Category: Halloween Tradition
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A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
Another strong entry in this horror franchise. This one sets itself apart by introducing new characters with surprising perspectives, and a new setting that heightens the tension. For those who haven’t seen the first two films, the series is set in a world in which aliens have landed on earth and have extremely acute hearing.…
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The Blob (1988)
The Blob is a 1988 remake of the 1950’s cheese fest of the same name. Except this time, the film is intense as hell. It is fast paced and brutal. The makeup and special effects work is awesome. There’s real tension and fear in this movie. If you’re into gruesome gore effects this is going…
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Bone Tomahawk
A western horror film. I’ve rarely seen a genre mashup work as well as this one does. It’s an impeccable western with great dialogue and authentic period detail. It’s also horrifying in exciting and disturbing ways. I really enjoyed this one. The movie opens with a couple of outlaws who slaughter a group of sleeping…
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The Deliverance
Based on a true story this film follows all the usual beats of the exorcism genre including the family in a new house, the bumps in the night, the big show down trying to cast the demon out of the family for good. It’s paint by numbers, except for the unique family dynamics that the…
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The Autopsy of Jane Doe
A father and son mortician team find more than they bargained for when the body of an unidentified woman shows up in their morgue. The more they try to unravel her mysteries the more danger they find themselves in. The film stars Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch as the father son duo who are challenged…
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Baghead
Starting out the month of scary movies with a little British film on Shudder called Baghead. A young woman inherits a pub from her estranged father after he dies under mysterious circumstances only to discover the pub has an unusual tenant residing in the creepy basement. The film has a really strong production design. The…
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Halloween Month 2024
Well here we are, another year of fear is upon us. Time to attempt to watch one scary movie per day during the month of October. This tradition gets harder every year. Work commitments, social obligations, and life events seem to conspire against this little tradition of mine. I’m going to do my utmost to…
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Psycho (1960)
Ending Halloween month strong with the big one. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Not the crappy remake. None of the crappy sequels. The original. The great movie. How does it hold up? Doe sit have the thrill it used to? Is it dated? Let’s find out. For those who don’t know, Psycho is a 1960 film directed…
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The Silence of the Lambs
It’s so much fun to watch good movies. This is a very good movie. It’s great as a movie. It’s also a great example of an unsettling and frightening film that lingers long after the credits roll. Released in 1990 and directed by Jonathan Demme, this film follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling, played by Jodie…
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The Babadook
Oh boy, what an absolutely terrifying movie. This one truly rattled me. It’s incredible filmmaking that can eek unease, dread, and terror out of even the most mundane moments. The film can be described in a number of ways all of which would be technically accurate. Amelia, played by Essie Davis, is a single mother…
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Black Christmas (all three versions)
Black Christmas is a 1974 classic slasher film that has been remade twice. These three movies could not be more different. They share a location and a title, and that’s about it. We’re going to compare all three in this old vs new vs… newer. We’ll take them each one at a time then do…
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Sinister
The setup is standard, and there are a few obvious jump scares, but the performances, the cinematography, and the sound design are stellar. It all adds up to a solidly scary movie. Ethan Hawke plays Ellison, a true crime writer who moves his family into a house where an entire family was killed in the…
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John Carpenter’s The Thing
A classic for a reason, this 1980’s horror film boasts some of the best and most gruesome practical effects in cinema. It also has a wonderfully tense atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion that feels oddly prescient. Not to mention an ending that will keep you thinking long after the movie is over. Kurt Russel stars…
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You’re Next
Are you in there mood for insane violence, pitch black comedy, excellent setup and payoff, truly chilly horror and a fantastic heroine? Then You’re Next is the movie for you. Released in 2011, You’re Next is a darkly comic take on the slasher genre. It follows a family that has gathered at a remote estate…
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Midsommar
Who’s ready to feel deeply disturbed and unsettled by an expert filmmaker and a truly fantastic performance from a young actress? Midsommar is a 2019 folk horror film written and directed by Ari Aster. This is only his second feature after the terrifically horrifying Hereditary. This film follows Dani, played by Florence Pugh, a young…
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Splice
Splice is a very engaging and fascinating little update on the Frankenstein story until it isn’t. More than almost any other movie I’ve seen this films ending feels like someone grabbed the wheel and jerked it hard steering the movie onto a different road entirely. The story concerns the genetic experiments being conducted by Clive…
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The Taking of Deborah Logan
For a found footage horror movie, this one isn’t bad. It has some delightful jump scares, some fun use of the format, and a great central performance. If you’re looking for a solid jolt or two, this is a good choice. Full disclosure, I don’t like found footage. I avoid it in most cases. It’s…
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Mandy
I’ve never done acid, but I imagine that this movie is what a bad trip is like. It uses wildly saturated colors, a bonkers Nicholas Cage performance and some deeply disturbing imagery to create a movie unlike any I’ve ever seen. The film the most dreamlike execution I’ve seen in a long time. We sort…
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The Lodge
If you’re looking for a movie to crawl under your skin and lodge itself in the darkest part of your brain, oh boy do I have the film for you. The Lodge is a psychological horror film, that is more interested in building dread than creating scares. There is little that can be said of…
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The Mist
Do you want to feel bad about humanity? Oh boy, do I have the film for you. The Mist is a genuinely scary film that explores humanity’s worst impulses when faced with extreme situations. It is tense, horrific and bleak with great performances and not so great visual effects. The Mist is a 2007 film…
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The Omen (original and Remake)
This is a fascinating original versus remake because the two films share almost identical scripts. The movies are almost word for word the same, yet due to bad direction and poor performances one is completely boring and the other is a thrilling masterpiece. We’re going to start with the original. Released in 1976, The Omen…
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The Shining
Incredible score. Steady camerawork. Jack Nicholson going insane. This movie has it all. The Shining is a legendary film directed by Stanley Kubrick and released in 1980. The movie has taken on a legend of its own with fans pulling a vast array of hidden meanings from every moment in this movie. However, putting all…
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Day of the Dead (1985)
Truly gruesome special effects, and some genuinely scary moments elevate this zombie film beyond some of its over the top acting and way too 80’s soundtrack. Confession time, I don’t like zombies. I think they’re boring as monsters. I think they’re totally lacking in scare factor. They just lumber around and get shot in the…
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Poltergeist
This is exactly the horror movie I needed right now. It is filled with creepy moments, good jolts of fear, and a real sense of heart and humor. Poltergeist is a great horror film to recommend to people who don’t like horror films. The film opens with an average family. It fills the early scenes…
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The Brood
Good Lord! I think I need to shower after watching this movie. It is not for the faint of heart. This movie is disgusting, violent, and horrifying. It is also riveting and absolutely one of the better horror films I’ve seen. The Brood is a 1979 film written and directed by David Cronenberg. It follows…
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The Evil Dead (1981)
What separates this low budget horror movie about a group of teens trapped in a cabin in the woods fighting off supernatural foes? The wild creative force of a director and his team giving their all. The Evil Dead was shot in 1981 by director Sam Raimi. He and his friends made this feature length…
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The Haunting of Bly Manor Part 3
The series ends after nine episodes in grand fashion. It isn’t as scary as I hoped it would be, but it is an excellent ghost story that carries a huge emotional impact. I have finished the series. It was a nine episode show, and that was perfect for this story. Anymore would have felt superfluous.…
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The Innocents (1961)
This movie freaked me out. I literally still have chills as I write this. It is a deeply chilling story that builds to one of the scariest climaxes I’ve seen. This movie is incredible. Based on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, the film follows Deborah Kerr as Ms. Giddens a governess who travels…
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The Haunting of Bly Manor Part 2
Episodes 4, 5, and 6 of the Haunting of Bly Manor are a solid second act that deepens the story and drops the scares almost entirely. Most films follow a three act structure. The second act is typically used to deepen the conflict and offer more complications. The second section of The Haunting of Bly…
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Before I Wake
What happens when a little boy’s nightmares come to life? With that simple premise, director Mike Flanagan explores themes of grief, loss, acceptance, and abuse. He also uses it to scare the crap out of his audience. Kate Bosworth and Thomas Jane play Jessie and Mark a couple looking to foster a child as a…
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The Haunting of Bly Manor
The brand new Netflix follow up to their wildly successful The Haunting of Hill House, is a creepy and deeply unsettling series that is definitely worth checking out. At least as far as I’ve seen. Back in 2018, Mike Flanagan and Netflix unleashed a seriously good adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting called The…
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The Fog (1980)
A classic ghost story setup, some creepy cinematography, a few wonderful moments and a very uneven delivery make this story from John Carpenter an enjoyable if incomplete horror movie. The movie opens with an old man telling a group of kids a ghost story around the campfire. This is a perfect setup. This whole movie…
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The Cabin in the Woods
A widely celebrated horror comedy that never worked for me. It’s too busy being arch and clever for its own good. It has it’s moments, but in the end it’s too nihilistic to be fully enjoyed. I know everyone seems to love this movie. I know it is widely praised for its self aware sense…
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The Blob
This is the epitome of the 1950’s monster movie. If that sounds like fun, this movie will be an absolute delight. It is cheesy and campy. It is silly and fun. It is a piece of pop culture history. Made in 1958, The Blob starts with Jane and Steve, played by Aneta Corseaut and Steve…
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The Invisible Man (2020)
Scary, insightful, and expertly made, with shocks, surprises, and twists, The Invisible Man is a fantastic horror movie. It takes the well worn premise and heads off into new and exciting territory. It’s a really invigorating horror movie. The film opens with a sequence of extended silence as Cecilia Kass, played by Elizabeth Moss, tries…
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Anaconda
This move answers a lot of questions no one ever asked… how over the top can an actor go before the director will try to stop him? How many fake looking snakes can one film hold? If none of the characters choices make any sense, will an audience still sit through a 90 minute movie?…
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The Girl on the Third Floor
Some gnarly practical effects, a woefully unlikable lead, a hazy explanation, and some genuinely creepy moments all add up to make another pretty good horror movie now streaming on Netflix. The story follows Don, played by Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, as he renovates an old house for him and his pregnant wife. However, as Don…
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Sweetheart
This movie is two thirds of a great horror movie. It has a great setup and a tremendous first act. It falls apart as more characters are introduced and the expansive narrative is flatten out in order to serve the conventions of the genre. The movie opens with Jenn, played by Kiersey Clemons, as she…
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Zombeavers
Possibly the worst movie that I have ever seen twice. Zombeavers is going for a raunchy sexy horror movie, but is so ineptly made that it can neither be described as sexy or horror. Zombeavers is a student film level of quality production that follows a trio of sorority sisters who escape finals by going…
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Fright Night (1985)
Two fabulous performances, great cinematography, and some wonderfully grotesque make up work make this 1980’s classic absolutely worth watching. Fright Night is a horror comedy that follows a teenage boy named Charlie, played by William Ragsdale, as he comes to believe that his new neighbor Jerry Dandridge, played by an incredible Chris Sarandon, is a…
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Happy Halloween
October is tomorrow! Since 2012, I have watched one scary movie every day during the month of October. This year will be no different. Starting tomorrow, I will be watching a horror movie everyday culminating on October 31st All Hallows Eve! The origins of this tradition date back to my film school days. I used…
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