Horror moviesare often at their best when they’re simple popcorn films that can be thrown on without too much prior thought, robust and easy to enjoy as top-notch “brain-off” entertainment. Agood “popcorn movie"refers to a film that doesn’t ask much of its viewer while being wildly entertaining. This is a stride that many horror films are able to hit effortlessly, with so many of the genre’s greatest hits relying on fantastical premises, bombastic performances, and audacious special effects.
That’s not to say all horror films are shallow, as plenty ofphilosophical scary moviescan call into question societal values or ponder themes with deep implications in ways no other genre can. But for every genuinely groundbreakingly profound horror movie,there are a litany of delightfully gory and over-the-top popcorn flicks that simply deliver on a good time.Casting aside required knowledge of previous films, complex symbolism to dissect, or realism that’s taken a touch too far, horror movies can be wickedly fun.
Jaws
Cast
Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, follows the residents of Amity Island as they face terror from a menacing great white shark. The town’s police chief, a marine biologist, and a seasoned shark hunter join forces to track and kill the predator threatening their coastal community. Released in 1975.
Arguably the first popcorn movie to strike it big at the box office,Jawsis the archetype that completely changed how the film industry worked from the ground up.A young, hungry Spielberg helms the story of a simple tourist town which has its busy season interrupted by a string of gruesome attacks by a man-eating great white shark. With the economic pressures of the town on the line, the police chief, a marine biologist, and a grizzled veteran sailor team up to hunt the bloodthirsty aquatic beast.
It’s no wonder that the film inspired a whole litany of sequels and a smattering ofJawsrip-off movies.
Because of its historical significance,Jawshas been dissected for all sorts of deeper themes and double meanings, from Herman Melville’sMoby Dickto the Watergate scandal. But in essence,Jawsis simply a rip-roaring good time, from the iconic theme song to the classic lines to the thrashing splendor of Bruce the shark himself. It’s no wonder that the film inspired a whole litany of sequels and a smattering ofJawsrip-off movies.
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods strictly follows the traditional slasher movie dynamic: a group of teens heads to a remote location for the weekend only to find themselves beset by monsters. However, what they don’t know is that the inevitable horrors they will face have all been arranged by a mysterious team watching from a facility deep underground.
For those that are dedicated fans of horror as a whole,The Cabin in the Woodsis a brilliant distillation of all there is to love about the genre.The story begins as many horror films do, with a quintet of college kids eager to release their pent-up energy on a vacation to a creepy cabin isolated in a spooky forest. They’re soon attacked by a family of redneck torture zombies, but the carnage is all being meticulously directed by a white-collar organization dedicated to orchestrating horror movie tropes to appease ancient eldritch gods.
The Cabin in the Woodsis genuinely funny, lined with a sparkling cast of character actors including a pre-MCU fame Chris Hemsworth.The film lovingly pokes fun at common horror movie clichés like dumb characters and creepy figures that warn the protagonists to turn back while effectively incorporating every film in the genre ever made into a singular universe of terror. Culminating in one of the most spectacular final acts in any movie ever,The Cabin in the Woodsis a finely-tuned homage to an entire art style.
The Blob
The Blob is a 1988 science fiction horror film directed by Chuck Russell. The plot revolves around a malevolent, gelatinous entity that emerges from a meteorite and begins consuming everything in its path in a small American town. As the creature grows larger with each victim, a group of citizens races against time to find a way to stop the unstoppable menace. The film stars Kevin Dillon and Shawnee Smith.
One of the greatest science fiction horror movies of all time is the originalThe Blobmade in 1958, which chronicles the tale of an alien organism that comes to Earth and feeds on humans.The 1988 remake, piloted by Chuck Russell, is one of the greatest but also one of the most critically underappreciated horror remakes ever. This time around, the Blob itself is actually the result of a military experiment, grown inside a satellite before crashing down to the planet to reign terror on a small town.
The special effects of 1988’sThe Blobare a true marvel, as the acidic amorphous fiend oozes its way through a chunk of the population, leaving only skeletons in its wake.
The film has a great sense of increasing spectacle as the Blob grows bigger and bigger in size, culminating in an absurd action setpiece that includes one of thegreatest movie flamethrower scenesconceived.Equal parts creature feature and disaster flick,The Blobis positively dripping in unabashed horror fun.
Sickeningly fun brain-off entertainment
Most people know Peter Jackson from his wonderfully iconic adaptations of Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringsbooks, earning him international fame.But before he was lavishly constructing fully-realized fantasy worlds, he was flaying the flesh from his victims' bones in delightfully horrific movies likeBraindead, also known asDead Alivein North America. The film takes viewers through a mutant zombie outbreak in New Zealand, which is desperately attempted to be curbed by a nebbish mama’s boy.
Fittingly enough considering its title, the film is a reckless indulgence of wanton blood and guts.Known as one of the goriest mainstream movies ever made,Braindeadis a no-holds-barred display of Peter Jackson’s talent with practical effects. With absurd ideas like zombie monkey-rat hybrids and zombies that can sexually reproduce to make zombie babies,Braindeadis a cult classic that works better the more one’s own brain is turned off while watching it.
An American Werewolf In London
An American Werewolf in London centers on two American college students who are attacked by a werewolf while traveling in London, England. David Kessler survives the attack but is haunted by visions of his friend Jack, who explains how dangerous David has become after the violent attack. The John Landis-directed film stars David Naughton and Jenny Agutter.
Bringing the concept of a wolf man back to the pop culture zeitgeist in full swing for the first time since Universal’sThe Wolf Man, An American Werewolf in Londonis the definition of a great popcorn horror movie. The film centers on a pair of American backpackers in England, one of whom is bitten by a ravenous werewolf, thereby passing the curse on to him.Sure enough, on the next full moon, the hapless David becomes a bloodthirsty beast that wreaks havoc on the most populated centers of London.
With such a simple and well-worn idea,An American Werewolf in Londondoes a great job digging up every conceivable corner of its premise as its titular fanged creature of folklore carves a bloody path through a modern metropolis.The film was among the first to introduce genuine comedy into a typical horror formula, achieving great success in doing so despite contemporaneous doubts.Easily one of thegreatest werewolf moviesever made, if not the singular best,An American Werewolf in Londonis sure to get the blood pumping.
Re-Animator
1985’s Re-Animator is a feature-length film based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, Herbert West–Reanimator. The Horror and Comedy release follows a man that spends time attempting to create a reagent that will reanimate the dead.
When it comes to Lovecraftian horror, images of incomprehensible cosmic horrors or fish-themed monstrosities might be the first thing to come to mind.ButRe-Animatorprovides a starkly unique and surprisingly easy-to-enjoy adaptation of H.P.Lovecraft’s work. Loosely based on the short storyHerbert West-Reanimator, the film tells the macabre tale of an up-and-coming doctor whose life is thrown into chaos when he becomes roommates with Herbert West, a mad scientist obsessed with reviving the dead via a special glowing green serum.
From the aggressively green glow of the serum to the unique setting of a medical institution of learning.
Re-Animatoris chilling and gruesome in ways that only a low-budget mid 80s horror movie can be, making some of the best use of a severed head ever seen in cinema.Jeffrey Combs is phenomenal as the deranged Herbert West, whose relentless fixation of playing god and earnest belief in his own superiority is simply the perfect archetypal modern necromancer. From the aggressively green glow of the serum to the unique setting of a medical institution of learning,Re-Animatorpresents gore utilized in almost slapstick levels of physical humor.
Evil Dead II
Evil Dead II is a horror-comedy film directed by Sam Raimi, continuing the story of Ash Williams. After arriving at a secluded cabin with his girlfriend, Ash faces malevolent forces unleashed by an archaeologist’s recording of chants from the Book of the Dead, leading to chaotic and supernatural events.
For the most part, picking the middle of a franchise for a fun movie to simply throw on and have a good time with isn’t the best idea, with convoluted, serialized plotlines getting in the way of the amusement.That isn’t the case forEvil Dead II, which rebootstheEvil Deadseriesby retelling the first film’s events despite the numbered title.In an attempt to spend some time with his girlfriend Linda, Michigan hardhead Ash Williams is thrown into a fight for survival when the couple accidentally resurrect the sinister Deadites via the Necronomicon.
Evil Dead IIis Sam Raimi at his goriest, funniest, and scariest best.Bruce Campbell’s square-jawed and dim-witted Ash is the perfect goofball protagonist to stick into such a sick and twisted world, succumbing to madness as he endures the carnival of horrors unfolding all around him. From the creative camera angles from the roaring Deadite’s point of view to the bonkers finale with a gnarled creature battle,Evil Dead IImight be the zenith of popcorn horror movie making.
Trick ‘r Treat
Trick ‘r Treat, directed by Michael Dougherty, is a horror anthology film featuring four interwoven stories set on Halloween night. The narratives explore a high school principal’s hidden life as a serial killer, a college student’s romantic encounter, a teenagers’ prank, and a reclusive old man’s unexpected visitor.
Horror anthology movies have an almost unfair advantage when it comes to excelling as popcorn fare.EnterTrick ‘R Treat, directed by Michael Dougherty ofGodzilla: King of the MonstersandKrampusfame.The film weaves through five tales all set on Halloween night in a small Ohio town in which the holiday is taken deathly seriously. Serving as connective tissue is the big-headed Sam Hain, named after Halloween’s original name as a pagan holiday, Samhain, a murderous toddler who punishes those eschewing Halloween traditions.
Despite being very much a frightening horror movie,Trick ‘R Treatis a cozy holiday classic worth returning to every year.Unlike many anthology films, there truly isn’t a weak link in any of the stories, from the coven of werewolf women to the unassuming dad moonlighting as a serial child murderer. Sam himself deserves a place in the Mount Rushmore of iconic masked slasher villains, rounding out a delightful candle-lit scary movie sweeter than Halloween candy.
V/H/S/2
V/H/S/2 is the sequel to the 2012 horror anthology film and brings together a new group of writers and directors to tell five tales of terror tied together by an overarching narrative. The core story follows two private investigators as they look into the disappearance of a missing college student. While on his trail, they discover a collection of VHS tapes in his dorm room that all play out in sequence as the main story unfolds between each viewing.
Truthfully,the entireV/H/Sseriesis a stellar pillar of popcorn horror movies as a whole, and it’s difficult to recommend only a single entry in the franchise for those eager to absorb cheap and entertaining scary stories.Each movie is a collection of vignettes presented as actual video tapes (or otherwise lost media) that have been dusted off and refurbished, knitting together a creative stream of frights, blood, and deviancy. If the series had to have a single winner to represent its popcorn movie tendencies, it has to beV/H/S 2.
Still one of the strongest entries in theV/H/Sseries,V/H/S 2plays with all sorts of sources of footage, from zombies wearing GoPros to bionic eyes to dog-collar cams scampering through alien abductions. With series-standout titles likeSafe Haven,V/H/S 2knows where to hit hard and leave things off before shifting gears into a new genre of horror altogether.For as wide a net as the film is able to cast, it’s an impressive staple of horror movie mastery.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a 1988 science fiction horror comedy in which aliens resembling circus clowns invade a rural town. They capture unsuspecting victims using unconventional methods, including entrapment in cotton candy cocoons, leading local residents to confront the bizarre extraterrestrial threat.
Any horror movie that has its own theme song is a guaranteed popcorn movie classic, and the band The Dickies can attest to the quality ofKiller Klowns from Outer Space.True to its title, the film follows the alien invasion of a small town orchestrated by a circus full of monstrous clown-like creatures that weaponize a variety of carnival-themed gadgets. It’s up to an odd love triangle of kids to stop the carnage before the clowns can cocoon the entire town’s population in cotton candy for easy consumption.
The grotesque designs of the clowns themselves are the true star of the show here, sure to trigger coulrophobia in even the most cool-headed audiences. The film’s scrappy budget and late-80s sensibilities drown the entire thing in an eerie fever-dream tone that’s hard to find anywhere else, but the good fun of the creative kills and absurd circus creations is impossible to deny. Genuinely funny and surprisingly disturbing,Killer Klowns from Outer Spacemight not be the deepesthorror movie, but it’s one of the few to have villains that literally wield popcorn as a weapon.
