Scary Movie

An unhinged young man accompanies his friends to a haunted house attraction around Halloween right as a deranged mental patient has escaped. As the night wears on, this young man starts to think the mental patient has broken into the haunted house and is going to kill them one by one.

It's amusing to see John Hawkes so young and in such an early role and Scary Movie works mostly due to his bizarre, scared rabbit performance. The Halloween visuals will give you the warm and fuzzies for all of those who love that time of year and it's fascinating to see how many films have cribbed from this later on like the recent Hell Fest and Haunt. Even at about 80 minutes, it's a little too slow and there's not a lot of terror or danger for a good majority of that run time, so less patient viewers might want to sit this one out.

This nineteen ninety one film was then nineteen year old director Daniel Erickson's first full length feature film.Producer Keith Brunson teamed up with co-producer/director/writer Erickson to bring his vision to life.They formed the production company Generic Movies LTD.to produce their one and only film. Filmed entirely in and around the Austin,Texas area,it has the look and feel of a small country town. The film centers around Warren,a paranoid young man who spends most the movie in a constant state of fear. Set in a Jaycees type of small town spook house,Warren comes to believe an escaped homicidal maniac is hiding inside! The movie builds suspense from beginning to end,you can't stop watching it!Every scene in this film works perfectly to produce the desired effect on the viewer.Daniel Erickson has created a cult classic! The movie stars a then unknown John Hawkes in his first feature film. Then Austin resident Butch"Eddie Munster"Patrick puts in a comedic performance as a spook house worker.The film also used a lot of local cast and crew,and even Keith Brunson has a cameo role as the spook house door attendant. The only problem with this film is that so few people have seen it. It never opened nationally,and was only shown in one local theater. Occasionally it is shown on Halloween in Austin,but it never got the recognition it deserves. I have the very good fortune to know the Erickson/Brunson team,and have made it my personal quest to get this film seen. I played the film on my horror host show in Austin,and have sent copies of the show to horror hosts across the country. Watch your local horror hosts show and someday you may get to see the original"Scary Movie". In summary,this is a perfect first offering from Generic Movies Ltd. it offers horror,suspense,comedy,something for everyone.It is a must see cult classic!

This is the type of movie you can turn on and it instantly feels like Halloween. A great film to watch between Sept-Oct or anytime of the year if you are like me. Add it to your Halloween watch list! It will stay forever.

Before there were Haunt (2019), Hell Fest (2018), and The Houses October Built (2014), there was Scary Movie (1991). As one of the early "haunted attraction gone wrong" films, Scary Movie helps sets the scene with loving tributes to retro Halloween visuals, classic horror movies, and clever whodunnits. Director Daniel Erickson's 1986 short film Mr. Pumpkin previously glimpsed his particular brand of mischievous Halloween fun, which is now on full display throughout Scary Movie. Even Butch "Eddie Munster" Patrick is on board for this campy ride!

One thing that surprised me about Scary Movie was the genuinely twisting mystery at the heart of it. I know my plot predictions were thrown off at least once during the course of the action. I was also impressed by how little profanity and adult content were used to tell the story; there is just enough edge sprinkled across the cast of characters to make them unique, without becoming overbearingly explicit. If you're looking for an edgier film with a similar aesthetic, The Funhouse (1981) is always available to view - but I personally prefer Scary Movie for this very reason, considering how seamlessly it blends with the 1980s/1990s general audience Halloween content I grew up watching on television.

Make no mistake, this is a horror film with blood in all the right places - but one which keeps you guessing and laughing all the same. I hope more viewers come to find this hidden gem for their Halloween movie nights. While I understand that it might not necessarily be a great fit for everyone, it is sure to tickle the funny bones of viewers interested in 1980s horror, haunted attractions, and lovingly-executed independent filmmaking. The aesthetic is nostalgic, the mystery is strong, and the cast delivers for an all-around Halloween treat.

SIMILAR TO: The Funhouse (1981), Hell Fest (2018), Scream (1996), Evil Dead 2 (1987)

FURTHER VIEWING: Mr. Pumpkin (1986)

Once again, Turner Classic Movies managed to dig up a real obscurity for their weekly "Underground" period - I hadn't even heard of this movie until I saw it on the TCM schedule, and with my interest of obscure cinema I had to give it a look. Unfortunately, the movie for the most part doesn't work. I will give credit to the filmmakers for taking their extremely low budget and make things look more expensive than they really were. There is even some interesting camerawork that you wouldn't expect. But this movie really needed to have its script punched up before filming started. It's endlessly padded, with almost nothing happen until towards the end, and it capped by a so-called twist that you'll probably be able to predict. The tedium could have been eliminated with a high bloody body count, but the body count is very low, and hardly any blood is seemed. What really irked me, however, was the main character of Warren. Although this nerdy wimp starts off sympathetically, his bumbling and whining eventually becomes extremely annoying. If you want some clues as to what can make a horror movie work or fail, only then should you give this a look.