Horror movie recommendations for the season
It’s that time of year again: the stores that have been empty all year suddenly have storefronts, and the dollar stores have rolled out their Christmas decorations, so it must be Halloween. If you’re looking for a way to decompress amidst the law school stress, here are some seasonal spooks to turn on at night (or in the middle of the day, with all the lights on).
If You Want To Take Up The Entire Weekend
Some horror movies are basically legends, and many of them get that way by continually releasing more and more sequels.
My favourite example is the Friday the 13th movie franchise. The first is an all-time classic with teens, a summer camp, a killer that slowly picks them off one by one, and a plot twist ending. The sequels are campy slasher flicks where you know the bad guy, you know what he’s capable of (everything), what can kill him (nothing), and that he’ll invariably come back in the sequel to finish off the singular survivor from the previous film. My personal favourite of these films is the 10th, Jason X, where the serial killer Jason Vorhees is cryogenically frozen aboard a spaceship.
Preceding Friday the 13th by two years is another classic, Halloween. An escaped mental patient killer returns to his hometown on the 15th anniversary of when he murdered his parents. Jamie Lee Curtis’ debut in this film is a prime example of the archetypical “Final Girl.” We have remakes and sequels and two or three retconned timelines in this franchise, so spending a weekend watching all 13 of these movies would be a fun festive activity.
A more modern franchise takes us away from the world of campy 80s slashers and into the world of the paranormal. Producers of The Conjuring film franchise have made it Marvel Cinematic Universe-esque, with currently three different franchises in the universe. The Conjuring, which explores the world of a couple who were paranormal investigators, spawned two sequels. Then, there’s the Annabelle trilogy, which tells the tale of the creation, existence, and entrapment of a haunted vintage doll. Finally, The Nun tells the story of a demon who takes the appearance of a nun, and its recent sequel The Nun II, which I won’t spoil, brings the total up to eight movies so far. They are less gory than the previous franchises, focusing more on jump scares and suspense, so these movies may not be for the faint of heart.
If You Don’t Want to be THAT Scared
Gore and slashers and paranormal aren’t for everyone. Lawyers can see a lot in their day— sometimes they just want to curl up with a good, aesthetic film that fits the Halloween vibe without being scary. And that’s okay!
Halloweentown has to be one of the greatest Disney Channel Original Movies ever and the best Halloween film they’ve released. It tells the classic tale of a family where the children are witches (and a warlock), but they just haven’t come into their powers yet. Marnie, the eldest, bravest, and most magical; Dylan, the smart, cynical one; and Sophie, the young, chaotic one, allow every viewer to see themselves in the dynamic and find someone to root for. It spawned three sequels, even if everyone chooses to ignore the last one where they recast the lead.
Then, on the edgier side is Beetlejuice, the story of a couple who dies immediately when the movie opens and then go on to haunt their house with the help of the otherworldly entity of Beetlejuice. The most terrifying things in this movie are the weird puppet sandworms and the implications of Beetlejuice wanting to marry an extremely young Winona Rider. This movie has so many small details that it has significant rewatch potential, and, while no sequels exist, there is a Broadway adaptation of it that pays great respect to the original.
Of the movies in this section, Monster House by far scared me the worst. The eerie early 3D animation, the fact that it’s mostly children dying, and a whole house being possessed scared me far more than any slasher ever could. This movie follows three children, none of whom were particularly easy to root for—even when I was as insufferable as they are—and leaves you guessing what will happen next. A love story, a happy ending, and character growth allow this movie to be feel-good while at the same time giving you a scary aesthetic that will fulfill the Halloween fun you are looking for.
Saving the best non-scary movie for last, the live action Scooby-Doo tops us off. It has a star-studded cast, the background of everyone already knowing and loving these characters, and a unique story. I encourage everyone, regardless of what kind of movie you are looking for, to watch the live action Scooby-Doo movies immediately. Everyone watched these movies as a child, or they should have. Regardless of if you’ve seen it or not, everyone will feel the nostalgia. Scooby-Doo is the perfect suspenseful mystery that’s also light and funny and will give the perfect amount of Halloween vibes to any night.
If You Want to Laugh While You’re Scared
The black comedy horror movie is something of an art. It mixes the light tones we find in comedy with the heavy materials we see in horror, like gore, violence, and death, in order to make light of and draw attention to serious issues. These types of movies are not for everyone.Some find them distasteful, and lots of movies that try to claim this title are.
Heathers, however, is one that I think does this genre justice. It depicts a high school popular girl and her new-to-town love interest murdering three of their classmates and covering it up as suicides. In doing so, this movie draws attention to things such as the sexualization of teenage girls, the pressures that adults and high school can put on children, and the glorification of suicide in modern media. All of these things are tied together with comedy as the characters come to terms with what is happening. Heathers is not for the faint of heart and does deal with issues like sexual assault, but it is a movie that I would recommend to many.
The Cabin in the Woods is basically a modern classic horror comedy. It attempts to subvert and draw attention to the ridiculous nature of horror movies and their tropes from the decades preceding it. Starring the likes of Chris Hemsworth, this movie twists and turns in places the audience least expects. While this film features many deaths, the audience does laugh at the ridiculousness of what is happening and at the humour that is sometimes used. If you are going to see one horror comedy, it should be this one.
Finally, and most recently, Totally Killer tells the story of a girl who time travels back in time to when her mother’s friends were brutally murdered by a masked man. The humour in this horror comedy primarily comes from the main character interacting with younger versions of her parents and attempting to hide her background. This movie, having received fairly good overall reviews, seems to be a modern gem of this genre and will have people of all ages (who are above 18) terrified and laughing.
Modern Movies to See
Many of the movies on this list are a decade or more old. But, there are some good ones from recent memory. For starters, Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Us, and Nope have been groundbreaking for modern horror. Get Out focuses on a cult-like society kidnapping young black men, with the main character as the next potential victim. It embraces tropes that bring Invasion of the Body Snatchers into a modern, advanced society. Us, however, focuses on government conspiracies and blends science fiction with the paranormal. Focusing on an entire family, Jordan Peele embraces themes of family and loyalty above the binds of those wanting to keep us down. Finally, Nope is an alien feature that relies primarily on suspense. In my opinion it is the weakest of the three, as it relies on the intertwining of a vast array of characters and suspense in order to captivate its audience.
The Menu was released late last year and was my favourite film of 2022. At points verging into humour, it tells the tale of what happens when upper-class people go to a luxury restaurant experience. It relies on suspense and sound, with dazzling food imagery. The film starts slow, but as the film continues, the terror becomes more frequent until you’re in a constant state of “what’s going to happen next?” The ensemble cast carries the movie with amazing chemistry and excellent timing. I would highly recommend it.
And, of course, there continue to be up-and-coming horror movies. Five Nights at Freddy’s, based on the games of the same name, starring Josh Hutcherson as he is terrorized by Chuck E. Cheese-esque animatronics, is coming out later this month. And, similar to other holiday-themed horror movies, Thanksgiving, which tells the tale of a slasher that kills people around American Thanksgiving, comes out next month. Next year, you can expect more too: Night Swim, which features a mysterious creature in someone’s pool, and Imaginary, which showcases what happens when a woman returns to her childhood home and realizes her imaginary friend has never left.
Regardless of what type of Halloween movies you prefer, I hope you sit down with a mug of hot chocolate and Halloween candy and put on whatever fits the vibe of your night.
