The movies that had you sleeping with the hallway light on. Do not say his name five times.
Every Halloween somebody puts on a scary movie and somebody else spends the whole night pretending they are not scared. In the 90s, the movies that did it to us were bold, funny when they wanted to be, and set in places that felt a lot like home. Here are the ones we still bring up every October.
FIVE FACTS FROM THE VIDEO STORE
1991. Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs starred Brandon Adams as a kid called Fool, with Ving Rhames along for the break-in. Craven said it was partly inspired by a real news story from the late 1970s, and it turned into a surprise hit.
1992. Candyman opened in theaters on October 16, 1992. Bernard Rose wrote and directed it from a Clive Barker short story called "The Forbidden," moved the story to Chicago's Cabrini-Green, and cast Tony Todd as the hook-handed legend who appears when you say his name five times in the mirror.
1995. Tales from the Hood hit theaters on May 24, 1995. Rusty Cundieff directed and co-wrote it with Darin Scott, and Clarence Williams III stole the show as Mr. Simms, the funeral director telling four stories to three very nervous customers.
1995. Wes Craven came back with Vampire in Brooklyn, released October 27, 1995. Eddie Murphy co-wrote and starred alongside Angela Bassett, Kadeem Hardison and John Witherspoon, and also played a preacher and a mobster in disguise.
1996. Scream came out on December 20, 1996. Nobody expected a slasher to work at Christmas, but word of mouth carried it to about $173 million worldwide. Kevin Williamson's script was originally called Scary Movie.
THE ONE THAT MADE US AFRAID OF MIRRORS
Every school had that one kid who swore they said it five times and something happened. That is the power of Candyman. It took a ghost story and set it in a real neighborhood, and Tony Todd played the legend with a deep voice and a calm that was scarier than any jump scare. It grossed over $25 million in the United States and has never really left the conversation. This week marks 34 years since it opened.
THE ANTHOLOGY WITH A MESSAGE
Tales from the Hood was four short horror stories wrapped in one frame: three guys show up at a funeral home to pick up a package and the funeral director has a story for every room in the building. Each tale took a real-life problem and turned it into a nightmare. It got mixed reviews when it came out, but it found its audience on VHS and cable and has a strong cult following today. It even got two sequels, in 2018 and 2020.
WES CRAVEN'S DECADE
Wes Craven had a big 90s. The People Under the Stairs was a horror comedy about a kid trapped in his landlord's house. Vampire in Brooklyn was the last movie Eddie Murphy made under his exclusive Paramount deal, the one that started with 48 Hrs. And then Scream rewrote the rules of the slasher movie by having the characters talk about the rules out loud. Three very different movies from one director, and all three still get played every October.
HONORABLE MENTION: BLADE
It is not a pure horror movie, but Blade (1998) belongs in the Halloween rotation. Wesley Snipes played the half-vampire hunter, and the movie made $131 million on a $45 million budget. It is often called Marvel's first successful film, years before the superhero era took over.
YOUR HALLOWEEN DOUBLE FEATURE
Need a plan for Halloween night? Start with Vampire in Brooklyn to warm up, then turn off the lights for Candyman. If you still have the nerve, finish with Tales from the Hood. Just do not go near the bathroom mirror after.
Which one scared you the most growing up? Tell us in the comments.
PLAY THE QUESTION
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) paired Eddie Murphy with which horror director?
A. John Carpenter · B. Wes Craven · C. Bernard Rose · D. Rusty Cundieff
Answer: Wes Craven. He also made The People Under the Stairs and Scream in the same decade. (New question, written for this post.)
PROVE IT
Movie night every night: The Urban Rewind Trivia has a whole Movies lane full of the films we grew up on, plus TV, hip-hop and R&B. Ten questions, twenty seconds each. If you know it, prove it.