Halloooooooooooooo!
Happy Halloween dear readers! It's time for our
annual review of
creepy movies to enhance this season's
fear factor!
As with all Halloween Samplers in our proud history, for today's post I will supplement our usual 1 - 5 rating scale with the additional bonus scary/intense rating system of 1 - 5 exclamation points thusly:
! = not at all scary
!!!!! = so scary!
This year I have the somewhat unusual "problem" of having already written about several of the scary movies I would like to include in the Halloween round-up. To compensate, I will divide up this year's movies by "New Movies" and "Old Movies," with the latter referring to films that have already been reviewed.
And with that: Commence!
"Old Movies"
"Lizzie" (2018)
Rating: 3 Scary Rating: !!
As I noted in
last month's summary post, "Lizzie" seemed like a promising re-imagining of the historical ax murders. Despite being steeped in a moodily tense atmosphere and enhanced by great performances, the movie simply didn't deliver high-intensity scares.
"A Quiet Place" (2018)
Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!!
Large plot holes aside, I really appreciate the creativity and genuine scare-factor of "A Quiet Place." It offers a really interesting premise and doesn't rely on fake-out jump-scares, unnecessary gore, or any of the other tropes that rapidly diminish the esteem in which I hold a horror movie.
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018)
Rating: 1 Scary Rating: !
This year's "Holy God I Hated This Movie" entry.
Holy God I hated this movie. How, HOW did it make dinosaurs boring?? But more importantly, why??
"New Movies"*
* = Some of which are not actually new
"Annihilation" (2018)
Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!!!
"Annihilation" is a great new addition to the genre of space horror, although admittedly it is not set in outer space but instead portrays the consequences of outer space infiltrating Earth. It is mind-bendy and unnerving on a level I haven't experienced in a while (well, with
one exception), combining great special effects with a strong female-majority cast, helmed by Natalie Portman. It climbs to a deeply creepy and unsettling climax that will leave you with a decidedly yucky feeling in your stomach. So... if you're down for that, enjoy!
"The Innocents" (1961)
Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!
This year's classic entry! Husband and I watched "The Innocents" (note: very different from
2016's excellent "The Innocents") while carving jack-o'-lanterns, and it was a perfect choice. The movie's dark cinematography, set in a menacing over-sized manor, pleasingly reminded me of one of my
favorite horror movies. "The Innocents" is based on a story by Henry James and the screenplay was co-adapted by Truman Capote, which increased my eagerness to see this movie and likely contributed to its well-balanced combination of old-timey hokeyness and enduring frightfulness.
"Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press" (2017)
Rating: 5 Scary Rating: !!!!!
This year's documentary entry! While this is by no means a conventional horror story, in the current political era it is nevertheless deeply terrifying. It tells the story of how radically conservative billionaires with a vendetta against the press can actively and devastatingly destroy the public's access to quality journalism and threaten democracy.
And with that, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this beautifully creepy holiday! Happy Halloween!!
{Heart}
