I love a good horror film and thought it would be a great idea to make a list of horror films—but not just any horror film. How about an ABC list? Granted, this has become a lot more daunting than I imagined, but I think I have chosen some great films to fill the letters.

EDITORS NOTE/ SCOTT IN OCTOBER 2025

Hi folks, so it took a while, but we got there and finished this A-Z. Still, this is only the first round that has been completed. So, if you see some must-watch horrors missing in this letter and subsequent ones, fear not. Parts two, three, four, etc., will be on the way each week as we flesh out each letter to its fullest extent. After all, who doesn’t love a sequel?

You may also see a lot of changes in this list over the next year (no better time to start revising than October!), as I am massively expanding the list to become my own personal collection of horror films. You will notice between here and letter Q or somewhere that the description lengths are different, the entire list will be made to be something similiar to the length this starting post is, so things are going to get wordy and lengthy. Pictures and Just Watch links will be on every page, so you can check out where to watch each film, with some possibly getting other links as well. Each letter will be reposted in its entirety, so if you think films are missing, now, fear not; they will more likely than not be added to the list. Anyway, enjoy the list, and I hope it gives you some solid ideas on what to watch!

The Abandoned 2006

Marie has never known the truth about her birth family, but she longs for any information possible. One day, now a film producer, she gets the chance to visit Russia, where she finds out she has inherited a farmhouse there. Obviously excited to learn more about her past, she meets Nikolai, who claims to be her twin brother. Together, they begin to experience terrifying event after terrifying event as the truth of their past slowly reveals itself.

Starting us off with a solid horror mystery, The Abandoned amps up the eerie and chill factor to deliver a tension-filled horror jaunt in the woods. We could nitpick away at the story, like why would you do all of this on your own, etc, but let’s be honest, if we nitpicked every horror, we would be here for years. The Abandoned utilises ghosts effectively, with haunting scenes working very well thanks to the smart direction and gorgeous look that Nacho Cerdá and cinematographer Xavi Giménez have brought to the film.

At times, it is trying to be too clever for its own good, and with the twists and turns that the mystery takes, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in terms of the reasoning behind it all. Still, the sheer effectiveness of the film allows you to forgive it, as this is a film that simply does not let up with its pacing, and once Marie makes it to that house, it is pretty much nonstop creepiness from then on out. If you are a spooky house film lover, then this is the film for you.

Abby 1974

Theologist and archaeologist Dr Garrett Williams releases a Yoruba spirit into the world. That spirit finds its way to a minister’s daughter named, you guessed it, Abby. As all manner of chaos ensues, will anyone be able to contain the spirit while saving Abby?

Blaxploitation at its finest. William Girdler made a highly interesting film with Abby. A film that didn’t want to take itself too seriously, while it still probed at the ideas of possession and mythology.

Quite wrongly sued for being too similar to The Exorcist (in Warner Bros’ opinion). Abby has enough originality in its story to stand on its own feet as a film. Sure, the idea of a possessed girl is there, but that isn’t the be-all, end-all for this film. Instead of the sharp focus on Christianity, Girdler and co-writer Gordon Cornell Layne focus on African mythology instead. Which, in fact, works very strongly in its favour, as an air of mystery is present. With The Exorcist, we knew the intentions of the demon with Regan; here, we are not as sure of its intentions, as we do not delve too deeply into Yoruba. Girdler keeps his focus on Abby, and Carol Speed performs so marvellously well in the titular role.

Tonally, Abby is all over the shop. However, that doesn’t diminish how fun this is, and if it wasn’t for the legal action that Warner Bros took against it, who knows how well this film would have done, as its short run in theatres was proving that audiences and specifically black audiences, were heavily interested in what they were seeing.

Regardless, it remains a film that demands your attention.

Abducted II: The Reunion (1994)

You know how it goes as a lonely mountain man; you get lonely up in those mountains. So when Vern sees a trio of ladies camping at nearby Harmony Lake, he views it as the perfect opportunity to get one, whether they are for or against the decision.

Didn’t see the first film? Don’t worry about it. The Reunion basically retreads most of it and throws in some gratuitous sleaze for good measure, as the old exploitation producer’s saying goes: “What’s better than one barely dressed woman in the woods?” Three, of course!

What shouldn’t work and should be an immediate “change the channel” ends up being a good bit of Canadian exploitation fun. We have one of our trio cartwheel her way out of a situation with our mountain man. Tops come off for less and less reasonable excuses. There is a rather useless subplot with Dan Heggerty (who plays Vern’s father, who thought he was dead) that exists purely to get some eyes on the film, as he is also sharing the screen with Jan Michael Vincent. Boon Collins has created a piece of wonderfully silly, trashy nonsense, and it’s well worth watching.

Aberration (1997)

Local wildlife is mysteriously disappearing at an alarming rate, leaving behind only a weird, slimy substance. Animal Biologist and general weirdo Marshall Clake (Simon Bossell, who delivers the most 90s performance imaginable) begins investigating the issue. At the same time, Amy (Pamela Gidley) has come to stay at her family’s cabin with a substantial amount of money, as she soon encounters the source of the residue. Together, they try to figure out what it is and how to survive it.

Aberration is one of those 90s films that went largely under the radar but is actually a fun, low-budget bit of entertainment. It is also one of those late 90s films that borrows heavily from 80s films. We have characters seeking to kill a mutant creature with a poison-filled super soaker that has been adapted. Our male lead is somewhat lacking in skills, while his female lead is the adaptable badass she should be. It is wonderfully practical, even if some of them are clearly just rubber toys.

The concept, though, is quite a good one. What happens when a creature you are fighting begins to become instantly adaptable to its surroundings? Ever evolving at whatever is thrown its way? It’s a terrific one for a small creature feature, and for the most part, Aberration works. When you have a creature pop out as a jumpscare from a glove compartment in a car, you can’t really lose. For what is done with the budget given is great. You don’t mind that little rubber toys are just thrown at the cast or into the shot.

This is one of those films that, if made now with a budget of over $1,000, would be a wonderful hit. So, directors out there, remake films like this, ones that just didn’t have the budget to work as well as their ideas deserved.

Abigail (2024)

A bunch of scumbags are hired to kidnap a young teenage ballet dancer and are told they will receive $7 million each if they can keep guard of her for 24 hours. Easy as pie for this little group. However, there is one significant caveat to all the easiest paydays in the world. The big creepy house hosts something not only creepy but murderously and blood hungry within its walls. Can the group get out within the 24 hours to spend the fortune they have obtained?

Twists and turns and blood galore are the order of the day in the excellent Abigail. Matt Bettinello-Olpin and Tyler Gillet’s film needs the gore to make it work. You can have your subtle and careful horrors all day, but a film and a story like this needs blood, it needs unmitigated carnage to run through it like a river. Only then do the performances and little notes scattered throughout Stephen Shields and Guy Busick’s script get to shine.

Pure unadulterated entertainment, from the comedy to the genuine horror to the scenes rife with actual emotion. Abigail has bits of everything, and somehow it works, and you are all in on the chaos that goes on around a little 12-year-old girl who just wants to perform as a ballerina.

The marketing for this film utterly spoiled the main twist, yet somehow that didn’t ruin the film. However, for those going in blind, it’s a joy. What works so well is that we are given enough time to care about some of the cast. By the way, what a strong cast we have here as well. From Melissa Barrera to Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, and Kevin Durand, you have an ensemble that can pull off the daftness of what we are seeing as well as the horror of it all. Abigail is a film that jumps in with both feet, and it’s fantastic for doing it.

Ab-normal Beauty (2004)

Jiney (Race Wong) is a photography student who, despite her great grades, is never happy with her work and is struggling to find that “spark”. One day, she comes across a car accident, and something pulls her to photograph one of the victims. Slowly, that heightened thrill causes her to throw herself down a rabbit hole that results in her getting the attention of someone she shouldn’t.

Much as Aberration was pure 90s, this is the perfect definition of early 2000s Asian psychological horror (found by many probably thanks to a Tartan Asia Extreme release). From the story having ample twists and turns and being mostly a psychological mystery until the third act slaps on some horrible torture-esque scenes, you sadly realise the film didn’t need to go as dark as it did.

At its heart, Ab-normal Beauty is a character study of a girl struggling to overcome extreme childhood trauma. When it plays as just that, it’s terrific, with the Wong sisters doing some great work as Jiney becomes more and more unstable. Yet, it is that typical stylised route the film takes that is as interesting as it is misguided. However, all of the intrigue the film builds up over the first two acts still doesn’t prepare you for that final act. It’s worth it just for the performances and the heavy concept of capturing death and being lured by it.

The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)

Dr Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) is many things in this world: an organist, a theologian, a conductor. Basically, a very talented man. However, after finding out his wife, Virginia (Caroline Munro), has died, he races to her only to be in a catastrophic accident himself. Now maimed and full of revenge, he decides to kill the nine doctors who were in the operating room, believing them to have killed her.

Writers James Whiton and William Goldstein quite clearly had a chat with one another. They thought about various insane ways that people could die without it being fully linked to the killer. So here we have bats, locusts, rats, frog mask decapitations, unicorn statue stabbing you to death, the whole nine yards. Effectively, what I am saying is that these individuals, including Robert Fuest, wrote and directed the first Saw movie.

We have the Ten Plagues of Egypt here, and it is terrific. To top it all off, we have the most elaborate Saw setup ever with our final victim. However, that is not all that makes The Abominable Dr Phibes a worthwhile watch. This film is gorgeous to look at; you will immediately love it and wonder how on Earth you never had it on your list to watch before now. This is a Gothic fever dream that exudes more flair and beauty than most films could ever hope to conjure.

On top of that, Vincent Price is marvellous as Dr Phibes, a character who loves so much he is ready to destroy anyone for you. What a lad, what a movie.

Abruptio (2024)

Les (James Marsters) is under his mother’s thumb and has recently been dumped. Nothing is going his way, so much so that his best friend Danny (Jordan Peele) informs him of something quite troubling. They both have bombs implanted in their necks, and Les must carry out the most heinous of crimes to fulfil the needs of the evil mastermind who put them there.

Sounds like a superb thriller, right? Maybe not so much a horror, but worth a watch. Well, wait, there is a reason it is here on this list. Not only does Evan Marlowe throw absolutely everything at the wall to see if it sticks with what he puts Les through, with a lot of it being utterly horrific to the extreme. The real pull of this one is the fact that it is all made with puppets.

Now I could end this chat about the film right here, right now and know for a fact that if you are reading this, you are more likely than not sold on this and are probably wondering where you can watch it. But let me try to sell you on it a little more. As mentioned, Marlowe throws a whole load our way with Abruptio, a film that becomes a bleak fantasy that is sublimely surreal and horrific.

By giving us a film with quite a lot of substance with what Les is going through (something that is best not to be spoiled about), you actually find yourself deeply engaged with the story and not just the gimmick.  Which, let’s be honest, is quite the achievement.

Absentia (2011)

Tricia (Katie Parker) has been going through the emotional ringer. Her husband has been missing for seven years. As such, pressure begins from all sides about registering him as dead in absentia. As Tricia accepts that Daniel is gone, her sister Callie (Courtney Bell) sees a man in the tunnel opposite their house who is shocked that she can see him.

A gem, an absolute underrated gem of a ghost story from Mike Flanagan. What makes it all the more impressive is that Absentia cost a whopping $70,000. This is, in fact,, the only negative to the film, because it was made so cheaply that that it looks cheap. Yet, everything around it, from the story to the performances of Katie Parker and Courtney Bell, is so far ahead of its measly budget.

You feel for these characters so deeply that when the story becomes more and more intense, you can’t help but fear ominously for them. The atmosphere throughout Absentia is so thick that it weighs on you. Sometimes a film just needs the right performances and atmosphere to carry it. With how the film takes us on some very expected directions only to throw a curveball when we least expect it, it is immensely clever.

One thing is for certain: you won’t be too eager to go through a darkened tunnel anytime soon.

Acacia (2003)

Dr Kim Do-il and his wife, Choi Mi-sook, have been trying to conceive a baby of their own to no avail. One day, they decide to go to an orphanage, and Mi-sook finds a connection with six-year-old Kim Jin-sung, a boy who loves to draw trees. Jin-sung begins to visit an old Acacia tree. Miraculously, Mi-sook becomes pregnant, and a distance grows between adopted mother and child until one day he disappears.

Korean horrors in the early 2000s seemed to have certain boxes to tick, and none of them were happy ones; in fact, the main box seemed to always be the grimmer the better. Here we have a tale that is as sad as Tales of Two Sisters. Sad horror stories with kids are always going to play havoc on your emotions, and Acacia does it just as well as any horror, as you will see.

The main theme throughout Acacia is one of guilt and blood lineage. Young Jin-sung is used as an emotional device for the failures of his adopted parents, so he finds a connection elsewhere. When he finds himself replaced with a child whom his parents really wanted, well, that is going to cause a lot of pain. The social commentary is front and centre, yet the strain of the horror never dissipates.

Visually striking, as you would expect, this is a slow-burning film that delivers a gut-punch of a finale. However, with Korean horror films, this is a familiar expectation. Unsettling from start to finish.

The Advent Calendar (2021)

Eva (Eugénie Derouand) is a former dancer who is now wheelchair-bound, struggling with everything, and she is given an old antique wooden Advent calendar that ends up offering her real-life repercussions. Some are wonderfully good, some utterly horrific, but with one cravat, once you start, you have to reach number 24 or die.

A fresh take on the old idea of” be careful what you wish for, this French horror shows that taking an idea and giving it a good shake allows for something unexpectedly unique. The Advent Calendar isn’t afraid to integrate old tropes with fresh concepts, allowing the audience to stay on their toes just long enough. Also, let’s be honest: if any of us had been given that Advent calendar, we would have opened the first door, too, even if it’s actually a take on the Dybbuk box.

A film that is actually more careful than it needed to be, you feel as if it needed to be a touch rougher around the edges than it ends up being. Yet, what we get is still a highly entertaining horror; it asks that perennial question: What would you do to have what you once had? Would you sacrifice others to get what you want?

The Advent Calendar is a great gift for December 1st, but be cautious when Christmas comes around, as a friend may gift you a lovely wooden antique Advent calendar.

Afflicted (2013)

Clif (Clif Prowse) and Derek (Derek Lee) are two best friends who are off on the trip of a lifetime, and what better way to show off your trip? By filming it, of course! After a night of too much fun for Derek, he finds himself struck by a mysterious affliction. Becoming increasingly powerful and almost superhuman, he is starting to lose himself as they race to uncover the source and find a way to eliminate it to save Derek.

Afflicted is a found footage film that surprises with just how great it is, considering its limited budget. The choices made throughout the film not only make sense but are so highly effective. Even though what we are seeing is quite outlandish, the fact that directors (and leads) Prowse and Lee try to keep it as grounded as possible makes it all work.

Sure, at times, moments are a touch predictable, but it doesn’t stop the film from working, thanks to the majority of it being paced to perfection until we reach the finale, which feels like it was rushed. Yet it pulls it off for an indie film.

While not reinventing the horror found footage subgenre, there is so much to love here. One thing, though: make sure you have a friend like Clif; he is a ride-or-die type of friend!

Akira (1988)

The world has gone a bit skew-whiff due to Tokyo being mysteriously left as a crater from an explosion, triggering World War 3. Just off the shore on the artificial island in Tokyo Bay is Neo-Tokyo, where a secret military project endangers everyone again, as a young biker gang led by the hot-headed Kaneda get caught up in it all, with his friend Tetsuo captured and seemingly infected with something. Can Kaneda save his friend, or is it already too late?

The best horror anime of all time? In my opinion, yes, nothing really compares to the horror and magnitude of Akira. It’s a special film and more likely than not for a specific generation, the gateway to the wonderful and sometimes weird world that anime brings. The most important aspect of Akira, though, is its impact on Western cinema. The cyberpunk post-apocalyptic setting remains as visually gorgeous as it was in 1988, even over 25 years later.

The pinnacle of hand-drawn animation, yet it is not only the visuals that strike you, it’s the story itself, the military oppression combined with the loss of youth, with so many being aimless, with no support from those who should be supporting them. The messages are endless, and then, as the film intensifies, the action is simply sensational. There is no film like Akira, though many, many have tried – an essential watch.

Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

Alice is a 12-year-old who gets far too jealous of her younger sister Karen for her own good. When attending their communion, Karen is found brutally murdered within the church, and with Alice acting strangely, suspicion, rather shockingly, begins to veer towards her. Can such a child be capable of that level of violence?

Also known as Communion, Holy Terror, or The Mask Murders, among many other titles, this is a slasher film rife with themes of guilt and religion as its primary thematic thread. First things first, though, Christ almighty, is Alice a right bloody handful of a girl. With her being the most suspicious person that has ever lived in a criminal investigation, you wonder how on Earth Paula E. Sheppard was able to pull off this performance for someone so young.

While you won’t get an abundance of gore or frights, it’s the continual tension and sense of dread as we draw closer to discovering who Karen’s killer is. Full of style tomatch itse substance, Alice Sweet Alice is a film that hasn’treceivedn the love itdeservese, but at almost 50 years old, it still packs a solid punch.

Please note that these films are being spoken about in timeline order, not alphabetical order.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

The colony-carrying vessel Covenant is on its way to populate a new planet called Origae-6. With over 1,000 people on board the main ship, several couples and an android named Walter are tasked with getting there safely. When a random, disastrous sun flare hits the ship, the crew finds themselves with a decision to make. Investigate a random planet that hits all the right notes for colonising. Still, they have no idea what lives on it or risk going back into the cryopods and perishing.

After Prometheus, people wrongly lamented the direction Ridley Scott had taken it, so he decided to return to basics, while still keeping some of the threads he had created alive. With that, we get Alien: Covenant, an angry and violent film that takes its human cast to a new level in a way that we had not seen in the franchise before.

While we have time with a small number of the cast to feel empathy for, something that has always been a strength of the franchise, like Prometheus, the rest of the cast are kind of left to the side to be meat for what comes for them, which is a shame as with more time with the crew we could have felt something more for them, especially with how brutal the film gets. It would allow for a more devastating feel for the audience.

Instead, the film relies on some new ideas, but mostly on Katherine Waterson and Michael Fassbender to do a lot of the heavy lifting, with Waterson being a particular highlight of the series. She really has to keep the emotional side of things going while also being proactive. It’s a challenging role in such a film, and despite Covenant’s flaws, it is still well worth watching.

Alien (1979)

The crew of the commercial towing vehicle Nostromo are on their way back to Earth after a multi-year mission. On the way in the middle of nowhere, they are awoken to investigate a beacon from a nearby planetoid. After finding a derelict spacecraft, they discover something far more horrific than they could ever imagine.

Perfection, true perfection. From the story that doesn’t let up the second the crew reaches LV-426 to the down-to-earth and realistic performances from a group of space truckers who are just in wayway over their heads. Even the production design is something unlike many will have even seen at that time, and even now, every second of Alien holds up over 45 years later.

Ron Cobb and H.R. Giger designed a claustrophobic space haunted house monster film, with the details being something that you can marvel at endlessly. Ridley Scott saw the potential in transforming what should have been a B-movie into something special. It’s the little touches in Alien that work so effectively, and that a good portion of modern filmmakers have forgotten about in the decades since.

Back to those performances, though, to me, that is what makes Alien so perfect as it is. Each character has their own story and motive for the audience to understand. Dallas is just a captain who wants things to go smoothly and get home. Ripley is obviously an officer on the rise and wants to do things so closely aligned with the book that it earns her the rise in rank as needed. Parker is a tough but fed-up engineer who is tired of being undervalued but is still fiercely protective of those he crews with. I could go on with the entire cast, but early on, you find reasons to like and feel for these people. They feel lived-in, as if you know each of them or a version of each of them in real life, which is down to the solid writing and the fact that Scott ensured he cast the best possible people for each role. It’s a wonderful example of how perfect casting and strong writing can evoke a sense of connection to a group of fictional strangers.

There are tiny things like the sound of a heartbeat at specific moments that just play havoc with your nerves. The effects, with one specifically being the one that will get everyone and despite all of the sequels, never, ever bettered. It would be easy to talk endlessly about this film; it is, after all, one of the greatest films ever made. But instead, throw it on —the theatrical or director’s cut —and just have the best time you possibly can. Ideally, watch it with someone who has never seen the film for the perfect experience.

Alien: Romulus (2024)

(Watch Alien first)

The Nostromo is scattered in a trillion pieces in space. However, a reconnaissance ship from Weyland-Yutani, searching for it, discovers something organic and possibly even still alive. Back down on the always clouded LV-410, a group of young colonists wants to escape to a better planet and find a chance at a proper life. They need some vital equipment from a nearby dormant ship to help them make the trip, but they don’t know the horrors that lie within and the reason why that ship is dormant.

Alien: Romulus is a strong horror science fiction film, set between Alien and Aliens, it allows us to see what the company was doing with the xenomorphs while also getting a new young cast. It ticks so many boxes that it is difficult to dislike, but boy, do they score some own goals throughout this film to make us unsure about it.

Having Rook look like who he does is near on unforgivable, and yet somehow the film wins you over, even if it does feel a bit like a video game with characters checking in at save points throughout. The main strength, as you will have guessed, is with the casting. Some of the performances here are truly outstanding, with David Jonsson standing out as the android Andy. His ability to adjust his character as needed is remarkable. Cailee Spaeny and Archie Renaux also provide strong performances, but this is the David Jonsson show and thank goodness for him.

Splattered around the film are some great scenes that work so well, with a finale that takes a lot from Alien: Resurrection and Prometheus, but just enough to stand out on its own. For those who don’t mind a film that incorporates some of the hits from previous films, using them as a jumping-off point for a few new ones, then it’s a great watch. No matter what, though, it’s one that should not be missed.

Aliens (1986)

(Go watch Alien first)

After surviving the gruesome xenomorph and being stuck floating in space in her cryopod for over half a century, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is trying to get her life back together. When the corporation that didn’t believe her story soon called on her to return to LV-426 due to the loss of contact with a recently opened colony.

Where do you go after one of the greatest horror science fiction films of all time? Well, if you are James Cameron and you are to be believed, you write a dollar sign in the place of an S. You can only really go one way. Where Alien had a single Alien, you have to go bigger, right? To some, this is the better film; they are wrong, of course, but everyone deserves an opinion. Where Aliens shines, though, is in how it effortlessly moves from a haunted house in space to an all-out action horror. It’s a different beast and a welcome change of pace.

Filled with memorable quotes and scenes that will have any Alien fan effortlessly spouting or remembering, Aliens is as good a sequel as anyone could ask for. The real strength of Aliens, as with Alien, lies in its casting. You believe these characters and goodness are a good bit of fun until the fan is hit with something rather terrible.

Cameron obviously wanted to put his own stamp on things, and he does that by altering the xenomorph and adding a Queen to proceedings. If we wanted to be extra harsh on Aliens (and the franchise as a whole with these original four films), there is a trend to utilise a form of countdown to build in fake tension. It’s not overly needed if we are honest, especially here, as the tension of trying to just escape the endless amounts of aliens is more than petrifying enough.

In the end, though, Aliens is a prime example of a sequel done right and makes for the perfect double-bill evening.

Alien 3 (1992) (Assembly or Legacy Cut)

(Go watch Alien and Aliens first)

Miraculously surviving the events of LV-426, our wonderful little weird family is on their way home, that is, until disaster strikes once again. They crash land on a small planet called Fiorina 161, a former lead works planet that also houses a skeleton crew of dangerous convicts. Awaiting pick up from the company Weyland-Yutani, it appears that something else crash landed on the planet with them.

For fans of the films and horror in general, I understand your judgment, and you know what? I don’t care. I love Alien 3, and while the theatrical cut is a heavily flawed film, the assembly cut and recent fan-edited legacy cuts reveal what kind of film Alien 3 could and should have been.

Often maligned for being just far too morbid and grim, Alien 3 is another prime example of what should happen in a franchise to grab your attention. There was an easy route to go down with this third film, and while it would have been great fun, it isn’t really something that should happen in this universe. You see, this is a franchise that should be dark, bold, and accepting of how miserable these situations are. So, when the film makes certain decisions that widely upset fans, I felt it was necessary, and it kept us on the edge of our seats for the rest of the film.

Now, you will notice that I have not included the theatrical cut to watch; that is because it lacks important and strong story points due to the production nonsense from Fox, who wouldn’t let director David Fincher make the film he wanted to make. In the end, we ended up with this version, one that no one was happy with. However, years later, when the Alien Quadrilogy box set was released, a different cut of the film emerged, incorporating the missing moments and scenes, and it proved to be an altogether better viewing experience. If you can find that version, please watch it. The Legacy Cut, which I briefly mentioned earlier, is an entirely new cut of the film that has been worked on for years by some fans. It does some colour correction, utilises some deleted scenes, etc, to make the film stronger. It also, rather importantly, fixed (as much of it could) the effects of the alien, which, for some unknown reason, was made as a rod puppet and never really meshed with the scenery it was in. It’s a great cut and one any Alien fan should check out online.

Back to the film! There are a few decisions by Fincher that work so well in Alien 3 that you can only be impressed with him. After all, despite being a veteran of the ad and music video world, this was his debut as a feature director, and the look and style of Alien 3 is second to none. You never feel clean; you have a constant feeling of something being on you, or worse, watching you. It is some feat.

However, once again, the film’s main strength lies in its casting. (Yes, the characters are bald, but you would be daft not to actually figure out who is who.) We have a cast featuring Charles Dance, Brian Glover, Pete Postlethwaite, and the fantastic Charles S. Dutton,, who practically comes along and steals the film. You could easily watch this character and that performance for an extra hour; it is just so captivating. So be bold and give it a go, but only with the two cuts mentioned. It is not nearly as bad a film as people make it out to be. In fact, it sometimes fights for the second spot for me.

Alien Resurrection (1997)

(Go watch the others first…)

In the year 2381, some 200 years after the events of Fiorina 161, scientists have managed to collect blood samples left on the planet and have been attempting to engineer a xenomorph to grow and study. The crew of the Betty is delivering a particular cargo for the military, with disastrous results for all onboard the USM Auriga.

Another in the ‘ehh’ pile for many fans, there is actually a lot to like about Alien Resurrection. It’s a film that furthers the looseness of Aliens but brings a heavy dose of European style to it. The only actual downside to this film is in the script. Josh Whedon went full Whedon on this one, and you can tell that the crew of the Betty had a heavy influence on what would become Firefly. There are too many daft one-liners and decisions. In truth, it’s poorly written, and you can see the changes made during production to make it a more cohesive film.

Some of the ideas in the film are great, though. The third-act villain is as ugly a creature as you will see, yet thanks to Jean-Pierre Jeunet, you feel a form of empathy for it. There is also one of the most horrible, excruciating scenes in the entire franchise here. Jeunet gives us a wonderfully icky palette, doubled with everyone and everything looking slick, which gives it a unique look and continues the trend of each film being its own visual beast.

At worst, Alien Resurrection feels a bit too set-piece-driven and leans too heavily on the action-comedy side of things rather than the horror; yet, it is a fun watch with some memorable moments that pull you along.

Well, that is all for today! The next Parts of the letter A will be coming in the next week,so keep an eye out! For now enjoy the rest of the alphabet, one day it will be fully completed and I will be content! Until next time.

Horror films to watch: Letter A

Horror films to watch: Letter B

Horror films to watch: Letter B (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter C

Horror films to watch: Letter D

Horror films to watch: Letter E

Horror films to watch: Letter F

Horror films to watch: Letter G

Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 1

Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 2

Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 3

Horror films to watch: Letter I; Part 1

Horror films to watch: Letter I – Part 2

Horror films to watch; Letter J

Horror films to watch; Letter K

Horror films to watch: Letter L

Horror films to watch: Letter M

Horror films to watch: Letter M (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter M (part 3)

Horror films to watch: Letter N

Horror films to watch: Letter N (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter O

Horror films to watch: Letter P (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter P (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter Q

Horror films to watch: Letter R (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter S (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter T (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter U

Horror films to watch: Letter V (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter W (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter X

Horror films to watch: Letter Y

Horror films to watch: Letter Z

Support Us

I am but a small website in this big wide world. As much as I would love to make this website a big and wonderful entity. That would bring in more costs. So, for now all I hope is to make Upcoming On Screen self-sufficient. Well enough to where any website fees are less of a worry for me in the future. You can support the website below…

Patreon

You can support us in a variety of ways (other than that wonderful word of mouth) and those lovely follows. If you are so inclined to help out then you can support us via Patreon, find our link here! We don’t want to ask much from you, so for now we have limited our tiers to £1.50 and £3.50. These will of course grow the more we plan to do here at Upcoming On Screen.

Buy Us A Coffee

Our other method if through the wonderful Buy us a Coffee feature, but seeing as we are not the biggest fans of coffee, a pizza will do! We keep it fairly small change on that as well and it allows you to give just a one off payment, so no need to worry about that monthly malarky! We even have a little icon on the website for you to find it and help us out with the running of the website.

Social Media

You can also support us via Twitter and Facebook by giving us a follow and a like. Every one helps!