Scream 2 (1997)
A horror sequel rushed into production and released 12 months after the original? Yeah, it’s a song we all heard before. And the refrain is always the same: cash-in schlock. Yet, somehow, Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson, and most of the key cast members behind the previous year’s pop culture phenom were able to make lightning strike twice in this worthy sequel to Scream.
Set on a college campus this time, where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) attempts to put the past behind her until she gets the ominous Ghostface phone call in the middle of the night, Scream 2 has a lot of fun commenting on and subverting the “rules” and clichés of slasher movie sequels. For starters, it has an entire ensemble of returning, affable faces who are as much the stars as the guy in the mask—and it then has the audacity to kill some of them off, quite cruelly. Still, Scream 2 is a lighter and more frothy movie than its predecessor, detouring into rom-com territory that wouldn’t have been out of place in Julia Roberts’ My Best Friend’s Wedding (out the same year). Somehow it works, especially in an opening that shows what should happen if you talk in the theater. – DC
Ringu (1998)
This is where it all started. Based on a 1991 novel by Japanese author Koji Suzuki, this 1998 adaptation (also known as Ring) from Japan’s legendary Toho Studios broke through as an international hit and started the phenomenon known as “J-horror,” as more genre films from that country—along with South Korea and Hong Kong—brought a much-needed jolt of dread, terror, and supernatural menace to a field that had been saturated with slasher films and postmodern self-commentary.
Directed by Hideo Nakata, Ringu ingeniously blended folklore with (then) modern technology as a cursed videotape brings death within seven days to whoever views it. It may not be what we mean now by “viral video,” but the conceit, along with some truly eerie imagery, captured the imaginations of audiences everywhere and sparked a wave of English-language remakes. Nearly 25 years later, the original film still packs a wallop, right down to its genuinely nerve-shattering climax, and its confluence of old and new horror tropes remains unique. – DK
The Sixth Sense (1999)
M. Night Shyamalan might be a slightly divisive figure in the horror movie world these days, but it should never ever be forgotten what an extraordinary achievement The Sixth Sense was. Remembering it as the “I see dead people” movie, which established Night as a man who likes twists doesn’t do it justice. There is so much more here than the bait and switch. It doesn’t matter one bit if you know the ending, The Sixth Sense is scary, tense, and deeply emotional.
A breakout for child star Haley Joel Osment, the young actor plays Cole here. Only 10-years-old, Cole, indeed, sees dead people, and often dead people who have suffered horrible deaths. Still, the child winds up trying to help them. It’s a terrible “gift” for this thoughtful boy who didn’t ask for his power and doesn’t want it. Bruce Willis’ child psychologist tries to help in more ways than one. The Sixth Sense was nominated for six Oscars (which is very good going since Oscar tends to ignore horror), including Best Supporting Actor and Actress for Osment and Toni Collette, who plays his mother. It’s a wonderful film, and if you don’t tear up at the “Do I make her proud?” moment, do you even have a heart? – RF