List "Self-aware" horror movies

Rev. Powell · May 27, 2010, 01:52:22 PM

We've all seen them: horror movies that include a character who's a horror movie fan, who describes horror movie cliches at various points in the script (ribbing the black guy that the black guy always gets killed first, warning the other characters not to split up like they so in slasher films, and so on).

SCREAM is of course the most famous of this subgenre. I remember that there was a movie that used the same idea in the mid 80s, but I can't think of the name for the life of me.

Watching DEAD SNOW, where the horror film nerd keeps talking about EVIL DEAD 2 and APRIL FOOL'S DAY and wears a BRAINDEAD t-shirt, I realized that exposing horror movie cliches in your horror movie seems to have already become a cliche itself. How many of these titles can we come up with?

zombie no.one · May 27, 2010, 02:31:26 PM

Shreik If You Know What I Did Last Friday 13th

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212235/

- haven't actually seen this, it's probably awful.

Rev. Powell · May 27, 2010, 02:49:36 PM

Good one, DCA. I wasn't thinking specifically of spoofs, more of serious and semi-serious horror movies that used the idea. I suppose we can add the SCARY MOVIES series and probably STUDENT BODIES (though I don't remember whether they played up the "self-aware" angle or not).

Still wondering what that mid-80s movie might have been: it was a serious slasher film, if I recall.

Dennis · May 27, 2010, 02:54:22 PM

The 1999 TV film "Monster" not only contains just about every 50's era horror movie cliche, each one is also explained by Lloyd, played by M. Emmet Walsh. The film itself is hilarious.

zombie no.one · May 27, 2010, 03:05:04 PM

sorry yeah I should've guessed that one was a comedy/spoof, from the title.

Isn't there a 'straight' horror that plays on the Jason hockey-mask thing, as a homage to Friday 13th? It might just be one scene from the film, can't remember what it is.

inframan · May 27, 2010, 04:43:39 PM

Fright Night

Jack · May 27, 2010, 06:04:52 PM

There's Nothing Out There (1992) - I haven't seen it, but I guess it was a parody as well.

Rev. Powell · May 27, 2010, 06:13:42 PM

Quote from: inframan on May 27, 2010, 04:43:39 PM
Fright Night

Yeah, that probably should have been the first one that came to mind. It's not the 80s slasher I'm thinking of, though.

Raffine · May 27, 2010, 07:27:22 PM

Believe it or not, the Lugosi poverty row flick THE APE MAN (1943) quailfies as the granddaddy of the 'self-aware' horror movie.

All through the film there is a weird fellow (character actor Ralph Littlefield) hanging around peering into windows and giving the characters advice ("I wouldn't go in there if I were you!"). At the end of the film hero Wallace Ford asks him who he is. "I'm the author of this story! Screwy idea, ain't it?" he replies.

zombie no.one · May 27, 2010, 08:09:36 PM

this is very tenuous but

DRACULA AD 1972

we all know dracula right, but here he is in a 'modern day scenario'........type thing

Silverlady · May 27, 2010, 08:21:37 PM

Kind of along the lines of Raffine's post about THE APE MAN, the 1959 version of THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL is rich with forshadowing, spooky atmosphere, and great perfomances by Vincent Price and Elisha Cook JR.

Vincent Price is perfect as the party host, Frederick Loren. He invites the guests and the game begins.

But to me it is Watson Prichard (Elisha Cook JR) who steals the movie. He is the owner of the haunted house in question. Twitchy and fearful, throughout the entire movie he is talking about ghosts ... and how all the house guests are doomed. The dark shadows, the creepy caretakers, a screamng woman, infidelity and murder.

Just love this one!

retrorussell · May 27, 2010, 09:27:41 PM

Quote from: DCA on May 27, 2010, 03:05:04 PM
sorry yeah I should've guessed that one was a comedy/spoof, from the title.

Isn't there a 'straight' horror that plays on the Jason hockey-mask thing, as a homage to Friday 13th? It might just be one scene from the film, can't remember what it is.

Bloody Murder?

Mofo Rising · May 28, 2010, 01:47:36 AM

Rev, have you seen Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon?

I really wasn't expecting much from the movie, but it ended up being way better than I expected it to. Not sure if it fits you "weird movie" criteria, but it was a really good film.

zombie no.one · May 28, 2010, 07:05:22 AM

Quote from: retrorussell on May 27, 2010, 09:27:41 PM
Quote from: DCA on May 27, 2010, 03:05:04 PM
sorry yeah I should've guessed that one was a comedy/spoof, from the title.

Isn't there a 'straight' horror that plays on the Jason hockey-mask thing, as a homage to Friday 13th? It might just be one scene from the film, can't remember what it is.
Bloody Murder?

hmm I haven't seen a film with that name so maybe there's 2 that do it...

btw, in SERIAL MOM, one of the kids is watching TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE on the tv in one scene. I'm not sure if Serial Mom really counts as a horror though...

Intangible Skeleton · May 28, 2010, 07:21:26 AM

There's also the spin-off of this subject applied to the topic of this site. I really don't like self-aware bad movies much. It's like going "Hey, we know this is sh*t, so that makes it awesome, right?"

Obviously, Toxic Avenger is an exception though, because it's so awesome.