My Annual List of Scary Halloween Movies

Halloween 2011 — when Sly (and Pandora) waited by the door to scare the poor trick-o-treaters

We just returned from Japan and are most likely looking at another lazy weekend of making bread, cooking things in a crockpot, and binging on movies. Since it’s October, and since I love me some scary movies, I compiled a list of horror movies to take me through Halloween:

Halloween Movies 2015

(This list will be updated with short reviews once I have finished watching the movie.)

+ Poltergeist (2105 version) – It’s hard to beat the creepiness of the original film version, especially since that movie has been so embedded into my frightened childhood memory, but bad child acting, bad script, and complete overreaction/over acting by the main characters certainly did not help. Not exactly scary — more like the kind of movie where you love yelling at the tv.
+ Babadook – Indie movie that explores childhood fears as well as internal darkness. Not what I was expecting but creepy and good. I thought about this movie quite a bit after watching.
+ Haunter – Kind of dumb and predictable,  but not terrible
+ Insidious Chapter 3 – If you like the Insidious series then you’ll probably like this one. It’s definitely a watered down version of the first and even second chapters, but uses enough scare tactics to keep the movie going. 
+ The Visit – Found footage format produced and directed by M.Night Shyamalan. We really liked this movie — it was suspenseful, creepy,  and funny. Classic Shyamalan movie in the way the suspense was slowly built – it’s no Sixth Sense, but it is a far cry from the later M.Night Shyamalan (painful) movies. In my opinion, this movie was underrated  — it was one of my favorite movies we watched in this genre this Halloween. 
+ What We Do In The Shadows – Vampire mockumentary with a very dry sense of humor. We found it hilarious. If you don’t like scary movies, this is a good one to watch.
+ It Follows – Such a simple yet intensely eerie concept that was only accentuated by the retro flair and old school synth soundtrack. This movie was so good, so haunting, and so unsettling. Highly recommended.
+ Unfriended – Interesting concept and format, actually way better than I thought it was going to be. Still stupid, but not painfully so.
+ The Voices – Strange (very) dark comedy yet an interesting and highly stylized version of a slasher movie. Not bad.
+ The Mist – Stephen King adaptations are pretty hit or miss but The Mist was a total hit for me. It has everything you could want in the horror/sci-fi genre: small town, angry townspeople, the fear of the unknown, and how everyday people face their fears in a traumatic situation. The Mist was directed by the same person who directed the first two (or 1-1/2 seasons) of The Walking Dead and you will notice quite a few of the same actors. Bizarre music and sometimes comical special effects aside, this movie is a definite horror classic, reminiscent of old school horror movies.
+ Muholland Drive

and some TV shows:
+ Scream Queens — so far I really like this Heathers meets Halloween show. 
+ American Horror Story (I have a few seasons I have to catch up on)
+ Simpson’s Halloween special – the Halloween special seemed to stray a bit from the creepy, dark, random Halloween specials in that the episode was kind of sweet? Watching Simpsons Halloween reminds me of being a kid, so I’m sure I’d enjoy the episode no matter what.
+ Dead Files – dumb yet addictive ghost hunter type show where a medium and cop ‘investigate’ a haunting without ever speaking to one another until the end.

I’m not really a gore horror movie watcher (I don’t do movies like Saw or Hostel), but I don’t mind slasher flicks like Halloween, Scream, or Nightmare on Elm Street. My favorites are ghost or supernatural movies. Any recommendations?

For last year’s Halloween movies click here.

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How is it already October? HOW? I swear I think that every month except maybe February or March. Fall is supposed to be one of the most beautiful seasons in Korea, so I should probably stop watching horror movies and eating bread and plan a few excursions and hikes one of these days, even if it’s just some place close by.