October coming back around always means I get time to gush about my favorite genre, HORROR! I mean Horror gets a lot of heat and hate. If Horror were a child, it would be that strange misunderstood middle child who only wears black, but has a secret collection of Squishmellows hidden under their bed.
I personally, cannot get enough thrills and chills in my life and find something to like about almost every horror movie I see. The only type I don't really get into is possession movies. I mean, don't come for me, but I will not be joining you for The Exorcist or a Paranormal Activity marathon. Not my bag.
Let's start with the ones that are worth the hype:
Scream (1996) -total classic, brought the Slasher genre back to life.
Midsommar (2019) -obey the rules of the people, you stay alive. #ultimatebreakupmovie
The Devil's Backbone (2001) -Spanish ghost story by Guillermo del Toro. Creepy, and mildly heartbreaking.
Tourist Trap (1979) -corny killer uses mannequins to scare a group of teens at a roadside museum.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) -an Iranian movie that is anything but your average vampire story.
Now allow me to clue you in on some of the absolute best, in my opinion, underrated Horror movies available for you to watch, right now!
Trick r Treat (2007) is great for someone just getting into the genre. It has bite sized stories that all tie together, and each story is filled with a different popular trope from the genre. I dare you not to fall in love with Sam.
Streaming on HBO Max
Scary Out There, like Trick r Treat is an anthology. So plenty of bite sized stories to give you some thrills and chills this Halloween.
Train to Busan (2016) is by far one of the most moving films I have seen in the last couple of years, and it is a zombie movie! I am actually ashamed of how long I slept on watching this film. Korea found a new way to do zombies, while also showing us a moving story about father and daughter just trying to make it to Busan.
Streaming on Shudder and Peacock
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland is another mind-blowing take on the zombie phenomena that showcases how to write an emotional story about survival. Life during the Civil War is bad enough all around, but now the dead have begun to rise from the battlefields and walk again.
Drag Me To Hell (2009) leaves you with the reminder to always choose a job that allows you to do the right thing. Sometimes doing the right thing is the only way to keep the curses away.
Streaming and Available on Demand on Showtime
Swallow by Sam Schill gives us another lesson in the idea that we should be careful to meddle in things we do not fully understand. For Mildred, her life is about to go from bad to unbearable.
Hell Fest (2018) snuck out under the radar, which is a shame because it can be a lot of fun. Unless you are not into going to haunted amusements... Or even if you are... The point is, in this movie you get to watch a bunch of overzealous yet ambivalent park goers being stalked by a killer.
Streaming on Netflix
All the Pretty Things by Emily Arsenault doesn't let us forget that sometimes the most wonderful places, like amusement parks, hide a much sinister truth behind it's cotton candy façade.
Coherence (2013) I have seen this movie more than three times, all the way through, and am still always left trying to remember how it ends. I mean the whole thing is a crazy mind mess. But it is also BRILLIANT. What starts as a simple dinner party with friends on the night of a comet passing through orbit, becomes a night of multiple realities and a drove of questions. This is very low on things like gore, but very high on "what just happened?"
Streaming on Prime Video
Game Changer by Neal Shusterman "All it takes is one hit on the football field, and suddenly Ash's life doesn't look quite the way he remembers it. Impossible though it seems, he's been hit into another dimension--and keeps on bouncing through worlds that are almost-but-not-really his own."
Ready or Not (2019) You just got married to the man of your dreams, it should be the happiest night of your life. Somethings just are not that easy. In this case, instead of getting a head start on her honeymoon, our bride finds her self playing a game of hide and seek she CANNOT lose.
While this title is only available for digital rental, the library does have a couple of copies! Click here and put it on hold today.
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan asks just how far, just how many twisted games would you play for fame and fortune? When does it stop being fun?
The Faculty (1998) was the ultimate experience when it came out. It was filled with a cast of 90's teen idols like Josh Hartnett, Usher, Clea Duvall, and Frodo himself, Elijah Wood. Add to that a high school with problems straight out of The Bodysnatchers, you have yourself a fun ride. And an insane soundtrack.
Streaming on Paramount+ and Pluto TV
Monstrous Affections is another anthology to give you mini chills, but each story revolves around a different type of monster in our lives.
"Fifteen top voices in speculative fiction explore the intersection of fear and love in a haunting, at times hilarious, darkly imaginative volume."
The Strangers (2008) is all about the tension. You know at the beginning of the movie, this will not end well for our couple, the question is, how and when will it happen in the night? I saw this in theaters and could not get over just how genuinely creepy it is to be able to see the killers at all times in the background. Sleep with the lights on after.
Streaming on Netflix
"It's been almost a year since Makani Young came to live with her grandmother and she's still adjusting to her new life in rural Nebraska. Then, one by one, students at her high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair.
As the body count rises and the terror grows closer, can Makani survive the killer's twisted plan?"
The Final Girls (2015) is about a young girl who just misses her mother. After a freak occurrence at a showing of her mother's most famous starring role, the girl is thrown into the very movie she is there to see and the arms of her young mother. But she is also thrown into the horror the characters are there to suffer in the movie. Can she be the final girl in her own life?
Streaming on Hulu
The Vanishing Girl by Josephine Ruby brings us to a world of Scooby Doo like we have never seen before. Daphne and Velma have fallen out, they run with different crowds, but when a mutual friend goes missing they must fall back into their old routine to get to the bottom of it all.
Triangle (2009) trapped on a boat in the Bermuda Triangle is not the way to enjoy a vacation. Add a machete happy killer, and a day that never ends, you will be begging to get back to the grind of work and school. Triangle keeps you guessing at every turn, and when you finally learn who the killer is, it really starts to get strange.
Streaming on Peacock, tubi, Pluto TV, imdbTV
"John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.
He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.
He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.
Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could."
If that isn't enough to satisfy your desire for all things spooky, then look forward to these upcoming horror movie releases:
There's Someone Inside Your House -September 23, 2021 (Streaming now on Netflix, based on the book!)
Halloween Kills -October 15, 2021
Last Night in Soho -October 29, 2021
Nightmare Alley -December 17, 2021
Scream 5 -January 14, 2022
Spooky dreams!
Comentarios