There’s a chill in the air, and pumpkins are on grocery shelves, which can only mean one thing: the Halloween countdown has begun.
Now that summer is over (or at least what summer we had), our attention have turned to Halloween and the film marathons that come with it.
With a brand new Saw picture released at the end of September, the much awaited possession drama The Exorcist: Believer, and an adaptation of the famous game Five Nights At Freddy’s, October has plenty of horror pleasures coming to the big screen.
Finding something fresh to add to your watchlist might be challenging for film enthusiasts who have seen it everything, from big-budget slashers to indie psychosexual cannibal films.
But have no fear – or do, because we’re talking about horror flicks – because we’ve got some great underappreciated classics to make your skin crawl and spine shiver this Halloween.
Prepare your pillow to hide behind.
Hypochondriac
Where to watch: Apple TV
With so many well-known psychological horror films to choose from, it might be difficult to uncover a hidden gem among them.
But if you’re going to watch a psychodrama this Halloween, make it Hypochondriac, which is now available to rent on Apple TV.
The film follows Will, a potter with a seemingly ideal life and a devoted boyfriend, as directed by Kappa Force writer Addison Heimann.
However, when his mentally ill mother reappears after a 10-year absence, he slips into a dark spiral of insanity as he deals with a manifestation of his childhood trauma.
Come To Daddy
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Elijah Wood, together with Genevieve Alexandra and Nora Arnezeder, surprised genre fans in the 2012 adaptation of Maniac.
Fans of the Lord of the Rings actor may also watch him in the horror comedy Come To Daddy, which is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
In it, an affluent guy comes at his estranged father’s secluded coastal home, whom he hasn’t seen in 30 years, after receiving an unexpected letter.
He quickly learns that his negligent, aggressive father has a terrible past that is catching up with him – and they must act quickly.
YellowBrickRoad
Where to watch: NowTV
The Harbinger, Andy Mitton’s stunning Covid thriller, is now accessible on .
Fans of dark, otherworldly horror should revisit the director’s oeuvre and view his debut picture, YellowBrickRoad.
The film, which is now available to watch on Freevee, follows an expedition sent to investigate a mystery woodland in New Hampshire where the entire population of a village died in 1940.
While hunting for Friar’s missing folks, the squad learns more than they bargained for as the story behind the tragic occurrence begins to emerge.
Absentia
Where to watch: Available on DVD
Fall Of The House Of Usher, Mike Flanagan’s next Flanaverse adventure, will be available on Netflix later this month.
Fans of his prior gruesome efforts may have overlooked his feature debut, Absentia, which is now available on DVD.
Tricia, a pregnant lady, and her sister Callie begin to connect a strange tunnel to a succession of disappearances, including that of her own husband, in the eerie thriller.
The scenario develops when Callie discovers a befuddled guy in the tunnel, which leads their inquiry down a dangerous path.
Candy Land
Where to watch: Available on DVD
For decades, religion and terror have gone hand in hand – another Exorcist picture is currently in theatres.
And for lovers of these eerie and mystical journeys, John Swab’s Candy Land is an intriguing road movie that will steal your heart.
Remy, a devoutly pious young lady, is kicked out of her religious cult and forced to turn to sex labour in the subterranean truck stop world in the film.
Remy navigates the world between her stressed belief system and her new existence with the help of fellow working girls, a local lawman, and a religious matriarch.
Grabbers
Where to watch: Apple TV
Monster movie enthusiasts will have plenty of new movies to choose from this Halloween.
If you’ve seen every creepy crawly, rampaging reptile, vicious shark, and otherworldly monster on film, wrap your eyeballs around Jon Wright’s Irish comedic horror Grabbers.
The film, a co-production between Ireland and the United Kingdom, is set on an island off the coast of Ireland that has been overrun by bloodsucking aliens.
Trying frantically to live, our heroes soon realise that a high blood alcohol level deters the rampaging beasts.
No One Will Save You
Where to watch: Disney Plus
No One Will Save You, which debuted on Disney Plus last month, has received overwhelmingly good reviews from both fans and reviewers.
And it’s easy to understand why, with a new and terrifying twist on the humanoid grey alien story that haunts our dreams.
The fantastical mega hit follows Brynn, a loner who looks to be shunned by her society as she mourns the deaths of her mother, Sarah, and closest friend, Maude.
Her idyllic existence is quickly turned upside down when her house is attacked by extraterrestrial entities, forcing her to struggle for survival in the place she should feel safest of all.
Daniel Isn’t Real
Where to Watch: Shudder and Arrow Player
When you think of terrifying stories, you generally think of Stephen King, the maestro of horror.
However, there are several eerie delights in the literary realm that have been adapted for the big screen, like Daniel Isn’t Real on Shudder and Arrow.
Based on DeLeeuw’s novel In This Way I Was Saved, The Babysitter actor Miles Robbins plays Luke, who sees the aftermath of a major shooting at a local coffee shop.
He meets Daniel, a calm and confident young man who asks him to play and becomes a longtime buddy. However, no one else can see Daniel save Luke.
Summer of ’84
Where to watch: Apple TV
The 1980s were one of the golden ages of horror, inspiring a slew of films in the decades afterwards that attempt to capture the nostalgia.
Summer of ’84, featuring Judah Lewis from The Babysitter, is one such lesser-known picture that is ideal for lovers of Stranger Things and the like.
The film, which is now available to rent on Apple TV, follows four friends as they leave school for the summer.
They begin to think, however, that a police officer in their town is responsible for the previous deaths of 13 adolescent boys and resolve to investigate.
Dumplings
Where to watch: Available on DVD
Asia has a rich and diverse horror film culture that has horrified viewers for years.
Hong Kong has offered us titles ranging from creepy spectres to bloodthirsty murderers and everything in between, like Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Man Behind the Sun, and Boo! A Madea Halloween.
However, cryptic body horror Fruit Chan’s Dumplings is one of the genre’s most well-known examples.
Mrs Li, a fading actress, becomes anxious to discover the secret ingredient in Aunt Mei’s legendary dumplings, which appear to have age-defying abilities.
Door
Where to watch: Available on DVD
From Hong Kong to Japan, horror films have inspired countless Hollywood remakes, including Ju-On: The Grudge, Ringu, and Dark Water.
Door by Banmei Takahashi, a film that has never been seen outside of Japan and was thought to be lost for 30 years, was presented at this year’s Grimmfest in Manchester.
A mother becomes more terrified by a pushy door-to-door salesperson after being abandoned by her hardworking husband and left alone in their flat to care for their little boy.
During yet another relentless visit, she slams the door on his hand and soon finds herself living a nightmare as he follows her every step.
Aterrados
Where to watch: Shudder
When Evil Lurks by Demián Rugna is coming to Shudder after scaring audiences to their bones on the festival circuit.
Terrified – not to be mistaken with Terrifier – was Rugna’s directorial debut in 2017, and it has since become a fan favourite for its really terrifying plot and moments.
When weird happenings occur in a Buenos Aires area, a doctor who specialises in the paranormal, her colleague, and an ex-police officer decide to investigate.
As they begin their inquiry, they are immediately confronted by a malignant entity unlike anything they have ever experienced.
MOM: Mothers Of Monsters
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
With so many found footage horror productions in the subgenre since The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and V/H/S, it might be difficult to discover something new.
M.O.M.: Mothers of Monsters, available on Amazon Prime Video, is the feature film debut of long-running TV showrunner Tucia Lyman, and it has a very genuine horror at its heart.
When the authorities in position to avoid catastrophe do not heed the warning signs, a mother is compelled to take matters into her own hands.
She installs a spy camera system in their house, collecting a series of frightening images that appear to validate her darkest fears, prompting her to join an online group of other “mothers of monsters.”
