Top Seven Stuart Gordon Horror Movies As Rated By Critics

Coming in at number one with an average of 94%, no question, but Re-Animator is the critical darling. Gordon had been working in experimental theater and originally envisioned Re-Animator as a theatrical production, then a potential television series. He was introduced to producer Brian Yuzna, who convinced him to make a film from the concept, which would be Gordon's feature debut. What a debut it was. The film was initially released without an MPAA rating, and the unrated cut is popular among audiences. Adapted from H.P. Lovecraft's Herbert West: Re-Animator, written by Dennis Paoli, William J. Norris, and Stuart Gordon, it stars Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, and David Gale.

It should come as no surprise that the second movie on this list is Stuart Gordon's second H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, released a year after Re-Animator, namely From Beyond. The film reunites several collaborators from Re-Animator, like stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, writer Dennis Paoli, and producer Brian Yuzna. From Beyond adds actors Ken Foree and Ted Sorel to the terror and comes in a sold 80% average of critics ratings. Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Gordon's wife, whom he frequently cast in his productions, is in the film in a particularly memorable eye violence based role. Read more: Exclusive Interview: Jillian Gordon On Her Father Stuart And His New Autobiography.

Stuart Gordon's final film is third on this list, the black comedy thriller Stuck, with Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea. Far from the Lovecraft adaptations that Gordon is known for, in some respects, Stuck is based on a real-life story, where a nursing assistant in Texas hit an unhoused man, drove home, and left him embedded in her windshield in the garage. Talk about realistic horror; this is as real as it gets. The biting humor of the film scored well with critics giving the film a 73% average.

Dagon is adapted from two H.P. Lovecraft stories, a short story called Dagon and the novella The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The setting was transported to Spain, where the movie was filmed, and stars Ezra Godden, Francisco Rabal, and Raquel Meroño. Gordon got the strange and brooding atmosphere of Lovecraft's horror stories just right, and it manages to tell the story without stepping over the line from provocative to exploitative. The film comes in at 69% critical approval and remains a distinctive part of Gordon's filmography. Read more: Boundary-Pushing Partners: Dennis Paoli Remembers Stuart Gordon.

Castle Freak is not a straight adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft, but it is said that Gordon and Paoli were influenced by Lovecraft's story The Outsider while making the film. It is a direct-to-video movie made for Richard Band's Full Moon Entertainment. The deal was that Band required only "a castle and a freak," but otherwise, Gordon would have complete creative control of the film. It stars frequent Gordon collaborators Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Jessica Dollarhide, and Jonathan Fuller as the "freak."

Dolls, which was released in 1987, comes in next on the list at a 60% critical score. The film stars Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Ian Patrick Williams, and Carolyn Purdy-Gordon and was written by Ed Naha. It is about a group of people seeking shelter on a dark and stormy night and finding a mansion with an old couple, Gabriel and Hilary Hartwicke. Little do the visitors know, but the couple are magicians and toymakers who use the dolls to test the goodness in the hearts of their visitors. Those who fail the test die at the hands of the magical dolls. Read more: Exclusive: The Team Behind Lovecraft Shocker Suitable Flesh Spill Their Guts.

Based on the Edgar Allen Poe short story and set in Spain, The Pit and the Pendulum tells the story of Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, played by Lance Henrikson, who becomes enraptured by the beauty of a woman Maria, who objects to the cruelty of the Inquisition in public. In addition to Henrikson, the film stars Rona De Ricci, Jonathan Fuller, Jeffrey Combs, Frances Bay, and Oliver Reed and has an average 56% rating among critics.