Horror films from A to Z: part five

At The ABCs of Death, in its final night at the Sie FilmCenter, you're going to get the equivalent of horror tapas -- one short, punchy tale for each letter of the alphabet, each delivered by a current or rising star in the genre. It's a tasty appetizer that can...

By Cory Casciato

March 14, 2013

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At The ABCs of Death, in its final night at the Sie FilmCenter, you're going to get the equivalent of horror tapas -- one short, punchy tale for each letter of the alphabet, each delivered by a current or rising star in the genre. It's a tasty appetizer that can serve as a meal in and of itself, but what if you want more? What if this just whets your appetite for horrific death and graphic dismemberment?

We're here to help. In the spirit of The ABCs of Death, we're offering 26 full-length horror-movie suggestions, one for each letter of the alphabet, at a pace of five a day for each day -- and in this installment, you get six. Some are favorites old and new, some are overlooked gems, and some are just there because, look, there aren't very many horror movies that start with Q, okay?

Scared yet? You will be after watching these 26 films.

U is for Undead Take a trip to the Outback with this loopy tale of zombies, aliens and a redneck ninja in overalls. Well, whatever Australia's equivalent of redneck is, anyway.

U is for Undead Ever wonder what all of this staring at fucked-up images on screen might be doing to your brain, or even to your body? David Cronenberg did, and his answer is found in the hallucinogenic and disturbing Videodrome.

W is for Wolf Creek The spiritual descendant of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wolf Creek delves into the horrific possibilities of meeting the absolute worst person possible while broken down in the literal middle of nowhere. Fair warning: This one's about as brutal as it gets, so don't be surprised when you start to squirm.

X is for X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes Roger Corman delivers some low-key chills in this tale of a man who saw too much. Ray Milland plays a scientist who decides to test out some vision-enhancing compounds on himself, to mixed success. On the one hand, he can see through everything! On the other hand, this eventually includes space and time and the poor bastard ends up pretty unhappy about what's out there.

Y is for Young Frankenstein Sure, Young Frankenstein isn't really scary, but it does feature lots of horror movie tropes, specifically a mad scientist and his monster. Look, there just aren't a lot of horror movies that begin with Y, okay? At least this movie is awesome.

Z is for Zombie That's Zombie as in Lucio Fulci's Zombie, known by half a dozen other titles as well, but all you need to know is this: a zombie fights a shark. Seriously, what are you waiting for? That's some quality entertainment.

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