A Halloween Sampler for All Souls: 2020 Edition!

 Halloooooooooooooooooooo!

Happy Halloween, dear friends and readers!

In my typical Halloween-y fashion, each of today's films will be accompanied by our usual 1 - 5 rating scale as well as a scary/intense rating of 1 - 5 exclamation points, to be interpreted as follows:

! = not at all scary 

!!!!! = so scary!

I'm excited to share some film suggestions for this spooky season, especially in light of how this year's Halloween will inevitably be curtailed by the pandemic.  It's probably obvious from my now long-running tradition of writing these annual Halloween scary movie round-ups that I love Halloween.  I've therefore been feeling anticipatory sadness for how tomorrow will be different than other years, lacking the pleasure of sharing it with others by going to parties and trick-or-treating as we would in a normal time.  Because of that, it feels even more important to hold onto safer and more possible traditions.

Of course, for me that includes watching a scary movie with Husband while we carve pumpkins, as we plan to do tomorrow.  We're very fortunate that Husband's family grew and personally delivered pumpkins to us for expressly this purpose, and that they've held out long enough to make it until Halloween.

As a new tradition, I learned to make apple cider donuts.  I don't feel safe heading out to the apple orchards where I would normally be able to enjoy some, and I found myself feeling profoundly disappointed that I wouldn't be able to enjoy any for at least another year.  I am delighted to say that this recipe is delicious and, as a result, my endeavor was successful!

I've also taken on the deeply pleasant project of making a costume for my child that matches one I made for myself several years ago.  I can't wait to see my sweet little bun in their costume.

So, without further delay, here are some creepy cinematic creations for your frightened viewing pleasure:

"Room" (2015)

Rating: 5 Scary Rating: !!!!

While perhaps not a conventional scary movie, I can attest that this film is nevertheless terrifying.  I was unable to finish the book on which "Room" is based because it made me feel panicky.  It's also an emotionally rich, psychologically accurate, and ultimately rewarding movie, but the fundamental horror of its premise can't be ignored.

"Coco" (2017)

Rating: 5 Scary Rating: !

For a completely different tone (and holiday), "Coco" is an absolute delight.  Its beautiful, rich, and bright imagery pairs with its sweet music to provide a lovely, moving story to celebrate Día de los Muertos with a gentle but poignant emotional resonance typical of Pixar.  Since I have to start thinking about ways to make our annual jack-o'-lanterns and spooky movies routine child appropriate (ideally without causing nightmares), "Coco" will definitely be on the menu in future years.

"Moon" (2009)

Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!

This year's scifi entry!  "Moon" is in many ways an enjoyable movie, in large part as a result of its feature-length bottle episode set-up with Sam Rockwell carrying almost the entirety of the movie.  It is also just creepy enough for those of you wanting something in the goldilocks zone of scary movies.

A Note: Kevin Spacey does a voiceover of an appropriately creepy robot (typecasting?).  He has been accused of sexually abusing teenaged boys.  I no longer support his work.  Because his role in "Moon" is minor, my hope is to support Sam Rockwell's excellent performance while still holding in mind that Spacey's predatory behavior is completely unacceptable.

"Parasite" (2019)

Rating: 5 Scary Rating: !!!!

Perhaps "Parasite" is another odd choice for this year's round-up, but I stand by it.  Because it is an excellent, surprising, absorbing, and thought-provoking film examining the hostile, abusive, and fraught relationships between the upper and lower classes, it is also deeply alarming and at times disturbing.  One particular image from this movie still pops into my head periodically and, frankly, really freaks me out.  This shit is dark!

"The Lighthouse" (2019)

Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!!!

Speaking of dark!  Brought to you by Robert Eggers, director of "The Witch" (2015), this is probably one of the best movies I never want to see again.  The pains taken to create this moody and simultaneously beautiful, deeply unsettling, and terrifying tale are evident, from the old-timey odd aspect ratio in which it was shot to the script directly informed by lighthouse keepers' diaries and records from the era the film portrayed.  It is such a well-made and fascinating movie.  And yet: the persistent anxious nausea I felt watching it didn't abate for a while after it was over, so I don't know that I need to ever rewatch it.

This concludes the segment of the post that is comprised of movies I haven't written about yet!  To provide some additional options, I would also like to remind you of some films that already have posts written about them, including:

"Unsane" (2018)

Rating: 1 Scary Rating: !!!!

As I have already noted: man I hated this movie.  It is both deeply unpleasant and deeply problematic.  But I have to admit that it also fits the bill for scary movies!

"Under the Skin" (2013)

Rating: 1 Scary Rating: !!!

Yet another movie I unabashedly hated, to the point that I didn't even get beyond the first 30 minutes.  And yet, technically: this is another scifi entry, and is definitely a movie that is scary (and unnecessarily upsetting, so viewer beware).

"Burning" (2018)

Rating: 3 Scary Rating: !!!

While as horror goes I still feel that "Burning" pales in comparison to some other, similar narratives, it is nevertheless an unnerving, interesting, and haunting film that is worth watching.

"The Seventh Seal" (1957)

Rating: 5 Scary Rating: !!

Maybe "The Seventh Seal" isn't overtly scary the way some of the other films listed here are, but its brooding atmosphere and morbid existential themes definitely make it an excellent candidate for this year's throw-back entry.

I hope you all find happy, spooky, fulfilling ways to enjoy this Halloween!

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