The best of the underrated teen movies, rom zom coms, and high school sci-fi horrors...
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00:00 Teen horror is a popular enough genre.
00:02 You have your heavy hitters, which are seemingly loved by
00:05 you all, like Scream, Halloween, and Carrie, and then you
00:08 have your smaller pictures with cult followings like It
00:11 Follows. As if being in high school wasn't difficult enough,
00:14 these teens also have to deal with stuff like supernatural
00:17 beings or serial killers.
00:18 Terrible for them, but terrific fun for us.
00:21 However, not all of these worthy teen horrors get the following
00:25 they deserve.
00:26 So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here with
00:29 10 more great teen horror movies no one ever talks about.
00:33 Number 10, Cry Wolf.
00:35 A parlor game going terribly wrong is always a great
00:38 foundation for a horror film.
00:40 Just look at entries like Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, or Ready
00:43 or Not.
00:43 However, Cry Wolf doesn't seem to be remembered by a lot
00:47 of people, despite being a great take on the game going
00:50 terribly wrong storyline.
00:51 Mysterious murders occur when a group of students at a prep
00:54 school plays a game called Cry Wolf.
00:56 Is the game somehow related to the piling bodies?
00:59 While some parts of its story do feel derivative, Cry Wolf is
01:03 so well made that the derivative parts are easy to forgive.
01:06 Co-writer and director Jeff Wadlow treats you with a thrilling
01:10 and suspenseful time that'll have you on the edge of your seat,
01:13 invested until the very end.
01:14 There are some great twists here, and no horror fan can resist
01:18 a twisty story, especially one with sharp plotting and fantastic
01:22 performances from its ensemble cast.
01:24 Dripping in style and atmosphere, Cry Wolf is 90 minutes of
01:28 excitement, energy, and pure fun.
01:30 If you enjoy your horror cinematic experiences with plenty of
01:33 twists and turns and an unsettling mood, this is one you'll howl for.
01:38 Number 9.
01:39 Disturbing Behaviour
01:40 Disturbing Behaviour is right.
01:42 This movie is disturbing in all the best ways possible.
01:46 This sadly only made $17.5 million against a $15 million budget,
01:51 and doesn't seem to have found a second life after its theatrical
01:54 release either.
01:56 What a shame, though, because this is one of the best teen
01:58 horrors from the 90s.
02:00 This 1998 picture stars recognisable names James Marsden and
02:04 Katie Holmes, and was directed by David Nutter, who was a
02:07 director and producer on The X-Files, and follows the story of
02:11 Steve Clark, who's new in the town of Cradle Bay.
02:14 Steve quickly realises there's something strange going on with
02:17 his high school classmates.
02:18 They're a little too perfect, almost like there's something
02:20 he's not supposed to know going on within their clique.
02:24 Wacky, odd, and above all, addictive, Disturbing Behaviour
02:27 feels like a full-length X-Files episode in all the best ways
02:30 possible.
02:31 This is the kind of horror flick you play over and over again
02:34 with your friends because it's just so much fun.
02:37 This is an entertaining gem, with an ending that feels like the
02:39 cherry on top of a tasty cake.
02:41 Number 8.
02:43 Stage Fright
02:44 Musical horror?
02:45 Sign us up right away.
02:47 Following a young singer targeted by a killer at a musical
02:50 theatre camp, Stage Fright takes the crazy idea of turning
02:53 Friday the 13th into a musical and runs with it.
02:57 But the end result is a wickedly fun time.
03:00 This is a project clearly made by people passionate about
03:03 musical theatre and slasher offerings, and that passion
03:06 shows all the way through the run time.
03:08 While it may not be for everyone, Stage Fright represents
03:11 a uniqueness not often seen in teen horror movies, or even
03:15 just horror movies in general, and it's this uniqueness that
03:18 makes it worth your time.
03:20 It's a wonder why this feature hasn't found a cult following
03:23 yet, because it is every bit deserving of one.
03:26 This 2014 film, not to be confused with the 1987 slasher
03:30 of the same name, is a joyous romp filled with clever tunes
03:33 and plenty of gore.
03:35 There's so much fun to be had here, and the screenplay
03:37 doesn't hold back with its campiness fully embracing
03:40 its silly nature.
03:41 If you love both musicals and slashers, Stage Fright should
03:44 be right up your alley, and you'll want to rewatch it over
03:47 and over again.
03:48 Number 7. Detention
03:50 Detention begins a fairly standard plot.
03:54 A group of high schoolers get targeted by a serial killer,
03:57 but it's director Joseph Kahn's energy and style that makes
04:00 the experience all the more memorable.
04:03 A wild ride from start to finish, Detention is messy,
04:06 wild, and unconventional in all the best ways possible.
04:09 Plus, it stars Josh Hutcherson, who you might remember
04:12 from the big screen Hunger Games adaptations.
04:15 While Detention may start off with a fairly standard plot,
04:18 it only gets wilder and wilder the more it goes on.
04:21 We can't say too much because we don't want to spoil you,
04:24 and this is one of those viewings where you're better
04:25 off going in knowing as little as possible.
04:28 Sure, it can be alienating for those who aren't on board
04:31 with its off-the-wall nature, but for the right audience,
04:33 Detention is an experience you won't soon forget.
04:37 There's a sincere dedication here to creating a fun
04:40 and energetic experience, and that passion shows,
04:43 marking the feature as one of the most notable teen
04:45 horror offerings from the 2010s.
04:47 Number 6. All cheerleaders die.
04:50 A high school outsider named Maddie shocks the student
04:53 body by joining the cheerleading squad, but things get
04:56 even crazier when something supernatural happens
04:59 to the cheerleaders after a confrontation
05:01 with the football team.
05:03 Twisted and dark, this teen horror comedy is infectious fun,
05:06 boasting razor-sharp writing and astute performances
05:09 from its cast.
05:10 There's so much to like about this should-be cult favourite.
05:13 It's hilarious, smart, and anything but predictable,
05:16 keeping you guessing at every turn.
05:19 It's impossible to be bored by this movie.
05:21 Even if the craziness isn't for you, you still can't
05:23 deny how much energy is put into just 90 minutes.
05:26 If you like your horror cinematic experiences to be
05:29 short but smart, crazy but cunningly clever,
05:32 dark but delightfully so, All Cheerleaders Die
05:35 is perfect for you.
05:36 It's also something you have to see to really believe.
05:39 None of the descriptions or trailers do the film justice
05:42 in how highly enjoyable it is.
05:44 With its ending, it's unfortunate the movie never got any sequels,
05:47 because this would have made for such an addictive franchise.
05:51 Number 5. The Black Coat's Daughter
05:54 You may recognise writer-director Oz Perkins
05:57 from the Netflix offering I Am the Pretty Thing
05:59 That Lives in the House, but The Black Coat's Daughter
06:02 is his strong directorial debut that he's yet to outdo.
06:06 The slow-burn storytelling approach is an approach
06:08 many horror writers and directors take, but few get it right.
06:12 Oz Perkins is one of them.
06:14 The movie takes its time setting up its pieces,
06:16 but does so in an unsettling and atmospheric way.
06:19 Set during the dead of winter, two young girls,
06:21 Kat and Rose, spend winter break at their prestigious prep school.
06:25 Kat, however, is being stalked by an evil entity,
06:28 one that's beyond what either girl can imagine.
06:31 Cold and bleak, this is a flick more concerned with creating
06:34 a tale that gets under your skin than one with cheap jump scares,
06:37 and the story just keeps getting creepier and creepier
06:40 until it becomes hard to view, even.
06:42 Still, a horror offering that's hard to watch
06:45 is a horror offering that can't be forgotten.
06:47 The Black Coat's Daughter is so well-made, so clever and chilling,
06:51 it's bound to stick with you long after you've finished it.
06:54 You'll be staring at the end credits with an overwhelming sense of awe.
06:57 Number 4. The Final Girls
07:00 Every horror fan knows what a Final Girl is,
07:03 and those same fans have probably spent many Slasher viewings
07:06 trying to guess who the Final Girl will be.
07:09 For Slasher enthusiasts, The Final Girls is a love letter
07:11 made by filmmakers with a clear and deep affection for the subgenre.
07:16 Best of all, it's taking inspiration from Scream,
07:19 one of the finest teen slashers of all time.
07:21 This really is an absolute blast.
07:24 When Max and her friends go to see a screening of an old horror movie,
07:27 one Max's mum was involved in,
07:29 the last thing they expect is for them to find themselves
07:32 in the world of the movie itself.
07:34 Now, they must use their knowledge of horror in order to survive.
07:37 The Final Girls feels like a celebration of everything we love about horror,
07:41 while also not being afraid to make fun of itself.
07:43 It's also really funny.
07:45 You'll be chuckling and laughing from start to finish,
07:48 and it's surprisingly touching at times.
07:50 All in all, it's charming, and horror geeks who spent many nights
07:54 marathoning Michael, Jason, or Freddy should find this one irresistible.
07:58 Number 3. Freaky
08:00 While a modest success, Freaky deserved to be a much bigger hit than it was.
08:04 The concept alone is genius.
08:06 A teenage girl switches bodies with a serial killer.
08:09 I mean, how much fun is that?
08:10 It's an odd idea to mix Friday the 13th with Freaky Friday,
08:14 but the oddest idea most often results in the most fun experience,
08:18 and Freaky is one of the most enjoyable times you can have with a screen offering.
08:22 The feature is bolstered by an incredibly game cast,
08:25 led by both Catherine Newton and Vince Vaughn,
08:28 who both kill it as their characters before and after the body swap.
08:32 This horror comedy is just so hilarious at times,
08:35 especially with both Newton and Vaughn clearly having the time of their lives filming this.
08:39 Freaky was also directed and written by Christopher Landon,
08:43 whom you might recognise as the director of Happy Death Day,
08:46 another genius teen horror comedy.
08:49 Freaky should have been just as big a hit as Happy Death Day,
08:52 but sadly, it was unable to generate the same buzz.
08:55 However, the two flicks together make for a fantastic double feature.
08:58 Number 2. Pie Wacket
09:01 When a teenage girl obsessed with black magic performs an occult ritual in the woods,
09:06 she accidentally awakens something that shouldn't have been awakened.
09:10 Both a coming-of-age drama and a supernatural horror,
09:12 Pie Wacket succeeds thanks to its intelligent screenplay
09:15 and esteemed performances from its cast.
09:18 The film works as both an unnerving atmospheric horror,
09:21 as well as an honest representation of being a teenager.
09:24 Much like the Black Coat's daughter, Pie Wacket is a slow burn done right,
09:28 much more interested in building tension and creepiness all throughout
09:32 rather than relying on gotcha scares.
09:34 It really is a gripping experience, and writer-director Adam McDonald
09:38 succeeds monumentally at having the story hold onto you and never letting go.
09:43 This is a feature designed to leave an impression.
09:46 It may be a little too subtle for some,
09:48 but for viewers who appreciate a great deal of restraint in their horror watches,
09:52 Pie Wacket is guaranteed to become one of their favorites.
09:55 It's a masterclass in taking a simple premise
09:58 and making something unforgettable out of it through skillful writing and directing.
10:03 Number 1. Ginger Snaps
10:05 Directed by John Fawcett, Ginger Snaps follows the story of two teenage girls
10:10 who have their sisterhood tested when one of them gets bitten by an unknown animal
10:14 and then slowly starts to transform into a werewolf.
10:17 Smart and funny, this excels remarkably well as both a supernatural horror
10:21 and a feminist coming-of-age tale, all bolstered by strong performances from its cast.
10:26 It's a real head-scratcher why this one hasn't got as big a cult following
10:30 as features like Jennifer's Body and Heathers.
10:33 It's easily one of the best werewolf movies ever made.
10:36 Not that the competition is heavy, but Ginger Snaps is so cleverly made,
10:40 it pretty much marks itself as one of the ultimate werewolf titles,
10:43 much like an American werewolf in London.
10:46 At least, it should have, but this 2000 film seems to have been
10:49 largely forgotten since its release.
10:51 It never seems to get the mentions it deserves when talking about the best
10:55 teen horrors or the best horror comedies of all time.
10:58 Ginger Snaps should definitely be on your watchlist,
11:00 because its biting satire and sharp writing shouldn't be missed.
11:04 And that concludes our list. If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments
11:08 below and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
11:13 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
11:15 and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:18 I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real soon.