Arachnophobia (1990)

A new species of South American killer spider hitches a lift to a small California town in a coffin and starts to breed, leaving a trail of deaths that puzzle and terrify the young doctor newly arrived in town with his family.

Did I mention that I had a fear of spiders growing up?  Because I still hate them.  Wouldn't touch one to save my life.  They're disgusting, they're all hair and legs and fangs, and they give me the willies.  Spiders suck.

When I saw the trailer for this film, and it shows off spiders on the showerheads and in the toilet bowls... *shudder.*

Nowadays, it's comfort food.  I watch it all the time.  Again, something about nostalgia for movies from the era set in California.  It's just my thing, I guess.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.

I was on the fence with this one for quite awhile.  Growing up I never really considered it a horror film, for whatever reason.  The elements are all there, but my brain just didn't want to put the pieces together.

Then, last week a certain shock-rock horror-themed band went and released a music video homage to this movie, and I realized it was a sign.  I had to include it in this list.

And I mean... like... you know.  Hannibal Lecter is often considered the greatest villain in the history of cinema.  That doesn't happen without being truly horrifying.  And Buffalo Bill is no slouch himself.

Dead Alive (1992)

A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.

Peter Jackson's infamous comedic-horror bloodbath.  If you aren't familiar with this movie, just know that the wunderkind from New Zealand was making waves in the horror community before he was filming 12 hour fantasy epics.  And none were better than this splatterfest. 

Some say it's the bloodiest movie ever made.  They would be correct.

Come for the madcap humor.  Stay for the crazy-as-all-fuck ending.