For The Record

It’s officially time to be scared. October is made for pumpkin patches, corn mazes, jack o lanterns, candy, and of course, scaring yourself with some good movies! I have a sizable movie collection (Over 300 titles), and the biggest genre I own is horror. I handpicked my favorite horror movies from my collection to share with you here, in the hopes that some of these recommendations will make it to your watchlist for the month. I’ll give you my top fifteen, and I’ll highlight fifteen honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

–Devil (2010) (4K Blu-ray): This is a movie I watched as a kid and was really enthralled by at the time. It is produced by M Night Shyamalan, one of my favorite directors. He is known for his twisty horror/thriller movies, and the movies he merely produces on are no different. The film centers on a small group of five strangers who get trapped in an elevator; Soon they realize one of them is the Devil himself. This movie is a fantastic gateway horror movie for younger people just getting into horror, because it’s only rated PG-13, yet it has some very effective scares with minimal gore, alongside an intriguing concept.

–Creepshow (1982) (Special Edition Blu-ray): This movie is a fun horror comedy directed by George A. Romero, a horror legend known for his Night of the Living Dead franchise. The script for this was written by Stephen King, the king of horror novels (The Shining, Pet Semetary, Carrie, It, etc). But here, King is writing original stuff for the screen, not based on any of his books. The movie is an anthology that includes five short stories. These stories range from goofy fun in the segment The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill, to lightly chilling, such as the short Something to Tide You Over. None of the shorts are meant to be super scary and it’s all meant to be light-hearted fun, which is suggested by the movie’s tagline: “The Most Fun You’ll Ever Have BEING SCARED!” Also, there are some awesome creature effects from the great Tom Savini, known for his work on movies like Night of the Living Dead and From Dusk Till Dawn.

–Creepshow 2 (1987) (Blu-ray): This movie isn’t as popular as the first one, but I still enjoy it quite a bit! The movie shows Tom Savini return for effects (A good choice), along with the addition of modern horror legend Greg Nicotero, who is known for his make-up on The Walking Dead series. This movie had a smaller budget, and only consists of 3 shorts this go around. The stand-out by far is the middle segment, The Raft. This movie continues the lighthearted tone of the first film mostly in the last segment, The Hitchhiker. But The Raft feels genuinely scary at times with some neat special effects. Every time I see a lake raft, I think of this short now…it sticks with me. Other than the middle segment, the other two segments aren’t very good, but this movie is worth a watch for deep-cut horror fans.

–Damien: The Omen 2 (1978) (Omen Franchise Blu-ray Boxset): As far as horror sequels go, there’s bound to be a lot of shitty ones you have to wade through before you find one that’s worth your time. Damien: The Omen 2 doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Don’t get me wrong, is it as good as the first film? No. But you can tell that the filmmakers really put some elbow grease into making a compelling sequel that doesn’t just ride the coattails of the original classic. There are awesome kills (one stand-out that involves an elevator), as well as a great performance by the boy that plays Damien for most of the movie, Jonathan Scott-Taylor. This movie sets up a mean and cunning Damien that I’m sad to say was never pursued well by the writers in the sequels after this. Give this movie a watch if you’re a fan of the original!

–Evil Dead 2 (1987) (4K Blu-ray): I’ll start off by saying I’m not a big fan of the original Evil Dead. I enjoy Sam Raimi as a director, but some of his early stuff turns me away. Evil Dead 2, however, is what Evil Dead 1 should’ve been. Bruce Campbell is a delight in this movie, and his comedic performance shines over everything. This movie is one of the best horror comedies to me, and I can see why it spawned more sequels like Army of Darkness. This movie is my favorite Evil Dead film. It mixes cheesy yet interesting special effects with melodramatic performances and fantastic slap-stick humor, which all blends into a bloody delightful stew. If you like the newer Evil Dead stuff, I don’t know if you’ll like this. Lately the franchise is more horror focused, and not so much comedy focused, but to me this 1987 installment is the best of the series.

–The First Omen (2024) (Blu-ray): Above I said that the sequels don’t live up to the potential set up by the first two movies in this franchise, but this prequel is the exception. It takes place before Damien is born, and man is it a fascinating look into that story. The main actress in this does really good in her role, and I’d love to see her in more horror movies. But the standout to me in this movie is the creepy imagery. There are scenes that with unnerve you, scenes that will make you uncomfortable (especially if you’re a woman), and scenes that will make you wonder why this film wasn’t more successful. Maybe it’s because The Omen isn’t a big enough horror name today to spark general movie goer’s interests, but trust me, if you like horror, you’ll like this movie. Since it’s a prequel to the first movie, you don’t need to watch anything else to check this one out, but seeing the first movie might boost your enjoyment of this new one. It is a return to form for the Omen, and I’d love to see a sequel to this movie.

–Midsommar (2019) (Blu-ray): The director of this movie, Ari Aster, is one of the best modern art-house film-makers, known for the great performances he pulls out his cast and the shocking subject matter his movies focus on. This movie is about Dani (played by Florence Pugh) who travels with a group of friends to a Swedish summer festival to get her mind off of a recent death in her family. But as she spends more time in this remote Swedish community, she realizes that she might not be able to escape death, not even in Sweden. This movie is destined to be a horror classic, and I highly recommend watching this one if you haven’t. But beware, it isn’t for the faint of heart.

–The Monkey (2025) (4K Blu-ray): This is the only movie from 2025 on this list. The production company Neon has been one of my personal favorite production companies for a while, and they’re only getting better as time goes on. They’re heralding many of the new great horror directors, and their biggest jewel in that crown is Osgood Perkins. He is known for a movie that I have further down on my list, but The Monkey is his follow-up film. It is based on a Stephen King short story that centers around a killer toy monkey, equipped with a pair of cymbals. Final Destination had a comeback this year with Bloodlines, and I think that The Monkey sits alongside that as a spiritual cousin to that franchise. There are crazy deaths that are seemingly “natural”, and you get to see the series of events that leads up to them. The Monkey is also a comedy though, and the comedy of the second half of the film shines; The first half has some comedy that feels forced, but the second half makes up for it with some big laughs that feel more fitting.

–The Lost Boys (1987) (4K Blu-ray): This movie is what made vampires, for me. Joel Schumacher crafts a vision of these undead punks that is bad ass and exciting in an edgy 80’s atmosphere. It does all that while still landing some solid jokes too. The performances in this are great, especially Kiefer Sutherland and Edward Herrmann. Also, this has, hands down, one of the best horror soundtracks of all time. The songs People Are Strange, I Still Believe, and Cry Little Sister MAKE this movie a classic, simply with their additions. But the fact that they’re surrounded by a great cast, cool vampire make-up, and the edgy atmosphere push this into the realm of “greatest-of-all-time” vampire movies.

–Smile (2022) (4K Blu-ray Steelbook): Smile is a movie that was originally made to stream on the Paramount Plus app, but was upgraded to a theatrical run when Paramount realized they had a worthy film on their hands. It certainly deserved that respect. It stars Kevin Bacon’s daughter Sosie Bacon as a psychiatrist who witnesses a traumatic suicide. After witnessing this death, she begins to experience strange events and feels like someone or something is messing with her life in dangerous ways. This movie reminds me of other modern classics like It Follows, in the way that this evil attaches itself to someone and doesn’t let go. I love the lore of this world, and it has one of the better horror movie endings of the 2020’s so far. This is Parker Finn’s directorial debut and it is STRONG for a debut! I’m so excited to see what come’s next from him.

–Stir of Echoes (1999) (4K Blu-ray Steelbook): Now for Sosie’s father’s (Kevin Bacon’s) best horror movie (Yes better than Friday the 13th, and no Tremors is not a horror movie). Stir of Echoes is directed by David Koepp who is best known for adapting the novel Jurassic Park into a worthy screenplay for Spielberg to direct. This movie is based on a book of the same name, written by Richard Matheson (Who also wrote I Am Legend, Duel, and The Shrinking Man). The movie follows a blue-collar man (Kevin Bacon) who is hypnotized by a friend, thinking it would be something to joke about afterward. But he soon realizes that some doors in your mind are better left closed. Kevin Bacon does good as always in this, and I especially like his performances during this time period, around the early 2000’s. This movie has a more lowkey plot because there isn’t a lot of grandiose action or crazy special effects; It’s just a sharp thriller with a good cast and an interesting concept. This movie is underrated, and has a good soundtrack to boot.

–Stopmotion (2023) (Blu-ray): Many people fear claymation, and this is a movie that draws on those fears and more. It follows a stop-motion animator who is struggling to move past the loss of her controlling mother. She chooses to work some of her emotions out in an original film, but as her emotions overwhelm her, her film starts to bleed into reality. This movie is a Shudder original film, and it’s one of their better ones that I’ve seen. It has cool practical effects, but also plays with the concept in interesting ways. I’d recommend this one if you’re scared of stop-motion animation. The writer/director of the movie, Robert Morgan, is an award winning stop-motion animator. His short films are typically horror-centric, and I think this movie had brewed in his mind for a long time, so I’m happy it got made!

–The Wailing (2016) (4K Blu-ray): The Wailing is a Korean supernatural thriller that is eerie as hell. I don’t want to give anything away on this one, so I’ll give the official blurb: “A foreigner’s mysterious appearance in a quiet, rural village causes suspicion among the locals – suspicion which quickly turns to hysteria as the townspeople begin killing each other in brutal outbursts for seemingly no reason. As the investigating officer watches his daughter fall under the same savage spell, he agrees to consult a shaman for answers – unknowingly escalating the situation into something far more dangerous.” Whenever I think of this one, I have striking imagery pop back into my mind. It’s a beautiful movie at times, with wonderful nature shots. But it perfectly blends those shots with the unsettling and the disturbing. There is a pair of red eyes from this movie that haunts my dreams…ugh, what a freaky film. Watch this if you like Korean horror (Or buy the 4K, it looks fantastic).

–The Amityville Horror (1979) (4K Blu-ray): The Amityville Horror is a classic that I didn’t watch until this year, but I had to include it on this list somewhere, even if only in the honorable mentions. It’s based on a true story that took place in Amityville, and was later sensationalized in a book. There are tons of remakes and documentaries, but make sure you check out the 1979 movie directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Rosenberg is slowly becoming one of my favorite directors for movies like Cool Hand Luke and Voyage of the Damned, but this is one of his only horror movies. I think he has a knack for it! Basically, this is a haunted house story, but it incorporates unique elements that I have yet to see in other haunted house movies. This movie isn’t incredible, which is why I held it to honorable mentions, but it certainly is worth a watch. Just like The Wailing, there is a pair of terrifying eyes that haunt me from this movie too, and you’ll know them when you see them.

–The Blob (1988) (4K Blu-ray Steelbook): This movie is so damn underrated, and one of the best creature features of the 80’s in fact. It would be my sixteenth spot of the list below, but fifteen sounded better for the title, so here it is in honorable mentions. Since I love this one so much, I’m going to talk about it more than the other honorable mentions. It follows a town’s downfall as a monstrous pink blob threatens all life in the area. This concept sounds like a cheesy 50’s sci fi movie, and that’s probably because it’s a remake of one. But this movie elevates the concept, and uses AWESOME effects for the time that not only feel real, but feel squirm-inducing at times. The discomfort comes from the director’s (Chuck Russel) choice to not hold back on gore. This movie isn’t scared to kill people, in brutal fashion. And not just the characters you want to die. Everyone is vulnerable in this movie, and I love that.

This movie is also smart for an 80’s creature feature, often having the characters make genuinely clever decisions instead of doing the most obvious thing. In one particular scene, these characters are stuck in an area with the blob, and all they have is a bazooka. On my first watch I thought “Oh they’re surely going to try to shoot the unstoppable blob with the bazooka, how stupid”, but then they blast their way out of the room instead. Subtle differences like that make this movie feel wittier than the average 80’s horror flick. The movie also has a great cast of horror icons, my favorite either being Shawnee Smith from the Saw franchise, or Jeffrey DeMunn from The Green Mile and The Mist. Kevin Dillon does good as the leading young man in the film, and the chemistry between him and Shawnee Smith is really believable and enjoyable.

The introduction scene of the blob in the hospital room is fantastic and shocked me upon first viewing. I was thinking, “Oh this movie’s a horror movie.” The backed-up sink scene is really good too, and one of the more memorable kills of the movie. The ending where the Blob is underground reminds me of Tremors (1990) a little bit as the ground shakes, except you get Kevin Dillon’s smart-ass commentary instead of Kevin Bacon’s. This movie also sets up a very interesting sequel with the priest at the end, and it’s something I’d sure love to see brought to life. I highly recommend this one if you like 80’s movies like The Thing, or The Fly.

Keep in mind that you can buy any of the editions above on websites like Amazon, Gruv, Shout Factory, DiabolikDVD, etc. Grow your own collection if you want!

My Favorite Fifteen of My Collection:

When it comes to my collection, I have most of the stuff I love, but not everything, so this list isn’t necessarily my top fifteen horror movies, but it shares many of the movies that would be on that list. Each of these is great in their own way, and highly rewatchable. Unlike the honorable mentions, these are ranked from in order from worst to best. I’ll do my best to avoid major spoilers! They were very hard to rank, but as of now this order feels right to me. For each of these I’ll spend a little more time talking about each one, so without further ado, here is my top fifteen:

#15: Saw (2004) and Saw II (2005) (Blu-ray boxset)

The Saw movies are always fun, even if they get convoluted at times. I think the first three are the best of the bunch, with the ones that come after being dumb body horror fun. Look, I’m assuming the people reading this have seen Saw, but for grandma, if you’re reading this, these movies are part of a sub-genre called “torture porn” (hang in there, grandma), which is itself a subgenre of body horror. These kinds of movies are focused on killing people slowly and painfully. The Saw movies follow the serial killer Jigsaw. He captures people who he thinks need correcting, and makes them play “games” to survive. The games typically involve harming yourself in order to free yourself before you die. Through this process, the victims hopefully learn their lesson and are set on the right path. Saw is known for two things: Its traps and its twists. I think that the twists of the first two movies are the best, and I don’t really know which is better. I also think that the traps in the first two are the most iconic of the franchise. I love the first two movies equally, so I’m putting them both in the number 15 spot, tied.

I grew up with these movies (as crazy as that is to say, they might be a little much for a boy, haha), and I feel like Jigsaw is my generation’s defining slasher more than any other. Some may argue Ghostface, but that’s more of a 90’s icon to me. Some may argue that Art the Clown is my generation’s slasher, but that’s too recent. I think the biggest cultural icon of horror for us when we were growing up was Jigsaw. And you know what? I’m not disappointed in my generation’s slasher! Some may argue that Jigsaw isn’t a slasher, because he doesn’t kill them himself. Okay, so imagine if I tied a bandolier full of sticks of dynamite to your legs, and forced you to light the fuse or I’ll decapitate you, and you light the fuse thinking you’ll at least have a chance to live, who is the murderer? That isn’t suicide, it was the only option!

Tobin Bell is fantastic as this character, and if you hear him speak in real life about the character it is extremely clear that he has a sharp idea of what John Kramer is and isn’t. He has his whole philosophy and backstory worked out clearly in his head, and if a director or writer tries to go against that, he will speak up. Even if they didn’t do something wrong he is always trying to improve the scenes and add new ideas on set. He is what makes Jigsaw perfect.

But the director James Wan is great too. This was his directorial debut, and it’s incredibly stylized for a debut. As much as I’ve seen memes about the silly sped-up editing of these movies (where someone is in a trap and the camera is flashing 20 different angles of the trap, as well as speeding the video up by 200 percent), I really enjoy those editing choices. They make these movies feel distinctly thrilling. Also, the writer of this film, Leigh Whannell is also fantastic. Also he acts in the film, as one of the main characters that wakes up in the room with the dead body. He is a pretty good actor, and has good comedic timing in this. He came up with classic lines such as “I want to play a game” and “game over”…okay maybe those don’t take a genius to come up with. BUT, he did conceptualize half of the stuff you see on screen, alongside Wan.

James Wan and Leigh Whannell two met in film school and hit it off! They both hail from Australia but have made some of the most iconic American horror films. They both were heavily involved in the Saw franchise, and then went on to co-create the Insidious franchise, which is good in it’s own right! Whannell also acts in those, and is even funnier in that franchise. I love them as a duo, but sadly they split after that franchise, and went their own ways. But they both rock on their own too. Wan has gone on to helm the Conjuring franchise, as well as M3GAN. Whannell has gone on to direct The Invisible Man remake from 2020, a really good thriller, as well as an awesome movie from 2018, Upgrade.

So, bringing Tobin Bell, James Wan, and Leigh Whannell together to drive a horror slasher? It’s a no brainer in retrospect. But these movies also have an exemplary horror soundtrack that stands out amongst the other iconic slasher OST’s. Every time I hear it, I want to re-watch the Saw movies. Also, as a last note on this franchise, I found Saw X to be the best entry in the franchise since the original trilogy. I enjoy the twists and traps in that movie, as well as the return of Tobin Bell. I’m excited for Saw 11, but it seems to be delayed at the moment. Anyway, check these movies out if you haven’t. Also, if you’re a fan of the torture porn subgenre, check out Hostel part 1 and 2, they’re cool!

#14: PG: Psycho Goreman (2020) (Blu-ray Steelbook)

I’m a huge fan of horror comedies, and always have been. I think the Scary Movie franchise was what hooked me as a younger kid, but I’m happy to see new ones that I love. This movie is a Shudder Original directed by Steven Kostanski, who is best known for his movie The Void (2016). Psycho Goreman is a movie that is different from anything I’ve seen. It feels like a skit from a comedy-sketch show that has been extended to feature length. The name itself is a parody of the title ET: Extraterrestrial, which has a similar basic premise to this movie: A kid finds an alien and befriends it.

Except this movie follows two kids, a brother and a sister. The siblings soon find out that the alien, who ends up being named Psycho Goreman, isn’t friendly whatsoever. In fact, the hulking humanoid has made a few intergalactic enemies that intend to hunt him down and kill him. Despite Psycho Goreman being unruly, the kids soon realize they can control the hunky alien. This plot is reminiscent of Terminator 2, where a kid gets their own killing machine to control, and it excels at making that situation funny. Similar to Terminator 2, one of the best things about this movie is the special effects. Steve Kostanski is big on practical effects, and if you’re a fan of Power Rangers-esque practical effect, you’re gonna’ love the effects in this one.

I love to see creativity in my comedies, and this movie certainly brings the creativity. I’m just as sad as everyone else that comedies aren’t a huge part of the theatre-going experience these days. Sure, there are superhero movies, there are action movies, and there are sci-fi/fantasy movies that all include comedy, but you don’t necessarily come to those movies to laugh. This, however, is a movie I come to for laughs, as well as the wonderful special effects. The prosthetics and costumes in this movie are over the top and goofy at times, but it adds perfectly to the absurd tone of the movie.

I really enjoy the cast of the movie, and I think the kids do a good job at carrying the movie despite being relatively unknown. Psycho Goreman himself, played by Matthew Ninaber, is really compelling in this movie. Psycho Goreman is believably intimidating, as well as funny when he needs to be. The cast all works well together, and make the comedy work as well as it does. I’d recommend this one to people that like cheesy, gory fun. As I was looking through the cast online, I found that Chris Nash, the director of the next movie on my list, has a small cameo in this movie, so that’s cool! I guess that leads me smoothly into the next film:

#13: In a Violent Nature (2024) (Blu-ray)

This is my personal favorite slasher of the twenties. I know we are only halfway through the decade, but I love this movie! I know we are only at #13, but I love the entire top fifteen, so get ready to hear that I love everything. This movie is another Shudder Original, and it’s one of their best for sure. This is different from other slashers in the fact that it follows the killer instead of the victims. The camera follows Johnny as he goes on a killing spree in the woods, and that’s it. There are long shots of Johnny trailing through the woods, and shots of him just watching the victims from a far. This movie takes it’s time with those moments, and for that, some may call it “slow”, which it is. But I don’t mind seeing Johnny’s thought process, albeit slow. At least it’s something interesting and unique in a genre that rarely is known for innovation.

You might think that all of the tension is lost because you know when the killer is going to strike every time, but that wasn’t the case for me. I found that the tension builds even higher because you see him eying down his victim in real time and approaching them slowly with menacing intent. I love some of the kills in this too! It has a killer yoga scene that I think will become iconic as this franchise grows in popularity. The look of Johnny is fantastic. He dawns an old firefighter helmet that looks similar to a deep sea diving helmet in some ways; It looks awesome. He kills with a variety of tools in the movie, but I’d say his primary one is a large hook on a chain, which firefighters use for moving timber. He is all firefighter themed and I enjoy the aesthetic.

This movie makes you interested in Johnny’s life before he was the killer he is now, and one thing that is conspicuously left out of his backstory in this film is the identity and whereabouts of Johnny’s mother, so I’m very excited to see if they delve into her character in the sequel. And yes, there is going to be a sequel! This film was IFC Films’ second highest grossing horror movie at the box office ever, only behind Late Night with the Devil, another good Shudder Original. So they definitely intend to make this a franchise.

I’m so happy to see the birth of a slasher I actually love in real time, because I’m personally not a big fan of the Terrifier movies, and that franchise is the last major one to join pop culture. I can’t tell you why I don’t like them exactly, I enjoy much gorier films, but those movies in particular don’t have anything that draws me in. So, other than that franchise, there is Maxine/Pearl from the X (2022) movies, and John Carver from Thanksgiving (2023). I enjoy both Pearl and Thanksgiving quite a bit as movies. In fact, if there was a sixteenth spot on my honorable mentions, Thanksgiving would be there. But neither of those killers are ones I truly love (Although Mia Goth is outstanding as Pearl). Those are the major original killers of the 20’s so far, other than perhaps the smaller ones like the Heart Eyes slasher, but those aren’t icons to me. So, in short, I’m happy to see the birth of an original one that I really connect with.

The effects in this movie are really really good. The kills look gnarly and real in the best ways. I love the sound design of crunchy bones, and the fluidity with which Johnny kills. He moves like a force of nature, unstoppable and inevitable, smooth and without resistance. I love the ending to the movie, but I sadly can’t go into detail because I don’t want to include heavy spoilers in this article. Let’s just say I like how it chooses to end it differently than a lot of slashers would, with the writer/director Chris Nash once again showing that he wants to build a franchise that is here to do things differently. Check this one out on Shudder, or buy it on Blu-ray!

#12: Trick ‘r Treat (2007) (4K Blu-ray)

Trick ‘r Treat is the best direct-to-video movie of all time. This movie is a festive treat for Halloween time, and it encapsulates the season really well. It is written and directed by Michael Dougherty in his directorial debut. Michael Dougherty isn’t exactly the most consistent director. After Trick ‘r Treat he directed the 2015 movie, Krampus, which is somewhat fun, but nothing to write home about. Then he directed Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), which although visually stunning, is a very weak entry in that franchise. And that’s it. A very weird filmography thus far.

But Trick ‘r Treat is in fact a horror classic, straight from the mind of Dougherty. It’s a horror anthology, featuring multiple intertwining stories that all take place on Halloween night. Each story is tied together by a cameo of Sam, this movie’s biggest pop-culture addition. You probably don’t know who I’m talking about, but he is in the picture above, on the cover of the Blu-ray. He is a small child/entity in a home-made Halloween costume that consists of an orange onesie and a large burlap mask with buttons for eyes. Sam has become an icon outside of the movie at this point, and most people that have seen Sam merchandise at Spirit Halloween haven’t seen the movie he is from, and that should change!

This movie has really good special effects, especially for a straight to DVD movie budget; Everything looks nice and polished. I’m really not sure what made Warner Bros and Legendary NOT give this a theatrical release. Would it have done well? I really can’t say. I could see it bombing, and I could see it being a great success. It’s really a 50/50 with this film. Maybe that’s why. Why could I see it bombing? Well, it doesn’t have many recognizable actors in it, besides Dylan Baker, Brian Cox, Leslie Bibb, and Anna Paquin. None of those are massive draws on their own, and they all play fairly small roles in the film, especially since it is an anthology movie. Funny enough, it does feature a young Richard Harmon, who is slowly making his way up in the horror community. He was just in the new Final Destination: Bloodlines movie this year, giving a memorable performance, and a memorable death. He was also in the franchise Grave Encounters, which I know has a cult following. I like Harmon and I’m curious to see what he does next.

Other than that, it is an original movie, not based on any pre-existing franchise or IP, which means it doesn’t have any built in audience. I don’t buy that this is what held the executives at Warner Bros back from releasing this theatrically, because original horror movies in particular fare better than most genres, especially in the early 2000’s. Maybe it is the fact that parts of this movie are funny, and they thought that the tone didn’t fit the popular horror movies of the time like Rob Zombie’s Halloween, 30 Days of Night, and Paranormal Activity. My best guess as to why the movie didn’t make it to theatres is that Warner Bros didn’t have faith that Dougherty would turn in a worthy project. After all, this was his feature debut (although their worries may have been warranted considering his track record since).

But I believe Dougherty was made to make this film. One of the special features on my Blu-ray features Dougherty talking about his inspiration for the movie, and I can undeniably say that the magic of this movie comes from him. His birthday has been October 28th since the day he was born, and its stuck to that, funny enough. The festive holiday being so close to his birthday during childhood nurtured a deep affinity for the traditions and history of Halloween. He uses that knowledge, love, and passion for the night to craft an amusing thrill-ride. This is not a movie that will terrify you (at least I hope not). It is fun, and doesn’t hold back on bloody horror shocks, but it isn’t out to scare. It’s motive seems to be to swaddle the viewer in a soft fall-themed blanket. This movie is more about the appreciation and perpetuation of horror and and the holiday spirit.

The biggest drawback to this film, is that the stories within are formulaic for the most part. But not in the typical way. Every story does the opposite of what its leading you to expect, or the opposite of what horror cliches have established as the norm. This is good and fun, and doesn’t exactly matter on rewatch, but on first watch you catch on pretty quick that there is going to be a twist in each short. So, it’s not exactly the SHARPEST writing, but it is good writing. I still think it’s good because I don’t believe this movie is trying to break the mold of horror movies and do something insanely unique. Rather I think it’s paying homage to it all, and it does it perfectly. This is a movie that is slowly climbing my list, and I’ve only watched it a couple times. I recommend it to any horror lover, because there is something here for everyone, and it’s a perfect watch near Halloween.

#11: Bones and All (2022) (4K Blu-ray)

Bones and All is a movie that can make you smile as much as it can unnerve you. This is not a horror comedy though. It’s a horror romance. The movie follows Maren (played by Taylor Russell) as she navigates growing up as an outcast, due to her existence as a supernatural being that needs to eat people to stay alive. She eventually meets Lee (Played by Timothee Chalamet) on the road and the two find that they have the same affliction. As the two travel, they begin to fall for one another.

I love this movie’s atmosphere. It balances these sweet moments between Lee and Maren really well, despite being bookended by horrifying gore and disturbing human interactions. I guess this finesse comes as no surprise when you know that the director is Luca Guadagnino who is the fantastic director behind films like Suspiria (2018), Call Me By Your Name (2017), and Challengers (2024). I really like Challengers by the way, as a non-horror recommendation. This guy can balance strange concoctions really well, such as a taut tennis thriller that surrounds a complicated love triangle (i.e. Challengers), and Bones and All is no different.

I also love the cast, because everyone brings their A game. Chalamet is someone I’m still trying to figure out if I like, but this movie is one of the reasons he is growing on me. Russell also gives her best performance of her career so far, and I wish she’d do more god damn it. The Escape Room franchise doesn’t give her room to spread her acting wings! She holds this film together. She is intriguing, and adds subtle facial and vocal expressions that sell her genuine shock, awe, or passion.

I don’t want to run into spoilers for this movie, because you should go in as blind as you can, so I’m going to tread very carefully for the rest of this review. This movie lets the story of Maren breathe, at a refreshing 2 hours and 10 minutes. Most major horror/thrillers are an hour and half in recent years, so I’m always happy to see a nice person-driven horror story that isn’t afraid to flesh-out characters (pun intended). But this also goes for the other characters in the movie, such as my favorite of the supporting cast, Mark Rylance. That man is fantastic in this, and I won’t say anything else about him. Also, Maren’s father is played by Andre Holland, a personal favorite of mine. He always seems to do good, and I enjoy the projects he chooses to associate with.

The last thing I’ll say about this movie, is that it has wonderfully dreadful imagery. There are shots from this movie that stick out in my mind like a sore thumb when I think of it. Bloody mouths, wild eyes, and messy hair. Although this film depicts monsters, and has all of this imagery that you’d typically associate with monsters, it makes you sympathize with them deeply. I recommend this one to people who enjoy gothic romance.

#10: Smile 2 (2024) (4K Blu-ray Steelbook)

It was really tough deciding which of these movies to put on my top fifteen, and which to hold to an honorable mention. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized I enjoy this entry in the franchise more. It’s scarier, it’s bigger in scale, and it’s even a little more unique than the first one. This movie sees the return of Parker Finn in the director/writer’s chair, and he one up’s the first film, making it very clear that he intends to refine his craft as a filmmaker. 2024 was a great year for horror, and I’m so happy I caught this one in the theatre with my best friends, because the opening scene of this movie was one of the best horror openings I’ve seen in the theatre EVER. It’s dreadful, it’s thrilling, it’s shocking, it’s unexpected, it’s unpleasant…it’s everything I want to see in a great opening horror sequence. The first 8 minutes escalate quickly and end perfectly. The opening and then the jarring cut to the Smile 2 title card gave me chills. This is a franchise I will continue to go to the theatres for based on that first few minutes alone.

But the quality doesn’t end there. I want to start by mentioning the soundtrack, because from the first ten seconds the soundtrack sets the tone to an off-kilter uneasiness. It continues in the background of the movie, and always helped draw me in to everything so much more, which is what perfect horror soundtrack can do. The composer, Cristobal Tapia De Veer, crafted a super unique and intentionally rough-around-the-edges soundscape to coat each scene in. The cast, however, truly makes this movie. Naomi Scott is so good, it’s nearly unbelievable that this is one of her first leading roles. From her first scene talking to Drew Barrymore, she is selling the character. She carries the movie well, and I’d love to see cameos of her in the sequels.

The first suicide of this film, featuring a drug dealer played by Lukas Gage, was heavily advertised in the trailers leading up to my first viewing of the movie. I didn’t care too much for it then, but on rewatch recently I found it to be a little more effective, considering I hadn’t been bombarded with the clip over and over just before watching it. Also, Lukas Gage does really good in his short stint in the film. I wouldn’t call his suicide iconic in the horror realm, but it certainly stands out.

The original songs created for the fictional pop star Skye Riley (the main character) are actually pretty good, and I especially enjoy Blood On White Satin. The stage performance for that song in the movie is visually dazzling, and looked spectacular in 4K Ultra HD. The dance choreography in general for this movie is outstanding, with the large group scene in Skye Riley’s apartment being really cool. The movements are perfectly controlled and perfectly chilling when they need to be.

The car crash flashback scene in this movie turned out to be super effective, especially in the theatre. This might be my favorite scene of the movie, above the opening scene. This scene lets Ray Nicholson (Jack Nicholson’s son) really show off his acting chops, alongside the continued excellence of Naomi Scott. They play off one another really well in the scene, and you feel like they’re both real, and very much drug riddled. I think part of why this scene works is that they’re working from Parker Finn’s direction and writing, which was a solid foundation. But these actors make it their own. I love the quick escalation of the scene, and I could feel my chest tightening in the theatre as tensions rose. The way the camera pans back and forth between the two, instead of just cutting between their two faces, allows you to glimpse the dark road ahead of them. This keeps reminding the viewer that at any second the car could crash. For context, me and my friends sat right near the front of the theatre, with the screen looming large above us. When the car finally crashed, it was the one of the most thrilling few seconds I’ve viewed in the theatre, because I felt like I was in VR. It gave me butterflies. I love the ending of the movie too, and the directing choices made for it (where to point the camera, what to show and what not to show), but that’s all I’ll say about the end.

Over all, I found this to be a perfect one-up of the first one. The only thing I’m worried about is the third movie, which is confirmed to be happening. My question is, how do you escalate things from here? Can they do that properly? One of the things that makes this franchise unique is its ability to bridge the gap between mainstream horror and arthouse horror. I remember seeing the trailer for the first one and thinking it looked like other stupid horror movies of the time, like The Bye Bye Man (2017), or Slender Man (2018). But when I watched it, I found something not only commercially viable, but something very thought provoking. This franchise is deeper than just chills. Both movies play on the themes of trauma really brilliantly. It makes you wonder as you watch, how much of this is their actual trauma playing tricks on their mind, and how much of it is the Smile curse? I think the credit for making a franchise enjoyable by audiences and critics alike, goes to Parker Finn. What makes me NOT doubt that the third movie will be at least worth a watch is the fact that Finn will return to write and direct it. If he’s done this good on the first two, I’m sure he has good ideas for the third. With him being the creative driving force behind the franchise, I’m glad they’re not continuing without him. I highly recommend this movie in the meantime, so check it out.

P.S. I think a sequel down the line in this franchise could be somewhat like a remake of The Happening (2008), only better executed and with more nuance. I’ll talk a little more about The Happening below if you don’t know much about that movie.

#9: The Mist (2007) (4K Blu-ray)

The Mist is directed and written for the screen by Frank Darabont, who is known for directing The Green Mile (1999) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). All three of those movies are Stephen King adaptations, and all three are worth your time, but I’m here to spotlight the most underrated of the three, The Mist. This movie centers around a father and a son who travel into town from their lakeside home for a simple shopping trip. But soon they find themselves trapped in the store due to a sudden fog that surrounds the building, which normally wouldn’t be a big deal, yet something doesn’t feel welcoming about this mist. A wailing siren announces the arrival of it, and screams can be heard as it envelopes the store.

At first one of the customers speculates that it must be some sort of chemical plant explosion. Someone else speculates that it’s the end times. Whatever is happening, it isn’t good for the people trapped in the store. They are missing the people they left at home, and the normal small town life that they had just the day before. But as things progress, it becomes more and more clear that they may never leave the store alive, because something is lurking in the fog. I love the fact that the first 20 minutes of the film give ZERO indication of what is to come. The blind viewer coming into this film would be quite shocked at the sudden turn of the film after the initial 20 minutes, and it only gets stranger as the runtime continues. The cast includes a few notable faces, and a few of them are friends of Frank Darabont, such as William Sadler who worked with Darabont in The Shawshank Redemption, and he does a really good job at being the asshole in the beginning of this movie. There’s also Jeffrey DeMunn, who was not only in The Green Mile, but also in the ’88 version of The Blob, which was co-written by Frank Darabont and appeared on my list earlier. But other than old friends, the cast has a lot to offer still. Thomas Jane in the leading role gives possibly the best performance of his career. He’s known for playing The Punisher in the 2004 film of the same name, but I personally like him for his role in Deep Blue Sea (1999). In this movie, I think he saw his chance to blow his notoriety up to a new level and took it. But sadly, this film never exactly got the praise it deserved and his career didn’t pan out to the mega-success he probably hoped for. The rest of the cast is all good, including Melissa McBride (The Walking Dead), Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger), Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River), and Laurie Holden (Silent Hill).

I think what carried this movie for me when I watched it as a kid was the creature effects. I loved the designs and found them to be some of the coolest stuff I’d ever seen in a movie. That’s no surprise considering that Frank Darabont reteamed with his buddy Greg Nicotero who he’d worked with on The Blob. Nicotero is one of the best modern day special effects creators in the industry, with his work being featured heavily in things like The Walking Dead, Creepshow: The Series, the Night of the Living Dead franchise, From Dusk Till Dawn, Evil Dead 2, and more. But on my most recent rewatch, I realized that the most compelling part of this movie is the human element. Watching as the small community inside the store collapses into groups with their own ideas about how to handle things, and watching how quickly people snap and turn to lawless and violent behavior is terrifying.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when they send a man tied to a rope outside into the mist. I felt genuinely scared watching this scene, especially as they begin to feel more tension on the line. Then there is a tug-o-war, as the people try to keep hold of the rope. When they eventually pull the rope back to see what’s on the other end, that reveal feels genuinely horrifying because of the expressions from the crowd. Scenes like that in this movie make you believe Darabont when he explains that this movie has been a life-long dream for him to make. When he initially approached King for the rights to The Shawshank Redemption, he was on the fence about whether he should adapt The Mist or Shawshank Redemption for his directorial feature debut. He ended up going for Shawshank of course, but kept the rights to the Mist as well, to adapt it down the line. I’m glad he did. The passion in this movie oozes out the seams.

I love how much you can analyze this film. There is an answer as to why the mist arrived in this movie, but it is an answer that you can actually fit into other interpretations very easily. I love the versatility of the answer they provide, because it leaves room for the wandering mind to imagine more and more and more. The camera work in this movie stood out to me as well, because the cameras move swiftly at times but constantly achieve the perfect framing, reminding me of a thrilling found footage movie a little bit, somewhat in the vein of Cloverfield (2008) or even the camera work of The Office to some extent (quick turns and close-ups). When watching the behind the scenes featurette “When Darkness Came: The Making of the Mist”, one of the two main camera operators says that he abruptly shoved Thomas Jane into a crowded shot in the middle of the scene, and Jane stayed in character the whole time and they were able to get a reaction shot of his face that way. After that scene, the operator asked if that’s okay to do and Jane said “Oh any time, just grab me and put me wherever you want me.” So it sounds like there may have been a simmering romance between the two on set, but it turned out for some excellent camera work and performances. The animosity between Thomas Jane and his neighbor, played by Andre Braugher, is very believable. They both bring this underscored resentment to each scene with one another, but especially Braugher. There are hints about their past (a lawsuit that Jane’s character won against Braugher’s recently, the smashed boathouse from the beginning of the movie, etc.) but their performance is what truly gives the relationship depth.

Okay, now to talk about the script itself some more. This movie is depressing. It isn’t for the casual viewer. It’ll make you ache and groan. It’ll shove in your face how messed up we can be as people. You’ve watched something bad in the film, and you think it won’t get worse, or it can’t get worse, and then it somehow does. That’s what makes it a true horror movie, is its willingness to be horrifying and not hold back. It is out to unsettle the viewer, not be your average creature feature. When I see the cast talk about this movie and the challenging atmosphere, I see many of them speak about the ensemble dynamic of it, and how everyone being together on set all the time (because most people are in every scene) helped build this atmosphere that made the set feel believable and the situations feel real, allowing them to act from a genuine standpoint. But staying in these character’s headspaces all the time would be unhealthy and uncomfortable, I imagine, so respect to them for pulling through.

The ending of this film can’t go without being spoken about, even if it’s just briefly. I won’t spoil anything here though, for those who haven’t seen it. This ending is very different from the one in Stephen King’s novella, but Stephen King admits that he’d have used the ending if he had thought of it. It’s a divisive ending, and I can understand why someone would hate the ending. But I love the ending, however abrupt it may be. That’s all I’ll say on that topic. If you haven’t seen The Mist, go watch it immediately, or buy it on 4K! The 4K Blu-ray collector’s edition is fantastic and loaded with special features. It even includes two bonus discs (one 4K and one standard Blu-ray) each with a version of the movie in black and white, which is pretty cool! I haven’t given that version a watch yet, but I will at some point. Buy this movie if you get the chance, you won’t regret it.

#8: The Sadness (2021) (Blu-ray)

The Sadness is disturbing. It is a Shudder original which was released to streaming in 2021. I remember being in PE class in highschool when I saw the first Instagram post about the movie. It was from the official Shudder account, and they were advertising that the film would be on Shudder that upcoming Friday. I didn’t really know anything about the movie, but from the poster of the movie I was hooked and wanted to see it. I watched it that weekend and was instantly fascinated by the movie. From the cool practical/CG gore, to the great original score by TZECHAR (don’t ask me how to pronounce that), I was hooked. It felt like the first great zombie movie of the 20’s…yet, no one was talking about it. I immediately rewatched it the next day (which is very rare for me), and that time with my girlfriend. She also found the movie to be cool and fascinating, just like me. The movie is a Taiwanese film and ended up being Shudder’s biggest foreign film debut in the first weekend of release, ever, and for good reason.

This film is nuts and isn’t afraid to go to horrible depths of human depravity. Rob Jabbaz directed it, who is Canadian. You wouldn’t expect that this Taiwanese horror movie was written and directed by a Canadian, but it was. It turns out that Jabbaz had been living there years prior to making the film, and initially moved there to explore the graffiti scene with friends. But after a while, he realized that he could pursue filmmaking over there for fairly cheap, and with little competition during the covid-19 pandemic. So he went for it, and wrote something inspired by the Crossed graphic novel series. I’ve actually been interested in reading this series for a while based on the concept. The series follows a virus that spreads across the United States quickly, marking anyone who contracts it with a red rash on their face that takes the form of a cross. This virus doesn’t make you hungry for flesh though, it makes you act on your worst impulses. Murder, rape, and yes, even cannibalism, so technically it can turn you into a prototypical zombie, but only if that’s what you already wanted in the back of your mind.

The Sadness takes that graphic novel concept and makes it brutal. The crosses on their faces are replaced with black pupils. The comics actually have more humor in them than you’d expect, which Jabbaz didn’t prefer. He wanted to make something frightening. So he set out to write The Sadness in his own style, with no official relation to the comic series. He made it very intense, to say the least. It follows a Taiwanese young man who drops his girlfriend off at work in the city one morning, and then decides to get lunch at a nearby restaurant. Not soon after, everything starts to dissolve into chaos. His new goal is to not only reach safety, but to reunite with his girlfriend in the city before he get’s brutally ripped apart by the roaming infected.

The events in this movie are fucked up, and genuinely freaked me out upon first viewing. I think what got under my skin the most is the implication that some of the victims enjoy the punishment they’re being dealt. Because as the infected take their rage or passion out on you, the victim is likely to become infected themselves, and therefore think and act upon their worst behaviors, which means loving violence, even if it’s being inflicted upon you. It’s a freaky concept to watch in real time, and you almost want to look away at some points. The music also perfectly compliments the insanity on screen, and heightens the feeling of intensity that much more.

Rob Jabbaz knows how to unsettle the viewer, and I’m extremely excited for him to start making American movies. He already has his next movie in post-production, which just wrapped filming this summer, and could you guess what it is? It’s an official Crossed adaptation. The graphic novel series was created by Garth Ennis, who has some fairly popular adaptations of his work already, including the AMC series Preacher, and the Prime Video Original Series, The Boys. Both of those shows certainly earn their TV-MA ratings, but I have a feeling that this new Crossed adaptation is going to take things one step further in terms of gore and subject matter. The cool thing is that Garth Ennis is working alongside Rob Jabbaz for this adaptation. I’m so excited, because it’ll basically be an American remake of The Sadness, yet it’ll have it’s own unique twist on the concept.

Jabbaz has done other cool stuff previously though, including a really cool short-film called Clearwater from 2020. It’s only 6 minutes long, but it’s certainly spooky for its short run time. It also showcases Jabbaz’s fantastic visual effect skills, even on such a small budget. He has expressed interest in wanting to make that short-film into a feature-length movie and I’d be in that theatre day-one if that were the case. It’s a cool concept! Here’s the link: Watch Clearwater (short film).

This is my favorite Shudder Original movie as of now, and certainly deserves any praise it gets, because this movie isn’t simply gore for the sake of gore. It’s got deeper themes about the government, and about society. I’d love to chat with you about the film if you ever watch it, so go check it out!

#7: The Shining (1980) (4K Blu-ray)

The Shining is a Stanley Kubrick film that surely needs no introduction. It is one of the most famous horror movies of all time, and was really what kicked off the era of Stephen King adaptations. Sure, Carrie came out in 1976, directed by Brian De Palma, and that film is good in its own right. Then Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot mini-series came out in 1979, and that has its spooky moments. But 1980’s The Shining is what blew the door wide open on King’s works to be adapted. After this, the 80’s saw numerous movies based on his works, including Cujo (1983), Christine (1983), Firestarter (1984), Stand By Me (1986), Pet Sematary (1989), and more. King adaptations are still popular to this day, with The Long Walk being a successful adaptation that is in theatres right now. But what about The Shining kicked off this sensation?

Everything about this movie is memorable, from the opening scene. Kubrick is known for his striking imagery and multi-layered storytelling that can be interpreted in numerous ways, and this movie is a great example of that. As soon as the shot of the lake appears with the camera sweeping over the water and past small islands, the sound of foreboding horns kicks in. These sounds are actually produced by a synthesizer and created by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, making this one of the few iconic horror soundtracks to be produced by women. It also just so happens to be one of the most goosebump inducing soundtracks in horror that emphasizes the otherworldly tone of the Overlook Hotel.

Jack Torrance in this movie is a fascinating character, and I think they could’ve picked no better actor than Jack Nicholson to portray the man. Did you know the famous “Here’s Johnny!” line was improvised by him, and Kubrick liked it so much that he kept it in? I personally didn’t know what that line was referencing until researching for this article. The line is a reference to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where the show’s announcer Ed McMahon would open each episode by giving the famous line, “Heeeere’s Johnnnny!” I don’t believe that anyone else would have improvised that line at that moment. Also, his facial work in this movie is fantastic. Each minute expression change made by Nicholson speaks volumes about his character’s thought process and motivations.

But the other people in the cast are just as good! Shelly Duvall does a great job at making the audience empathize with her character, probably due to the fact that Kubrick mentally manipulated and abused her during the making of the movie. The baseball bat scene on the stairs was reportedly shot 127 times, and so the exhaustion, paranoia, and anxiety you see on screen from her is most likely very real. This deeply saddens me, and should certainly be more of a stain on Kubrick’s name than people allow it to be, but nonetheless it extracted a very realistic performance out of Duvall.

Danny Lloyd does extremely well for a child actor, especially considering this was his only role he ever got as a child. His facial expressions are just as memorable as Nicholson’s in this movie, and I believe he should’ve been casted in other 80’s horror films (Maybe an Omen movie). Scatman Crothers brings a lot of charisma to his character that not many people could’ve pulled off in his character’s short screen time. But other than the cast, what else makes this movie stand out? Well, it’s simply a fantastic adaptation of an enthralling book. It certainly makes changes from the book (to Stephen King’s disdain), but it does that in order to make something that tells a different story. Instead of the hotel turning Jack evil like in the book, in the movie you can infer that something has always been off about this man, and that this hotel just allowed his darkest thoughts to come to the forefront of his mind. Kubrick takes the concepts of the book and uses it to tell his own story, which I respect.

This movie has freaked me out for a long time, and some of the things that freak me out the most are the strangest moments. For example, you know that this hotel is vacant other than the main family, but out of nowhere Duvall’s character spots a business man and a man in a bear costume getting “freaky” in a room down the hallway. And yes when I put it that way it sounds silly, but it’s surprisingly effective and off-putting in the movie. Random moments like that make this movie feel unconventional, which keeps you on your toes as a viewer. If you haven’t seen The Shining, you must not be a horror fan, and therefore why are you reading this article? But I guess if you are reading, and somehow haven’t watched it (maybe you think it’ll be overrated or something), trust me, watch it.

#6: Ghoulies (1985) (4K Blu-ray)

The little creature boom of the 80’s is very interesting to me. There’s of course the Gremlins (who I find to be very overrated), the Critters (who I find to be very underrated), and then there are Ghoulies (And whatever the hell Munchies are from 1987). It’s close for me, but if I had to pick my favorite out of this subgenre, it would probably be the Ghoulies, but Critters would be nearly tied for first as well. Ghoulies is a franchise produced by Empire Pictures, which is a company known for making small-budget genre films that stretched their budget really well. They have made notable movies such as Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Troll (1986), all made on a miniscule budget. Ghoulies was made on a budget of 5 and a half million dollars, which is tiny for a theatrical release. It was marketed really well, though, with a movie poster depicting a ghoulie popping out of a toilet, with the pun “They’ll get you in the end!” scrawled across the front of the bowl. That poster ended up being a really big success with the teen demographic, and it helped the film become Empire Pictures’ first major box office success, with a total box office haul of around 35 million dollars, nearly seven times what it cost to make!

Was the hype warranted? YES! Now look, I have to admit, I’m a pretty big sucker for cheesy low-budget horror comedies, so this movie is RIGHT up my alley. But I could see many people watching this film after reading my review and going “Wow, I wasted an hour and 21 minutes of my life”. But, if you enjoy the little creature subgenre, and you like horror comedy, and you like seeing a low budget indie film do its best to entertain you, than I think you’re in for a treat. The film follows Jonathan, who was nearly killed by his father in a satanic ritual as a kid. He is saved and raised by a man named Wolfgang, who never informed him of his satanic background. Johnathan ends up inheriting his father’s house though, and he moves in with his girlfriend. During a house-warming party he jokingly performs a ceremony described in one of his father’s books on black magic, unwittingly releasing Ghoulies upon the old manor.

The film doesn’t have much in terms of star power, but the cast does good. The main character is played by Peter Liapis, who I think does really good in this film despite not being in much other than B movies. He puts a lot of unnecessary energy into his performance, and it is appreciated. This film has a small role with Jack Nance, known for his work with David Lynch (and also appearing in The Blob from 1980), and he does pretty good as Wolfgang. But I actually think a lot of the side characters like Toad Boy, played by Ralph Seymour, do really good as goofy additions to the film.

But I don’t really come to this movie for outstanding performances, I come for the spooky stuff. John Carl Buechler did the creature design and special effects work on the movie, and he often worked with Empire Pictures. I personally think the Ghoulies are his most iconic creation, and are each cool and very unique from one another in their own ways. I think that is one thing that sets this franchise apart from Critters and Gremlins. Those franchises, although they have minor differences between the creatures, want you to know they’re a Critter or a Gremlin. But with Ghoulies, the designs are all totally unique to each small creature. I think that comes down to the creative freedom given by the concept of this franchise, that the other franchises don’t have. For example, the Gremlins are a man made species, and are all supposed to supposed to spawn from one another. The Critters are an alien group that are all supposed to be apart of one species. But the Ghoulies are just demons, and they take all forms. There is of course the central green one, featured on the film’s poster. He’s just ugly enough to be considered a horror character, and just simplistic enough to look goofy. There’s one that looks like it was inspired by a demonic cat, with cat eyes and wiry hair covering its body. There is one that looks like it was inspired by a hairless rat. You get the idea. They’re all special! There are at least seven unique designs in the first movie, as far as I can tell, and they’re all fun.

There are some cool special effects moments, especially when you remember the paper-thin budget, but I don’t really want to spoil them here. This movie holds some fun surprises, so go check it out! I’d certainly recommend the 4K Blu-ray, because it looks super vivid and the effects pop in the format. The sequels are also fun, especially Ghoulies II, which is also available on 4K if you’re interested.

#5: Scary Movie 3 (2003) (Blu-ray trilogy collection)

The Scary Movie franchise is cool. I don’t love the fourth one, and I genuinely think the fifth one is really bad (and not in an enjoyable way), but the first three are great to me. This movie is directed by David Zucker, who is known for directing Airplane (1980) and The Naked Gun (1988), two bonafide comedy classics. This movie is up there with those, in terms of the enjoyment I get out of it. Part of my love stems from the fact that it parodies my favorite movie, Signs, but it’s not just my bias that makes me love this film.

I’ll start by praising the cast. Anna Faris doesn’t exactly give a complex performance, but the literal point of her character is that she’s a dumb blonde, so she does good with the simplistic role she was written. Mainly she’s a springboard for the actors around her to play off of, and she plays that role well. Regina Hall is great in this, and I think she is very underrated as an actress. She’s extremely funny in this and lights up every scene she is in. She continues to be a good actress in modern times, as I liked her in 2022’s Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul, where she actually gives a good dramatic performance, between some of the laughs in that movie. I also think that movie is underrated, and is a worthwhile dramedy/satire if you’re in the mood for it.

Charlie Sheen is also a great actor, and is hilarious in this movie. His straight face is akin to Leslie Nielsen’s straight-faced comedy, and it’s something very few actors can do perfectly, but he is one of them. Speaking of Nielsen, he cameo’s in this movie as the president of the US, and his character isn’t too far off from the real thing at the moment. He plays an absolute idiot, and he does pretty good at it, but it isn’t his best work. Don’t get me wrong, he is fairly funny in the movie, but I feel like they could’ve written him some better stuff. He is under-utilized in the film, but I’m happy he is there, reuniting with David Zucker. But to get back to Sheen for a moment, I think that his comedic side is underrated! I love both Hot Shots! films from the nineties, which are directed by Jim Abhrams, another one of the directors of Airplane!. The recent documentary AKA Charlie Sheen on Netflix was a fantastic watch for me, being a big Sheen fan. I didn’t know half of the controversies that plagued his career, so I was glued to the screen hearing about all the details from the man himself. It’s sad to know that during many of his films’ productions he was struggling with drug use and self-destruction, but I’m happy he is better as of now and taking care of himself. He deserves the love he get’s still, despite the controversies over the years.

Simon Rex is one of the funniest parts of this movie, playing a white gangster-wannabe. The whole movie he blurts out the dumbest shit you can imagine, and you never once would think he is acting. He also has a good smaller role in the recent horror movie Blink Twice, a very underrated thriller from 2024 that I’d recommend watching. So I’m happy to see that he is still finding work because he deserves it. Kevin Hart also features in one of his early comedic roles, and he is funny in the movie.

Other than the cast though, what else makes this my favorite horror-comedy? Well, the comedy. The jokes are one after another, and the comedy doesn’t outstay its welcome, seeing as this movie is a breezy hour and 25 minutes long. The jokes have a lot of variety, as per usual for a Zucker production. There are visual gags, one-liners, background gags, puns, and of course a lot of parody. This film parodies many popular horror movies of the early 2000’s including Signs (2002), The Ring (2002), The Others (2001), as well as movies from other genres such as 8 Mile (2002) and the Matrix movies. I like David Zucker’s decision to parody movies that aren’t just horror, because the 8 Mile rap battle parody is a great addition to the film, and it adds a bit of variety to the movie that would otherwise be lost.

I love how detailed this movie is for a comedy, and I always notice new things on each rewatch. David Zucker is known for rewarding the eagle-eyed viewer, so it comes as no surprise. This movie is hilarious to me, and will never not be. It’s also endlessly quotable. One of my favorite lines in the movie comes from the site of a fatal car accident. As the husband of the victim arrives on the scene and approaches his dying wife, the driver that hit her and totaled his vehicle says “Tom, I’ll need a ride home.” The laughs come a dozen at a time, and they don’t stop until the credits roll. I do also really enjoy the first two films in the franchise, driven by the Wayans brothers. I’m also excited for the upcoming sixth one, which can spoof a lot of the modern horror classics that the franchise has missed since it went on haitus. That new movie will see the return of the Wayans brothers, which will be cool. I just saw Him in the theatre, and although the movie itself wasn’t very good, Marlon Wayans does really good with what he was given to work with. I recommend Scary Movie 3 to anyone that enjoys these spoof movies from the early 2000’s.

#4: Longlegs (2024) (4K Blu-ray)

Longlegs is a recent movie that I’m sure many of you reading have heard about. It became Neon’s highest grossing movie domestically, and it’s their second highest grossing movie worldwide (Only behind Parasite (2019)). This movie is directed by Osgood Perkins, who used to act in small roles before he turned to work behind the camera. His directorial debut was The Blackcoat’s Daughter from 2015, but I found him with his 2020 film Gretel and Hansel. That movie is pretty good for a PG-13 horror film, and it has its memorable moments, alongside a great performance by Alice Krige. But Longlegs is the movie that introduced the masses to Osgood Perkin’s twisted mind.

This movie follows a young female FBI agent as she pursues a serial killer who enjoys toying with her. Soon, she realizes she is deeper in danger than she initially expected, and nobody can save her but herself. I have to be honest with you, I wasn’t as deeply hooked by the trailer to this movie as most of the horror community was. I didn’t think it looked bad, but nothing I’d go to a theatre to see. But of course online hype generates ticket sales, and my family desperately wanted to see it. So when we were in Spokane on a trip together, they all voted Longlegs as the movie we should go to see, and it couldn’t have worked out to be a better experience. First off, the theatre we found that worked for us was called the Magic Lantern Theatre, which only shows indie films, and only 3 at any given time. I loved this place the moment I set foot inside. They had soft vintage furniture in the small lobby that felt inviting and more like a den than any other movie theatre lobby I’ve been in. Also, their popcorn came in a large metal bowl. I love that for a couple of reasons. First off, you don’t get your entire hand slathered in butter by reaching into a bag; It eliminates that problem. Second, it reduces unnecessary waste to the environment. Do I think these people are doing it to feel upscale? No, it just felt like a bowl was all they had, haha, and maybe that made it a little cozier in a way. The theatre also only shows three movies at a time, so it is never packed in the lobby, nor in the parking lot.

When you get into the theatre-room itself, you’ll find the same vintage aesthetic that the lobby greets you with. There are black-domed lamps on the wall that direct light out onto the wall, providing some nice indirect light that diffuses around the room. Towards the back, there is an upper level of seating that slopes down to the landing where the entrance is. That landing is in the middle of the the theatre, and then past the landing, down towards the screen there are more red fold-up theatre chairs. My only major complaint about those seats, and yes it is a big issue, is that there are no cupholders. But most of the drinks they give are canned anyway, so I found it easy to place between my thighs while watching. But the cool part of the seating is back on the landing. There, you can find two cozy lawson-style armchairs, that my parents found comfortable, and they have a table in between them for drinks and popcorn. Next to those, there are three bigger black fold-up movie theatre chairs that don’t match any others in the theatre. They are bigger, have drink holders, and have more cushion. My family members took all five of those seats (the bastards) and my girlfriend and I took a couple of the red seats closer to the screen. The theatre also sells 50 dollar hoodies with their logo on it, if that makes up for the lack of cupholders.

All of that might sound strange, inconvenient, and maybe a little silly, but I love places with character. The sole worker that night was also nice, and knowledgeable on recent movies. He was sporting a Dethklok shirt, which is a band that is featured in the Adult Swim show Metalocalypse, a show that me and my girlfriend had been watching at the time. We both were happy to see it mentioned, because the show isn’t super popular. Stuff like that makes me like a place. A worker with personality, and a place with identity.

I bought the 50 dollar hoodie… and so did my girlfriend.

I know, I know, I keep going on about everything but the movie Longlegs, but I have to get my tangents out now while I’m not getting paid for this kind of writing (as if a real newspaper would run the article titled “My Top Fifteen Horror Movies That I Own“).

So, Longlegs…My expectations were wrong. From the opening sequence shot in 35mm (giving it a rounded and condensed framing that perfectly suits the scene’s needs) this film sunk its teeth into me. I knew I was in for something much more special than I’d anticipated. I will say, the opening scene wasn’t as affective for me at home as it was in theatres, but maybe that’s because I already knew what was coming. Or maybe it’s because that scene works really well on the big screen, when its towering over you. The scene still holds up as a compelling intro, just with a little less oomph. Something that does work really well at home is the sound design on the 4K, which is incredible and surprisingly one of the best I have in my collection. Sometimes a disc will have a big sound range where you have to turn it up and down all the time to hear the movie properly, but this movie has clarity throughout, with nothing being too quiet, and with the loud bangs and bumps being thunderous.

Lee Harker, the Federal Agent, is played by Maika Monroe and she does great. At first during this rewatch, I realized how phony her first couple of scenes feel. It seems like she hadn’t found the perfect way to portray the character yet, but once she hit her stride, the rest of the film features a very compelling performance from her. Plus, Osgood Perkins knows the value of patience in horror. After the opening scene, we don’t see Nicolas Cage’s Longlegs until 45 minutes into the movie, and the creepier elements of the film don’t really come into play until then. This film is only an hour and 40 minutes long, so to wait until nearly halfway through not only builds your anticipation, but also builds the mystery and anxiety around this serial killer. 

That scene with Nic Cage screaming in the car is fantastic, and I didn’t even realize the full extent of what he was saying in the theatre because it was so loud. In the theatre, it got almost deafening before the scene stopped, so to rewatch at home with subtitles on, I finally got to understand what he was saying, and it’s an odd mix of humor and horror that I can’t quite place my finger on. Nic Cage made this movie complete with scenes like this, and I love the “Not once, not twice…” scene from later in the movie, maybe so much so that it’s my favorite scene featuring the killer in this movie.

This movie is a period piece set in the 90’s. The biggest clue to that time period in the movie is the picture of Bill Clinton on the wall behind in the FBI Office of Harker’s colleague. He was in office between 1993 and 2001, so I believe this film takes place in the mid-90’s. I love the set designs and costume designs for this period, and I’m happy it’s an element of the film. The devil imagery in the film is really well done and often very subtle. He appears in silhouette most of the time, and very briefly. There’s a particular shot towards the end when a person is slamming a door shut, with the camera positioned outside the door. The door has an opaque window, and in the reflection before the camera cuts, you can see this horned hairy humanoid silhouette. It’s literally on screen for less than a second, but I caught it in the theatre and it gave me chills! He’s everywhere in the film if you look hard enough, and I love the tiny details like that. The ending leaves room for a sequel, but honestly, I don’t know if I want one. This movie works really well as a standalone film, and I’m happy to own it! My recent rewatch was really good, and I recommend this one to fans of serial killers and the occult. Also, go support the Magic Lantern Theatre if you’re in Spokane, they’re cool!

#3: The Omen (1976) (Blu-ray boxset)

For anyone that doesn’t know, The Omen follows Damien Thorn as he grows up, from a baby to a young boy, as the son of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. To the outsider, this household looks like a normal wealthy family, without a care in the world. But you know this is a horror movie, and that can’t be the case. Under the surface, a lot of family drama has taken place. In the beginning of the film, the ambassador learns that his newly born baby died soon after birth. He is left with the impossible task of breaking the news to his wife, who is still in the hospital. While contemplating how to tell her, he is counseled by a priest, who suggests that he could adopt a child. The husband says that she wouldn’t want that, but the priest says that she doesn’t have to know the truth, and that it would be a blessing for both her and the child. After some deep thought, he agrees. As Damien grows up in the Thorn family, his step-father realizes that Damien is much more than an orphaned child that was ready to be adopted at the right time…He might just be the anti-Christ.

The Omen is directed by Richard Donner, and written by David Seltzer. Donner is known for directing the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, the Lethal Weapon movies, The Goonies (1985), and Scrooged (1988), none of which are of the horror genre. I find it interesting that such an iconic horror movie didn’t birth an iconic horror director. But Donner is a really good director, and I’m happy this movie has his touch. The writer, Seltzer, hasn’t had a ton of major success in Hollywood. However, I watched some behind the scenes features on the Blu-ray for this movie, and was pleased to learn about his inspiration for the film.

Seltzer had done some minor work as a ghost writer before being approached by Harvey Bernhard, who asked Seltzer if he had seen The Exorcist. Seltzer replied that he had. Bernhard told him that he wanted him to write one of those kinds of movies. Seltzer initially said no, because he came from a documentary background, where he appreciated the learning that could be achieved through filmmaking. He thought that writing a silly horror movie couldn’t teach him anything. But the more he thought about it, he decided to pick up a Bible and read it, seeing as he never had, and that was something he could learn from. He soon became fascinated with the characters and mythology of the stories, despite still not being religious to this day.

He goes on in the interview to say that he was inspired at the time a little bit by the recent hit, Jaws. He says that “Everyone knows that fish don’t eat boats, but the audience went for it because it was told with such a straight face. So I thought, ‘I’m going to do the Devil, and I’m going to do it with that straight face; This is not going to be a joke.'” That is his explanation of his mindset going into writing it, and he did tons of biblical research and reading prior to writing, in order to make sure his film felt realistic to the average God-fearing man. But he admits the it was the addition of Richard Donner as director that made this film work exceptionally well. That’s because, in Seltzer’s words, his script was a little too fictionalized. When Donner came onto the project, he insisted that the deaths in the film seem accidental, believable, and coincidental, similar to the Final Destination movies in a way. The script originally included hooved demons that walked on two legs. Donner said that they had to scrub that stuff and stick to things that could only happen in real life. So in short, the immense research of Seltzer, and the sensibility of Donner paired very nicely to make the tone of this film as scary and as close to home as possible for the viewer.

Gregory Peck plays the Ambassador, and I think he does good! He certainly seems as enthralled as the viewer is, and he never feels like a hollow character. His worries feel genuine, and his effort to hold everything together feels real. I also think the kid who plays Damien in this one does good enough, and has a couple of memorable scenes. I don’t believe that it’s one of the best child performances in horror, but there are a couple scenes that stick with me, especially the final shot of the film. The wife, played by Lee Remick, also turns in a believable performance. Although they all do good, I believe the standout for me is Mrs. Baylock, played by Billie Whitelaw. In the script she is supposed to be sweet and innocent (in order to make it believable that the parents would let her watch their kid), but Whitelaw turned her into something sinister, with great finesse.

But the story is compelling, and even chilling at times! I love the details about the origins of Damien, because there is just enough there to make me not only want more backstory, but also to make me invested in where his story is going. Seltzer talks about the wasted potential of the sequels in the interview I mentioned above, and I agree with him to some extent. I would’ve loved to see a franchise that watched Damien grow his friend circle as an innocent-seeming antagonist, that watched him move up the ranks in society, and that eventually depicted the apocalypse at his hands. That would’ve been an epic saga, filled with fright. But instead, in Seltzer’s words, they turn it into a slasher, and that is fairly accurate. However, despite him being right that the franchise would’ve been better off in that direction, I don’t think all of the sequels are bad. In fact, I mention a prequel and a sequel to this film in the honorable mentions above! I really enjoy the second one, and the newest movie in the franchise, and those two prove that this franchise still has life in it. I’d love to see more from it soon, but as of now, the original stands as the best installment in my opinion. I recommend this movie to people interested in biblical themes, creepy kids, and interesting kills, it’s well worth your time!

#2: Hereditary (2018) (4K Blu-ray)

Hereditary is written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature film debut. It is in every way, pound for pound, the scariest movie of the 21st century so far. I rewatched this movie with a group of friends this summer, and one of them decided to get stoned before watching the movie. She had never seen it before, and I told her “you’re gonna’ be scared”, and she replied (with confidence and a little bit of stubbornness) “Horror movies don’t scare me.” She had never seen the movie. Cut to 33 minutes in and she is wide eyed and clearly disturbed. We asked if she was okay and she said “I think I’m too high for this.” It’s funny because I don’t blame her, I felt the same shock and perturbation on my first viewing of the film, and I was sober!

It is the film that took my true-horror virginity, at the ripe age of 13. I had seen horror movies before it, even many of the ones listed above. But this one was the first that instilled true dismay and dread into my core like no other I’d seen before. I’ve seen films that have scared me on a similar level after, The Sadness (2021) being a good example, but nothing that has effected me this deeply. It’s a relentless film, and it is worth being seen on the biggest screen. The packed theatre I saw it in, in Sunnyside with my family, was not prepared for what we went through. We struggled through together, and I’ll never forget the simultaneous gasps.

Look, this kind of horror movie isn’t for everyone. This isn’t my comfort movie. Nor is Midsommar, another of Ari Aster’s films that I mentioned above. But they’re some of my favorites. I love to be scared and I love to be unnerved in special ways. But if you come to horror movies for fun, I don’t think this movie is up your alley. But if you’re in for a ride, if you’re ready to put yourself into these character’s shoes and experience their journey, sit down and watch Hereditary.

The movie follows the the Graham family after the death of the matriarch of the family, Ellen Leigh. In the wake of her passing, strange events start to take place around the Graham residence. A strange silhouette is witnessed in the dark corner of a room, for example. This family is struggling, and they can only take so much more pressure before everything comes unraveled. That is the deliberately vague blurb I’ll give you. But this movie is so much more. It displays family disfunction in a way that feels so real and unscripted, it may trigger many viewers to recall their own childhood trauma. The original score for the movie is one of my favorite horror soundtracks ever, and has since become popular in short form content. The final song of the movie, titled Reborn, is the most popular TikTok sound from the movie, and it deserves the attention. But the soundtrack leading up to that is all cut from the same excellent cloth. Every scene’s foreboding undertones are hammered home by the eerie and foreign soundtrack that backs it.

What else makes this movie memorable, though? The cast is stellar. Toni Collette does exceptionally well in the movie, giving a wide range of emotions to the roll as the mother. She has multiple scenes that are so expressive facially, tonally, and physically, I’m floored just thinking about the amount of thought she must have put into her portrayal of Annie Graham. Alex Wolff does really good too as the son, having some really hard places that he has to go to for the role. Milly Shapiro does great as the daughter, turning in an off-putting performance that makes you also empathize with her at the same time. The father is played by Gabriel Byrne and he does a good job. He has maybe the least to work with script wise, but when he really performs in the movie it is memorable. The cast has a lot of chemistry together, or the lack there-of, because their characters are supposed to be socially awkward and distant from one another. They all do a phenomenal job at making this dynamic believable, cringe-inducing, and also sad. You truly do feel for this family, and wonder how they got to this point.

Another great thing about the movie, is the writer/director Ari Aster, let’s talk more about him. Hereditary is his directorial debut, but he has been very active since. He wrote and directed Midsommar (2019), Beau is Afraid (2023), and Eddington (2025). Eddington is a movie that I personally found very disappointing, and is a step away from the horror genre that the first few films of his filmography fall into. But his other films have been enjoyable to me. Midsommar was in my honorable mentions above, and Beau is Afraid is a black comedy that is pretty bonkers, featuring a great performance by Joaquin Phoenix. His films always make an attempt to shock the audience, and usually it is through unexpected or gruesome deaths. For me personally, no movie of his has shocked me like the first one did, maybe because I now know what to expect. But his first three movies are all worth watching. I respect him for making a major effort to be different, in a time when original films are starting to make a resurgence at the box office. Directors like Aster are pioneering a new wave of original cinema, and I’m happy to be living through it. I highly recommend Hereditary if you’re into being spooked.

#1: Signs (2002) (4K Blu-ray)

Signs is a movie that I never get tired of. I’ve loved the movie for a very long time. In fact, I wrote an article about it last October, as I’m sure many of you know already (It’s still up on this site if you haven’t read it yet). But I can never talk about this film too much. This movie is my favorite of all time. Signs is a movie that is made for me. Or rather, maybe it’s a movie that made me. In the article from last year I mentioned that a 4K Blu-ray was on the way, last October. I can now say that I have watched that 4K, and I recommend it! It isn’t the biggest jump in quality I’ve seen in terms of 4K upgrades, but if you love the movie I recommend picking the 4K up, you’ll notice a difference on certain scenes for sure.

The basic premise of Signs is that it follows a family, consisting of a dad, two kids, and an uncle, that live next to a cornfield (Never a good idea). Life is fairly quiet there for them. On one summer morning, though, they awaken to a large crop circle in their front yard. Is this a practical joke from someone in town? Is it a stunt from the farmer’s kids themselves?

…is it for real?

As the two men of the household grapple with these questions, things only get stranger around the Hess residence. As more pressure is put on this household, they’re left wondering if they’re truly alone out there, or if someone else is watching them. And if the latter is true, what can they do about it?

The other day, someone asked me what the first horror movie I saw was, and I was stumped. It seems like a typical enough question, that I’d never thought about before. I remember very clearly though all of the movies that terrified me as a kid. A few stick out in particular. Insidious fucked me up; That lipstick-faced demon haunted my nightmares. Sinister chilled me to the bone, with it’s freaky-faced Bughuul. And of course, Signs, the movie that truly made me scared of the dark. The funny thing is, this movie is less of a horror movie than the other two I mentioned, yet I think this movie got under my skin more as a kid. My reasoning as a kid was that “Demons probably aren’t real, but aliens, they’re basically a fact”. Today that logic still mostly stands for me.

This movie has really good scares in it (especially for a PG-13 rating), but the best parts of this movie aren’t focused on terror. They involve the excellent cast acting their butts off to sell the great emotional heart of this movie. For this movie to work, you need to believe the family dynamics, and you absolutely do thanks to each of the talented actors. Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix are really good as siblings in this film. But the younger siblings, Abigail Breslin and Rory Culkin, both do great for child actors too. I’ve been watching this film for a long time, and a side character that’s grown on me over time is Cherry Jones’ character Officer Paski. She has just a few short scenes in the movie, but she adds this homely feel to the atmosphere that really sells the small town vibe that Shyamalan was going for.

Now that I’ve mentioned him, let’s talk about Shyamalan a little more. He is a highly debated director in cinema circles because of his stylistic approach to filmmaking. Many people say his dialogue is silly (I whole-heartedly disagree), and many people say his stories are convoluted or not well thought out. On that second point, people can be correct sometimes. But this isn’t true for all of his movies. Movies of his that I think could’ve used some more complexity or improvement include The Happening (2008), The Last Airbender (2010), After Earth (2013), and Lady in the Water (2006). The one that really irks me is The Happening, that movie has a great concept that could’ve been something truly haunting and special. A plague that causes those infected to commit suicide? It writes itself! But the campy direction that movie goes, and the cast that can’t convincingly carry the emotional weight of the situations, makes this movie a disappointing watch.

But, all of those movies happened in a back-to-back stretch from 2006-2013. Shyamalan has gone on record saying that he knows those movies aren’t the greatest, and that he has found the problem. Since then, he has made somewhat of a comeback in the industry. His films are nowadays hit and miss for me, but his most recent movie Trap was a success in my book, so I’m just happy he’s still around at all in Hollywood. He dares to do something different with all of his movies, and I respect him for that, even if the end product isn’t always the best.

But Signs, to put it plainly, is the best. There are a few movies that are kind of like lenses I see my life through. What I mean, is that certain events I see in real life instantly give me flashbacks to those movies. Signs is one of those lenses for me. For example, anytime I look over my shoulder in the shower, as I see the water run down my shoulder, I’m reminded of a scene in Signs where a character looks at their shoulder while water pours down it. Signs is so engrained in my brain that I see shots from it all the time in real life. It’s a part of me, just as a lot of the films mentioned above are.

The most iconic scene in the movie shows Phoenix’s character watching the news, when a shocking video clip is aired. That scene really terrified me as a kid and to this day still gets my heart racing. I love that scene, but I think the way Shyamalan reincorporates that same television set near the end of the movie is what makes me love the moment even more, because it’s more of a two part scare, and while they’re super effective moments separately, together they give a feeling of worsening danger that makes your heart sink even deeper as you watch.

The scene where Gibson and Phoenix talk about fate always gives me goosebumps. I love the topic because of this movie, but I also am fascinated with the topic outside of it. I like how that scene is called back to later in the movie, just how most stuff is in this movie. Also, this movie has the best horror soundtrack of all time in my opinion, composed by the great James Newton Howard. The opening and closing tracks are too die for, and should be studied in college. I don’t want to go on too long about this one, since I already made an article about it, so I’ll cut my thoughts there. Signs is great, go watch it if you haven’t already, and avoid spoilers!

Closing Thoughts

This article was a lot of fun to write. I got a ton of enjoyment out of rewatching some of my favorites and taking notes to share with you guys. I hope you guys found this topic interesting, and I hope you watch a couple of the films this October. In a time when real life horror is all around us, it is nice to escape to a world where the horror ends when the credits roll. I hope you all have a fantastic Halloween, and a great start to Fall! Thank you, thank you, thank you if you’ve read this far. It means everything to me to have someone interested in the same stuff I am, and invested in reading about it. This has been one of my favorite things to write in a long time, so I’m happy to put it out into the world now. There’ll be another post coming in the next few months, so I’ll write you guys again soon. Leave a comment if you guys would like to see more articles about movies I like. Until next time, keep your doors locked, keep your eyes peeled, and keep your heads on.