Halloween Horror Movie Picks: What I Watched in 2020 and may return to for the 2021 holiday)
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23 titles
- DirectorOz PerkinsStarsEmma RobertsKiernan ShipkaLucy BoyntonTwo girls must battle a mysterious evil force when they get left behind at their boarding school over winter break.Meh! Oz Perkins, the writer/director does better with the next one.
- DirectorOz PerkinsStarsRuth WilsonPaula PrentissBob BalabanA young nurse takes care of an elderly author who lives in a haunted house.Pretty good slow-burn psych thriller with a horror aspect. Nicely written script, prose-wise. An improvement over Perkin's last one (see below...or above?).
- DirectorEmmanuel Osei-KuffourStarsMamoudou AthiePhylicia RashadAmanda ChristineAfter losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.I like this one. Great acting by the lead. The character totally has a personality crisis!
- DirectorKaryn KusamaStarsLogan Marshall-GreenEmayatzy CorinealdiMichiel HuismanWhen a man accepts an invitation to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife, the unsettling past reopens old wounds and creates new tensions.Two-thirds of a cool movie with ensemble cast. Last third, well, I can't tell ya, but meh.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
- DirectorPatrick BriceStarsKatie AseltonPatrick BriceMark DuplassA young videographer answers an online ad for a one-day job in a remote town to record the last messages of a dying man. When he notices the man's odd behavior, he starts to question his intentions.Haha, is the creepy guy just weird is something more sinister afoot? Film only has two actors but they make the most of it. There is a guy-does-stupid-things horror trope involved, but I was okay with it. Looking forward to watching Creep 2. UPDATE: Watched it; you can find my review as part of my "Halloween 2021 (What I'm Watching for the Holiday)" list.
- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.Well, didn't do much for me but it has a respectable rating so I guess your mileage may vary.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJessica HarperStefania CasiniFlavio BucciAn American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.This movie has a great beginning and an even better ending, but the middle is a little plodding.
- DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsKarra ElejaldeCandela FernándezBárbara GoenagaA man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.Low budget time-travel, try to fix things flick in Spanish with English subtitles. It held my interest even as the events got confusing. As Kate Mulgrew said in a Star Trek episode, "Time travel gives me a headache." Worth watching if you like that sort of thing.
- DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsPatricia JesselDennis LotisChristopher LeeA young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft; during her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants.Most likely scared kids out of their wits in the early sixties. In retrospect, pretty conventional: Christopher Lee, witchcraft, fog, human sacrifices. Has nice atmosphere and a bit of a silly ending.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsJennifer O'NeillGabriele FerzettiMarc PorelA clairvoyant woman discovers a skeleton in a wall in her husband's house, and seeks to find the truth about what happened to the victim.Pretty much what you would except for the time. It kept me engaged throughout, but the plot was convoluted to the point that I couldn't figure out if there were holes in it or not. Maybe you can?
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsDennis O'KeefeMargoJean BrooksA seemingly-tame leopard used for a publicity stunt escapes and kills a young girl, spreading panic throughout a sleepy New Mexico town.
- DirectorRichard StanleyStarsNicolas CageJoely RichardsonMadeleine ArthurA secluded farm is struck by a strange meteorite which has apocalyptic consequences for the family living there and possibly the world.Nicolas Cage, alpacas, Tommy Chong, a hydrologist (?!) and a general weirdness of tone all combine to make this a diverting horror/sci-fi adventure.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.Slow moving, gives goats a bad name, but nicely atmospheric. You enjoyment may depend on the setting and content, both of which are not my cup of tea.
- DirectorDon CoscarelliStarsA. Michael BaldwinBill ThornburyReggie BannisterA teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.Equal parts cheesy and creative, this cult classic is a fun ride.
- CreatorMike FlanaganStarsMichiel HuismanCarla GuginoHenry ThomasFlashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.A homage-only take on the original book so comparisons are a waste of time. A little bit too dependent on flashbacks, but I enjoyed this due to its creative plotting and good acting.
- DirectorMike FlanaganStarsJohn Gallagher Jr.Kate SiegelMichael TruccoA deaf and mute writer who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window."Thought I heard you callin' my name now...Hush, Hush..."
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsDavid HemmingsDaria NicolodiGabriele LaviaA jazz pianist and a wisecracking journalist are pulled into a complex web of mystery after the former witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic.Classic of its time, keeps you guessing, has great score by prog-rock band Goblin (per the usual), twist ending, plus the usual Argento style.
UPDATE: Watched again in 2021 and downgraded it from 8.0 to 6.0. The movie hasn't changed but I guess I have. Check my Halloween list for 2021. Goblin soundtrack still good fun, as is the creepy children's tune. - DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie HarrisClaire BloomRichard JohnsonHill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.This classic is mostly faithful to the book with some exceptions. It is a fine haunted house flick with psychological elements.
- DirectorAri AsterStarsFlorence PughJack ReynorVilhelm BlomgrenA couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.A creepy movie about a evil cult that actually takes place totally during the day. So points for inventiveness there. It's long, but kept my interest. Best to ignore that the cultists look like members of the Polyphonic Spree.
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsShauna MacdonaldNatalie MendozaAlex ReidA caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.Descent into predictability is more like it. It has a pretty good setup if you like your characters underdeveloped. I was fairly interested for the first two-thirds, and then it was like a million other horror movies you've seen before.
- DirectorRenato PolselliStarsHélène RémyTina GlorianiWalter BrandiA troupe of beautiful young dancers find themselves stranded in a sinister, spooky old castle, not knowing that it is home to a group of vampires.Watched at YouTube with English subtitles but not easy to find there as it isn't listed by its title. It's very Italian with lots of classic Italian beauties playing ballerinas plus typical vampire lore and damsels in distress. Recommended.
- DirectorGilberto Martínez SolaresStarsGermán ValdésYolanda VarelaLon Chaney Jr.Casimiro, night watchman at a wax museum of horrors, is even more sleepy than his usual laziness makes him - because his boss, the Professor, is secretly draining blood from him while he dozes to use in experiments in raising the dead. These haven't worked so far, and the bodies have been waxened and placed on display in the museum to cover his crimes. His big chance seems to come, however, when he learns that the mummified body of a modern man has been found in an Egyptian sarcophagus. The professor and his two henchmen steal the body and take it back to his lab - where the experiment flops again. Or it seems to. While the villains are out of the lab, and Casimiro sleeps on duty, a bolt of lightning gives the electrical boost which the Professor's machinery has needed, and the body comes back to life. Then the clouds part, the full moon shines through, and the resurrected one becomes a were- wolf. When Casimiro sees it wandering the museum, no one will believe him, not even Paquita, his girlfriend. But the professor finds his subject alive and soon witnesses a transformation. Eventually, the creature escapes him and makes off into the night, terrorizing the city and ending up at Paquita's apartment...Ok, so not great, but it was fun to watch on Halloween night. This is a typical B-Movie horror flick except it's in from Mexico and has English subtitles at YouTube.