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Fear of the Unknown

By William Goss | Posted Under Seriously Random Lists | Comments (50)

Dr Giggles poster.jpg

A friend called me as he was strolling around Best Buy this afternoon, and he made a passing mention of that fact that Dr. Giggles of all things was finally on Blu-ray (paired up with the execrable Otis). I only remembered that film as the cover of a VHS on a shelf at a video store long ago. Hell, I even remembered the tagline: “The doctor is out… of his mind!” But I never actually saw the thing.

So this is a list of those, with trailers included. (It would appear that I missed out on some real gems.) Feel free to chime in with any of your own picks.

1. Dr. Giggles (1992)

2. Candyman (1992)

3. Ghost in the Machine (1993)

4. Shocker (1989)

5. Leviathan (1989)

6. Deepstar Six (1989)









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Comments

I have seen all of these. -_- I'm not sure if I should be proud or ashamed.

Although, to be fair, Candyman is pretty rad. And Ghost in the Machine scared the crap out of little kid me.

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at August 4, 2010 3:06 PM

Frankenhooker! You could push the button on the VHS box, and it would say, "Do me! Do me!"

Good times.

Posted by: The Great Mango at August 4, 2010 3:07 PM

I've seen Candyman; it's pretty excellent. Particularly that moment where you realize she's just screwed.

That said: It's Alive gets my vote. I remember the tagline: There's only one thing wrong with the Johnson's baby: It's alive. (I may have the name of the family wrong, but give me a break -- I haven't seen hide nor hair of this movie since I was about five.)

Posted by: sistercoyote at August 4, 2010 3:11 PM

This might just be a local Akron movie (since it was filmed in Akron, OH) but for me it was always "The Dead Next Door."

It's a pretty epic zombie movie which has acheived a devoted cult following due to the piss-poor wonderful acting, horrid colorful special effects and attrocious riveting plot.

It's on Netflix. Add it to your queue.

Posted by: superasente at August 4, 2010 3:13 PM

Candyman scares the everliving fuck out of me.

Posted by: TL at August 4, 2010 3:13 PM

LOL I've seen all of these. Good lord.

Posted by: Danielle Lilly at August 4, 2010 3:18 PM

At my high school, every year we'd have big sleepover where everyone would stay overnight at the school. There were lots of activities, including movies. My freshman year, I watched Candyman in a dark classroom with about thirty other girls. Mass hysteria ensued, including a screaming session in the bathroom where we all did the chant. Therefore I think I remember it being waaaaay scarier than it really is.

Also, Deep Star Six is the shit. With Miguel Ferrer hamming it up and Greg Evigan from My Two Dads being all chest hairy and awesome. And Nia Peeples!

Posted by: Katers at August 4, 2010 3:19 PM

Compared to yesterday's list I fare much better we these movies. I've seen 4/6.

Posted by: John W at August 4, 2010 3:19 PM

um yeah i totally caved in to curiosity and rented every single one of these movies...except candyman which i think i saw in the theater.

Posted by: JenVegas at August 4, 2010 3:23 PM

Candyman still scares me too TL

Posted by: Danielle Lilly at August 4, 2010 3:23 PM

Between Candyman and the Bloody Mary legend, I STILL can't go into a dark bathroom. Nope, won't do it. Scares the fuck out of me.

God help me, I remember Dr. Giggles. I knew it was trash as a child but it didn't stop me from being totally weirded out by it. The only thing I remember is him shoving what appeared to be almost a small auger down this chick's throat.

*gags*

Posted by: Kaleena at August 4, 2010 3:28 PM

Only seen "Leviathan", and that was in the theater.

I remember my friend and I reading about the upcoming "Deep Six" in Fangoria and that they'd added the "Star" to sound more sci-fi or some shit. "But that was a cool title!" we groaned, and lost respect for the production.

Posted by: Jay at August 4, 2010 3:33 PM

I've seen them all. While I will admit that Candyman was the best of the bunch I do have to admit a soft spot for space and oceanic horror.

Posted by: admin at August 4, 2010 3:39 PM

I have a friend who will not allow anyone to even say the word 'candyman'. We have taken to calling it 'candyland'. And, yes, it surprisingly comes up enough in conversations that you need an alternate word.

Also, as a direct result of this, I now find the game Candyland a vaguely unsettling.

Posted by: jadeblue at August 4, 2010 3:45 PM

I've seen all of these too. In fairness I grew up in a rural area and for a teenager it was pretty much either rental movies and take-out pizza or felony vandalism for entertainment.

Posted by: cfar1 at August 4, 2010 3:45 PM

Oh yeah, Candyman scared the frack out of me. Also it's set in an area of Chicago, where I'm from...and at the UIC campus, where my dad worked.

Posted by: banana at August 4, 2010 3:52 PM

I should have said, I'm from the chicagoland area, but not Cabrini Green thankfully...

Posted by: banana at August 4, 2010 3:53 PM

Two posters or video box covers from back in the day that I’ll always remember standing out for whatever reason are April Fool’s Day and Terrorvision. I’m pretty sure I eventually caught both of them on cable at some point, although I don’t remember for sure. Both from 1986.

Posted by: Harry Coverts at August 4, 2010 3:55 PM

I'm pretty sure I've seen all of these. Candyman was great and I'll always have a soft spot for Shocker, cheesy at it was. I think my friends and I all loved that movie solely for the soundtrack. Hey. It was '89 for Pinker's sake.

Posted by: Paul at August 4, 2010 3:59 PM

My father raised me right. His take on exposing little kids to horror films was, "You can watch this, or you can go to bed." At, like, 7:30.

And he rented everything, you know, I have like emotional scars from seeing this movie called Chatterbox, about a woman with a mouthy, sentient vagina. At one point, there's a musical interlude featuring a song called "All She Ever Really Wants For Breakfast is a Cock... a-doodle-doo."

So, yeah. You did not blow my mind on this occasion. But you did bring back a pretty horrifying memory from my childhood, so. Go team you!

Posted by: Melodie at August 4, 2010 4:06 PM

I've seen all of those and I raise you Virus with Jamie Lee Curtis.

Posted by: DeckOfficer!! at August 4, 2010 4:13 PM

Leviathan. It rules. And it leaves you wanting a sequel. And yet Transformers III is filming in my city. Stupid world.

Posted by: seth at August 4, 2010 4:44 PM

after watching Candyman I had to have my boy toy hang out in the bathroom while I took a shower...for months. Hell how many years ago did we see it? 15? Boy Toy will still on occasion come into the bathroom and while I am in front of the mirror he will whisper "Candyman" twice...and then he can sleep by his own dumb ass slef on the couch!

Posted by: karen at August 4, 2010 4:54 PM

Has anyone seen Monkey Shines? It's beyond brilliant.

IMDB plot synopsis:

A quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.

You need it in your life.

Posted by: TSF at August 4, 2010 5:11 PM

TSF ,Monkey Shines scared the crap out of me. Evil little diaper wearing scrabbling in the dark monkey. I still say that's where Family Guy got the "evil monkey" idea.
All that movie needed to push me into raving lunatic mode was a midget clown.

Posted by: DeckOfficer!! at August 4, 2010 5:19 PM

Imagine Family Guy being derivative, huh?

I'd forgotten (or never knew) that it was a Romero film as well. And Stephen Root is in it. Too much awesome.

Posted by: TSF at August 4, 2010 5:23 PM

Monkey Shines scared me too.

I've never seen any of the movies on this list, but I have heard that Candyman will scare the crap out of you.

Posted by: Viking at August 4, 2010 5:33 PM

Deep Star Six is great, Lloyd Braun ftw.

Posted by: the new transported man at August 4, 2010 6:10 PM

candyman is CLASSIC. and leviathan's meg foster punch is a WONDER TO BEHOLD, seriously the BEST MOMENT IN ALL CINEMA, ALL CINEMA PUT TOGETHER!

Posted by: gp at August 4, 2010 6:26 PM

how about Basketcase? I didn't end up seeing that one until I was in my 20s.

Same with C.H.U.D

Posted by: bubblegumshoe at August 4, 2010 6:30 PM

I've seen all of those. And Virus. And Monkey Shines. And so many other bad movies, I can't even begin to list.

Was it Leviathian or Deep Star Six that had the giant crustacaen as the big bad? I was so over it after that reveal. I just kept thinking they should boil it, clarify some butter, and snack down until rescuers arrived. Giant food isn't scary.

Posted by: natalie at August 4, 2010 6:36 PM

Deep Star Six!! "Save your last breath...TO SCREAM." I loved that movie as a kid. Leviathan was pretty badass too.

Posted by: Another Jen at August 4, 2010 6:53 PM

When I was a kid I LOVED watching crappy Z-movie horrorfilms!!! Being almost 40, that was the early 80s for me, just when video stores began to proliferate (& before the clerks asked for I.D.)

'the Funhouse' (c.1980) had a tagline: "Pay to get in, PRAY to get out"

'Q: The Winged Serpent' (1982) tagline claims that "Its name is Quetzalcoatl... just callit "Q"... that's allyou'llhave time to say before it tears you apart!"
(yes, I own this film; bought it used from a videostore years ago)

'Squirm' (1972)

'The Stuff' (1983)

'Terror Train' (1979) had David Copperfield in it.

'Student Bodies' (1981?)

'Blood Beach' (1982?)

...& there was this one film where some guy got beheaded by an elevator (while neck stuck between the doors).
Can't remember the name, though.


Oh yeah: there was also 'Trick or Treat' about an evil rockstar, & featured Ozzy Osbourne playing a Televangelist. Totally craptacular!

Posted by: oskar at August 4, 2010 7:42 PM

I hate to admit that I actually own three of these on DVD. Candyman still holds up pretty well today and Leviathan and DeepStar Six are just plain cheese...but fun cheese (plus I go a big rubbery one for anything with a sea monster).

Posted by: Case at August 4, 2010 7:47 PM

Oh I almost forgot "Night of the Creeps"
tagline : Girls..your dates are here!
It's so true it's funny

Posted by: DeckOfficer!! at August 4, 2010 8:36 PM

I saw four out of five of these in the theater (sorry Dr. Giggles) and own those same same four on DVD. Why must you think that we have the same lousy taste in movies Dustin has?

Posted by: Adam C. at August 4, 2010 8:52 PM

I just knew someone would mention "Night of the Creeps". I've only seen bits and pieces of that movie, when I was way too young to see stuff like that. The emotional scars still linger over twenty years later.

Posted by: Gabbie_O at August 4, 2010 9:09 PM

Ya know why Candyman is so effin' scary? Not because he's Black. Because this guy 1) kills multiple Black folks that b) live in the projects. Usually, crazy dudes are killing pretty White people in nice houses. Sure a Black Best Friend is first to go. But that's ONE Black person. Not many throughout the whole effin' movie. And they are poor, too? Sheeeeeiiiit...

Posted by: ceejeemcbeegee at August 4, 2010 9:09 PM

I saw Candyman in the theaters with my dad and two brothers (im the baby) and i couldn't finish watching it. I walked out of the movie with 30 minutes left and my dad was pissed and told me to stand right out the door and not move so he and my brothers could finish watching it. I still have never watched Candyman again. FUCK THAT MOVIE.

Posted by: Sad Rockstar at August 4, 2010 9:30 PM

The Dentist (starring Corbin Bernsen!)
April Fools Day
House
Warlock

Posted by: Alex S at August 5, 2010 12:53 AM

^^^^^^^^^^^ CougarKissing. C O M ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
An attractive woman in her 30's or 40's who is on the hunt once again. She may be found in the usual hunting grounds: nightclubs, bars, beaches, etc. She will not play the usual B.S. games that women in their early twenties participate in. End state, she will be going for the kill, just like you. Associated with milfs...

Posted by: cuttiebabe123 at August 5, 2010 7:29 AM

Chopping Mall

Posted by: Harry Coverts at August 5, 2010 9:54 AM

My uncle had the posters for Scanners and the Howling on the walls of our creepy basement, making it infinitely creepier. I swore I would NEVER watch either one and I have held true to that promise I made to my 12 year old self. I guess this is the opposite of your list, Dustin, but it does speak to the idea of how powerful those VHS boxes and movie posters are.

Posted by: toddler dad at August 5, 2010 12:49 PM

The title "Fear of the Unknown" made me realize that these movies (and others like them) seem much, much scarier than they probably actually are BECAUSE I never saw them. The more vague the memory of the promotional materials, the more frightening the thought of the movie.

For example, the movie poster for "Ghoulies 2" (with the monster puppet coming out of the toilet) scared the crap out of me at the video store when I was a kid, and because I never actually revisited that movie, the thought of it still gives me the willies.

In contrast, the video case for "Pumpkinhead" made me think it must be the scariest movie ever made. Later on, I watched it as an adult because I love Stan Winston's work. My response was "That was it?" Now it doesn't scare me at all.

Posted by: Wonkey The Monkey at August 5, 2010 1:09 PM

Night of Demons

"Angela is having a party. Freddy and Jason are too scared to come.

But you'll have a hell of a time."

Posted by: Brett at August 5, 2010 2:28 PM

The original Candyman scared the crap out of me. Of course, I saw it when I was the 4th grade, which was probably too young. I watched it again in 7 grade as basically a dare to myself. Candyman is pretty much the reason I don't like being able to see a mirror from my bed when trying to go to sleep at night.

The worst part was, a girl I knew had seen the movie before I did and convinced me to stand in front of a mirror in the dark and summon Candyman like in the films. Not scary if you have not yet been exposed to the horror that is Candyman.

On a final note (wow, I have passionate feelings regarding Candyman) the movie is partly so scary to me because he basically goes after the main chick BECAUSE she doesn't believe in him. So as a kid, I was afraid to tell myself he didn't exist because just in case he did, he might come for me to prove me wrong. Terrifying.

Posted by: Katie at August 5, 2010 2:55 PM

Candyman is a phenomenal horror film. Definitely not to be missed.

Posted by: Matt at August 5, 2010 3:32 PM

Oh those, Shocker and Leviathan are favorites, and Deep Star Six was a guilty pleasure. But CANDYMAN? Oh man, THAT was a BADASS movie.

You should add Nightbreed and The Serpent And The Rainbow to the list of forgotten horror gems, too.

Posted by: Danny from Puerto Rico at August 5, 2010 5:04 PM

Deep Star Six rules. The Gate was a good one, too.

Posted by: Mattfactor at August 6, 2010 10:55 AM

these were all pretty wide release films, i.e., they played at the theatre. the video stores always had lots of horror from low budget places, like full moon video or Troma. in fact independent video stores were kind of a golden age for b grade horror movies. you dont see the same in modern chain dvd rental places.

i did spend an idyllic part of my early teen years watching pretty much anything that came out in the horror, sci-fi and fantasy. not a great way to get girls, but then, i bet i remember these movies more fondly than i would any fumbling 15 year old dating that might have occured had i been less geeky. usually it was going out to punk shows(yes, punk was pretty geeky), straggling back to my buddy's place battered and bruised, stocking up on sugary foods and then watching videos till sunrise. good fuckin times

Posted by: idleprimate at August 7, 2010 6:12 PM