framed angles undoubtedly heightened the suspense level of the film. You add that with the visionary genius known as Steven Spielberg, a searing score by John Williams and realistic performances by Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Dicky Dreyfuss, in retrospect it's no surprise why Jaws was such a major catch!
#1: Aliens
Year: 1986
Jimmy Cameron's admirable follow up to Ridley Scott's iconic gothic horror film Alien, sees ultra-badass heroine Ripley kick more spiny intergalactic tail. This time around she's accompanied by large coterie and a grip of high-powered arsenal, which proves essential when discovering a planet overrun by an entire colony of ferocious blood-hungry ETs. With a slew of trail-blazing special effects, a hyper-kinetic, almost prenatal MTV-type rhythm and editing and a supporting cast of rough diamonds including Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser; all behind the super-sexy Sigourney Weaver as every 14 year old boy's sci-fi fantasy - Aliens is that rare breed of exemplary sequel and deserves high rank on our compilation. Shit, just the FX work on the mother queen at the end of the flick alone is enough to carve a top spot!
