Halloween is here! And this spooky season I've been finding so much spooky stuff it's scary! It's so much I couldn't reasonably give full reviews of all of it, so here are some mini-reviews of some of the spooky stuff I've been enjoying in the last month or so. Look for Part Two soon!
It's appropriate to start with the latest entry concerning the hijinks of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. I thought it had a strong start with a timely message of how people's bullying and general inhumanity make things difficult for all of us... and then it just kinda becomes a Halloween movie, but one that I think wraps up at least one of the many forking paths of this... "series" feels wrong, so let's say Halloween movies are a sub-genre unto themselves. Bonus: I saw this in a theater at a weekday matinee, and thus received a private screening!
Hellraiser (2022)
I love Hellraiser movies. I love them so much, I've seen all, like, ten sequels, even if I wish I could forget some of them (see some reviews here). But with director David Bruckner (The Night House, The Ritual), and Jaime Clayton (who I loved in Sense8) as Pinhead, I figured it would be cool. And it was! Sure, there's some kind of plot about addiction and stuff, but I was in it for the Cenobites. And they do not disappoint. I was glued to the screen every time they appeared, whether out of pleasure or pain I can't say, although since this is Clive Barker's world, it must be both. But seriously the designs of the Cenobites are well worth checking out Hulu's latest continuation of a beloved franchise (see also their amazing Prey, which continued the Predator franchise).
Glorious
Shudder is well worth its relatively modest subscription fee for any horror fan, and Glorious is a great example why. In a dingy rest stop bathroom a man meets God, er, well, a god, who has some unusual demands. Oh, and the god is voiced by J. K. Simmons. If you ever wondered if you can do all the philosophical depth and existential terror of cosmic horror in a bathroom, well, you should check out this delightfully bizarre film.
My Heart is a Chainsaw
The world of literary horror has been abuzz for awhile about the work of Stephen Graham Jones, so I figured I'd finally check him out (between my low-key fool's errand to read all of Stephen King's novels, anyway). This was a lot of fun for anyone who even kinda likes slasher movies! I wrote a whole review here: Slashers and Human Experience: My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones.
The Watcher
This new Netflix show is inspired (loosely) on a real mystery of creepy anonymous letters showing up to a house after a family moves in. It's Ryan Murphy at his Ryan Murphiest: big personalities, big drama, and some fun WTF? moments. Although Murphy's obviously no stranger to horror (with all those American Horror Story shows), this one is more of a "thriller," which is I guess normie speak for "horror that probably isn't supernatural." But it would be a good one to watch with a friend or loved one who's not a huge horror fan. Or maybe it would be a good entry into the genre? In any case, it's super entertaining. Check it out.
Suspiria (1977)
I'm a big enough horror fan that I should probably be embarrassed I just saw Suspiria last week for the first time. But whatever. Better late than never. There's a lot to love about this bizarre film: the cinematography, Dario Argento's direction, the creepy witch story... but I think my favorite part is the unnerving, synthastic score from the Italian prog rock band Goblin. So good!
Bulbbul
Recently Netflix has been increasing its international content available here in the US (with South Korea's Squid Game doing so well, it's easy to see why). I've been enjoying movies and TV from India lately, and Netflix's Indian horror offerings do not disappoint. Case in point: Bulbbul, directed by Anvita Dutt. In Bengal in the late 19th century, there's plenty of period drama under the specter of British colonialism, but there are also literal enough hauntings by a Demon Woman (chudail), who kills men in the forest (usually men who act cruelly toward women). This film goes to some dark places (I might mention a content warning about sexual assault, not to mention plenty of murder), but it makes for some gnarly feminist horror. Don't expect any cheery Bollywood dance numbers here.
Barbarian
This one has been all the buzz among horror fans as of late, and I totally get it. A woman (Georgina Campbell) arrives at an AirBNB to find another guest already there (and he's played by Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgard, just in case you're not already creeped out). Somehow there are no hotel rooms in ... (checks notes) Detroit? But if that strains your suspension of disbelief, just wait... The cliché about Barbarian is that the less you know going in the better. And that's true. All I will say are two things: first, it's the kind of intense horror movie that will leave you thinking for a long time, and second, I've never been so glad to not have a basement.
Old
I just saw M. Night Shyamalan's latest film Old a few hours ago... or was it years? Say what you want about Shyamalan, he knows how to make a fun movie that makes you think. I don't always 100% love his movies, but I liked this one more than I thought I might with its creepy central mystery that makes you think all sorts of thoughts about aging, death, and capitalist exploitation. I couldn't help but think of the early Buddhist texts on aging and death as two central components of suffering...
Village of the Damned (1960)
I maybe saw this when I was a kid (it was already a classic by then), but I figured it would be a good one to revisit. Based on a book by John Wyndham (an author I've been meaning to check out), a mysterious occurrence in a quaint English village makes all the women pregnant at the same time. As if this isn't creepy enough, once the kids are born they age quickly and are... well, just look at the picture above. Creepy! Not only is this a classic in the Creepy Kid subgenre of horror, it might make you think about whether we can really understand the next generation and how they might grow up too fast and end up living in a world we can't imagine. Or maybe those kids are just creepy. Who knows?
Here's some spooky stuff I may get to in Part Two...
The Munsters
Ghost Stories
Rose Red
Rosemary’s Baby
The Beach House
The Conjuring 2
The Gate
The Body
Metamorphosis
Grindhouse: Planet Terror
Army of the Dead
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
The Faculty
Hauntings in Progress…
Here's some stuff I've started, but may try to finish before I get to Part Two...
Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Betaal
Typewriter
Folklore
Bite Size Horror
Uncanny Annie
The Midnight Club
Books of Blood, Vol. 1 by Clive Barker
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
And my plans for Halloween night itself? I may have to go back to one of my all-time favorites: the original Hellraiser (1987). Or maybe I need some of Freddy Krueger's bad jokes? I may also watch another one of the Indian horror offerings on Netflix (maybe Stree or Roohi). Or maybe it will be time to dip into all those Halloween sequels I've never seen.
More coming soon in Part Two!
In the meantime, let me know if you have any recommendations for me!
cool recommendations. Definitely check them!
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