5 classic horror movies Ghanaians used to watch in the 90’s

In the 90s, the Ghanaian and Nigerian movie industry witnessed a huge bloom and many independent producers took it upon themselves to shoot low budget movies and sell them to the consumers in Video Home Systems (VHS) cassettes via marketers across Ghana and Nigeria.

To that effect, Opera Square and Rex Cinema in Accra became the distribution and viewing havens of these VHS films.

Amongst the lot, were some classic horror films that many Ghanaians watched in the 90’s and www.ghanaweb.com takes a look at some of these films that made waves:


Diabolo





The popular film released in 1992 is a Ghanaian classic movie that tells a story of a man who has the power to transform into a serpent. He uses this power to sexually assault and kill women, mostly prostitutes. This role was played by Bob Smith Jnr, now referred to as Diabolo Man or Snake Man in the acting circles.

Other actors in the film were, Rev. Eddie Coffie, Eunice Banini and Prince Yawson known as “Waakye”.

The film has also been studied as an example of a Pentecostal influence in Ghanaian film.


Karishika





The popular 1996 Nigerian horror film, which thrilled Ghanaians depicted a girl named; “Karishika” known as the ‘Queen of Darkness’ who was sent by ‘Lucifer’ to the world to come and kill, destroy and lure people with lust order to increase the population in hell.

The special effects of the film make “Karishika” one of the scariest Nollywood movies of all time.


Blood Money




Blood Money is a classic 1997 Nigerian horror movie where the lead character in this riveting tale, desperate to get back to his feet, enters the world of rituals and blood money after he loses his job as a banker. Some of the actors featured in the film are; Zack Orji, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Francis Agu and Sam Dede.



Last Burial





The Last Burial is a year 2000 Nigerian classic horror film that tells the story of a man who had financial difficulties, as a result of his predicament, he was introduced to an occult group by his friends, as a result of his introduction, he had to make some human sacrifices.

For years the man enjoyed good life, then it was time for him to die. When he died his burial created a lot of problems. The film was based on the real-life happenings surrounding the death of a man named Ogbuefi Nnamani.


Witches





The 1998 horror movie ‘Witches’ starred a once favourite on-screen couple Zack Orji and Liz Benson known as “Princess” in the film. The movie depicts Princess being born and initiated into witchcraft at a very tender age.

When she falls in love with Desmond who is played by Zack Orji, she gets to hear from the Witch Council that she’s to remain celibate all her life. She then goes on with marrying him and they decide to punish her.