Features Horror Movie Favorite for this Holiday Season

     Spooky season is officially underway. 

     The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are becoming a perfect amount of crisp for stepping on, and friend groups are arranging dates for pumpkin patches and picking apples. 

     As with jack-o-lanterns and haunted houses, another staple of October is the societal fascination with horror movies. If you find yourself scrolling endlessly through Netflix, try giving some of these movies a shot. 

     Movies listed are in no particular order.

Silent Hill (2006)

    The first movie I’d recommend is Silent Hill. This movie is based on the critically acclaimed video game series of the same name that was published by Konami in 1999. 

    Movie adaptations of video games (and often, vice versa) often get a bad reputation. They’re seen as cash grabs, dispassionate, and rely heavily on the viewer’s prior nostalgia of the intellectual property. The argument can be made that Silent Hill checks some of these boxes.That being said, these don’t necessarily detract from the fun and enjoyment you get from watching this film. 

     The story follows a mother’s journey to solve answers surrounding her daughter’s night terrors and sleepwalking, where she  will scream the name of a town she’s never been to before, “Silent Hill”. 

     Elements from the first 3 video games are taken into the movie with a majority coming from the first, which may come off as sloppy to dedicated fans of the series. 

     But the soundtrack is genuinely beautiful, often coming from the original source material, and the set design and atmosphere are truly awe inspiring. 

     It’s a fun horror movie that I make sure to watch every Halloween.

Cube (1997)

     The next film is Cube. Released in 1997 and directed by science fiction fanatic Vincenzo Natali, Cube follows a group of strangers that wake up in a mysterious place with no recollection of how they got there.

     The cube that the movie is named after is actually a tesseract, a fourth dimensional extension of a cube, wherein every side of the cube leads to another path. Our group must discover the proper path to exit the tesseract and reclaim their freedom. But it won’t be as easy as it sounds; many of the paths open to the group lead into rooms that are sure to kill any unfortunate soul that may wander in.   

     One of my favorite aspects of the movie was the personification of the tesseract. 

     As the movie goes on, the role of a villain is never explicitly stated. 

     As a result, the faceless tesseract becomes a more and more foreboding presence, and every time we think we’ve come closer to understanding it, Cube subverts our expectations.

Vile (2011)

     A horror movie that I have quite literally never heard a single person talk about is Vile. 

     Released in 2011 and formerly streaming on Netflix, Vile is a poignant torture-porn that definitely raises some eyebrows and questions. The opening scene shows a man’s chest being surgically exposed and then dosed in salt. 

     Imagery in the film really only becomes bleaker. 

     The premise is a little long winded;  it’s established that the organic hormones  the human body naturally produces whenever it experiences pain are more effective (and thus more profitable) than their synthetic equivalent. 

     The problem then arises that these hormones are much harder to come by and harvest. 

     As a result, a shadow corporation has been enlisted to solve this very issue. We meet our group of unsuspecting victims in a meadow early on where we discover one of them is expecting a child.  

     Later, they become captured and brought to an undisclosed location where they are greeted with unfamiliar faces that seem to be in the same situation. 

     It is explained to our group and the strangers that they have been strapped with hormone extracting devices. They are tasked with the goal of harming each other enough to fill their respective devices. 

     Should they succeed, they earn their freedom. Should 22 hours elapsed, the devices are automated to deliver a toxin to their bodies and kill them. What transpires next is nothing less than the human will to endure at all costs. 

     It was crushing to watch the lengths that these humans had to endure in order to regain control of their lives.

     

Final Destination 2 (2003)

Another movie I enjoy the premise of is the Final Destination series.

     Final Destination surrounds a cast of teenagers who avoid  death, often through visions, quick wit or dumb luck. 

     As a result,  death seeks to even the score and execute the survivors in the order in which they would have passed had the event taken place as intended. 

     As the series goes on, several of the mechanics get mildly convoluted for the sake of a fun narrative, and I feel that the second installment, Final Destination 2, had the best balance of plot and fun. 

     Events and characters of the first movie are referenced or return for this film, adding to the deeper lore surrounding Death’s mechanisms. 

     It’s definitely a series I’ve binged watched 3 or 4 times, however, so whether you can get your hands on the second installment or any of the other 4, it’s sure to be a great addition to your Halloween movie nights.

Coraline (2009)

     My favorite horror movie of just about all time is Coraline. 

     Released in 2009 and showing none of its  age, Coraline is a coming of age story that follows the life of Coraline Jones. 

     The latest resident to the Pink Palace, Coraline is a very headstrong and stubborn child who’s not very happy about  picking up her life from Michigan and moving to Oregon. 

     After meeting her new neighbors and even befriending a wandering cat, Coraline is thrust into an alternate world that’s just like hers, except it was made with Coraline’s desires and aspirations in mind. 

     But things are not all as they seem, and Coraline must go on a journey to save her parents and discover the truth of what’s really going on behind the walls of the Pink Palace. 

     Visually, the movie is a cinematic marvel. 

     Colors are vibrant and color language is used heavily to communicate information when needed. The use of stop motion is tight and extremely well executed. The music pairs very well with settings and tone of the scenes as well. 

     The plot is what really kills the game. Do yourself a favor; after watching this movie (perhaps 5 times, back to back), watch YouTube Coraline theory videos and allow yourself to freely descend down that rabbit hole.

Saw II (2005)

     I’d be doing you a  disservice if I didn’t mention the Saw franchise. 

     The premise is actually very simple; a cancer patient who survived his suicide attempt captures people who take their lives for granted and places them in excruciating challenges of self mutilation to see just how far they’re willing to go in order to stay alive. 

     Suicidal tendencies, drug addictions, and insurance fraud are just some of the ways you can find yourself at the mercy of John Kramer. 

     Kramer does in fact play “fair,” all of his traps are winnable if you’re willing to push yourself to the extreme. Again, this is another gorey fun time. 

     The first and second installments offer the most compelling plots and trap mechanics. 

     From movie 3 and onward, Saw begins to take itself far too seriously and invest in a plot many viewers didn’t ask for or even notice was currently developing. 

Nine Dead (2010)

     Another fun movie is Nine Dead. 

     Another good-bad movie that peaked it’s head in on Netflix in 2013, Nine Dead begins with the capture of 9 individuals that presume each other to all be strangers. 

     The captor explains the terms of the “game”; the captured all have unknown relationships in some grander way to the captor. 

     Between the 9 of them, they must discover their connections and explain how they all correlate. 

     It is also explained that the captor will re-enter the room every 10 minutes, and should the party fail to explain their relationship, a single participant will be killed.      

     This then becomes a game of whodunit, trying to piece together the events  that led up to everyone getting captured. 

     Slower and not nearly as jarring as some of these other films on this list, Nine Dead is a good horror movie if you’d still like to be able to go to bed.

IT (1990)

     An absolute classic of horror is Stephen King’s IT. 

     The plot begins with the death of Georgie Denbrough, brother to central character William Denbrough. 

     The death of George incites his group of misfit friends, who call themselves “The Loser’s Club”, to begin an investigation of the mysterious disappearances of children that occurs in their town of Derry, Main every 27 years. 

     As they unravel more and more about the monster that terrorizes their town, the monster, who manifests as a clown under the pseudonym Pennywise, begins to scare the children in an attempt to discourage their investigation. 

     Feeding off the fears of children, Pennywise will stalk his prey and discover where their deepest fears come from and use those against them. 

     As a fan of Tim Curry, I’m more partial to recommend the 1990’s adaptation. 

     While the 2017 and 2019 movies look neater and visually more intense, the tone and nuance of the 1990’s version still has a fond place in my heart. 

The Babadook (2014)

     The Babadook  is another extremely compelling story. 

     We are introduced to Amelia Vannick, a single mother of an overactive and emotionally complex son, Samuel. Amelia is a very stressed parent that struggles with being overworked, as well as being an asset for her awkward son’s development. 

     As the movie transpires, Amelia begins to see and hear things that are fantastical and often not there. She begins to suspect she’s fallen victim to a stalker or  intruder when she finds a book titled “The Babadook” on her front porch. The book depicts pretty horrifying imagery and suggests that it’s presence is something Amelia will not be able to escape. 

     The subtlety in this movie is great, the atmosphere is very pronounced. The movie truly uses it’s time wisely in order to deeply explore themes such as depression, loss and perseverance.

     The Shining needs no introduction. Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s book is often referred to as one of the greatest horror films of all time. 

     Surrounding the recent relocation of the Torrance family, the family finds themselves in a foreboding hotel that pushes their sense of reality. 

Kubrick’s film is often attributed with having many conspiracy theories and hidden messages weaved into the plot. 

     As well, Doctor Sleep, a sequel to King’s novel, will be getting a movie adaptation November 8, 2019, so it’s a perfect time to get acquainted with the story before then.

About Post Author

Eric Perez

See author's posts