In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994 and 1995-1999 are now on Shudder, and here's why horror fans should give them a chance

The 1990s still gets overlooked as an important decade for the horror genre. The 1970s gave us The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and giallo. The 1980s was the heyday of the slasher craze, with major franchises like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and countless knockoffs, slashing up the box office. Yet, the 90s had its share of important horror movies, including Scream, Candyman, and several others, and it also saw a resurgence of independent movies and the rise of film festivals.

In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994 and In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999 make the case that the decade that gave us Bill Clinton playing the sax on The Arsenio Hall Show also birthed plenty of gnarly horror movies. While each documentary is incredibly long, clocking in at over six hours each, the documentaries warrant attention from horror fans, due the extensive coverage they give a decade that's too often overlooked.

Like the previous In Search of Darkness documentaries, which covered the 1980s, the 90s versions analyze one year at time and important and lesser-known movies from the decade. While films like Scream and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me have already been analyzed quite extensively, the documentaries cover several lesser-known movies. For instance, after watching the docs, I now plan to view the indie films I Was a Teenage Serial Killer, a no- budget revenge feature directed by Sarah Jacobson that appears to have a frenzied punk rock energy to it, or maybe I'll check out the creature feature The Suckling, which deals with the heavy topic of abortion. Had I not watched these docs, I would have never heard of these movies.

Additionally, even some of the well-known franchise films are given new perspective. For instance, it's fascinating to listen to Doug Bradley discuss Hellraiser III and what it was like to shoot the film in the U.S., without Clive Barker's direct involvement. I also appreciated the deep dives into some of the later Phantasm sequels and interviews with A. Michael Baldwin, who played Mike in several of the movies. There's a heck of a lot of information to absorb, especially when, taken collectively, the two documentaries are over 12 hours.

Further, the documentaries do a great job analyzing the various trends that rose throughout the decade, including the popularity of the home video market, J-horror's explosion late in the decade, convention culture, and plenty more. There's a historical and sociological quality to the In Search of Darkness documentaries that make them stand out. It adds a lot of heft and credibility.

While I know the runtime will likely turn some viewers away, here's what I say to them. Watch the documentaries in chunks, like I did. It makes the runtime feel far less imposing. The structure of these docs makes that possible. After they finish a year, they pause and then analyze a horror trend. That's when I tended to take a break, and it's a good end point before picking back up again.

In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994 and In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999 are two more great entries by director David A. Weiner. Like his previous work, these docs offer insightful commentary from horror bigwigs like Kane Hodder, Doug Bradley, Mike Flanagan, and Heather Langenkamp, a deep dive year by year, and a thoughtful analysis of major 90s horror trends.

The decade that gave us skate punk and Troll dolls also gave us some banger genre movies, and these documentaries give the time period the attention that it deserves.

Check out both documentaries on Shudder.

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