Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
The late Wes Craven gives the iconc Freddy Kruger, a character he created in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, a meta twist in this sequel. The actors and crew all play themselves in New Nightmare, and while Heather Langenkamp (aka heroine Nancy) considers starring in yet another Elm Street installment, she finds herself and her son, Dylan, haunted by the real Freddy Krueger. Prepare for a wild mix of reality and fantasy, with a delectable amount of claw-slashing Freddy jokes.
Scream (1996)
Not-so-arguably the best slasher of the decade, Wes Craven's Scream pumped fresh blood into the horror genre, providing equal parts satire alongside well-written scares. The iconic opening scene with Drew Barrymore is pre-credit perfection, and proved that it doesn't matter if you're an A-lister or F-lister, anyone can die in Scream.
Fear (1996)
Marky Mark and a young Reese Witherspoon steamed up the well-worn hot-boyfriend-gone-crazy genre. Alyssa Milano co-stars, gets the crap beaten out of her, and deserves all the sympathies. Wahlberg should've worn his Calvins and made amends. Oh, well (...sequel, please?).
The Craft (1996)
Four bad-ass teen witches pulling some crazy shit, until one shows her conscience and the others pounce on her. The Craft deftly blends some screwed up scares with hilarious high school emoshes.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Sure, it's a total Scream rip off, but Kevin Williamson actually wrote this flick first, and then after the studios bought Scream they were like: WE WANT ALL YOUR GOODS. Jennifer Love Hewitt was just 18 in this one, but won audiences over with her cardigans, sick body, and acting skills, of course. Freddie Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillippe, and Sarah Michelle Gellar co-star as high school friends being stalked by a fisherman after they leave him for dead. In other words--'90s glory.
Scream 2 (1997)
You'd think it'd be nearly impossible to follow up Scream with anything worthy, but Scream 2 creatively played up the idea of sequels, delivering another funny, thrill-packed two hours. Sure, the story is nothing unexpected--our girl Sydney (Neve Campbell) is getting stalked...again--but the kills get even crazier and twisted.
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
Alright, if you're looking for anything redeeming besides a laughable script and some fun chase scenes, don't bother. But if you're a fan of the teen slasher genre, then you'll be happy seeing Brandy play dead and Jennifer Love Hewitt getting locked inside a tanning bed, all the while trying to dodge a murderous fisherman on some remote, stormy island.
Urban Legend (1998)
Ugh, Tara Reid. That is all. Almost. This flick plays off its slasher predecessors with the usual campus killer frenzy, but adds the concept of urban legends to every murder. It also stars a young Jared Leto and Rebecca Gayheart...so that's a plus.
H20 (1998)
Most of the Halloween sequels are pretty boring and bad, but H20 manages to spice things up. 20 years after Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) escaped her murderous brother, Michael Myers, she's living a secret life in some fancy boarding school in California with her son, John (aka heartthrob Josh Hartnett). Well, you can guess what happens next. A quicker pace, nasty slays, and a newby performance from Michelle Williams makes this the Halloween film to skip to.
The Faculty (1998)
Hartnett's back! This time as a high school druggy fighting alien teachers alongside Elijah Wood and Clea DuVall. The legendary Piper Laurie and Salma Hayek also make appearances in this Breakfast Club meets E.T. flick from hell. The ultimate take away? Drugs are sometimes the best weapon.
Bride Of Chucky (1999)
It's so bad it's mind-blowingly brilliant. The killer doll Chucky meets his bride, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly). Then they have sex (mhm), try to find human bodies to take over, and chop up a whole bunch of people. Ridiculous, epic, transformative.
House On Haunted Hill (1999)
A remake of the 1959 classic, House on Haunted Hill finds a motley crew of people spending one night in a haunted mansion for one million dollars. Shocker: Bitches start dying FAST.
The Haunting (1999)
Also a remake, The Haunting is rather similar to House on Haunted Hill, but sub the million dollars for a fancy sleep study. Lili Taylor won't stop screaming and wins life, while Cathera Zeta-Jones heats up the camera and Owen Wilson basically plays himself per usual.
