GORIED TREASURES has been reimagined as a column with every entry focusing on random horror movies that are deserving of the spotlight. Be it indie, foreign, or simply something that is underappreciated by the masses, the goal is to put these films on everyone’s radars.
Hack-O-Lantern
Dir. Jag Mundhra
1988
Watch: Stream (Shudder)
By the late eighties, slashers were struggling to sustain an audience like they had earlier in the decade; even once-lucrative franchises had lost some of their luster and appeal. The fans that grew up with these movies had also grown out of them. This fact didn’t stop filmmakers, though — in essence, they kept making the same movie, over and over. Among a batch of uninspired slashers whose merits vary considerably, there’s one particular movie that sticks out in the decade’s tail end. Not necessarily because of its outstanding quality and unmatched storytelling, either.
After seeing his father brutally murdered by his grandfather as part of a Satanic ritual, young Tommy grows up disturbed and closed off to his family. His mother can’t quite get through to him, and his grandfather appears to be grooming him for another ritual. In the meantime, a mysterious killer is stalking the townsfolk as Halloween night approaches.
While director Jag Mundhra’s career is heavily constructed from erotic exploitation movies, Hack-O-Lantern is an unforgettable departure. The actual horror elements are pitiful and woefully executed. It’s only when Mundhra decides to take the plunge and shoot whatever his heart desires does his film stand out from the competition. He inserts a kooky music video segment that doubles as a dream sequence, and he feels the need showcase some random actor’s standup comedy show. There is even a stripper at the community Halloween party that no one seems to bat an eye at. The film is all over the place, to put it concisely.
Carla Robinson’s script, however, has the potential to be less gaudy. She zeroes in on a family in peril and shows the lengths its matriarch will go to to protect her children. Had the director been more attentive to the script’s themes, maybe Hack-O-Lantern would be different. As it is, the film is off the wall enough to warrant one curious viewing.
Riding the Bullet
Dir. Mick Garris
2004
Watch: Stream
As popular as Stephen King’s works are, a very few of his film adaptations have slipped through the cracks and fallen out of public conscience. This is true of Riding the Bullet, the basis of which is a 2000 novella.
Set in 1969 around October 30, a college student named Alan nearly kills himself on his birthday. He then learns of his mother’s illness and hesitantly travels to see her in the hospital. As he hitchhikes, he suffers horrifying mental episodes connected to painful memories of his childhood.
Riding the Bullet is an incredibly emotional story that is more in line with A Christmas Carol than a standard horror movie. Mick Garris’ typical elixir of aggressive scares and grim humor doesn’t always work with King’s material, though; his direction undermines Alan’s pathos. Even so, the conflict creates some happy accidents here and there.
The macabre predicaments Alan gets himself into along the way are designed to make his feelings more palatable. His and his mother’s character studies are firm and fleshy given the movie’s runtime. Riding the Bullet is absolutely doleful, but this journey to catharsis is worth taking.
Mischief Night
Dir. Richard Schenkman
2013
Watch: Stream
Mischief Night, or Devil’s Night in some parts of the world, is the night before Halloween where people play pranks. It’s usually harmless fun, but for the main character in this movie, the evening is full of malice and pain.
A teenager named Emily has a case of psychosomatic blindness that began after she and her mother were in a car accident. Unfortunately, only Emily survived the ordeal. On Mischief Night, Emily is left home alone while her father goes out on a date. This is when a masked intruder in a yellow raincoat pays her a visit. Emily must then find a way to defend herself from the maniac she can’t even see.
Mischief Night is competent, if not familiar. The story breaks no molds and it features a predictable formula. Regardless, it’s all neatly packaged; this gruesome rundown of home invasion tropes and slasher sensibilities is extremely watchable. The handful of skillful and tense moments will certainly entertain the less demanding viewers.
The film adheres to traditions in a good way, and it makes the most of its cast and low budget. Modern indie horror can be chancy, but Mischief Night is respectable seeing as it never tries to be something it isn’t.