It's time for a follow-up edition of the Halloween Sampler, in which I peruse the movies I've seen over the year in order to offer recommendations for your spooky holiday enjoyment!
This is also the second year in a row that Husband and I have carved jack-o'-lanterns while watching an old scary movie. I highly recommend this tradition, because older movies often set the mood without being so frightening that they are unpleasant.
Also the pumpkins turned out pretty sweet!
To recap from last year, in addition to my typical 1 - 5 rating system, I will include a bonus scary/intense rating system which ranges from ! = not at all scary to !!!!! = so scary!
Super awesome fact: all of this year's selections are available to stream on Netflix, so there are basically no boundaries between you and hours of terrifying entertainment!
Without further ado!
"The Awakening" (2011)
Rating: 3.5 Scary Rating: !!!!
This year's conventional modern horror offering! I love a good haunted house and scary child ghost story, and this delivers perfectly nicely. It is not thoroughly terrifying (caveat: this might be a reflection of the fact that I watched it on a sunny afternoon), but it is also not annoyingly predictable, dumb, or cliché, all of which totally ruin perfectly nice scary movies for me. Also I found the lady main character interesting.
Bonus: baby Bran!
Double bonus: also McNulty!
"Apollo 18" (2011)
Rating: 2 Scary Rating: !!
This year's scary offering... in space!! "Apollo 18" is shot pseudo-documentary style with all "found footage," which is a fun approach in general but especially for a scary movie (see also: "Blair Witch Project" (1999), which we all mock now but was legit innovative at the time). The film tracks the failed, mysterious Apollo 18 mission to the Moon. There are some taught moments that exploit the claustrophobia and isolation of space decently well, but the payoff is ultimately pretty dumb. So if you're looking for a SciFi-y mild thriller that will more likely make you laugh at the end than give you bad dreams, this is your pick!
"The Conversation" (1974)
Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!
Minor trivia: if you are a regular This American Life listener, you will most assuredly recognize a recurrent musical refrain in this film.
"Best Worst Movie" (2009)
Rating: 3 Scary Rating: !
This film isn't so much a scary movie in its own right, but is instead a documentary exploring the surprisingly enthusiastic cult resurgence of what looks like seriously the worst movie ever, possibly rivaling this guy. Seriously. It's perfectly enjoyable largely because tracking down the cast and crew is a fascinating examination of the wildly different paths people traveled after briefly, serendipitously (if such a positive word can be used?) coming together for one bizarre little project.
Although, very much like "Wicker Man" (2006) from last year's sampler, this film is a bit frightening simply because the movie that is its subject matter did, in fact, get made, with the presumed consent of many many people.
"House on Haunted Hill" (1959)
Rating: 2 Scary Rating: !!!
This was our pumpkin-carving classic horror movie selection this year, and it definitely did not disappoint. First of all: Vincent Price, and that gloriously skeevy creepy voice of his. Second: multiple references to hysteria and abundant misogyny! Finally: some genuinely chilly moments to embellish an otherwise classic helping of strangely quaint, melodramatic, but still dark Vincent Price-y-ness. Definitely a fun watch!
I hope you all enjoy an excellent Halloween tailored precisely to your desired level of spookiness! Thank you for reading!
{Heart}
