5. The Mangler (1995)
If you had to sum up the lengths of ridiculousness certain Tobe Hooper’s films go to, look no further than The Mangler, arguably the best film to come out of his stock of 1990s movies. I’d even go so far as to say that Hooper improves upon Stephen King’s barebones short story featured in Night Shift. Yes, we still get a hardboiled detective going to supernatural war with a demonically infused laundry press, but Hooper places it on an almost operatic scale, with a central set piece that wouldn’t look out of place on stage at the Metropolitan Opera.
Even with its old Hollywood look and feel, Hooper’s aesthetics remain, whether it’s the evils of capitalism or simply an elderly character randomly played by a much younger actor. The Mangler is the Hoopster through and through and the perfect example of how his cinematic eye never stopped zooming in and out from the insidious underbelly of America. (Jacob Trussell)
4. Lifeforce (1985)
Lifeforce is a damn loud movie. The score, the sound design, and the actors all seem to take a cue from Steve Railsback. He starts screaming early on and never really stops. And why should he? The space vampires are taking over the frickin’ world. This is it, folks. We’re done for. Tobe Hooper applies the same madness he did on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to the sci-fi genre. Everything feels unhinged. What our heroes found in the cosmos is insane, and they carry that insanity back to Earth with them. As bodies are transformed into husks, and the army wildly miscalculates the threat before them, we’re left only to marvel at the madness. With our fingers in our ears, cuz, again, this movie is so damn beautifully loud. (Brad Gullickson)
3. The Funhouse (1981)
Tobe Hooper is sometimes minimized as the Texas Chain Saw guy or questioned as the director of Poltergeist (sorry, haters, he directed it), but as this list shows, his filmography features more than a few bangers. One of my personal favorites is this carnival-set chiller about a group of friends stalked by a funhouse “freak.” The film gives us just enough backstory – and fans should check out Dean Koontz’s novelization for far more detail – before Hooper unleashes the carnage and suspense. It’s a tense ride with some fun kills, a creepy monster, and an unnerving Kevin Conway in three separate roles because why not. As slashers go it’s no groundbreaking entry, but goddamn is it an effective and fun one. (Rob Hunter)
2. Poltergeist (1982)
With Hooper’s eye for genuinely terrifying imagery and producer Steven Spielberg’s penchant for suburban drama, Poltergeist is a truly horrifying and genuinely thrilling possession movie. Considering the story of a family dwelling in a malevolent house has been endlessly parodied (often quite well), you might feel like you already know Poltergeist well enough. But the fact is that with an airtight script and stellar family dynamics, this film is well worth watching both the first time and the tenth time. Oh, and if you are watching it for the first time and you think you’re ok with clowns, be prepared for that to change. (Anna Swanson)
1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Growing up in rural Texas, it was impossible to get away from whispers on the playground about a horror movie set in our own backyard. One that was allegedly based on a true story, but that was so horrifying, so unbelievably shocking, that you’d get sick, pass out, and die just from watching it. With our collective fifth-grade imaginations, we conjured images of severed limbs and buckets of blood filling a makeshift charnel house waiting for us just down the road from the state capitol.
Even if you’re not from Texas, you probably have your own childhood memories and nightmares surrounding The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It’s become as much of the state’s identity as Friday Night Football and chili cook-offs because the yin and yang of Texas is its mixture of genuine Southern hospitality and unrepentant hatred of the other. And as Leatherface and his crew sit down to have dinner with a screaming woman strapped to a chair, that yin and yang are realized on screen with blood-red humor. Tobe Hooper beat a socio-political drum with Chain Saw that echoed through his career, but it’s the film’s genuine beauty and technical skill that makes it an undying classic and absolutely deserving of its place in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent film collection. (Jacob Trussell)
Happy Hooptober! Now take a break from watching movies and read about some more instead with our 31 Days of Horror Lists!
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