This month’s installment of Deep Cuts Rising features a variety of horror movies. Some selections reflect a specific day or event in June, and others were chosen at random.
Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.
This month’s offerings include a Japanese slasher, a dark tale about family, a Scandinavian haunting, a terrifying coming-out story, and an aquatic creature-feature.
The Attic (1980)
Directed by George Edwards and Gary Graver.
Fathers are usually depicted as unkind and cruel in horror, and the one in The Attic is no exception. Carrie Snodgress plays the dutiful Louise who has sacrificed her own happiness for far too long. When she tries to turn her life around and do something about her loneliness, which entails adopting a chimpanzee, her tyrannical father (Ray Milland) is quick to stomp out her ambitions. He also hides a dark, life-changing secret from his daughter.
The Attic shares a connection with writers Tony Crechales and Gary Gravet‘s 1973 movie The Killing Kind; Louise and her father are the main character’s neighbors (played by different actors). Although this isn’t an official sequel, both movies share thematic elements. This weird and underseen psycho-horror is worth considering for Father’s Day.
The Attic is available on two DVDs; MGM’s double-feature with Crawlspace, and a solo release from Reel Vault.
The Guard From Underground (1992)
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Before he delivered career-defining movies like Cure and Pulse, Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed this low-budget, early ’90s slasher (two years after Sweet Home). On her first day at her new job, an art historian named Akiko (Makiko Kuno) suspects something is amiss about the security guard (Yutaka Matsushige). And it’s not just his towering height that bothers Akiko. Eventually, her doubts are confirmed when the guard starts to stalk and kill everyone inside the office building.
This is a B-movie, yes, but it also works as a satire about Japanese corporate life. It cleverly redefines the dread people have about their jobs.
The Guard from Underground is available on DVD from Arts Magic.
Midsommer (2003)
Directed by Carsten Myllerup.
While Midsommer (June 24) is often associated with folk-horror, especially after Ari Aster’s hit movie, this Danish-Swedish import features a story that is both psychological and supernatural. It also touches on grief like a lot of recent horror movies. After losing his twin sister, Christian (Kristian Leth) and his friends travel from Denmark to Sweden so they can celebrate Midsommer before going their separate ways. Soon a series of unexplained events lead Christian to think he’s being haunted.
Midsommer is much more of a slow-burn ghost story than a typical teen-horror flick, and its English-language remake, Solstice, does a good job of relocating the story to the Louisiana bayous.
Midsommer is currently available on Prime Video.
In the Blood (2006)
Directed by Lou Peterson.
Cassidy (Tyler Hanes) has a secret. The closeted college student has a disturbing vision of his sister’s murder when he tries to hook up with another man. This leads to Cassidy learning about his birthright; according to the protagonist’s eccentric aunt (Alison Fraser), he has dormant psychic abilities that can only be awakened through sexual contact. Not just any sex, though — it has to be a “pure, assented sexual experience.” So if he wants to have another premonition, one that might save his sister from the campus serial killer, Cassidy must be honest with himself.
As far as coming-out stories go, In the Blood is unique. This sexually charged mystery always keeps viewers guessing and gawking.
In the Blood is available on DVD from TLA Releasing and is also available on Prime Video.
Sector 7 (2011)
Directed by Kim Ji-Hoon.
With June being National Oceans Month, now is a good time to dredge up Sector 7 from the depths of obscurity. The small crew aboard an oil rig off the coast of Jeju Island is preyed on by an unexpected predator. A new lifeform, secretly created on the rig as a fuel alternative, grows to immense size and snacks on everyone in sight. The survivors will be the only thing standing between this monster and the mainland.
This South Korean action-horror movie will appeal to fans of DeepStar Six, Deep Rising and Virus.
Sector 7 is currently streaming at YouTube and Tubi, and is also available on DVD from Shout! Factory.
No genre is as prolific as horror, so it’s understandable that movies fall through the cracks all the time. That is where this recurring column, Deep Cuts Rising, comes in. Each installment of this series will spotlight several unsung or obscure movies from the past — some from way back when, and others from not so long ago — that could use more attention.
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