Ranking West Virginia’s deep connection to scary movies

By Matthew Young, RealWV

 Alright, it’s finally October, and we all know what that means…

It’s spooky season, baby!

In honor of everyone’s favorite time of year, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some scary movies that feature our fellow West Virginians. And just for some added shiggles, I’ll put them in order from “awesome,” to “the most awesomest.”

So today we’ll look at the work of five Mountaineers: Brad Dourif, Taso Stavrakis, Chris Sarandon, Tom McBride, and Michael Cerveris. The rankings will be based on four criteria: creativity, artistic style, impact on the genre, and my personal preference. (It’s my list. If you don’t like it, then go make your own). Unfortunately, I won’t be considering any movies which feature Wheeling-born Ashlie Rhey. While she most definitely has an impressive horror resume, and crushed it in films like “Pot Zombies 2: More Pot Less Plot” and “Cannibal Taboo,” she’s pretty naked for a lot of her screentime, and I’m trying to keep this more on the PG-13 side. We’ll call Ashlie our “Honorable Mention.”

Also, something which I’m sure will cause me to get a bunch of nasty emails, I’m disqualifying the original “Child’s Play” film. Dourif and Sarandon are both in it, and there’s just no way any of the other movies can compete with TWO West Virginians, even if one is in talking doll form for the majority of the movie. 

Ready? Good, here we go…

Awesome

Michael Cerveris: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway production)

Yes, I said “Broadway production.” Mad because it’s not a movie? Oh well. Again, it’s my list, so long hair, don’t care. And even though I’ve never seen it, I’m sure Michael’s performance was so good that it would make us all forget about what’s-his name from “A Nightmare on Elm Street” – you know, the guy with the weird hands. 

Anyway, Michael has also played roles in a million other movies, like “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever,” “The Mexican,” “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,” “Ant-Man and The Wasp,” and he voiced the character of Dr. Manhattan in the two “Watchmen” animated films. He’s also won a Grammy, two Tony’s, and a Roger. And even though “a Roger” is a thing I just made up, his pedigree is still pretty damn pedigreeable. 

So chew on that, theatre-haters.

Awesomer

Chris Sarandon: Fright Night

Yup, Beckley’s very own Prince Humperdinck played the part of eternally-evil, yet snappily-dressed vampire Jerry Dandridge, in 1985’s “Fright Night.” The movie made $25 million at the box office, which in today’s money is like a trillion dollars. 

“Fright Night” was director Tom Holland’s first movie, and it helped launch his pretty successful career behind the camera. He would even reunite with Humperdinck a few years later for “Child’s Play.” And for his part, Humperdinck would help carry William Ragsdale, who plays the film’s protagonist “Charley Brewster,” into quite possibly his least pathetic on-screen character. 

“Fright Night” is a scary-fun movie, which doesn’t try to be anything else. The only reason I don’t rank it higher is because its originality is somewhat questionable since it seems to take a little inspiration from “Salem’s Lot.” However, that is not at all a bad thing. 

The Most Awesomer

Brad Dourif: Halloween

Huntington-native Brad Dourif has the unique distinction of being one of the very few performers to have had a major role in two of the “Big Four” slasher franchises. (Friday the 13th, Transformers the Movie, Child’s Play, and Halloween). Not only did Dourif play “Charles Lee Ray,” AKA “Chucky,” but he also took on the role of “Sheriff Leigh Brackett” in director Rob Zombie’s reboot of John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic. 

While it’s a pretty divisive film among fans, and not as revered as Carpenter’s original, Zombie’s ultra-gory take on the franchise does boast some truly great performances. Not only is Dourif excellent as always, but with scream-queen and Halloween-alum Danielle Harris in the role of Dourif’s daughter “Annie,” the iconic Danny Trejo as an orderly at Smiths Grove Sanitarium, and Tolian Soran as “Dr. Loomis,” the reimagining boldly takes Michael Myers where no one has gone before.

Awesomest

Tom McBride: Friday the 13th, Part 2

Alright, I have to admit that “Friday the 13th” is my favorite horror franchise, and “Friday the 13th, Part 2” is my favorite horror movie. When I was a little kid, the “Town That Dreaded Sundown” version of Jason with the bag on his head used to scare the Willy Wonka right out of my chocolate factory. I don’t know, maybe it was the combination of the single eye hole and the Buster Brown overhauls. 

Anyway, Charleston’s Tom McBride played the wheelchair-bound stud muffin Mark. And to this day, his death scene terrifies me more out of concern for his stunt double’s safety than it does for the machete to the face. (Oh yeah, I guess that was a spoiler. Sorry if I ruined the 44 year old movie for you).  

Because McBride sadly passed away in 1995, with the exception of our honorable mention, he’s the only one on this list I never had the chance to meet. But in case you’re wondering why I didn’t rank my favorite at the top of the list, it’s simple…

If it weren’t for the next film, slasher movies would have peaked in 1978.

Awesomester

Taso Stavrakis: Friday the 13th

Nowadays, my buddy Taso lives outside of Lewisburg and runs the West Virginia Renaissance Festival. But in 1979, he and his good pal Tom Savini got a gig doing stunts and make-up effects on a super low-budget “Halloween” knock-off that was filmed at a Boy Scout camp up in Jersey. And what the two twenty-something Carnegie Mellon graduates gave us was a masterclass in classic-building. 

The Robbie Morgan death scene, the Kevin Bacon death scene, the Betsy Palmer death scene (complete with Taso’s hairy knuckles)…need I say more? The story was admittedly pretty thin, and the movie was painfully slow. But the kills are legendary, and its legacy is still going strong now some 45 years later. 12 movies (plus a whole host of fan films), two television shows, and a video game have firmly ingrained Friday the 13th into the American cultural-zeitgeist, and solidified the franchise’s place in film history. 

The Most Awesomest

Brad Dourif & Chris Sarandon: Child’s Play

Of course I wasn’t gonna disqualify “Child’s Play,” so quit writing those angry emails. Dourif and Sarandon are both in it, and there’s just no way any of the other movies can compete with TWO West Virginians, even if one is in talking doll form for the majority of the movie. So go watch it. 

And after you finish watching “Child’s Play,” go check out “Pot Zombies 2: More Pot Less Plot.”

Happy Halloween everybody!