One Chick's Favorite Flicks

I have to admit it: there are few things I love more than a bloody mess of a movie. Films about wedding dresses or the inability to pin down a man just do not rock my boat. Gimme zombies or mass-murdering freaks any day! While I do enjoy other genres, this very short list of gems is all about the scary, the psychologically damaging, and the just plain weird. Put any or all of these on your must-see list for the summer.

5. TheTexas Chainsaw Massacre In 1974, Tobe Hooper changed the horror world with this movie. It was filmed on a shoestring budget that would be unthinkable nowadays outside of YouTube. It is the tale of five kids who meet Leatherface and his cannibal family in a desolate part of Texas that might as well be the dark side of the moon. If greatness can be judged by imitation, then this must be an example of high art in the slasher world.

4. Natural Born Killers I am a 90's kid and a TV Baby. As such, I would be remiss not to mention this staple of my high school and early college years. Oliver Stone brought Mickey and Mallory Knox into the world for good or ill, and I must thank him for it. Those two pretty much kill everybody and have a hell of a time doing it. There's a cop choking an adorable little hooker and a television host who finds his own personal Jesus in the carnage of a prison riot. Rodney Dangerfield even gets drowned in a fish tank... It's just beautiful.

3. Dawn of the Dead (2004)This is the only remake on my list, not that there aren't other good ones, but this one is fabulous. Zack Snyder sets a great pace in this zombie-o-rama: hurry up and wait, followed by break-neck action. From the moment our heroine Ana (played with subtlety by Sarah Polley) contends with the little zombie neighbor girl one can see that this is not going to be a slow ride. With peace and normalcy immediately ripped away, many fun shades of human nature shine among the Crossroads Shopping Mall refugees. It has a great soundtrack and an unhappy ending: things I like!

2. TheDevil's RejectsThe second of Rob Zombie's forays into moviemaking, Rejects is an orgy of violence and inappropriate behavior. The best part is that it has none of that distasteful moralizing. Otis and Baby make Mickey and Mallory look like Sunday School students. There is no point to their slicing and dicing other than sheer fun. Rape, murder, and mayhem are just entertainment in the Firefly family. There is a comic book quality to the dialogue that proves more funny than distracting. If there were an award for "Best Opening Montage Sequence Set to an Allman Brothers Song," this film would certainly win.

1. Reservoir Dogs Any list claiming to include the twisted must, by law, include a Quentin Tarantino movie. There is one simple reason that this one holds the number one spot: the ear scene. My heartfelt thanks go to you, Michael Madsen, for perhaps my favorite scene in a movie. Ever. The superb soundtrack blesses this beautiful moment of mutilating delight, as well as the rest of the film. Bank robbery gone wrong can be cheesy, but with this cast it is bloody, bloody brilliance.

I could list so many more, and I must at least mention two: Shaun of the Dead and Motel Hell. They're both hilarious and pleasantly twisted. Now, stop playing outside in all of that sunshine and rent one of these flicks today!