Ghoulies

Plot: Son of a Satan worshiper inherits a dilapidated mansion, invites his mates around for a party, does some Satany stuff and low and behold, "little people" arrive and mini monsters that look a bit like demented, inbred Critters. People get bitten and there's even a touch of good vs bad lightning action.

It's not a great film, really, it's not, but there's some good bits. Look out for a very amorous milf who gives great tongue.

Budget: $1,000,000

Gross: $35,000,000 (yep, really)

Fun Fact: Originally called Beasties and shot in 1983, not released until 1985 as Ghoulies. Sequels; Ghoulies II (1988), Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College (1991) and Ghoulies IV (1994). Jeffrey Combs even auditioned for a role.

Alligator

Films that earn cult status do so for many reasons, the primary one being that they stand the test of time. In some way the film still has that special something, Alligator does.

Plot: A little girl gets a pet alligator, her father doesn't like it and flushes the little reptile. Ten years later, little Al is not so little. Turns out a research laboratory has been experimenting with growth hormones on puppies and has been dumping them in the Chicago sewers, where Al now resides. Al now measures a not inconsiderable 36 feet in length. Various sewage workers go missing and detective Maddison (Robert Forster-Medium Cool, Jackie Brown) starts to investigate. Along the way he meets a reptile specialist, who also happens to be the grown up girl who owned the alligator.

Fun, fun, fun for all the family. The alligator effects and models really stand the test and his voracious appetite only adds to the enjoyment.

Budget: $1,500,000

Fun Fact: Screenwriter John Sayles also wrote Piranha.

Big Wednesday

Based on director/co-writer John Milius's own experiences, this film is the inspiration for Point Break, which also stars Gary Busey.

Plot: Three friends, Gary Busey, Jan-Michael Vincent and William Katt are surfer bums in the 1960's. Partying at the beach, very Monkees style, meeting girls and fooling around, then the Vietnam War comes along and the coming of age story becomes an examination of the merits and morality of war.

A superb film in many ways, not least for some iconic cinematography.

Budget: $11,000,000

Fun Fact: Narrated by Freddy Kruger himself, Robert Englund.

Christine

Stephen King is a funny fella. He's written a slew of iconic horror stories, sometimes directed by himself, usually not, thank goodness. This time, it's the master of horror, John Carpenter!

Plot: Christine is a red and white Plymouth Fury car. We initially see her coming off the assembly line in the late 1950's and she wastes no time. She's rather a mischievous girl. Already miffed from birth, she kills one of the factory workers. The years roll by and she ends up in a yard as a rusting, old, beat up beast...until she's rescued by a geeky kid. They bond, they kill, they have fun...what's not fun about a devilish car that kills the folk you hate?

Budget: $9,700,000

Gross: $21, 017,849

Fun Fact: Alexandra Paul (Baywatch chick) is the girlfriend. Music, as ever, by John Carpenter too.

Danger Diabolik

Filmed in 1968 and based on an Italian comic book character.

Plot: Danger Diabolik stars John Phillip Law (Barbarella) as Diabolik, a thief who has stolen over the years, a fortune from the Italian government. He has a 1960's hide out, that means its all psychedelic, he has a pimped out Jaguar car and a rather attractive lady friend...there's even a revolving bed. It's Robin Hood meets James Bond meets SuperFly...in black leather.

This film simply throws every 1960's trick and look at the film.

Fun Fact: Music by spaghetti western guru, Ennio Morricone. The film was also a major influence on Roman Coppola's (Francis's boy- brother of Sofia) film, CQ.

Popcorn

Shot in 1991, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was an early 80's flick, Popcorn is a fun horror.

Plot: A newly created film deptartment at a university is lacking funds, to raise said cash, they hold a horror festival, one night only at a soon to to demolished movie theatre, showing films in smell-o-vision and 3D. While leafing through set props the film students discover a reel that dipicts a rather disturbed cult leader. We learn he tried to kill his entire family as performance art. All the wile, the perky girl (there's always one) has odd dreams and thinks she's connected to the mad man. Then there's some people killed, etc.

Great facial prosthethics, there's a giant mosquito and some good individual scenes. It could have been darker, but who needs that when you've got left over 80's trash.

Budget: $?, can't have been much.

Gross: $4,205,000

Fun Fact: Small role for Dee Wallace-Stone (The Howling, Cujo, E.T.). This film was shot entirely in Jamaica, which might explain the oddity which is the reggae band appearing throughout the feature.

Phantasm

Cult, yes. Good, no.

While this series of films (four in total, all directed by Don Coscarelli-Beastmaster and Bubba Ho-Tep) found it's way into the horror hall of fame, it's for feeble reasons.

Plot: Undertaker (the Tall Man) goes around shrinking dead folk and turning them into his dwarf, zombie slaves, to be transported back to his home world. A young lad and his elder brother investigate. There's also this silver, flying ball (bit like the target ball in StarWars) with spikes that kills folk.

Budget: $300,000

Gross: $11,988,469 (it boggles the mind how this film could be so successful)

Fun Fact: If you're in the need to get a few answers from this rather blotchy storyline, the sequels are Phantasm II, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead and Phantasm IV: Oblivion...enjoy?

Saturn 3

In 1980, Martin Amis writes a screenplay for a sci-fi feature, starring Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett and Harvey Keitel...sadly, it sucks!

Plot: Two scientists (Douglas and Fawcett) work in Eden-like peace on a food research station near Saturn, as the Earth is running low on supplies. Keitel arrives to beef up the operation but falls for Fawcett and starts to covert her. There's a robot with a human brain and it goes nuts and Douglas gets miffed and generally this is a badly made, badly directed, very badly acted film.

Budget: $10,000,000

Gross: $?

Fun Fact: Keitel's voice was dubbed in post as his Bostonion accent was too strong. The budget was also reduced by the production company, who were working on Raise The Titanic at the time.

The Howling

Ok, so it's 1981, Joe Dante is yet to make Gremlins (though he's done Piranha) and werewolf movies are becoming previlent. As such, here's one that seems to instinctively ignore story line and rely quite heavily in adequate special effects.

Plot: A female news reporter (Dee Wallace- Cujo, Critters, etc) receives commuication for an alleged serial killer (Robert Picardo- the hologram in Star Trek Voyager, though a touch hairer in this film), so she arranges to meet him (for coffee or juice of whatever the Americans do in these films), then he's killed, she's traumatized and takes a weeks leave in a colony, run by a therapist (Patrick Macnee- The Avengers). There's all these other folk and they're wierd...can you guess where this is going?

The sfx are a mixture of latext, stop motion and thermal imaging. Used too sparingly in this reviewers opinion. You kinda have to stick with this film, as the first of the wolves only shows up after 45mins. The transformation is great and lasts ages...probably best to just skip to the last 30 minutes or so. Great ending though!

Budget: $1,000,000

Gross: $17,985,893

Fun Fact: Film maker Roger Corman makes a cameo appearance and yes, there are 6 sequels and possibly another on the way.