Here we are – October – the best month of the year! And it wouldn’t be October (Shriektober this year) if we didn’t put together our annual horror film recommendation list. We’ll try to only include some smaller numbers for your enjoyment, no Shining, Halloween etc. If you’re sitting comfortably, then we’ll begin.
October 1st
Witchfinder General (1968) – Creepy Vincent Price (is there any other kind) traipses around the English countryside with his trusty pricker-aid murdering folks accused of witchcraft for profit. Based on a real terrible guy! Great atmosphere, some shocking violence, for the time, make this an excellent way to kick out the jams.
October 2nd
Host (2020) – Fun, creative lock-down pandemic horror movie tells the tale of what happens when 6 friends do a zoom call with a medium to see what happens. Can you guess what happens? It’s not good.
October 3rd
The Blob (1988) – I prefer this remake to the Steve McQueen original as it’s more gross, better effects (of course) and quite funny. Good gooey blob movie!
October 4th
Who Can Kill a Child? (1976) – Nice couple of tourists look to vacation on an island where all the kids have murdered all the adults. Well, that’s not where they were actually looking to vacation, it just turned out that way. Excellent, strange, haunting and, at times, disturbing stuff.
October 5th
Relic (2020) – Nice Australian take on the “does grandma have dementia or is the house haunted?” tale. Lots of creepy atmosphere enliven the proceedings.
October 6th
Vampyres (1974) – A couple of naughty, sexy vampires lure unsuspecting English men to a remote castle where they feast upon them after much awkward kissing. They shared the pleasures of the flesh and the horrors of the grave! Fun stuff!
October 7th
Possessor (2020) David Cronenberg’s sprog, Brandon, proves that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with this gloriously insane and impressively violent horror/sci-fi mind-bender. Poor Sean Bean. Love this!
October 8th
Opera (1987) From Argento’s heyday comes this wonderfully twisted tale of stalking, opera and eye needles. All presented with his style and flair for the obscene. Nice.
October 9th
Saint Maud (2019) Great slow-burn craziness ratchets up the tension as we follow a pious nurse and her unhealthy obsession with a dying patient. Loved this film. It’ll be on my best of the year list.
October 10th
Rituals (1977) – Who’s killing the nice doctors out in the woods? Forget The Blair Witch Project and enjoy this nice, tense descent into woodsy hell. And it’s Canadian!
October 11th
American Mary (2012) – Medical student Mary Mason gets involved in the world of underground surgeries and weirdo body modification folks in this nice squirmy twisted tale from Canadian Soska sisters.
October 12th
The Dark and the Wicked (2020) Brother and sister travel back to their parent’s secluded farm to watch their dad die. Good times, right? But what else is going on here? Something sinister perhaps? It is a horror film.
October 13th
Ready or Not (2019) – Fun take on The Most Dangerous Game theme – New bride meets the eccentric family of her new beau. They force her to “play a game”. Little do they know that she’s up for the challenge. Much carnage and mayhem ensue.
October 14th
The Stepfather (1987) – Secret families, gruesome murders and real estate are the order of the day as psycho Terry O”Quinn tries to balance his work and family life with little success.
October 15th
Housebound (2014) – A young woman is under house arrest in her childhood home. But is there something else lurking about in the house with her and her mom? Something evil? Loved this fun horror/comedy from New Zealand.
October 16th
Martyrs (2008) – Not for the squeamish or those with delicate sensibilities. This nasty, amazing piece of business follows a young woman’s quest for revenge on her childhood kidnappers and tormentors. Skip the American remake, as usual.
October 17th
Candyman (1992) – Not the bio-pic of Sammy Davis Jr. I was expecting! I had never seen this until last night. This urban folk-tale, bee-infested horror show was way better then I imagined. I never thought a hook for a hand would be a good weapon but Tony Todd proved me wrong.
October 18th
From Beyond (1986) – Love these 80’s crazy films from Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator, Society, Castle Freak) and this one is some gross kinda fun. Stars to of our favourites – Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs in this squishy tale of other dimensions and strange creatures.
October 19th
Crawl (2019) – Pretty fun “alligators are loose in the house/neighborhood during a big hurricane” type of movie. I love it when animals attack!
October 20th
Pieces (1982) – This movie has it all; gore, nudity, insane dialogue, over the top acting, jigsaw puzzles! Loved this crazy piece of eighties nuttiness. BASTARD!!!
October 21st
Under the Shadow (2016) – How many Iranian ghost story films have you seen? I can probably count them all on one finger. And it’s an excellent finger! Errr film.
October 22nd
Demons (1985) Bunch of randos get invited to a mysterious movie screening only to find themselves at the mercy of some ill-mannered demons (hence the title). Fun, gory shlock from Italy is quite the blast!
October 23rd
Swallow (2019) While not a “scary”horror film it’s definitely a squirm-inducing, unsettling film as we follow newly pregnant Hunter as she increasingly ingests things that she shouldn’t while dealing with controlling pressure from her family. Really liked this one!
October 24th
Phantasm (1979) I remember stumbling across on late night TV when I was a kid and it totally freaking me out. There’s so much going on in this wonderfully deranged film – the Tall Man, freaky dwarfs, flying killer balls, ice cream truck, other dimensions, pony tails. I love this film!
October 25th
Shutter (2004) – Here’s a nifty, terrifying ghost story from Thailand! After a nasty accident a couple of photographers start seeing things in their photos that shouldn’t be there. Get on this one if you already haven’t.
October 26th
Wrong Turn 2 (2007) – Reality show contestants! Hillbilly Cannibals! Buckets of gore and innards. Henry Rollins! Yes please. Fun, bloody sequel to Wrong Turn (duh)! Make it a people-eating double bill!
October 27th
Cemetery Man aka Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) – A young Rupert Everett has to keep the dead at bay (they keep coming back!) at the cemetery he works at. At turns bloody, hilarious, sexy (yes sexy) and surreal with a crazy mind-snapping ending! A stone cold classic!
October 28th
Pin (1988) – Ever wonder what your life would be like if your only friend was your dad’s atomically correct office dummy? Well now you can find out with this wonderful little Canadian effort. Make a good double bill with The Stepfather as I thought this could be Terry O’Quinn’s other secret family.
October 29th
New Nightmare (1994) – In honour of our Freddy Marathon for the Food Bank happening in-store today, I thought I’d point you at one of the least seen Nightmare films. I really liked this post-modern (is that still a thing?) take on the story that has Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund playing themselves trapped in Freddy’s world.
October 30th
The Blob (1988) – This is the blobiest blob movie that you’ll ever need in your life! Contains great practical effects and hilarious 80’s, well, everything! We had a blast doing this for the podcast last year! Get some blob into you this Halloween!
October 31st!
Drag Me to Hell (2009) – This is what I need in my horror films – good scares, good laughs, good old hag fight in a parking garage! My favourite Sam Raimi film and one of my favourite horror numbers. Happy Halloween everybody!