Before “Monster High” There Was Rick Moranis in “Gravedale High” [TV Terrors]

New month, new horror recommendations from Deep Cuts Rising. This installment’s five selections reflect the month of June 2024.

Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.

This month’s offerings include a father gone mad, deadly dares, and more.

High Desert Kill (1989)

Image: Chuck Connors, Micah Grant and Anthony Geary in High Desert Kill (1989).

Directed by Harry Falk.

Summer officially begins in June, so why not watch a horror movie whose story is set under the hot sun? The TV oddity High Desert Kill seems like it’s about another camping trip gone wrong, with its male cast setting off for the New Mexico wilderness. Indeed they end up being hunted, however, the predator is not of this world.

Both the slow pace and the limitations of television — that orgy sequence could have been even nuttier — hold the movie back, yet there is no denying that delirious execution and outcome. The cast includes Chuck Connors, Marc Singer, and Micah Grant.

High Desert Kill was issued on Blu-ray by Scorpion Releasing and Kino Lorber.

Exhibit A (2007)

Image: Brittany Ashworth and Bradley Cole in Exhibit A (2007).

Directed by Dom Rotheroe.

For this year’s Father’s Day (June 16), track down the British found-footage gem Exhibit A. The one stable thing left in the teen protagonist’s (Brittany Ashworth) home life was her camera, which she used to record her family’s gradual undoing. Financial strain steadily ate away at the patriarch (Bradley Cole) before he finally lost control.

Estimable performances as well as minimal and effective editing are crucial to this movie’s success. And this one family’s horrifying disintegration is scarier than the usual subject matter found in most POV horror.

Exhibit A is currently available on Prime Video and Vimeo.

Buck Wild (2013)

Image: Matthew Albrecht, Jarrod Pistilli and Dru Lockwood in Buck Wild (2013).

Directed by Tyler Glodt.

Buck Wild comes close to earning its title. This lively tale of a failed hunting/bonding trip is worth checking out for National Best Friends Day (June 8), or simply because you crave an irreverent zombie movie. What it lacks in budget and polish, it makes up for in writing. The actors commit to the bit and do a great job of bringing their characters to life.

Co-writer Matthew Albrecht plays the straight man of this quirky group, and after he receives some upsetting news about his relationship back home, all hell breaks loose. The undead descend on this Texas cabin and its largely unprepared occupants. What then ensues is a home-brew of blood, action, and humor.

Buck Wild is currently available on Tubi.

Fender Bender (2016)

Image: Makenzie Vega fends off her home intruder in Fender Bender (2016).

Directed by Mark Pavia.

One of the weirder “holidays” of this month is Insurance Awareness Day (June 28). Yet, had the main character (Makenzie Vega) of Fender Bender not been insured, maybe she would have lived longer. The 17-year-old only recently received her driver’s license before getting into an accident. Unfortunately for Hilary, the other driver is a serial killer (Bill Sage) and now knows where she lives.

Behind the steering wheel of this bleak mix of home-invasion and slasher elements is The Night Flier‘s Mark Pavia. Fender Bender was a Chiller TV original — and a decent one at that — that premiered shortly before the horror network went off the air.

On top of the Blu-ray from the movie’s co-producer, Shout! Factory, Fender Bender is currently available on SCREAMBOX and Tubi.

Truth or Dare (2017)

Image: The spirit in Truth or Dare (2017) tells Harvey Guillén’s character to get run over by a car… or else.

Directed by Nick Simon.

There are several movies named after the game of Truth or Dare, but this 2017 TV-movie is perhaps the most brutal. Nick Simon directed a mean-as-hell story about friends awakening a sadistic spirit on Halloween. The young characters here rented a house where the previous residents played the movie’s titular game and only one person (Heather Langenkamp) survived to tell the tale. The lingering evil presence now has a new set of victims to toy with, and unless they comply with its dangerous dares, they will all die.

Truth or Dare makes the 2018 Blumhouse movie of the same name look tame by comparison. Beneath its unassuming appearance hides a vicious streak. These underwritten characters torture themselves out of a desperate desire to live, and several of their dares will surely make you wince.

Truth or Dare, which is suitable viewing for Dare Day (June 1), is currently available on Crackle.

No genre is as prolific as horror, so it’s understandable that movies fall through the cracks all the time. That is where this recurring column, Deep Cuts Rising, comes in. Each installment of this series will spotlight several unsung or obscure movies from the past — some from way back when, and others from not so long ago — that could use more attention.