When I was growing up, the Friday the 13th movies and other slasher films were too scary for me, so I never watched them. But in the early ’90s, I happened to catch one of the Friday the 13th movies—Jason Takes Manhattan. That’s when I totally got the campy charm of it all. After that, I went on a binge, renting all the Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Freddy Krueger movies, and I was hooked.
Then, sometime around 2002, a friend introduced me to Army of Darkness. I was instantly a fan, so I went back and rented all the Evil Dead movies. Not long after that, Syfy released Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud, and, you guessed it, I rented all the Pumpkinhead movies too. By that point, I had fully embraced the delightful campiness of these films. 😄
A few years ago, I stumbled upon the Hellraiser series. It was around Halloween, and I ended up watching every Hellraiser movie I could find. Then in 2022, when I was dealing with COVID, I happened to catch a remastered version of the original Phantasm on Hulu. That series has since become my favorite horror franchise.
Back in the day, when those movies were coming out, I was just getting into the Friday the 13th films and definitely wasn’t ready for the likes of Hellraiser and Phantasm. They felt way scarier at the time, but now, I can fully appreciate their campy qualities.
Other Campy Classics I Love
Even though these aren’t really considered horror by today’s standards, they’re still worth mentioning:
- All of the original TOHO Godzilla movies, with special kudos to Gamera by Daiei Film.
- Ray Harryhausen’s masterpieces. I recently bought the whole collection on Blu-ray.
- Cheesy sci-fi movies from the 1950s, like The Angry Red Planet, The Time Travelers, The Monolith Monsters, and The Man with the X-Ray Eyes.
- And, of course, anything that’s been on MST3K.
My love for campy horror extends to TV shows, too. For instance, I absolutely adore Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While I don’t really consider it true horror (even though it’s often labeled as such), it’s still a campy classic in my book. Plus, Buffy & Spike forever! 😂
There are also some made-for-TV horror movies from the ’70s that I enjoy. You can catch these and more over at Creature Features. Classics like The Old Dark House, Attack of the Crab Monsters, and, who could forget, the pinnacle of hammy horror, The Killer Shrews. Be sure to tell them Xucaen sent you—I’d love to see their faces on air when they say, “Who?!” 😂
A Nod to Hitchcock and Noir
I also have a soft spot for a good Hitchcock thriller, but nothing too bloody. Psycho still gives me the creeps! This, of course, starts to blend with my love for film noir, so I’ll wrap it up here.
I’m sure I’ll think of more titles to add—there’s always room for a sequel to this horrific half-page of heinousness. Muahahaha! cough
Until next time, stay lifted and keep it spooky! 🎃🌿