31 Nights of Horror Top Tips
Today is the first of October, or as many of us like to think of it, the first of Halloween.
As such you may be rushing last minute to fill out your roster for 31 Night of Horror, a celebration of horror cinema by watching a scary film every night in the lead up to Halloween. You've got Halloween, of course, and The Exorcist, maybe IT or Shaun of the Dead, but what about something a little different?
So here are some of my last-minute, easy to stream, and less obvious picks for movie watching this Halloween season.
But before we get into my picks proper, it's important to note one particular great option.
SHUDDER
One easy way to take care of yourself for this season is to get yourself a free trial of Shudder, the internet's premiere horror streaming service. You can get it either direct from their website or as a channel on Amazon Prime Video, but keep in mind that you cannot access all films on the Amazon Channel add-on. You have a wide range of movies and even a few series and documentaries to choose from, including Sadako vs Kayako (J-horror throwdown that is a good fun watch), The Innkeepers (haunted hotel chills), Hellraiser (absolute essential), and enough others that you're covered for the whole month, and even longer if you decide to keep the service at £4.99/$4.99.
Now, on to my selections.
I am the Pretty Thing That Lives in The House
2016, 1h17m, dir. Oz Perkins
Availability: Netflix UK/US
A carefully measured chiller, this one. Ruth Wilson, who was recently in another haunted house picture The Little Stranger, plays Lily, a hospice nurse who takes a job caring for a reclusive authour only to be haunted by one of the authour's books. It's quiet, moody, and perfect for when you're home alone.
Train to Busan 2016, 1h59m, dir. Yeon Sang-ho Availability: Amazon Prime Video UK, Netflix US
Well, this we be a surprise to nobody, as at this point I am well known for my inability to shut up about this absolute ride of a zombie movie. A businessman disconnected from his young daughter's life agrees to take her to visit her mother in Busan when a zombie outbreak occurs and they along with the rest of the passengers on a high speed train have to survive. This movie is thrilling, fun, and has some of the most creative setpieces seen in a zombie movie for some time.
Just watch it before the American remake happens.
The American Scream 2012, 1h32m, dir. Michael Stephenson Availability: Amazon Prime Video UK/US
This one is a documentary but perfect for the lead-up to Halloween, following three men in an American town who are preparing their homemade haunted house attractions. It's really interesting, particularly one man who takes the activity to a year-long obsession. It's a celebration of Halloween as an event and as a fuel for people's passions. It's also such a foreign concept to me as well, as you just don't see this kind of thing here in England.
The Awakening 2011, 1h47m, dir. Nick Murphy Availability: Netflix UK
An underrated ghost story, this just has all of those classic period ghost story elements that I adore. Rebecca Hall plays a ghost hunter who investigates a school where a young boy has been seen. It's got a perfect dreary grey atmosphere, a great little cast, including Rebecca Hall and Imelda Staunton, and some moments that are darn spooky.
WNUF Halloween Special Availability: Amazon Prime Video US
2013, 1h23m, dir. Chris LaMartina, James Branscome, Shawn Jones, Lonnie Martin, Scott Maccubbin, Matthew Menter, Andy Schoeb
This one isn't available in the UK anymore, but is so Halloweeny I couldn't not mention. This film takes the form of a late night Halloween tv special on a local tv station in America in the 80s, complete with commercials for things such as a dentist offering cash for candy and local eateries and businesses. The main "story" is of a news team exploring a haunted house, and whilst I thought the ending fell a little flat, it's got such a cheesy Halloween vibe that it's still worth watching.
Veronica
2017, 1h46m, dir. Paco Plaza Availability: Netflix UK/US
Sure, there are dozens of films out there where a teenage girl plays with a ouija board and something bad happens as a result, but this from the director of [REC] (which you should also watch) is a cut above most of them. A very dark film where a girl has to protect her younger siblings from a dark presence, it has a genuine quality which just makes the helplessness of the siblings all the more scarier. Also it has a spooky nun, which are super in right now.
Under The Shadow 2016, 1h24m, dir. Babak Anvari Availability: Netflix UK/US
A monster that most of us won't be familiar with; the Middle Eastern Djinn, is the subject of this truly spooky film. A mother and daughter living in Tehran in the 1980s become more and more isolated as her husband is away on military service and and the other residents of their apartment building are fleeing as the bombing continues. The creature that begins stalking them could just be a figment of the mother's increasingly more stressed mind, but too many strange things begin to happen and it gets pretty scary.
Tragedy Girls 2017, 1h38m, dir. Tyler MacIntyre Availability: Hulu US
Another non UK one, but I love this movie just too much. This is the movie that Scream 4 wanted to be; a clever, funny, and gory commentary on online fame. Two BFF true crime bloggers, played by the excellent Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp, who kidnap a serial killer in order to orchestrate a murder spree of their own design so that they can gain fame by reporting on it. It's crazy and loads of good fun.
Hush 2016, 1h27m, dir. Mike Flanagan Availability: Netflix UK/US
This and also haunted mirror flick Oculus will be good ones to watch before director Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House mini series hits Netflix on October 12th. Co-written by and starring Kate Siegel as a deaf authour who lives a secluded life in the woods she must survive when a masked psychopath singles her out as a potential victim. The element of the main character being deaf really ramps up the tension in certain scenes as we hear things that she can't and also gives a different angle on the home invasion subgenre. The sound design especially is unsurprisingly great and I just wish it could have been released in cinemas.
So those are some of my hot picks to check out this Halloween season. Turn off all the lights, get some treats, and enjoy.
Happy Watching.