Holy Terrors: 90s Chanukah Bloodbath

Holy Terrors: 90s Chanukah Bloodbath

Written by Hear Us Scream’s Resident Jew-Goth Celia 

Holy Terrors is a monthly column highlighting the Jewish talent behind some of our favorite horror films. 

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This year has flown by, HENCE it’s already Chanukah season again. How? Couldn’t tell ya, but it is. Get your menorahs. 

Anyway, last year‘s Holy Terrors - Chanukah, I explored eight of Jewish Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis’ finest horror roles, but I wanted to do something a little different this year. 

When it comes to style and self-expression, I gear VERY much towards 80s and 90s aesthetics (it’s the nostalgia nut in me; what can I say?), but given my stronger life connection to the 90s (I’m a 90s baby, yada yada), I felt it crucial to do a Jewy 90s horror watchlist for each of the eight nights of Chanukah. So, here goes: 

🕯 For Night 1: MISERY (1990)

You gotta kick Chanukah off on a high note and if that ain’t Misery, I don’t know what is, buster! 

Starring my angel Kathy Bates and my boy James Caan—a prolific Jewish actor whom we lost earlier in the year and who also ruined The G-dfather by dying WAYYYYY too prematurely in the film—this Stephen King adaptation is the perfect mix of grit, horror, and humor, which is pretty perfect for Chanukah if you ask me. I watched this film right after my first leg surgery to cheer myself up, and it’s still very near and dear to my heart (and legs) and, LEG’S be honest, it’s just fucking good. 

SEE/READ ALSO: King’s book, on which the film is based, for some over the top shit you’ll never forget ‘til you’re in the grave. Baruch Hashem.

🕯For Night 2: SCREAM 2 (1997)

Scream 2 for night 2! Why not, right? For Chanukah’s sequel night, check out one of the best slasher sequels EVER. If you’ve never seen it before, you must…and if you have seen it before, watch it again (you know, for the sake of Chanukah and Judaism). 

Scream 2, which I often consider my favorite of the franchise, features two of the coolest horror Jews ever: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Liev Schreiber. It’s one of those 90s chillers that reminds me of childhood and its soundtrack and score are, perhaps, the best in the series. 

NOTE: Apparently, David Arquette is Jewish too? How did I not know this? How did my mother not know this? And why has no one ever told me? 

🕯For Night 3: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997)

Since we’re on the subject of the wonderful Sarah Michelle Gellar, let’s watch I Know What You Did Last Summer for night 3. It’s a quintessential horror of the decade, and something about it just screams comfort. Given how Chanukah is the ultimate cozy holiday, this film will pair perfectly with your gelt and latkes. Also significant to note is Type O Negative’s killer cover of Summer Breeze, which opens the film and gets you right in the mood for some dramatic 90s kills. ALSO significant to note is how cute the killer’s rubber rain boots are. Amen. 

🕯For Night 4: LOST HIGHWAY (1997)

Let’s get weird. 

My favorite director David Lynch made a masterpiece with this one. Although I’m admittedly always biased in his favor (I have referred to every one of his works as a masterpiece), I can’t help but view Lost Highway as one of the most resonant films I’ve ever seen. 

Starring Bill Pullman and one of my favorite Jewish actors, Patricia Arquette, this is a must-see for die-hard fans like myself of the surreal and ethereal. 

NOTE: This film features a scene with Robert Blake and a camcorder that has haunted my dreams since my first viewing of the film in high school. Be-fucking-ware. 

🕯For Night 5: MISTER FROST (1990)

Somewhere lost in the ether is a podcast my mother and I recorded about a film called Mister Frost. I still have the film on VHS somewhere. 

Starring Jeff Goldblum—whom my mom refers to as The Jewish Fly™️—this inexplicable hot-mess-of-a-film follows Goldblum as a serial killer with extra devilish intentions. While I cannot in good faith call this a “good film,” I find it so unsettling that I feel it belongs on this list.

CAUTION: I unintentionally made this film sound way better than it is. I stand by the film remaining on the list, but it will adversely affect your Chanukah celebration.

🕯For Night 6: THE X-FILES (1998)

Bendy as far as genre goes (Speaking of “bendy,” remember those Betty Spaghetty dolls from the late 90s? They, too, were released in ‘98), I’d call The X-Files 1,000 percent horror-adjacent. A looong time fan of the television show as well as the films, this film is actually one of the first I recall seeing in theaters. On top of that, I was recently ELATED to find out that the beloved Special Agent Fox Mulder—David Duchovny—is Jewish in real life. 
My typical jokiness aside, there’s something so beautiful about feeling seen, and I see myself now in Mulder more than I ever did before (and that’s saying something). Truly, given Chanukah’s status as the “Festival of Lights,” this film’s warmth and hopefulness encapsulates the electric, fiery sensation of feeling at home in the bizarre.

🕯For Night 7: HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER (1998)

I rewatched this gem last year on my birthday and now consider it one of my favorite films in the Halloween franchise. 

Starring the magnificent Jamie Lee Curtis as our dear Laurie Strode, the film also features badass JEWperstar Adam Arkin as the final girl’s love interest. So much Jew power in this one. I love to see it. 

NOTE: While I know the reviews on H20 are divided, I find it to be an incredible standout in the series as well as a palatable film for both horror fans and NON-horror fans alike. My father, who (bless him) is not terribly comfortable with the genre, loves this one, which makes me love it even more. 

NOTE 2: Josh Hartnett is NOT Jewish. I thought all Joshes were Jewish. Perhaps, this is because I had two Joshes in my Hebrew school class. Nevertheless, not all Joshes are Jewish.

🕯For Night 8: BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992)

We started on a high note, so let’s end on one! For the final night of our candle-lit celebration, let’s get vampiric. With an all-star cast like Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Cary Elwes, and Jewish horror icon Winona Ryder (Ryder deserves the world), you can’t go wrong with ‘92’s Dracula. 

The ending of Chanukah is always a bit sad—I suppose endings in general are, aren’t they?—though this bloody 90s classic will leave you thrilled and energized. And who doesn’t love vampires? 

So, that’s it from me this season! Happy watching and happy Chanukah, babies. Stay safe. xx