Slasher films from the 90s fall into two groups – before Scream and after Scream.
Whereas the former focused on non-human entities and larger-than-life caricatures as the slashers, the latter just copied Wes Craven’s formula in new locations with a different crop of hot young actors plucked out of network television or modeling agencies. Both have value. But, as with every cinematic decade, some great pictures fell through the cracks.
These are the ‘black sheep’ of 90s slasher films that fell through the cracks and are now rising like the wacky phoenixes they are:
BRAINSCAN (1994)
Director: John Flynn
Cast: Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, T. Ryder Smith
This is the first screenwriting credit for Andrew Kevin Walker, the mad genius who would go on to write Seven, Sleepy Hollow, and Fincher’s The Killer, while also taking the scripts of Event Horizon, The Game, and Fight Club and making them far better. In Brainscan, we get the same high concept ideas that speak to the zeitgeist of the times, a combination of slasher horror and capitalistic satire touching on the ‘video games cause violence’ craze of the 90s. It’s a sinister little number that feels a bit like A Nightmare on Elm Street meets Drop Dead Fred.
Edward Furling was still hot off his Terminator 2: Judgment Day success when he landed the lead role in Brainscan, the last film before he went on an unexpectedly adventurous streak with some real auteur filmmakers. Frank Langella was still several years away from his mainstream Hollywood resurgence, and sleepwalks through this thing. But T. Ryder Smith is worth the watch alone for his unhinged and remarkably threatening role as “Trickster”. This is a character you know would murder a kid without blinking an eyes, and that is terrifying.
Director John Flynn, the man behind B-movie classics like Rolling Thunder, Lock Up, and Out for Justice, would see his final theatrical picture with Brainscan, not quite the Hollywood swan song for which he might have hoped. Though its budget is unknown, the film barely cracked $4M at the box office. In fact, some speculate the soundtrack to the film – featuring songs from White Zombie, Mudhoney, and The Butthole Surfers, among others – might have performed more successfully than the film. I’ve heard the soundtrack. Hard disagree.
“A video game that makes you kill people!” is the only pitch that was probably needed for this film at this time. Brainscan is such a product of its era, and would have seemed like such foreign concept to the last generation or two. But now, when everything analog is fashionable again, I am surprised Brainscan hasn’t become more of a cult classic. It goes harder than you would expect, it doesn’t pull its punches, and it shows just how skilled screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was at crafting a complex story with crackerjack dialogue and pacing. Just as Reservoir Dogs gave us Pulp Fiction, so too did Brainscan give us Seven. It’s all there.
GHOST IN THE MACHINE (1993)
Director: Rachel Talalay
Cast: Karen Allen, Chris Mulkey, Wil Horneff
I’ll be the first to admit – there isn’t a single original bone in Ghost in the Machine’s body. It’s a complete rip-off of Wes Craven’s 1989 horror film, Shocker, itself derivative from so many other like-minded stories. It’s awash in flat out ridiculous science, unrealistic reactions from human beings towards a killer computer, and at no point does it feel as if the actors have any clue what is happening. It’s just flat out goofy as hell, and maybe that’s why I love it?
The idea of a serial killer called “The Address Book Killer”? Simple and effective. I’m down. He dies and his spirit travels inside of a computer? Okay, I can even buy that Kurt Russell family comedy from the 1960’s. But, if you’re going to make your villain a ‘ghost computer’, at least understand, I dunno…anything about computers. If you thought The Net was something, Ghost in the Machine is going to shock your narrow-minded ass back to the Stone Ages.
Whatever happened to Will Horneff? This film was part of a multi-year run when he headlined not only this film but also the family adventure, Born to be Wild, and a TV remake of The Yearling, not to mention turning in memorable roles in The Sandlot and the 1997 TV miniseries version of The Shining. He’s doing the best he can here as the relatable teen lead, and Karen Allen is clearly looking for ways to make her character multi-dimensional.
But who needs fleshed-out characters when you have a serial killer in a computer? Normally, I’d say ‘me’, but I have to admire the moxy to just decide that the inside of a computer was going to look like a video game; or the staggering audacity to attempt to make Chris Mulkey a sexy leading man; or the sheer insanity to give this thing a $12M+ budget. It made back about half, which is about 50% more than I would have predicted for 1993. Audiences weren’t looking for this kind of thing. In many ways, Ghost in the Machine was ahead of its time.
DR. GIGGLES (1992)
Director: Manny Coto
Cast: Holly Marie Combs, Larry Drake, Glenn Quinn
Horror didn’t realize how good it had it in the 90s until it was long, long gone. Case in point: Manny Coto’s bonkers 1992 gothic slasher, Dr. Giggles, the most sorely under-utilized horror monster in cinematic history. Larry Drake as “Dr. Giggles” deserved a multi-picture franchise. Instead, because the film barely topped $8M on a $7M budget (which was actually not a total disaster at the time), any potential franchise plans were canceled. Imagine if this film had made an extra $4-5M – it would have received a sequel in a heartbeat.
As a 10-year-old kid, I still remember the trailer for this film on every VHS tape I rented in the months leading to its release. I had the poster hanging on my bedroom wall for about four years. If you were a horror kid in 1992, nothing was more exciting than Dr. Giggles. Now, as a grown ass man, whenever I watch the film, all I see is how lackluster my praise was. Dr. Giggles is a stone cold blast from top to bottom – a singular villain, an original gothic aesthetic, a vibrant color scheme, and that incredible Brian May score; it’s a beautiful thing.
Let’s talk about Larry Drake for a minute, rest in peace, one of the most unheralded horror character actors there ever was. From his breakout role as “Bubba” in 1981’s Dark Night of the Scarecrow; to his multi-picture run as “Durant” in the Darkman franchise; to the role that should have been his Freddy Krueger…his Jason Voorhees…his Candyman. Think of all the dad-joke one-liners we could have had?! Think of all the goddamn medical puns?! Take Paul Walter Hauser, put him in a Dr. Giggles remake, and I am spending at least one whole paycheck.
I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1998)
Director: Danny Cannon
Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Brandy, Freddie Prinze, Jr.
This franchise has always suffered in the villain department. Not the aesthetic. The slicker with the hook is iconic, and rightfully so. It’s when you get up close and have to deal with whatever the hell Muse Watson is doing. He’s a fine character actor. I’ve enjoyed him in many roles on screens both large and small. But his decision to make The Fisherman ‘Cajun Ernest’ boggles the mind. There’s nothing intimidating about this man when he opens his mouth, except for maybe the pungent smell of crawfish and Red Oak.
And, if North Carolina wasn’t a luxurious enough vacation destination, get ready for “Ernest Goes to The Bahamas”. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer might actually be better than the original. It’s certainly a more exciting location. I mean – who wouldn’t want Jeffrey Combs, Bill Cobb, Jennifer Esposito, and Jack Black as their hotel staff? The production value is improved across the board, particularly during the torrential storm that traps our group on the island, while Freddy Prinze, Jr. spends the entire film basically honking his horn in traffic.
There’s something devious and obnoxious about a killer in a slasher film whose entire plan revolves around making a dumb teenager believe she won a trip to the Caribbean. It’s almost the plot of a Disney Channel Original. Also – why is he always wearing the slicker? It’s not always raining when he’s killing folks. A slicker’s not the most effective way of hiding your identity either. And at what point did he decide – “Nothing but the hook for me!”? Most people choose a hook because their machete is in the shop. The Fisherman? All in!
I guess what I’m saying is – I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is some of the best 90s horror nonsense that exists on this planet. Danny Cannon might not have meant to make this gonzo of a film, but considering this one was wedged between Judge Dredd and Geostorm, the depths of his nonsense seem to know no bounds. The first film took itself way too seriously. This film accepts what it is, has fun with it, and never puts on airs.
