Written By: Jase Marsiglia
As we venture into the second half of "IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS’" examination of the ’90s (and its fifth film in the series overall), it remains important to remember that the horror genre has always reflected its times. Yes, these movies are great for creating a Letterboxd grocery list of films to seek out for the first time, or to purchase if you’re collecting, but hardcore horror fans are keenly aware that the best of these films are the ones that hold a mirror to society and force it to take a good, long look at itself.
As much as we enjoyed the previous "In Search of Darkness" installment that examined the years 1990–1994, it left us slightly underwhelmed. The early ’90s felt like the end of the party. The excessive, all-or-nothing decadence of the ’80s was obsolete, a new decade had dawned, and with it… not much else. It was a reminder, time and again, that the kids of the ’80s had to “grow up” in a sense, and while there were plenty of great horror films during that period, many simply had nothing to say.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR "In Search of Darkness 1995–1999" BELOW
For better or worse, that is absolutely not the case in the latter half of the decade, as "In Search of Darkness 1995–1999: Journey Back into Iconic ’90s Horror" plainly demonstrates. Another massive cadre of horror talent and journalists sits down to pick apart the films that ushered us out of the ’90s, along with the significant cultural milestones that seeped into the genre. Rue Morgue editor and sociologist Andrea Subissati rightfully holds the most court in this chapter, lending her encyclopedic insight alongside "In Search of Darkness" stalwarts John Carpenter, Ernest Dickerson, Don Mancini, Phil Nobile Jr., David Gregory, Mike Flanagan, Mick Garris, and Akela Cooper. Fresh voices include series newcomers Rusty Cundieff, C. Robert Cargill, Dee Snider, Steven Weber, Michael Rosenbaum, William Malone, and Marco Beltrami, among many, many others.
The latter half of the ’90s exploded with bangers like "Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "The Frighteners", "Se7en", "Tales from the Hood", and "Dellamorte Dellamore". These films struck a spark by reigniting what worked so well in the ’80s, while the tail end of the decade slid into grittier, meaner, real-world terrors tied to the looming new millennium ("End of Days"), the hazards of the internet boom (Dee Snider’s "Strangeland"), increased awareness of sexual assault on campuses ("The Rage: Carrie 2"), and growing social isolation driven by state-of-the-art technology ("Ring", "The Blair Witch Project", "Virus"). And looming over it all were dark real-world milestones like Heaven’s Gate, the Columbine massacre, and the O.J. Simpson trial, each influencing the genre in their own unsettling ways.
Series writer and director David A. Weiner continues to steer "In Search of Darkness" away from being a simple talking-heads list show, shaping it instead into a narrative that not only celebrates the films but interrogates where the genre was headed and what it was trying to say.
There are engrossing segments on the success of "Scream" and how teen slashers suddenly roared back to life, albeit with a polished, pristine, dare I say “pretty” aesthetic. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson is christened “the John Hughes of horror,” and for good reason, especially when contrasted with the grimy slashers of the ’70s and ’80s.
The film digs into how self-referential humor became so sharp that the meta subgenre eventually cannibalized itself into parody, before mutating into the torture-porn era of the early 2000s. We get candid discussions about Weinstein-era interference at Miramax and Dimension, studios misreading the market (“kids don’t like horror movies” is a good laugh), unmade projects that could have been classics, the marriage of heavy metal soundtracks with horror scores, the mainstream breakthrough of found footage via "The Blair Witch Project", how “I see dead people” entered everyday language, a long-overdue defense of Mick Garris and Steven Weber’s 1997 "The Shining" miniseries, and a hilarious anecdote involving Doug Bradley, in full Pinhead regalia, driving through Los Angeles with Gary Tunnicliffe and a baboon.
The documentary is packed to the gills, as its predecessors were, and it delivered that little extra punch we found ourselves missing from the previous installment. Which brings us to our final point. We could watch these documentaries forever, but it’s time to go backward.
FINAL WORDS
In Search of Darkness 1995 to 1999 Journey Back into Iconic 90s Horror (2025)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This two-part deep dive into the ’90s was excellent and serves as a necessary reminder that the decade was far from barren for horror. But if the series is to sustain itself, it needs to turn its gaze to the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. These were eras of immense cultural upheaval, marked by racial tensions, Vietnam, Watergate, the Manson murders, the Atomic Age, the Red Scare, and countless other milestones that pushed the genre into uncharted and groundbreaking territory. The number of people with firsthand experience of those times is dwindling fast. "In Search of Darkness" needs to grab its shovel, flip on the miner’s helmet, and dig backward into some extremely fertile soil. There’s gold in them there hills.
Time: 383 minutes. United Kingdom. Not Rated. CreatorVC.
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