New month, new horror recommendations from Deep Cuts Rising. This final installment of 2024 features five selections reflecting the month of December in some way, shape or form. Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown. This month’s offerings include a […]
New month, new horror recommendations from Deep Cuts Rising. This final installment of 2024 features five selections reflecting the month of December in some way, shape or form.
Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.
This month’s offerings include a Christmas slasher, a holiday-set creature feature, and more.
Madhouse (1974)
Pictured: Madhouse (1974).
Directed by Jim Clark.
It’s hard to resist a horror movie starring both Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. Even harder when it’s as on the nose as Madhouse(or The Revenge of Dr. Death). Two seasoned genre veterans like Price and Cushing were not as in demand as they used to be when this flick first came out; horror cravings had already started to change by then. And while it doesn’t lean as hard into the meta commentary as it could have, the outcome is still quite enjoyable.
Here Price plays a sort of fictionalized version of himself, and his iconic character is suspected of murders resembling those in his films.
This movie’s story opens on New Year’s, so keep it in mind as you ring in 2025. Madhouse is now streaming at various sites as well as available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse (1977)
Pictured: The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse (1977).
Directed by Douglas Curtis.
The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse or The Hazingsounds like it should be a horror film. The pitch: a fraternity initiation goes terribly wrong when only one of two pledges (Jeff East, Charles Martin Smith) survives. And then that survivor has to help his brothers cover up the death, which includes hiding the dead body.
After actually watching the movie, you’ll see this is much more of a frat comedy, albeit one with a morbid sense of humor. It’s also more suspenseful than scary once the protagonist starts coming undone by all the pressure.
You can still buy The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse on DVD, or you can find it on YouTube.
A Christmas Tale (2005)
Pictured: A Christmas Tale (2005).
Directed by Paco Plaza.
Set in the 1980s, A Christmas Tale (or Cuento de Navidad) begins with a group of children discovering a Santa Claus-dressed bank robber (Maru Valdivielso) at the bottom of a deep hole in the forest. The miscreants keep her there in the meantime, but once Santa does get out, she pursues her captors.
Despite its destination for television, this one of six Films to Keep You Awake is suitable for the big screen. And although the moviedoesn’t seem festive either, on account of its balmy setting, a darkly humorous tone makes it feel right at home with other holiday horrors.
The late and great Kazuo Umezu, one of Japan’s most renowned horror mangaka, was the genius behind a six-part film anthology series called Horror Theater (Kyōfu Gekijō). This macabre and grisly collection of self-contained stories celebrated Umezu’s fiftieth anniversary in the industry.
And in Present, a small gathering of friends at Christmas turns deadly as a man dressed as Santa Claus (Randall Himes) goes on a killing spree. This brisk, gory, and weird tale is a powerful introduction to Umezu as well as just a wild way to spend your Christmas.
You can still buy the entirety of Kazuo Umezu’s Horror Theater on DVD from Tokyo Shock, but if you only want to watch Present, it’s available on YouTube.
Salvage (2009)
Pictured: Salvage (2009).
Directed by Lawrence Gough.
This low-budget but well-made British genre gem begins on Christmas Eve. After a mysterious crate washes ashore, the residents of a nearby cul-de-sac are menaced by both special forces soldiers and the strange creature they are after.
What Salvage lacks in production values, it makes up for in performance and pacing. This hectic, nail-biting horror doesn’t squander a minute as the two central characters, a mother and daughter (Neve McIntosh, Linzey Cocker), fight for their survival. The movie is cheerless comfort for those who like their holiday entertainment to be on the bleak side.
No genre is as prolific as horror, so it’s understandable that movies fall through the cracks all the time. That is where this recurring column, Deep Cuts Rising, comes in. Each installment of this series will spotlight several unsung or obscure movies from the past — some from way back when, and others from not so long ago — that could use more attention.
