Being that I grew up and pretty much lived here in New York for most of my life, I’ve put together a list of 10 twisted movies taking place in New York.
#1 C.H.U.D acronym for “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller” released in 1984. A pretty low budget B-movie but worth watching if you have the time to kill or need a good laugh. This B-movie actually spawned a few sequels. Oddly enough CHUD hit the theaters just as there was a big uproar at the time regarding the homeless population. Some people literally wound up as “underground dwellers” of New York’s many vacant/unused tunnel system. In fact, I did a term paper on this very topic.
#2 After Hours released in 1985 about a yuppie who has a chance encounter with a mysterious woman that forces him to have a very strange night on the town. The tagline for the movie says it all, “When it’s after midnight in New York City, You don’t have to look for love, laughter, and trouble. They’ll find you”. I recommend this bizarre movie for two reasons:
- It was directed by Martin Scorsese the same guy who directed, “The Color of Money” which is one of my favorite movies of all time.
- This is just one of those movies that peaks your interest. It starts out slow for the first 5-10 minutes but the momentum picks up and you’ll want to know exactly what happens next.
#3 Sliver released in 1993, this movie was quite interesting. A sort of voyeuristic adventure of peeping tom played by William Baldwin and starring 90s vixen Sharon Stone. This movie actually has very few shots of New York but it does take place here. Needless to say, it’s quite a creepy flick.
#4 & #5 goes to King Kong & Godzilla. Back when I was a kid, the very first cassette for our VCR was a black and white version of King Kong the original. I still remember it to this day. Although King Kong & Godzilla(actually titled, Gojira in Japan) aren’t very scary or such a big deal nowadays. They were both quite popular back in the days. Both franchises spawned several sequels and spin-offs, not to mention knockoffs. I wonder if they were the inspiration for some of the crazy monsters in Power Rangers?
#6 Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, released in 1989. This was probably the first taste of the city life Jason encounters. As with most films about Manhattan at the time, it depicted unsanitary streets, gangs and thugs, copious amounts of drug use and people with horrifically puffy hair.
#7 The Devil’s Advocate released in 1997, starring Keanu Reeves in role that require a bit more than his famous three personifications(Stoned, Confused, and Lost). Part of this movie takes place in the great ole’ American south lands. The other half takes place in NY, which is apparently a gateway to hell and depicted as such.
#8 Escape from New York, released in 1981 about post apocalyptic times where Manhattan becomes a island of a prison for America’s worst convicts and criminals.
#9 Amityville Horror, released in 1979. The movie was actually based on some real events. In December 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz and their children moved into 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, a suburban neighborhood located on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Thirteen months before the Lutzes moved in, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had shot and killed six members of his family at the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there. They revived the movie in a remake released 2005, also called Amityville Horror.
#10 American Psycho, one of my favorite horror/black comedy movies was released in 2000. Patrick Bateman, lives Wall Street by day and his nights are spent in ways impossible to fathom. Christian Bale plays this soul-less, modern monster whose zealous materialism and piercing envy fuels his homicidal activities.
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