Five Horror Films I Like that You Probably Haven't Seen

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I watch a lot of horror films.  Like at least one a day.  Most of them are terrible, so to be honest my bar for what constitutes a good one is pretty low.   Even so, I occasionally run in to a film that I actually enjoy.  Most of the ones I watch are independent films (though not all); a lot are low budget, and many are very obscure (though again, not all).  In honor of the Halloween season I've compiled a list of five of my favorite, relatively obscure horror films that most of my friends and relations have not seen (unless I recommended it to them).  I've listed them in chronological order.  I hope if you haven't seen them, you'll give them a go!  Also if you have a recommendation let me know in the comments; I'm always on the look out for a good scare!

Without further ado, here's the list:

No One Lives (2012).  Written by David Cohen, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.  Starring Luke Evans and Adelaide Clemens.

This film is a trip.  Some criminals hijack a car and U-Haul belonging to a couple; the woman commits suicide and the man breaks free and escapes.  In the meantime, the criminals open the trunk of the stolen car to find a bound woman (Adelaide Clemens), who tells them they are all going to die.  The man (Luke Evans), it turns out, is far more dangerous than these petty thugs.  This is a violent, bloody film about a really bad choice made by people who make nothing but bad choices!  It's a gory hoot!

Storage 24 (2012).  Written by Johannes Roberts, David Fairbanks, Marc Small, and Noel Clark; directed by Johannes Roberts.  Starring Noel Clark, Colin O'Donoghue.

This is a film about a guy named Charlie (Noel Clark) who is having a really bad day.  He's breaking up with his girlfriend, and he goes to their shared storage unit with his best mate to get his stuff before his girlfriend gets it.  Except it turns out she shows up with her best mate at the same time.  Then, to make matters worse, there's a power outage and the security doors come down and lock everyone inside.  To top it off, there's some kind of monster loose in the unit!  This film has some great humorous moments, and you just feel sorry for poor Charlie as his day just gets worse and worse. Stick it out to the end, because just when you think things might be looking up for Charlie...well, I'll say no more.

Resolution (2012).  Written by Justin Benson, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead.  Starring Peter Ciella and Vinny Curran.

This is one of my favorite horror films.  It's hard to describe this film.  It's a buddy film that's a slow-burn horror story that doesn't really come to fruition until the very end.  Basically, a guy named Michael (Peter Ciella) drives out to a rural area to force his friend Chris (Vinny Curran) to get clean.  Chris is squatting in an abandoned shack.  While Chris is getting clean (by being handcuffed to the plumbing by Michael), Chris explores the area and starts finding pictures, then film and a projector, then videotapes and a player, etc. All these things portray Michael and Chris meeting gruesome ends of one kind or another.  There are a lot of threads to this film; a UFO cult, French anthropologists studying local legends, local Native Americans extorting money from Michael, that all seem to be related in different ways.  The film's ending is one that will leave you thinking.  If you like this film you'll love the "sequels" The Endless (2017) and Synchronic (2019).

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016).  Written by Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing, directed by Andre Ovredal.  Starring Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox.

I've watched this film four or five times; I still get a kick out of the concept.  Basically, a father-son (Cox and Hirsch) undertaker team also serve as a small town's medical examiners.  When local police respond to a murder and find the body of a young girl buried in the basement, the undertakers are called to perform an autopsy to see what killed the girl and help identify her.  What happens when they get to the mortuary is both an intriguing mystery and a nice, gruesome little horror show.  The surprising explanation of what's going on is what really makes this film a good one!

Uncle Peckerhead (2020).  Written and directed by Matthew John Lawrence, starring David Littleton and Chet Siegel.

A punk band takes a major risk and goes on tour, only to have their van stolen.  In desperation they accept the help of Uncle Peckerhead (Peck to his friends, played by David Littleton), an old derelict with a van, who offers to be transportation and act as their roadie.  The catch is Uncle Peckerhead turns into a murderous demon every night at midnight!  This is a fun little horror comedy that will have you alternating between laughter and the icks!

That's it!  If you give these films a look, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!