Fitz of Horror’s Guide to 21 Obscure Horror Movies

Written by Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror)

There are hundreds of “obscure horror” lists floating around on the internet but one popped up via iHorror.com, of “The Top 5 Obscure Horror Movies”, (http://ihorror.com/obscure-horror/ ), that was so absurd that it made true horror fans wonder what the hell they were thinking with a rookie list like that.

I like to consider my self a “true” horror fan that has been around the block a few times and has seen pretty much all the genre has to offer, but only a true horror fan would know that there is so much more out there to be discovered.

With such a wide variety of horror available on DVD, Blu ray and various streaming sites, it’s hard to consider anything obscure nowadays but it never fails, every once in a while a movie is brought to my attention that I have never heard of and it turns out to be amazing or a random search on the internet yields a horror gem that I had long forgot about.

Anyways, the point of this list is to throw my opinion out there about what is obscure in the world of horror movies. Hopefully there are more than a few movies on this list that you’ve never heard of and you can say “I heard about this from Fitz!” or maybe this list will have some of those movies that you have long forgotten about and it will serve as a reminder to revisit or try to track them down.

At any rate, this is a group of 21 old and new horror movies that I pulled off my shelf that I consider to be obscure and worth tracking down….Enjoy.

1. Little Otik aka Greedy Guts (2000)

Surrealist master Jan Svankmajer (Faust, Alice) brings a famous Czech legend eerily to life in the darkly hilarious cautionary tale of Little Otik. An ordinary couple, Karel and Bozena, are unable to conceive a child. When Karel digs up a tree root and whittles something vaguely resembling a human baby, Bozena’s maternal longings transform the stump into a living creature with a (literally) monstrous appetite that can’t be met with baby formula. Svankmajer brilliantly mixes his wicked humor with his subversive politics and love of mythology into a stunning live-action fable for our times.

An absolute “What the hell did I just watch?” type of movie that you need to see just to say that you’ve seen it.

eBay price- About $40 

Amazon price-About $40

2. Street Trash (1987)

A liquor store owner sells alcoholic beverages to homeless people, unaware of what the bottles actually contain: toxic brew, a liquor that will melt the unlucky wino from the inside out!

If you’re a fan of Troma flicks, you will love Street Trash in all of its gory an gooey goodness.

eBay-$15

Amazon-$15

3. Headless (2015)

This is brought to you by Forbidden Films and is the followup to the underground cult favorite Found, Headless is a demented study of a serial killer and a movie horror fans shouldn’t miss.

See my full review here- https://fitzofhorror.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/fitz-of-horror-movie-review-headless/

eBay- About $20 if you can find it

Amazon- Unavailable

4. Meet the Feebles (1989)

Heidi, the star of the “Meet The Feebles Variety Hour” discovers her lover Bletch, The Walrus, is cheating on her, and with all the world waiting for the show the assorted co-stars must contend with their own problems. These include drug addiction, extortion, robbery, disease, Drug dealing, and even murder. While this is happening the love between two of the stars is threatened by the devious Trevor the Rat, who wishes to exploit the young starlet for use in his porno movie business.

Just think “Muppets on acid” and this will somewhat allow you to comprehend the craziness this movie contains. Directed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), this was his second feature film, his next film is one you may have heard of called Dead Alive.

eBay- $20

Amazon-$18-$60

5. Gutterballs (2008)

This cult favorite is no stranger to fans of underground horror. Brought to you by Danger After Dark/ Plotdigger Films and directed by Ryan Nicholson, this raunchy throwback to 80s horror and exploitation is something to behold.

A bowling night will turn into a bloody death match for a team of teenagers, as a deranged serial killer is taking them down one by one.

eBay-$15

Amazon-$20

6. Cannibal (2006)

Brought to you from the demented Unearthed Films studio, this “Based on a true story” cannibal flick is not for the squeamish.

An internet advertisement placed by a man with a cannibalistic obsession brings yields a willing victim to serve up his own flesh in this dramatic account of the crime that shocked the world.

Even a fine tuned search for this one and it is still hard to find and not cheap when you do.

eBay-$50

Amazon-$65

7.Hard Rock Zombies (1985)

A hard rock band travels to the tiny and remote town of Grand Guignol to perform. Peopled by hicks, rubes, werewolves, murderous dwarves, sex perverts, and Hitler, the town is a strange place but that doesn’t stop the band’s lead singer from falling in love with a local girl named Cassie. After Nazi sex perverts kill the band to satisfy their lusts, Cassie calls the rockers back from the grave to save her, the town, and maybe the world.

eBay-$10-$15

Amazon-$15

8. Eddie the Sleepwalking Cannibal (2012)

A painter struggling for inspiration finds an unexpected muse after he accepts a teaching position in a small town and becomes the caregiver to Eddie, a seemingly docile art student with a rare sleepwalking condition.

eBay-$12

Amazon-$15

9. Season of the Witch aka Hungry Wives (1972)

When I saw this on the shelf at the pawn shop I knew it was a rare horror movie because I had never seen or heard of it before but my surprise turned into shock when I saw it was directed by The Godfather of Zombies himself, George A. Romero.

Season of the Witch is just your average everyday run of the mill, suburban housewife gets bored with her monotinous lifestyle so she turns to witchcraft and murder.

eBay-$30

Amazon-$25-$50

10. Pieces of Talent (2014)

From Shutter Blade Media and enigmatic director Joe Stauffer, Pieces of Talent is a hauntingly beautiful horror film that follows the friendship between a charasmatic serial killer and an unsuspecting young woman.

This movie is extremely hard to find but if you can track a copy down, add it to your collection and never let it go!

Here is my review from last year: https://fitzofhorror.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/fitz-of-horror-review-of-joe-stauffers-pieces-of-talent/

eBay- $20-$100 when available

Amazon-$16

11. Begotten (1990)

This gory and entirely visual film tells the surreal tale of the death and rebirth of gods.

Watching this movie, if you can get through it, is like watching the VHS tape from The Ring, whereas you feel like you will now only have one week to live. The first 5 minutes of Begotten are insanely creepy and haunting but in my opinion, the movie is nowhere near the asking price but it doesn’t seem to be going down any tim in the near future.

eBay-$50-$100

Amazon- $275

12. The Barn (2016)

From Nevermore Production Films The Barn is almost too new to be considered obscure but they have put together a grassroots campaign with the movie and merchandise that leads me to believe that once the product is gone, it’s gone.

Its Halloween 1989, best friends Sam and Josh are trying to enjoy what’s left of their final Devil’s Night before graduating high school. But trouble arises when the two pals and a group of friends take a detour on their way to a rock concert, finding an old abandoned barn and awakening the evil inside. Now it’s up to Sam and Josh to find a way to protect their friends and defeat the creatures that lurk within “The Barn”.– Written by Nevermore Production Films, LLC 

eBay- $40

Amazon- Not available

13. The Carnage Collection (2015)

This one is from the crew at Point & Shoot Films and it is one that will burn into your psyche after you watch it.

The Carnage Collection is Point & Shoot Films first feature-length film. The horror/comedy anthology features several short stories of violence, gore, sexual perversions, and torture. With multiple segments, including ‘Stuffed,’ about one girl’s obsession with her best friend and her stuffed toys; ‘Slay Bells,’ about everyone’s favorite murderous holiday fat man; ‘The Day The Clown Cried Blood,’ which explains why you should never say “I hate clowns,” … and more.

eBay- Not available

Amazon-Out of stock

Check their Facebook page for availability-

https://www.facebook.com/PointAndShootFilms/?fref=ts

14. Slithis aka Spawn of Slithis (1978)

A nuclear leak creates a mutant Slithis sea monster, which terrorizes the variety of pets, winos, and hippies who hang around Venice, California.

eBay-$75

Amazon-$70

15. Chubbies (2014)

It’s Halloween night at the Bowl-o-Rama where Samantha and her friends are having a party. Everyone’s having a great time… until the Chubbies arrive. From the distant planet of Snerd, where sex is outlawed, come the chubbies. A race of grotesque, and horny little creatures, hell bent on global domination by invading your body through any orifice they can find. The party dies and the horror is born when the teens are held captive by the Chubbies and must fight to keep their butt holes tight in this action packed, horror comedy.Written by Mike Hartman

It’s low budget, it’s outrageous, it has bad acting and it’s freaking amazing!!

eBay-Unavailable

Amazon-Unavailable

16. MOM (1991)

Most moms are wonderful cooks, this one…likes it raw! Something’s been eating Clay Dwyer. His mom! Once a sweet lovable lady, she’s been bitten by and transformed into a flesheater, turning her into a hungry creature with a knack for good old homestyle cooking. What is Clay to do? To everyone else she’s a monster that must be destroyed. But to him she’s still MOM.

This one plays out a little like Dead Alive where a sone has to care for his mother although she is clearly no longer human and has a taste for human flesh. A most excellent werewolf movie and a worthy addition to any horror collection.

17. Split Second (1992)

Rutger Hauer and Kim Cattrall star in this festival of stolen plots and embarrassing dialogue. Harley Stone (Hauer) is a tough cop. The kind of cop who lives by his own rules. The kind of cop who smokes, swears, and eats junk food. The kind of cop who slams people into walls to drive home a conversational point. If it sounds like you’ve seen this character before, you have. Split Second is not so much a movie as a cinematic crib sheet, cheerfully ripping off Jaws, Aliens, and Hauer’s own Blade Runner, just to name a few. Which is not for a moment to suggest that the movie isn’t fun to watch. Connoisseurs of horror-action also-rans will be in spasms of delight over everything from the ludicrous plot to the cookie-cutter dialogue (“They say he’s the best.” “He is.”) to the incredibly misguided decision to have Stone eat chocolate truffles throughout the entire film. It is honestly sometimes hard to tell what is an intentional joke and what’s just plain bad. Anyway, there’s a serial killer rampaging through London in 2008 and Stone doesn’t want a new partner, especially one with all that book learning and blah, blah, blah. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the magic.

eBay- $25-$80 (various editions)

Amazon-$70

18. The Keep (1983)

Nazis are sent to guard an old, mysterious fortress in a Romanian pass. One of them mistakenly releases an unknown force trapped within the walls. A mysterious stranger senses this from his home in Greece and travels to the keep to vanquish the force. As soldiers are killed, a Jewish man and his daughter (who are both knowledgeable of the keep) are brought in to find out what is happening.

Based on the book of the same name, Michael Mann really tries to pull off some next level and deep stuff here.

eBay-Various bootlegs available about $10

Amazon- Unavailable

19. Rawhead Rex (1986)

Ireland will never be the same after Rawhead Rex, a particularly nasty demon, is released from his underground prison by an unwitting farmer. The film follows Rex’s cross country rampage, while a man struggles to stop it.The creature and special FX are basically TV grade but the story and pure cheesiness make this a horror classic.

From the mind of Clive Barker, this classically bad horror movie will most likely never see a blu ray release because Clive would like to continue to believe that Rex doesn’t exist. He has gone on record saying that he does not want to be associated with this film in any way.

That is why this will always be a high dollar DVD.

eBay-$100 (for a llegit copy)

Amazon- $100+

20. Xtro (1982)

Three years after the disappearance of Sam Phillips (Philip Sayer), his young son Tony (Brazil’s Simon Nash) pines for daddy’s return when mom Rachel (Macabre’s Bernice Stegers) takes up with another man. The fractured household, which also includes a sexy babysitter (Bond girl Maryam d’Abo), is further upset when Sam mysteriously returns — and has a nasty habit of attacking local residents and seeping mysterious fluids from his wrist. Despite his father’s menacing behavior, Tony continues to idolize him…even after he realizes dad might not even be human at all.

This movie blew my fucking mind when I saw it at a , probably too young , age. It’s the kind of movie that will make you think someone roofied your drink and the insanity on screen is just a wicked trip, but no, it’s a real movie.

Find it. Watch it.

eBay-$40

Amazon-$50

21. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer’s decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.

This is probably one of the most obscure horror movies out there. I remember seeing “coming soon” movie posters at the theater and hearing tons of buzz online and then it seems to have just disappeared completely, only to live on in rumor and speculation.

Very few, if any, actual physical copies were released, making it a white whale of sorts for horror collectors. It can be found on YouTube in various cut versions but will it ever be released to the public on any format?

If you are a fan of serial killer movies then this needs to be on your list of “Must watch” movies.

eBay-Unavailable

Amazon-Unavailable

BONUS ENTRY!!!

The Dead Next Door (1989)

The government sets up a Zombie squad after an epidemic has made the world run rampant with living corpses. Raimi, Mercer, Kuller, and others head off to Ohio to try and find a cure to the epidemic but soon run into a crazy cult of zombie lovers who are set on preserving the zombies and letting a new world be born because they believe that it’s God’s will. When Mercer gets infected with the zombie virus, Raimi and the others must work quickly to find a cure and avoid the cult.

Basically an homage to all zombie movies that came before it and even manages to throw in a new twist on the genre. J.R. Bookwalter’s zombie vision is a hard to find classic that all zombie lovers need to see!!

And that concludes the “Fitz of Horror Guide to Obscure Horror”!

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