Scary films to add to your Halloween viewing
We’ve already looked at some creepy reads to cozy up with this season. But sometimes you just want to get out the Jiffy Pop and find a good horror movie you haven’t seen before.
Let’s take a look at some lesser-known gems to watch this October.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
What if slasher movies were real and maniacs had an intern program?
This mockumentary-style horror-comedy is a fantastic take on the self-aware genre. Leslie Vernon (Nathan Bessel) longs to be the next Freddy Krueger or Jason Vorhees, and he invites a camera crew to follow him as he plans his first murder spree. Highlights include a hilarious performance by Scott Wilson (Herschel, “The Walking Dead”) as Leslie’s slasher mentor and Robert Englund (Freddy, “A Nightmare on Elm Street”) as Leslie’s nemesis/Doctor Loomis figure.
Fun Fact: There are Easter eggs galore for fans of ’80s and ’90s horror flicks, none of which will I spoil here. Go forth and find ’em all.
Memorable Line: Leslie (explaining why he does so much cardio): “Well, I have to be able to run like a frickin’ gazelle without getting winded. Plus, there’s that whole thing about making it look like you’re walking while everybody else is running their asses off.”
Available on Amazon Prime Video.
Session 9 (1995)
Bad things happen at the old, abandoned asylum. Because of course, it does.
An asbestos clean-up crew takes a job in an abandoned asylum with a horrific past. This slow burn was filmed on location at the infamous Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts, and the eerie setting feels like a character in itself. Most of the film is shot in broad daylight, which somehow feels even scarier. It’s like the place was so creepy that the filmmakers let the set speak for itself.
Parts psychological horror, whodunnit and supernatural thriller, “Session 9” is well worth your time this October.
Freaky Fact: Danvers State Hospital is believed to be the inspiration behind H.P. Lovecraft’s Arkham Sanitarium in his short story, “The Thing on the Doorstep”.
Memorable Line: Hank (Josh Lucas): “Madness is just overactive curiosity.”
Available on Amazon Prime Video.
Dead of Night (1945)
If you aren’t already scared of ventriloquist dummies, this movie can fix that for you.
In this early horror anthology, Walter Craig (Mervyn Jones) arrives at an old country estate where a new client is entertaining five guests. Walter has a strange premonition that this encounter has happened before. Each guest shares their own supernatural tale, and you eventually find out the unsettling reason behind Walter’s déjà vu.
The showstopper is the final tale called “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy”, featuring an incredible performance by Michael Redgrave as the ventriloquist Maxwell and a dummy that is pure nightmare fuel.
Freaky Fact: For years, the only way to view this film was to find a rare VHS copy. Turner Classic Movies kept it alive as a staple in its Halloween lineup, introducing this masterpiece to new generations.
I’d given up looking for it a while ago, so I didn’t know there was a DVD release until I happened on one at Game Swap Kettering. I did a literal happy dance.
Memorable Line: Maxwell: “You don’t know what Hugo’s capable of…”
Available on DVD (happy dance!), Blu-ray and streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Train to Busan (2016)
A zombie outbreak at 200 mph.
Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) and his young daughter board a train to Seoul, unaware that a zombie outbreak is sweeping across Korea.
That’s really all the plot I’m going to share because you just need to watch “Train to Busan”. Like, as soon as you finish reading this. It’s just so well-done.
The action is non-stop after the first zombie attack, but the characters still somehow remain the focus. A top-notch cast, tense environment and incredible fight scenes – this movie is a hell of a ride (so to speak) and one of the best zombie movies ever made.
Memorable Line: Soo-an (Su-Ann Kim): “When you start something, you should finish it no matter what”.
Freaky Fact: This is not the first zombies-on-a-train film. That honor goes to Horror Express (1972), starring horror-movie royalty Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
Available free on Tubi and Peacock, and to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
WNUF Halloween Special (2013)
Found-footage horror meets cheesy local news.
It’s October 31, 1987, and a local tv station is broadcasting live from a supposedly haunted house. We’re watching a VHS recording of the live broadcast, so we see the original commercials and even sections of fast-forwarded videotape.
The Halloween night nostalgia in “WNUF Halloween Special” is so strong. The 1980s infuses this film so effectively that I found myself checking to see if any commercials were actually pulled from that era. They do become a bit distracting closer to the climax, but they are such a great device to achieve the overall effect.
Watch this one on your own, with the lights out except for the glow of your Halloween decorations. Open a bag of fun-size candy that you vowed not to get into yet and enjoy this lo-fi throwback to Halloweens past.
Freaky Fact: After filming, “WNUF Halloween Special” was recorded to a VHS tape, then duplicated multiple times, giving the movie its unique vintage VHS look.
Memorable line: Rather than dialogue from the film, I will list some of the songs on the “FEEL THE STEEL” compilation cassette featured in one of the commercials.
- JAXXON – “Ours Is the Night to Take”
- WANTED – “Heaven Is Afraid”
- KANNABYL – “Tuxedo Shark’
- PYROFYRE – “Couple Skate”
What are your lesser-known favorites?
What are your horror faves that the world needs to know about?
Let me know in the comments below!