With Halloween now just over two weeks away everyone and their moms are looking for horror movies to watch. Yeah, AMC's "Frightfest" has now officially begun but for those looking for something different and without way too many commercial breaks I am bringing you my '31 Days of Halloween'. I have already put up my first two weeks of films, which you can find here, and now I bring you the third block in my month of movies. With the countless number of streaming and video-on-demand services now it is easier than ever to watch whatever film you desire at the simple click of a button. So if you aren't one to suffer to scheduled programming than take a peak at what I think are some of the best genre films to watch during this Halloween season.
October 15:
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Horror, Action, Comedy
Directed By: Ronny Yu
Now I know this movie isn't always the best received amongst the horror community, but hear me out. Come Halloween time us genre fans look for a different kind of movie to entertain us, not just the scariest, and I think Freddy vs. Jason fits that bill. When you step back and look at it, this movie is everything the fans truly wanted, but decided to ignore. Yeah the movie is super goofy and over the top but how else would you have had it? We get to see an hour and a half of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees literally beating the hell out of each other, and in every way possible. Not to mention all the while we get to watch the two pile up a respectable body count of snobby teenagers. The movie is wonderfully funny and the action is fantastic, making this a kickass action-horror-comedy that simply receives far too much unfair hate. If you are someone who has been on the side of hate towards this film than I urge you to go back with an open mind and give it one more shot, you may be surprised by how much fun you have with it.
October 16:
Pet Sematary (1989)
Horror
Directed By: Mary Lambert
It's not officially Halloween without some Stephen King and though there is a more obvious choice for the holiday season (check back next week for that one) I couldn't officially endorse this list without Pet Sematary on it. One of the few King adaptations to actually capture the essence of his writing and character development and actually build on the horror to make a truly terrifying film. The story focuses on a small family who has just moved into a new home and soon find out the land they now live on holds some dark secrets. Their new neighbor shows them a mysterious plot of land set far back behind their property that holds a sinister power. When tragedy strikes the family they go against his warning and do something that they will regret for the rest of their lives. In true King fashion this film is twisted, weird, truly scary, and even a bit funny making it a perfect watch for the month of October.
October 17:
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Horror, Comedy
Directed By: Dan O'Bannon
I know a whole bunch of you were tuned into the premier of The Walking Dead this last Sunday (sorry I'm still a whole season behind) and with it you are craving more zombies. That is why I am telling you to go and watch the batshit crazy, 1985 zombie splatter flick Return of the Living Dead. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, this film is one of the most fun and walked out zombie flicks of all-time. Embodying everything we all love about the classic eighties genre films this movie takes what Romero created and turns it into something even crazier. A landmark zombie film, this is the movie that created an undead with a dying hunger for BRAINS!!! The practical effects are stunning, the story is intelligently goofy, and the characters are out of this world making this much more than your average zombie flick.
October 18:
We Are Still Here (2015)
Horror
Directed By: Ted Goeghegan
Just released this past week on Blu-Ray and DVD this is still one of my favorite new horror films of the year. I reviewed it back at the beginning of summer so I won't go too far into detail with this film but I think anyone looking for a good new movie to watch this week should definitely check it out. You can rent it on all major VOD platforms or even go grab the Blu-Ray at Best Buy for a bargain of just $9.99, get on it. Playing with the classic story of a mourning family who moves into a new home, this film is a throwback to all of the best aspects of classic suspense horror. A family mourning the loss of their son moves out to a quiet town, but before long they begin to suspect the house they moved into may hold some dark secrets. Worrying it may just be their suffering mental state due to the tragic loss of their son, they invite their friends to come stay with them to help ease the pain. It isn't long before they are all fighting back against something far more threatening than the mourning of their son.
October 19:
Double Feature!
Dead Snow (2009) & Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead (2014)
Horror, Comedy
Directed By: Tommy Wirkola
Look, I couldn't put one without the other it just wasn't fair. I have done this double feature before and let me tell you, it is an absolute blast from start to finish. If you are unfamiliar with this pair of films directed by Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) the plot is simple: Nazi Zombies rise from the grave and wreak havoc on the Norwegian people. The first film is the contained "cabin in the woods" style movie that sees a small group of young adults get terrorized by the band of undead Nazi's. The second however takes the stakes up to a much larger scale when the lone survivor of the first movie leads them into a small town just outside the woods they were camping in. Now the zombified hoards of Hitler loving soldiers are viciously murdering the innocent civilians of the town.
Both movies are a love letter to classic zombie movies from the late seventies and eighties and are a testament to what can be done with practical effects. Wirkola uses the natural beauty of Norway to capture some truly stunning shots making these films stunning to look at. Both movies are wildly funny and each and every kill is absolutely crazy and over the top in the best way possible. To make it even better, both movies are currently streaming on Netflix instant, get it done.
October 20:
Pumpkinhead (1988)
Horror
Directed By: Stan Winston
One of effects legend Stan Winston's only ventures into the world of directing is the 1988 creature feature Pumpkinhead. Aside from the name this movie is perfect viewing come October. The movie may not take place on or around Halloween but it has everything we love to see this time of year. When a group of teens go out camping in a cabin in the woods (obviously) tragedy strikes and a local man blames them for the death of his son. In anger the man summons an ancient being known as Pumpkinhead to take vengeance on the people responsible for the death of his son. As you would expect from Stan Winston the effects are incredible, using practical makeup and animatronics to create one of the coolest looking movie monsters of all-time. Head to Wal-Mart now and you may find a copy on DVD with some cool cover art for just a few bucks, totally worth it for this classic monster movie.
October 21:
The Conjuring (2013)
Horror
Directed By: James Wan
The hype around this movie is no joke, if you still haven't seen it you need to change that. This is easily one of the scariest movies of the modern century and possibly of all-time. Horror master James Wan finds a way to take a story we have seen done a million times over again and make it feel entirely new and completely terrifying. Using the "true life" story of Perron family and their employment of Ed and Lorraine Warren, world renowned paranormal investigators. What seems to be a running theme for most of this list, the story focuses on a family that has just moved into a new home and as you would expect, that home has a dark past. It's a classic haunted house story but the execution and storytelling done by Wan make this stand far above the rest. Take it from someone who finds the original Amityville Horror to be a bore, this movie is an incredible piece of horror cinema.
So there is another week of movies to feed your fix until next week. There are some amazing movies on this list and they do a wonderful job of making it feel like it is truly Halloween time. As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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