PLEASE TRY NOT TO FAINT. Not recommended for people of nervous disposition.

Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Robert Urquhart, Hazel Court, Melvyn Hayes, Valerie Gaunt, Noel Hood, Paul Hardtmuth

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"I've harmed nobody, just robbed a few graves!" - Baron Frankenstein

Why watch this? It's rewarding to watch Hammer Films' alternative take on the Frankenstein story.

Plot Summary: Baron Victor Frankenstein recounts his life story to a priest while awaiting execution for murder. He describes how, as a young man, he hired a tutor and quickly surpassed him, becoming obsessed with recreating life through scientific experiments. Despite the moral objections of his friend, Frankenstein successfully assembles and animates a creature. However, his creation brings about tragic consequences for those involved.

Hammer Film Productions; Warner Bros.

Who will survive and what will be left of them?

Starring: Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Gunnar Hansen, Allen Danziger, William Vail, Teri McMinn

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"They could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare." - Narrator

WARNING: THIS FILM IS DISTURBING!

Why watch this? Just seeing the trailer re-traumatized me.

Plot Summary: Five friends on a road trip through rural Texas pick up a disturbed hitchhiker and soon find themselves in a horrifying encounter with a family of cannibals. The group discovers a nearby abandoned house, unknowingly stumbling upon the home of the deranged Leatherface and his equally unsettling relatives. What begins as an innocent excursion quickly devolves into a desperate fight for survival.

Vortex Inc.; Bryanston Distributing Co.

The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming.

Starring: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jason Alexander, Patricia Kalember, Eriq La Salle

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"If you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth." – Louis

Why watch this? This feels dream-like and surreal... there's a reason for that.

Plot Summary: Jacob Singer, a Vietnam veteran, struggles to distinguish reality from delusion after experiencing horrifying flashbacks and hallucinations related to his service and the loss of his son. His perception of the world around him, including friends, family, and strangers, becomes increasingly distorted with demonic imagery and surreal events. As his grip on sanity loosens, Jacob desperately seeks answers, convinced there's a deeper, unsettling truth behind his terrifying experiences.

Carolco Pictures; Tri-Star Pictures

Just because you're invited, doesn't mean you're welcome.

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, LaKeith Stanfield, Catherine Keener, Lil Rel Howery, Erika Alexander, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"You know I can't give you the keys, right, babe?" - Rose Armitage

Why watch this? You sorta know where it's going, but it gets to you anyway.

Plot Summary: A young Black photographer travels with his white girlfriend to meet her parents at their secluded estate for a weekend getaway. While initially interpreting their overly accommodating behavior as awkward, well-intentioned nervousness, he soon discovers the family's sinister, deeply disturbing motives for inviting him. Suspicion turns to survival as he attempts to escape.

Blumhouse Prod., QC Ent., Monkeypaw Prod.;
Universal Pictures

You are not welcome here.

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"When dealing with aliens, try to be polite, but firm. And always remember that a smile is cheaper than a bullet." - MNU Instructional Voice

Why watch this? Benevolent aliens reach Earth, and humans are never gracious hosts.

Plot Summary: After aliens arrive on Earth seeking refuge, they are placed in a segregated internment camp near Johannesburg, South Africa, known as District 9. A government bureaucrat, tasked with relocating the aliens, is exposed to an alien substance that begins to transform his DNA. This leads to him being hunted by his own government and seeking refuge within District 9, where he learns more about the aliens and their treatment.

TriStar Pictures, QED International,
WingNut Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

THE PANTHER WOMAN lured men on - only to destroy them body and soul!

Starring: Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Kathleen Burke, Arthur Hohl, Stanley Fields, Paul Hurst

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"You! You made us in the house of pain! You made us... things! Not men! Not beasts! Part man... part beast! Things!" – Sayer of the Law

Why watch this? When you create unholy life, there's always a chance it will turn on you.

Plot Summary: Shipwrecked traveler Edward Parker is rescued and subsequently stranded on a remote South Pacific island belonging to the reclusive Dr. Moreau. Parker discovers Moreau is conducting grotesque experiments, using vivisection to transform animals into human-like creatures, which he controls with a whip and a strict set of rules known as "The Law". Among Moreau's creations is Lota, a beautiful "Panther Woman" he attempts to mate with Parker.

Paramount Pictures Inc.

What's Gotten Into You?

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Tania Saulnier, Xantha Radley

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"It tried to get in my mouth. What kinda thing wants you to eat it?" - Jack MacReady

Why watch this? It's crude, gory, slimy, violent, and completely awesome - if you like this kind of horror film.

Plot Summary: In the small town of Wheelsy, South Carolina, a meteorite crashes, unleashing a parasitic alien creature. The creature infects local businessman Grant Grant, transforming him and giving him a hunger for raw meat. As Grant's body becomes a monstrous breeding ground, a swarm of slug-like offspring threatens to infect the rest of the town, turning residents into zombie-like drones.

Brightlight Pictures, Gold Circle Films,
Strike Ent.; Universal Pictures

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel, Leslie Carlson, George Chuvalo, Michael Copeman, David Cronenberg

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Am I becoming a 185-pound fly? No, I'm becoming something that's never existed before. I'm becoming... Brundle-Fly. Don't you think that's worth a Nobel Prize or two?" - Seth Brundle

Why watch this? When a scientists pushes the limits too far, things go very wrong!

Plot Summary: A brilliant but eccentric scientist invents a set of "telepods" that allow instantaneous teleportation. He begins a relationship with a journalist who is documenting his work. An ill-fated experiment results in his fusion with a housefly at the molecular-genetic level, leading to a horrifying metamorphosis into a grotesque hybrid creature.

Brooksfilms, SLM Production Group;
20th Century Fox

When the moon is full the legend comes to life.

Starring: Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin, Art Malik, Antony Sher

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"As I don't know where the lunatic will strike, it seems the practical thing to do is to stay as near as possible to the potential victims." - Dr. Aberline

Why watch this? This lycanthrope is true to Lon Chaney Jr., but a lot more lethal.

Plot Summary: Nobleman Lawrence Talbot returns to his estranged father's estate in Victorian-era England after his brother's brutal murder. A suspicious Scotland Yard inspector investigates as a creature terrorizes the village, rumored to be connected to an ancient curse. During his search for the killer, Talbot himself is attacked and falls victim to the very curse he is investigating.

Relativity Media, Stuber Pictures;
Universal Pictures

The Strangest Cast of Half Humans Ever Assembled!

Starring: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Roscoe Ates, Henry Victor, Harry Earles, Daisy Earles, Rose Dione, Daisy Hilton, Violet Hilton, Schlitze, Josephine Joseph, Johnny Eck, Frances O'Connor, Peter Robinson, Olda Roderick, Koo Koo, Prince Randian

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"You laughed at them, shuddered at them. And, yet, but for the accident of birth, you might be one as they are. They did not ask to be brought into the world. But, into the world they came. Their code is a law unto themselves: offend one and you offend them all." – Carnival Barker

Why watch this? This classic film is both terrifying and extremely compassionate.

Plot Summary: A beautiful trapeze artist named Cleopatra seduces a wealthy little person named Hans in a traveling circus, with the secret intention of murdering him for his inheritance with her lover, the strongman Hercules. After her cruel intentions are revealed at the wedding banquet, the circus performers conspire to stop the injustice. Ultimately, they exact their vengeance upon the two traitors in a climactic and shocking turn of events.

Tod Browning; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

They got up on the wrong side of the grave.

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly, Sam Raimi, Robert G. Tapert

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"I'm all right now, Ashley! Come unlock this chain and let me out! I'm all right now! It's your sister Cheryl!" - Cheryl, possessed and attacking Ash

Why watch this? Raimi's bold film debut was scary, gory and sometimes a little funny.

Plot Summary: Five friends on a trip to a remote cabin in the woods discover an ancient text and audiotape in the basement. Unwittingly, they play the tape, which unleashes a demonic force that begins to possess them one by one. The sole survivor, Ash Williams, must then fight for his life against his now-monstrous friends as the evil presence besieges the cabin.

Renaissance Pictures; New Line Cinema

Now, terror has no shape.

Starring: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, Joe Seneca, Del Close

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"The thing on that man's hand killed him and then it killed Paul, and whatever it is, it's getting bigger!" - Meg Penny

Why watch this? The original was creepy. This 80's version is gory and terrifying!

Plot Summary: A small town faces a deadly threat when a meteor crashes nearby, releasing an acidic, amoeba-like organism. This creature consumes anything in its path, growing larger with each victim. As panic spreads, a group of townspeople must find a way to stop the unstoppable menace, while also dealing with shady government scientists attempting to capture it.

Palisades California Inc.; TriStar Pictures

Live or die. Make your choice.

Starring: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Mike Butters, Paul Gutrecht, Michael Emerson, Benito Martinez, Shawnee Smith, Monica Potter, Tobin Bell

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Hello Amanda. You don't know me, but I know you. I want to play a game. Here's what happens if you lose. The device you are wearing is hooked into your upper and lower jaw. When the timer in the back goes off, your mouth will be permanently ripped open." - Jigsaw

Why watch this? Every generation has its signature horror film. This is the 2000's entry.

Plot Summary: Two strangers awaken to find themselves chained inside a dilapidated bathroom, each with a tape recorder containing instructions from a mysterious serial killer known as Jigsaw. The men soon realize they are part of a twisted game where they must complete perverse puzzles to survive, forcing them to confront their pasts. As police detectives investigate a series of Jigsaw's gruesome traps, the two victims race against time to escape before their lives run out.

Twisted Pictures; Lions Gate Films

The original nightmare that threatened the world

Starring: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"There's no emotion. None. Just the pretense of it. The words, the gesture, the tone of voice, everything else is the same, but not the feeling." - Wilma Lentz

Why watch this? It's truly terrifying to learn that the human race is being replaced.

Plot Summary: In a small town, a doctor notices a peculiar phenomenon: his patients believe their loved ones are impostors. What initially seems like mass hysteria soon reveals itself to be a sinister alien invasion where humans are replaced by emotionless duplicates grown from pods. As the truth unfolds, the doctor must desperately try to warn others before he too falls victim to the silent takeover.

Walter Wanger Prod.; Allied Artists Pictures

The Man Who Made A Monster

Starring: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye, Edward van Sloan, Frederick Kerr, Lionel Belmore

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"You have created a monster, and it will destroy you!" - Dr. Waldman

Why watch this? It is a landmark in horror cinema history.

Plot Summary: Dr. Henry Frankenstein, obsessed with creating life, pieces together a human body from various sources and successfully brings it to life through electricity. However, the creature, despite its initial innocence, faces fear and rejection from society, leading to tragic consequences. The film explores themes of ambition, the dangers of unchecked scientific advancement, and the impact of isolation and prejudice on both the creator and his creation.

Carl Laemmle Jr.; Universal Pictures

Alien (1979), Director: Ridley Scott, rated R for sci-fi gore, violence, language

In space no one can hear you scream.

Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #24a - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Alien

"Wait a minute. If we let it in, the ship could be infected." - WO Ellen Ripley

Why watch this? It introduced cinema sci-fi to a xenomorph and Sigourney Weaver.

Plot Summary: The crew of a commercial space tug, Nostromo, is awakened from cryosleep to investigate a distress signal from a nearby planetoid. They discover a derelict spaceship and a lower chamber filled with strange eggs. When one of the eggs is disturbed, a deadly extraterrestrial creature comes aboard the ship and proves to be quite lethal.

Brandywine Productions; 20th Century Fox

Watch out! They get you while you're sleeping!

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I keep seeing these people, all recognizing each other. Something is passing between them all, some secret. It's a conspiracy, I know it." – Elizabeth Driscoll

Why watch this? The original 1956 film was creepy. This remake is downright terrifying.

Plot Summary: A San Francisco health inspector, Matthew Bennell, and his colleague Elizabeth Driscoll discover that residents are slowly being replaced by alien duplicates. These duplicates appear identical to the humans they replace but are devoid of emotion and empathy. As the alien takeover spreads throughout the city, Bennell and Driscoll, along with two friends, must attempt to survive and warn others of the impending global invasion.

Solofilm; United Artists

Part man. Part machine. All cop.

Starring: Peter Weller, Karen Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Paul McCrane, Lee de Broux

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Let me make something clear to you. He doesn't have a name. He has a program. He's product." - Bob Morton

Why watch this? It's an excellent sci-fi film about a possible future of law enforcement.

Plot Summary: In a crime-ridden future Detroit, the Omni Consumer Products (OCP) corporation privatizes the police force, seeking to implement their advanced robotic officers to control the city's rampant criminal activity. When police officer Alex Murphy is brutally murdered by a gang, OCP uses his body to create RoboCop, a cyborg law enforcer programmed to serve the public trust. As RoboCop patrols the city and fights crime, memory fragments of his past life as Alex Murphy begin to resurface, leading him on a path to investigate his own death and the corruption within OCP.

Arne Schmidt; Orion Pictures

"I am not an animal! I am a human being! I...am...a man!"

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"If only I could find her, so she could see me with such lovely friends here now; perhaps she could love me as I am. I've tried so hard to be good." John Merrick, speaking of his mother

Why watch this? ... to see that certain humans can be as good as others are cruel.

Plot Summary: This drama follows a severely deformed man, John Merrick, who lives as a sideshow attraction in Victorian London. A compassionate surgeon, Dr. Frederick Treves, takes Merrick under his care at a London Hospital. There, John slowly reveals his intelligence, sensitivity, and desire for acceptance as a human being. The film explores themes of dignity and societal attitudes towards disability through Merrick's journey to find a place in society beyond being a curiosity.

Brooksfilms; Paramount Pictures

The Ultimate in alien terror.

Starring: Kurt Russell, Keith David, Richard Masur, Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, Richard Dysart, David Clennon, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Donald Moffat

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #44 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The Thing

"You see, what we're talkin' about here is an organism that imitates other life-forms, and it imitates 'em perfectly." - Doc Blair

Why watch this? ... the blood test scene is worth the prices of admission alone.

Plot Summary: A team of American researchers stationed in isolated Antarctica encounter a hostile alien life form that can perfectly imitate other organisms. The creature's ability to seamlessly impersonate their victims creates an environment of intense paranoia and distrust among the nervous crew. As the researchers struggle to identify and destroy the shape-shifting alien, they face a harrowing battle for survival.

The Turman-Foster Co.; Universal Pictures

An American Werewolf in London (1981), Director: John Landis, rated R for language, nudity, sex, violence, gore and scary scenes

 BEWARE THE MOON

Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Brian Glover, David Schofield, Frank Oz

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #32 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of An American Werewolf in London

"On the moors, we were attacked by a lycanthrope, a werewolf. I was murdered, an unnatural death, and now I walk the earth in limbo until the werewolf's curse is lifted.” – Jack

Why watch this? The first transformation scene is worth the price of admission.

Plot Summary: Two American backpackers, David and Jack, are attacked by a creature on the English moors. One is killed, while the survivor, recovering in London, experiences terrifying nightmares and hallucinations. Soon, he discovers the horrifying truth about his attack and faces the potential of his own monstrous transformation.

PolyGram Pictures, Lycanthrope Films Limited;
Universal Pictures