Whether you’re joining the shopping boycott on Black Friday to send a message to oligarchs or just need to recharge and rest, Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time for binging spooky TV shows. Here are ten of my favorites.
Castle Rock (Hulu)
The fictional town in Maine that serves as the terrifying locale for most of the stories in the Stephen King universe gets its own supernatural show produced by JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot. True to any Stephen King novel, it’s a dark, mysterious, creepy mind-bender, filled with compelling characters. Sadly, it only got two seasons. A real shame cuz I had so many questions…
The Strain (Hulu)
Back when the CDC were the good guys, the show about a doctor investigating a viral outbreak with ties to an ancient strain of the vampirism was created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan based on their vampire trilogy. Hollywood superstar showrunner Carlton Cuse of Lost fame wrangled this thrilling action horror for four seasons on FX.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)
Witches, warlock, humans, hobgoblins, old deities, and Satan, this ain’t your grandmama’s Sabrina. Forget the 90s WB sitcom, this is a much darker, scarier, and sexier show for Archie Comics breakout star.
Ash vs Evil Dead (Starz)
Evil Dead trilogy fans rejoiced when Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell brought their chainsaw-wielding hero and the Deadites to television for Starz in this action horror-comedy that squeaked out 3 seasons. It’s been 30 years since Ash left the Army of the Dead behind, working at Value Mart with his young friends Pablo and Kelly, drinking his lonely existence into oblivion and ignoring his responsibilities to protect the world until the evil dead come calling for the one that got away.
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Coming-of-age show about a group of friends investigating the disappearance of their friend and the supernatural acts happening in their small town of Hawkins, Indiana is Netflix’s most popular show. Season 5 premieres on November 26, so binging the first four seasons now is perfect timing.
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
Mike Flanagan’s chilling first entry in the Haunting series for NetFlix was loosely based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. Part ghost story, part family drama, horror maestro Stephen King hailed Flanagan’s vision of Jackson’s story as brilliant. I guess that’s why King keeps agreeing to let the guy direct movies of his own novels.
Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix)
A mind binding thriller set in the 90s about young female filmmaker in Hollywood, whose career gets derailed after mixing it up with a catty bohemian witch. This limited series wasn’t supposed to go beyond 8 episodes, but fans can still dream.
Marianne (Netflix)
This smartly written and wonderfully acted French horror show created by Samuel Bodin about a writer haunted by an ancient evil witch only got one season, but that’s probably for the best, cuz it’s the scariest show on the list. It’s better to watch in French with English subtitles. Your eyes will be glued to the screen anyways.
Kingdom (Netflix)
Not quite Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, this Korean gem is filled with colorful characters, political intrigue, and hordes of zombies. Based on a webtoon series The Kingdom of the Gods created by Kim Eun-hee and Yang Kyung-il, this Josean period action thriller was never officially canceled, so fans are still hoping for Season 3, despite the many years that have passed.
The Walking Dead (AMC)
I once read in a Hollywood rag, that studio execs believed no one wanted to watch a zombie TV show and it would be far too expensive to produce. 15 years and 8 spin off shows later, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead franchise is still churning in some form, while knock off shows have come and gone. I believe it’s all due to the genius of Greg Nicotero and his special effects and make-up team. It’s the first, and the best zombie TV show ever produced, period. And, it totally proved the world loves zombies enough to watch them every week!
Cemeteries are big part of almost all scary movies, really only a handful are set in a cemetery or at least prominently feature a cemetery. Here are my picks for top films heavy on atmosphere and dripping with terror.
“Sometimes, dead is better”. ~Cemetery Man ~Gravedancers ~Pet Sematary ~Phantasm ~Return of the Living Dead ~The Omen ~Graveyard Disturbance
As we say goodbye to Spooky September to usher in the haunted Halloween season, I thought I’d share my picks for some of the scariest scenes in some classic horror movies.
Horror is perhaps the most subjective genre of all films, because what’s scary for one person, may not be scary to another. Yet, there seems to be some type of collective conscience of fear that most of us tap into when we see a scary moment on film.
Art by Nathan Thomas Milliner
It’s that one scene that chills us to the bone, or makes us throw the blanket over our head, or creates a tiny wave of spiders that crawl over our skin. Sometimes it’s a jump scare and sometimes it’s 4 minutes of terror that turns our spines into butter.
Rec, 2007 (Spanish version) – End Scene
One of the best found-footage films to come out of the early 2000s, that spawned three sequels, this Spanish-language horror classic thrusts audiences into the dark and forces them to experience the frantic terror of a surviving film crew locked in an apartment building filled with zombies. There was an English remake called Quarantine in 2008, nearly identical to the original, scene for scene, as seen in the video below. The movie uses a shaky handheld camera to build tension and thr jump scares to terrorized movie goers, but perhaps the biggest scare ended up as the last shot of the movie.
Session 9, 2001 – Hello, Simon
A critical failure when first released, Session 9 is horror’s most underrated gem and now has a huge cult following. This slow-burn psychological horror is the story of an asbestos removal crew assigned to clean up the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital in less than a week. When one of the crew members Mike finds a box of session tapes belonging to a former patient named Mary, who suffers from dissociative identity disease, the terrifying truth of what happened to her one fateful night plays out as we slowly watch another member of the crew, Gordon, lose his grip on reality. By the end of the movie, we meet what we believe may be one of Mary’s most dangerous personalities, Simon, during session 9, the movie’s most chilling recording.
Taking of Deborah Logan, 2014 – Cave scene
Another found footage supernatural horror gem that plays out like a pseudo-documentary, follows the sad decline of a woman named Deborah Logan, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. At first, we feel sorry for the woman and her family, watching Deborah’s bone-chilling antics through the eyes of a camera lens, but soon we come to understand that a sinister being may actually be behind what’s taking hold of Deborah’s mind. It’s always scary whenever a movie uses real-life illnesses like Alzheimer’s or Cancer as a plot point, but no one was ready for that crazy cave scene.
Paranormal Activity, 2009 – The Bite
Smart marketing and strong word of mouth spun the little unknown film from first-time director Oren Peli into a popular supernatural franchise. The first film initially cost only $15,000 to make and went on to gross $194 million dollars. Part of the successful marketing campaign showed trailers with audience reactions to the movie about a young couple Katie and Micah, who moved into a suburban tract home inhabited by a demonic spirit. Filmed with shaky cam, there were numerous jump scares and long intense shots seen through security camera style footage, which showed the couple’s sleepless nights. The scariest moment was watching Katie get pulled out of her own bed and brutally dragged down the dark hallway on day 20 of their terrifying ordeal.
Conjuring, 2013 – Wanna play Hide and Clap?
Based on the untold files of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. In 1971, the Warrens followed up their case about a possessed doll named Annabelle, by helping the Perron family, who claimed their newly purchased Rhode Island farmhouse was haunted by a malevolent spirit. Lorraine learns that spirit is named Bathesheba, a local witch and Satanist from Puritan times who cursed the land. Back before the days of cable and internet, the Perron parents entertained their five daughters with a variation of Hide and Seek, where the hiders clap their hands to clue in the blindfolded seeker of their location. Apparently, ghosts like to play games too.
Sinister – Lawnmower Scene
Crowned the scariest film ever made by Broadband Choices in 2020, based on the analysis of viewer heart rates, Sinister follows a true crime writer Ellison Oswalt played by Ethan Hawk, as he moves his family to Pennsylvania, chasing inspiration for a new story that will bestow the same accolades and riches he gained for his first book. The new house is actually the sight of a gruesome murder that Oswalt has decided to write about. Oswalt finds a projector in the eerie attic and a box filled with old Super8 tapes spanning decades, all inconspicuously titled home movies, and all depicting a frightening juxtapose of several families enjoying their normal lives, followed by their grisly murders. The scariest is ‘Lawn Work ’86’, where viewers join the silent creepiness of the voyeuristic killer eyeing his next victims, that eventually cumulates into a giant jump scare involving a lawnmower. It’s a scene that’ll make anyone’s heart rate go up.
Alien, 1979 – Chestburster
In last month’s blog post about Best Deaths in the Alien Movies, I picked the chestburster scene in Alien as best death scene in the whole franchise, but it’s also the scariest. It’s a shocking, gruesome, bloody death scene that not only changed the tone of the film, but the entire genre, securing Alien as the greatest SciFi Horror film ever made. The scene often parodied and duplicated by its own sequels, it’s probably the greatest jump scare of all time too.
Jaws, 1975 – Opening Scene
Considered the first summer blockbuster ever, one of Steven Spielberg’s turned Peter Benchley’s commissioned best-selling novel into a sleek thriller about the seaside town of Amity Island terrorized by a man-eating shark over the July 4th weekend. The movie follows police chief Brody as he, a young marine biologist, and a colorful professional shark hunter track down the beast. Jaws is a study of fear and it all starts with the movie’s opening scene of a girl swimming naked in the ocean. This classic opener sets the tone of the movie and eventually becomes the catalyst of a fear of open water for millions of people worldwide.
The Shining, 1980 – Room 237
I had a hard time picking the scariest scene from Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s best-selling horror novel, The Shining. The movie follows a writer Jack Torrance, who moves his wife Wendy and their son Danny to Colorado for the winter to become the caretaker of a magnificent haunted hotel. Between the ghosts and the cabin fever, this not so loving family slowly begins to unravel, espcially for young Danny who has the gift of telepathy, aka the Shine, which brings out the hotel’s former guests who never got a chance to properly checkout. There’s no jump scares, only a constant state of dread and mounting tension, accentuated by the unforgettable score. Nearly every scene is nightmare inducing, but if I have to pick the scariest, it’s gotta be Jack’s visit to the notorious Room 237.
The Exorcist, 1973 – Headturner
Deemed by many as the greatest supernatural horror film of all time, William Friedkin’s adaption of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, a story about an actress Christine MacNeil trying to save her young daughter Regan from demonic possession. Considered disturbing, shocking, and utterly vile by some viewers, the movie had people fainting and vomiting in the theaters. There was no doubt the movie was a cinematic masterpiece, as it won several Oscars, influenced pop culture, spawned sequels, influenced a new subgenre horror about demonic possession, and became the highest-grossing R-rated horror film until It in 2017, grossing a whopping $193 million with its theatrical run, a miracle considering how plagued the production was. The Exorcist went over budget and suffered several delays, including several crew deaths, leading to rumors that the film was actually cursed.
The infamous headturn scene, which has been parodied a thousand times over, is like nothing you’ve ever seen or heard. For all the foul-mouthed obscenities that are so commonplace nowadays, there’s just something morally reprehensible about the dialogue of this scene, the brutal violence shown, and the emotional agony from Christine trying to rescue Regan from a crafty demon. I’m not a particularly religious person, but it’s understandable why some people hate this film. My mother once said movies like this invite real evil into our world. I’m not sure if that’s true, but if it were, this is the movie that opened the floodgates.
You can find the Exorcist screaming on Max and AMC will air an edited version at 8:15 PT on Wednesday, October 2nd.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to post about any horror movies. Seeing as it’s Father’s Day and people might be relaxing at Grandpa’s house, I thought I’d make a Scariest Dads of Horror list, in case you were worried your family was a buncha weirdos.
The guys on this list range from deranged psychotic killers to demonically possessed deranged killers. All of them have killed somebody, or several bodies, but those who try to kill their own family especially take the cake, cuz if Daddy wants to kill you, what chance do you have out there in the real world?
Happy Summerween! June is beach-going weather. June is creature feature time! Actually, I despise hot temps, so you won’t catch me down by the ocean past 10am. I prefer air conditioned movie theaters and I know what lurks in the chemically-altered plastic-filled nuclear waters. So, I dedicate this month to all the monsters, the werewolves, vampires, zombies, Jaws, Piranha, the kaiju, like Godzilla, Ghidorah, King Kong, all the eldritch horror of Lovecraft and the monsterous creations from the King of B-roll, Roger Corman, who passed away last month at the tender age of 98. May he long rest in peace. Halloween is creeping into retail stores and this season is gonna be big! I can feel it.
something sinister lurks beneath the water Summerween
Title: The Boogeyman Director: Rob Savage Starring: Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, Vivien Lyra Blair Distributed by: 20th Century Studios Running Time: 1hr 38m
Based off the 1973 short story by Stephen King, I found this one on Hulu the other night. I hadn’t read the story before, so I thought maybe it would be a paranormal movie, but it kinda turned into a creature feature. For anyone new to the lore, a Boogeyman is predominantly North American mythos of a hellish creature that hides in closets, under the bed, or other dark creepy places and eats children who misbehave, or in this case, are just unlucky.
A recently widowed psychologist Will Harper (always solid Chris Messina) and his two daughters, teen Sadie (Yellowjackets star ingenue Sophie Thatcher) and young Sawyer (very talented Vivien Lyra Blair) are still reeling after the unexpected death of the mother, when the youngest girl suddenly finds stalked by the Boogeyman. It’s a little unclear how the creature came to find young Sawyer, maybe the family’s collective grief invited the Boogeyman into the home.
Or it could have been this sad welp below, who lost his family in the movie’s opening scene.
Lester Billings (played by my new favorite character actor David Dastmalchian) shows up in doc’s office, totally unannounced, without an appointment, and talking about the creature that comes for your kids when you’re not paying attention. Dark stuff and the doc Harper agees, there’s something off about this dude. For some creepy reason, while Harper is in the next room calling 911, Lester decides to check out the families’ closets and quickly finds out the Boogeyman eats adults too. Btw, the Boogeyman is also an extreme multi-tasker because it manages to haunt two families at the same time.
Now about that Boogeyman, filmmakers kept all the traditional tropes to make their monster feel familiar to audiences, hiding in the dark, afraid of light, mimicing voices, fast traveling like ghosts or a spirit, but, then, they also smartly added some new characteristics to unnerve and surprise filmgoers, moving away from a paranormal entity to a more corporeal physical creature.
It was ugly, had tentacle-like appendages walked on ceilings, moved in all directions, making it near impossible to outrun.
Monsters are not all powerful though. In fact, they have a lot of limitations, and Sadie and Sawyer turn out to be two smart cookies, who manage to defeat the Boogeyman, for now at least. People should probably still check under the bed and in the closet.
I found this PG-13 horror thriller to be a short enjoyable romp. The film relies on the creeponess of the dark, jump scares and the anxieties of a grieving family to scare audiences. Much like Lake Mungo, a film I reviewed earlier this month, grief is a powerful negative emotion that really opens you up to supernatural. Since there’s no gore, sex, and only mild use of drugs and bad language, The Boogeyman is probably good for families looking to introduce older kids into horror.
Scariest scenes: When young Sawyer rolls her lamp ball under the bed to reveal the Boogeyman for the first time and another jump scare moment when the Boogeyman suddenly appears and grabs Sadie.
In celebration of the halfway point to Halloween, I’ve decided to share a list of my favorite horror anthologies that are perfect to watch on Halloween night.
Most of these movies are pretty gory and violent, so make sure the kids are in bed or definitely preoccupied with their candy haul in another room. The 70s are long gone and responsible parenting is in, so, don’t scar your kids for life with things they can’t unsee. Although, the worst that could happen is they turn into lifelong horror fans like us.
*****
Trick-‘r-Treat, 2007 – Directed by Michael Dougherty. With his directorial debut, Dougherty gave the world the terrifyingly cute Halloween mascot Sam, a trick-r-treating demon with a simple list of rules that must be followed on Halloween night. This cult-favorite film never saw a theatrical release because Warner Bros. supposedly didn’t know how to market the film. I think it was mostly due to the violence of and to the children in the film’s stories. Whatever the case, this is as perfect as an anthology film can get. Great acting, great storytelling, art direction, costumes, and cinematography are all on point, and then, there’s the birth of a Halloween icon, Sam. Films that spawn multi-dollar merchandising opportunities are pretty rare, but the fact that it all grew into a worldwide fan favorite without fancy marketing and a normal production release, absolute kismet! Earlier this year, rumors spread that a bonafide sequel was in the works, but there have been no other details. Fingers crossed that Dougherty’s magic casts a second spell over the horror lovers.
The Mortuary Collection, 2019 – Directed and written by Ryan Spindell. Shudder produced this slick original anthology with a framing story more interesting than the shorts. As a big fan of Clancy Brown, I was delighted to see him starring as the eccentric mortician in the small town of Raven’s End. When a young woman answers the “Help Wanted” sign, the mortician decides to test her resolve and recounts several macabre stories of death cases he’s encountered over the years, but, as it turns out, this secretive new employee has a tale of her own to tell. The acting, score, and production quality here are all top-notch and the short stories are pretty much classic horror, with one freshly woke tale guaranteed to make men squeamish.
Creepshow, 1982 – Directed by George A Romero. In this early 80s horror-comedy, legendary horror icons, Romero and Stephen King, who wrote three stories specifically for the movie, collaborate together for the first time. The good friends really knew how to speak each other’s language and produced a classic campy fun spooky anthology of five stories which really helped make horror anthologies appreciated in the same vein as horror films. Despite the Creep feeling awfully familiar to the Cryptkeeper of Tales of the Crypt fame, the Creepshow Magazine framing story is a solid tale of an abused boy named Billy, who just wants to enjoy his comics, but his father decides to throw his beloved magazine out instead. Creepshow was a perfectly executed anthology series, starring a lot of well-known Hollywood celebrities of 1980s respectively. With special effects and monster creations done by longtime Romero friend and collaborator Tom Savini, the film paid homage to old 1950s horror and sci-fi comics and movies. My favorite short, They’re Creeping up on You, starred EG Marshall, as a bigoted, racist germ-freak tycoon who gets his comeuppance in a creepy way.
Creepshow 2, 1987 – Directed by Michael Gornick. After George A. Romero wrote the screenplay for Creepshow 2, he stepped aside to allow the cinematographer of the first Creepshow movie, to wear the director cap, in this second film collaboration with Stephen King. Even with only three stories, this quintessential 80s horror outshines its predecessor and features fine performances from more Hollywood legends, like George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour, and Tom Savini, who played the storytelling Creep and helped again with special effects. The stories are Stephen King’s classic tall tales come to life, with The Raft and The Hitchhiker being the best of three but I really did enjoy the outlining story involving the same bullied comic-reading hero Billy from the first film. Much like the first film, Creepshow 2 simply reminds us of why some of us fell in love with horror in the first place.
All Hallow’s Eve, 2013 – Directed and written by Damien Leone. What an introduction to the brutal sadistic horror villain Art the Clown. In his first feature-length film, Art terrorizes a babysitter on Halloween night, when she finds an old VHS tape containing three horrifying stories. One of the creepiest things about Art the Clown and why he’s become such a popular horror villain, is we just don’t know why he’s doing all this. It harkens back to the early days of Halloween’s Michael Myers, before the armchair psychologists showed up and ruined him. The boogeyman doesn’t need a reason.
V/H/S/94, 2021 – Directed by various directors. Does anyone even know or remember what VHS tapes are? All the Shudder’s V/H/S movies are great, but in ’94, I really enjoyed all the shorts and the framing story about a group of swat officers who raid the compound of a cult only to discover body parts and disturbing videotapes playing in each room. The Subject directed by Timo Tjahjanto was my favorite. What a gruesome action-packed delight. This is a perfectly cast and executed production of cyborg horror with a fantastic story and a hero which I hope we haven’t seen the last of. (I’m still waiting for cyberpunk horror genre to take off, now that we have the technology.) Fingers crossed someone gives Timo some money and lets him make a sequel or prequel.
Black Sabbath, (I tre volti della paura, ‘The Three Faces of Fear), 1963 – Directed by Mario Bava. The legendary Italian horror maestro teams up with horror icon Boris Karloff to tell three terrifying tales. This is mostly a thriller, light on actual scares, except for the last story, A Drop of Water. Now this is a horror classic that will haunt you. Bava stole from the best to bring these creepy tales to life and has found a cult following since its initial release, which was considered a bomb. I guess Kaloff’s star was fading by then. Thank the horror gods for DTV and streaming.
Tales of Halloween, 2015 – Directed by various directors. This Netflix production of ten separate horror stories, all taking place on Halloween night, is a lot fun and a great film to put on in the background of your Halloween party. After a long animation montage of the short’s titles and credits, we jump right into the action. There’s no framing story, just horror legend Adrienne Barbeau lending her smooth voice as a local DJ to set the mood for the evening. While not as scary as some other anthologies on this list, the Halloween vibe is strong and some shorts are really amusing and filled with dark humor. My favorite story was Friday the 31st which I found quite humorous and a real treat for those who like twists.
*****
There’s no real order to this list. I think every anthology series has merit and should be seen by horror fans. I can’t guarantee every story will tickle your fancy, but enough of them will. If you’re looking to have a spooky good time on Halloween night after the trick-or-treating is done, these are timeless horror classics that get the job done.
I’ve compiled a list of great holiday horror and Halloween books that your favorite Halloween and horror fan will love this Creepmas. I live in Los Angeles area so some of my suggestions reflect my current location, but free feel to check local bookstores in your area. Happy Holidays!
Time-travel, immortal vampires and Christmas make for one terrifying tale for the holidays. When you’re done reading, check out season one of the TV adapation from AMC Channel on Amazon Prime.
Come check out the Yuletide tales of witches, elves and ghosts, Perfect winter reading. Keep an eye out for the new Audiobookcoming on December 22, 2020.
Come explore the spooky world of Krampus and other holiday monsters in this latest book from author and paranormal investigator, Amanda Woomer.
Halloween Books:
Pumpkins and Party Themes: 50 DIY Designs to Bring Your Halloween Extravaganza to Life By Roxanne Rhoads
I know 2020 put a damper on our Halloween celebrations this year, which only means we should come back hard in 2021. This book is full of ideas and DIY designs to help get us ready for the perfect party next year!
What a fantastic way to learn all about Halloween traditions. This beautiful, fully-colored little book is a dream for vintage Halloween collectors and Halloween lovers.
From author and illustrator Rhode Montijo, follow along with the adventures of the mysterious masked defender of Halloween. Word around town is there’s an animated show in the works.
This LA Times Bestseller, which topped all the 2019 ‘Best Of’ lists, uncovers the mysterious life of former Disney animator, Milicent Patrick, the only woman in history to create a Hollywood classic movie monster.
I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful, bright, fully-color collection of vintage Hollywood movie posters. It’s a great read for film lovers and filled with the history behind some of Hollywood’s best classic horror and sci-fi movies.
Come explore the magnificent legacy of Universal Studio’s Monsters, learn all about the characters, their mythologies and get behind-the scenes insights into Hollywood’s golden age of horror.
I predict once this pandemic is over, travel will come roaring back to life and 2021 will be the perfect time for a paranormal adventure. This awesome read breaks down what to expect when you visit some of America’s most haunted bars, breweries, wineries and more!
Posting this blog a day late and a dollar short, just like dear ‘ole dad. If you were one of the millions who spent Father’s Day pining over your lost, non-existent volatile relationship with daddy dearest, cheer up, and be glad you weren’t the offspring of any of these bad dads of horror.
10. Satan – Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
It doesn’t really get much worse than having Satan for a dad. Sure, there are probably perks to being the Antichrist, but the trade-off is lifetime of micromanagement from mid-level staffers on daddy’s payroll. Satan’s coven rape, conspire, commit murder and drive the chosen mother-to-be to the brink of insanity, all to ensure Satan’s son is born on the exact date that will make him 33 years on the millennial, the same age as Jesus when he came into his own. Who would’ve guessed the devil would be so petty?
This isn’t just another ‘best of scary movie’ list, this is ‘the best of scariest movies to specifically watch on Halloween night’ list. You can watch those other films any day of the year. There’s something really special about watching a spooky movie on Halloween night though. These movies are not recommended for children, but, I’ll leave the parenting up to you.
♦♦♦♦♦
The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Not only is Director Guillermo Del Toro’s Spanish language film visually stunning, it’s hands down one of the scariest and most masterfully written ghost stories ever produced. Besides that, creepy ghost children are just never not going to be scary.
Get Out (2017)
Writer and Director Jordan Peele delivers a terrifying psychological thriller, which relies on the audiences’ own inner fears to fuel the suspense on what the true scare here is all about, Is it a ghost story? Is it a killer story? Is it all someone’s imagination?
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Director Michael Dougherty weaves together four separate terrifying Halloween night horror stories, each connected by a mysterious little creature, who reminds us Halloween can be deadly if you mess around and break the rules of Halloween. I consider this film quintessential Halloween viewing.
Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
Dead kid. Check. Dead cat. Check. Dead ghost. Check. Writer and Director Takashi Shimizu doubled down on scares by telling this frightening story out of order, which added confusion for some. Make no mistake, scary is scary, whether you understand it or not. However, if subtitles or non-linear storytelling aren’t your thing, you can always rent The Grudge, the American remake, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the very same dead kid, dead cat and dead ghost. I affectionately refer to this film as the Neverending Ghost Story
Halloween Horror Haiku 
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