It's An Underexposed Halloween Party 🎃
It's An Underexposed Halloween Party 🎃
With Ted Hope, Ed William, Entertainment Strategy Guy, Katherine Dee, Cole Haddon, Kevin Pettit, John Devore, Vanessa Hope, Scott Mendelson, Obsolete Media, FTYTTAH, Dust On The VCR, and YOU!
They say cinema is dead and buried. I say grab a shovel.
We’re digging up under-seen movie masterpieces like we do every Friday here on Underexposed, only this week, we’ve got ghoulish guests. A whole boo-nch of them.
Welcome to our First Annual Underexposed Halloween Boo-nanza (sorry, I can’t stop). I’ve wrangled up some of my favorite Substack writers and a few fiendish film industry folks to each share one under-the-radar scary movie that more people should be screaming about.
And since this is a party, you are invited to share yours. Whether you have a Substack that we should know about, or you simply love movies, give us your Scary Movie Picks in the comments boo-low (sorry not sorry).
Now, without further a-boo (nope, still not sorry) —
Underexposed Guest Picks - SCARY MOVIES
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Those fighting for the future of indie movies know that Hope For Film is the heart of the command. A producer on over 70 films, studio exec on over 60, Ted launched Amazon’s foray into feature film production. His Substack is part over-caffeinated tactical nerve center, part gushing geyser of links and resources. In other words: mandatory reading. Ted gave us three scary movies.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986 ‧ Horror/Crime ‧ John McNaughton) - Felt like a home movie made by an actual killer. Currently streaming for free on Tubi.
Audition (1999 ‧ Horror/Romance ‧ Takashi Miike) - A new form of insanity I had not witnessed before in cinema. Currently streaming for free on Tubi.
Begotten (1990 ‧ Horror/Cult film ‧ E. Elias Merhige) - Found footage from before time began demonstrating that we've always been in hell. Currently streaming for free on YouTube.
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Rough Cuts boasts sharp, well-researched essays like How The New Hollywood Died and a recent favorite, How Smartphones Are More Cinematic Than You Think. And he’s got great taste in scary movies. I love this one:
Bacurau (2019 ‧ Western/Sci-fi ‧ Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles). This deliriously unpredictable sci-fi/western/thriller might stretch the definition of ‘horror,’ but its blood-spattered portrayal of an isolated Brazilian village under siege slipped under my skin as effectively as any ghost, ghoul, or slasher flick. The spectre of John Carpenter looms over this strange, angry film, with its scares coming as much from lingering dread and discordant tonal shifts as from gruesome executions (and there are plenty of those!) Bacurau won the Jury Prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Currently streaming on Kino Film Collection and available to rent on Amazon Prime.
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I found my way to 5AM StoryTalk through Cole’s provocative conversation with showrunner David Shore. A former arts journalist for Village Voice Media, Cole Haddon is a screenwriter, graphic novelist, and prolific Substacker who focuses on writing and movies - two things I love. Also, I applaud this pick:
Cat People (1942 ‧ Horror/Fantasy ‧ Jacques Tourneur). Cat People is the first horror film from producer Val Lewton, launching an extraordinary five-year run of suspenseful horror classics championed by scores of filmmakers, though maybe none more so than Martin Scorsese. In many ways, it laid the groundwork for the psychological terror – fear of the unseen rather than gore – that would come to define the broader genre until today. Two sequences, in particular – the swimming pool and the lonely walk home – are master classes in how to unnerve audiences; they’re all the reason you need to go on and watch every other film directed by Jacques Tourneur. Currently available to rent or buy on Amazon and on special edition DVD from Criterion.
Written by a shadowy Hollywood insider, Entertainment Strategy Guy digs deep into the ever-quaking entertainment landscape, never missing a tremor. His command of data is damn impressive, especially to the numerically challenged (hi, that’s me).
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006 ‧ Fantasy/War ‧ Guillermo del Toro). Even though it won three Academy Awards, it only made $37 million in the US, and I’ve never seen it pop up on the streaming ratings charts. but The Pale Man - wonderfully played by Doug Jones - deserves a spot in the horror film monster Hall of Fame. Currently streaming for free on Tubi and available on special edition discs from Criterion.
Dan Berger ( President, Oscilloscope)
Dan Berger heads Oscilloscope Laboratories, the cool and audacious indie film company and distributor founded by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and A24 co-founder David Fenkel. Fun fact from his SXSW bio: his favorite Brady is Alice, the maid.
November (2017 ‧ Horror/Fantasy ‧ Rainer Sarnet). One of the most unique and stunning films to come along in some time. It’s equal measures beautiful love story and balls-to-wall bonkers-ass folk tale. It keeps you rapt, guessing and intrigued from its first frame to its last. Currently available on Fandor via Amazon Prime.
Now here’s a movie perspective you’re not going to find anywhere else. From 2014 until 2023, he was serving time in the slammer. Now he’s serving up slamming-good essays on arthouse flicks. And this month is “Screamtoberfest,” so don’t be a punk-ass nancy - check him out.
Jacob's Ladder (1990 ‧ Horror/Mystery ‧ Adrian Lyne). I'm a massive horror fan, I love every approach and subgenre. I can tell you what it was like, for example, when I was in college and I realized that Jacob's Ladder was not a recurring nightmare I was having, but a movie I had seen and absorbed years earlier in my youth. Currently available on MGM+ and elsewhere.
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I’m new to John’s Substack, and I love the concept. It’s legit, btw - I checked the word count on a few of his posts - 150 words exactly. That’s called integrity, and I’m excited to read more from him.
A Dark Song (2016 ‧ Horror/Mystery ‧ Liam Gavin). "This gloomy, low-budget thriller about a grieving mother who hires an occultist to help her contact her dead son via black magick rituals is a claustrophobic meditation on grief that is unexpectedly cathartic." Available on Blu-ray from Shout Factory.
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As a die-hard cheerleader for physical media, I feel right at home in the pages of Obsolete Media, where you can find special features on special features and fun essays like Why We Need Video Stores Now More Than Ever. Be kind, rewind (and subscribe).
Dark City (1998 ‧ Sci-fi/Thriller ‧ Alex Proyas). What if an Australian made his neo-noir version of The Matrix that pre-dated The Matrix, aesthetically influenced by German expressionist films like Metropolis and Nosferatu, and felt like a nightmarish Edward Hopper painting? That's Dark City. Read Ryan’s post on Dark City here. Currently available to rent on Amazon Prime.
🎃 🎃 I N T E R M I S S I O N 🎃 🎃
You know what would be really scary? A world without great movies like these.
Every Friday, Underexposed haunts your inbox to shine a lantern on hidden gems of cinema that are original and unforgettable. Sometimes I even interview the directors who made them. Check out my recent talks with Academy Award-nominated director Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball), actor-director Jennifer Esposito (Fresh Kills) and others. I also publish essays like The “C” Word and Tired of the Vibes.
Subscribing to Underexposed is FREE, but for brave souls who go for a paid subscription, there’s a coffin-load of extra videos, articles, lists, and more treats. Later this week, paid subscribers will receive a special “VIP Afterparty” edition featuring my Halloween Movie Picks and other wicked bonuses.
And I’ve got a fang-tastic deal for you: until November 1st, annual subscriptions are 50 % off.
That’s right. We’ve Texas chainsawed the price in HALF - but only for one week! So if you love cool movies and don’t want this deal to ghost you, click here:
Back to the party! 👻
Vanessa Hope ( )
I had the pleasure of speaking with Vanessa about her incredible doc Invisible Nation the other week on Underexposed. With a filmmaking background spanning China, the U.S., and Taiwan, she also has extensive experience in foreign policy - which she explores in her outstanding Substack, A Question of Peace. Don’t miss out - give her a subscribe.
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (2005 ‧ Thriller/Crime ‧ Park Chan-wook). Like its main character, Geum-ja, it’s about much more than meets the eye. And what meets the eye is director Park’s masterful filmmaking. It rewards multiple viewings like most films I love. Definitely good for Halloween. Currently available to stream for free on Tubi.
Alex Billington (firstshowing.net)
A fellow Alex B. and an excellent Berlin-based film writer, critic, and self-described “cinema lover, dog lover, anti-capitalist and citizen of the world.” I discovered him on Twitter. If you’re still darkening those doors, you should find him on there, too.
Psycho Goreman (2020 ‧ Horror/Sci-fi ‧ Steven Kostanski). This wacky, clever, funny, extra gross indie horror flick is a wicked cool creation from Canadian filmmaker Steven Kostanski. It's a found-in-the-back-of-the-VHS-store instant classic featuring mind-boggling practical costumes and creatures galore. You'll never forget the day you watched this ingenious sci-fi horror flick. Currently available on AMC+.
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Dust On The VCR covers 80s and 90s cinema, with a dash of early 2000s. And come on, how great is that name? Jeremy was kind enough to recommend a creature double feature. Sink your fangs into Jeremy’s full posts about Alligator and Orca here.
Alligator (1980 ‧ Horror/Sci-fi ‧ Lewis Teague) and Orca (1977 ‧ Horror/Adventure ‧ Michael Anderson). Jaws didn’t just invent the modern blockbuster as we know it—it inspired an entire horror subgenre of “animal attack” films that’s still going strong today. I love the pure thrill that comes from these films, and Orca and Alligator stand out as the cream of the imitator crop by following the same specific formula: There is a large aquatic animal wreaking havoc on a local community, and only one grizzled, middle-aged man can save them. If you’re in the mood for a creature feature that doesn’t take itself too seriously, it doesn’t get much better than these two. Alligator is currently on Tubi, Orca is available for rent on YouTube.
( See You At The Movies)
Kevin has his finger on the throbbing vein of arthouse movies haunting theaters right now, and killer taste to go with it. So what are you waiting for? Drop a subscription to See You At The Movies into your plastic jack-o-lantern. And speaking of scary orange things, check out his recent review of The Apprentice.
Cure (1997 ‧ Horror/Crime ‧ Kiyoshi Kurosawa) A movie that's so hypnotic and fills your very heart with dread. It’s constantly challenging you as an audience member to decide what’s real and what’s not! Currently on the Criterion Channel.
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Katherine Dee has a ghoulish gift for exploring the gleeful and grim corners of online culture (I’m grave-ly low on Halloween puns here, folks!). She describes her Substack as “an emotional and psychological scrapbook of digital life” with obsessions that include millennial nostalgia, media ecology, and fandom. A recent spellbinding fave is “I'm Bullish on Gatekeeping and IRL Parties.” Check it out - if you dare.
Jawbreaker (1999 ‧ Comedy/Crime ‧ Darren Stein). Jawbreaker always scared the shit out of me. Not only does it perfectly capture the cruelty of adolescence — well — if you watch it, you’ll know what scene I’m talking about immediately. Currently on Paramount+.
(The Outside Scoop)
Closing us out today is Scott Mendelson, infamous film journalist, kill-joy movie critic and bloviating box office pundit (his words, not mine), who recommends the excellent and deeply chilling Bill Paxton-helmed Frailty (2001 ‧ Horror/Mystery ‧ Bill Paxton). Currently streaming on Starz.
That’s a wrap for this week, ghouls and goblins! This Halloween Party was a mad experiment, thank you to all my spook-tacular contributors. Film can’t survive without a community that cares, and that’s what Underexposed is all about.
To my paid supporters, we’ll see you at the VIP After-Party in a few days—where the real magic happens! Thanks for reading, and may your Halloween be brimming with treats.
See you next Fright-day, Alex 🧛♂️
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For further clarification, "Jacob's Ladder" has since made a permanent home inside my nightmares.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Hey, everyone. Thanks for all the recommendations!
I'm Mikhail and I write at https://textualvariations.substack.com, where I do all sorts of essays but primarily focus on why movies exist in multiple versions.
For Halloween viewing, I'd always recommend 'Troll 2' (1990, dir. Claudio Fragasso, available on Amazon Prime and Tubi.). It's not scary exactly but it is arguably the Citizen Kane of bad movies, a picture so terrible that it becomes ludicrously funny. One of my favorite Halloweens was when I saw it at a party of likeminded cinephiles back at NYU. The experience was amazing.
Another, more proper horror film is Trick 'r Treat (2007, dir. Michael Dougherty), the underseen scary yet fun anthology horror film that introduced to viewers the demonic child Sam. Despite being a cult favorite, it made less than 30 grand at the box office. But after the original 'Halloween,' it's hard to think of another horror movie that so perfectly fits the Holiday.