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!
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.
Man, I love Troll 2. George Hardy lives about an hour away from Birmingham, so I've met him several times at the Sidewalk Film Festival. He's the nicest person you'll ever meet.
It’s impossible to pick one favorite scary movie, so I dared to make a small list of 10 movies that I can never forget and that I highly recommend.
It was a huge inner struggle to be that restrained... 😈 Enjoy and happy Halloween!
(in chronological order - because the devil is in the details)
‧ Eyes Without a Face (French: Les Yeux sans visage) is a 1960 horror film directed by Georges Franju.
‧ The Innocents is a 1961 gothic psychological horror film directed and produced by Jack Clayton.
‧ Carnival of Souls is a 1962 psychological horror film, produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford.
‧ Dressed to Kill is a 1980 erotic psychological thriller film, written and directed by Brian De Palma.
‧ May is a 2002 psychological horror film written and directed by Lucky McKee.
‧ Inside (French: À l'intérieur) is a 2007 horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo , written by Bustillo
‧ The House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West.
‧ Goodnight Mommy (German: Ich seh, Ich seh) is a 2014 Austrian psychological horror film, written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala.
‧ The Lodge is a 2019 psychological horror film directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, (The same ones from Goodnight Mommy) written by Franz, Fiala, and Sergio Casci.
‧ Barbarian is a 2022 American horror thriller film, written and directed by Zach Cregger.
Great to see so many cinema (and horror) lovers/writers at one place.
Since my Substack The Screen is mainly dedicated to overlooked, underseen, forgotten, and underrated gems (I have a column called "Horror Aughts" in which I revisit big horror hits from the 2000s that have been largely forgotten since) this list is right up my alley. My pick is a body-horror from last year called Birth/Rebirth, which is still quite underseen, sadly. Here's why it's worth giving it a chance:
"One of the most slept-on feature debuts in 2023 is Laura Moss's unflinching body-horror, Birth/Rebirth. Given its sensitive and morally murky premise about child loss, I’m surprised it didn't trigger more discussions among viewers — especially after the wide critical praise it received during festivals and upon release.
It’s basically a David Cronenberg horror without Cronenberg. A modern Frankenstein story led by two excellent character actors (Marin Ireland and Judy Reyes’s atypical duo is oddly appealing) who both sacrifice a piece of themselves, literally and figuratively, to keep a little girl alive. Mixing a cold medical approach with a mother's unrelenting love for her kid results in a distressingly boundary-pushing and thought-provoking film that’s not afraid to ask uncomfortable questions and even answer some of them. Its raw, wince-inducing gore isn’t for the squeamish, but those seeking an unusual horror delicacy should definitely give it a watch."
You hooked me in, Akos! I'm definitely watching Birth/Rebirth. Marin Ireland was incredible in William Oldroyd's Eileen last year. Thank you for the rec. I'm excited to check out The Screen.
Oh man, I'm a big fan of so many of these. Cure, Cat People, Pan's Labyrinth, Frailty. And I'm one of the true sickos who has seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer multiple times. (Got to meet fellow Alabamian Michael Rooker at a film festival years ago. What a nice guy.)
Thanks so much for inviting me to contribute to this list, Alex! I've got some new films to add to the Spooky Season watchlist.
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.
Thanks, Mikhail! Great picks
Man, I love Troll 2. George Hardy lives about an hour away from Birmingham, so I've met him several times at the Sidewalk Film Festival. He's the nicest person you'll ever meet.
I got that very impression just from seeing 'Best Worst Movie.' Hardy was just such a positive presence.
I enjoyed being part of this conversation. Thanks for letting me talk about a horror film I love!
Pleasure to have you, Cole
It’s impossible to pick one favorite scary movie, so I dared to make a small list of 10 movies that I can never forget and that I highly recommend.
It was a huge inner struggle to be that restrained... 😈 Enjoy and happy Halloween!
(in chronological order - because the devil is in the details)
‧ Eyes Without a Face (French: Les Yeux sans visage) is a 1960 horror film directed by Georges Franju.
‧ The Innocents is a 1961 gothic psychological horror film directed and produced by Jack Clayton.
‧ Carnival of Souls is a 1962 psychological horror film, produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford.
‧ Dressed to Kill is a 1980 erotic psychological thriller film, written and directed by Brian De Palma.
‧ May is a 2002 psychological horror film written and directed by Lucky McKee.
‧ Inside (French: À l'intérieur) is a 2007 horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo , written by Bustillo
‧ The House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West.
‧ Goodnight Mommy (German: Ich seh, Ich seh) is a 2014 Austrian psychological horror film, written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala.
‧ The Lodge is a 2019 psychological horror film directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, (The same ones from Goodnight Mommy) written by Franz, Fiala, and Sergio Casci.
‧ Barbarian is a 2022 American horror thriller film, written and directed by Zach Cregger.
Honoured to be included among so many writers I admire!
Loads of great recommendations here - my watchlist is feasting
Great to see so many cinema (and horror) lovers/writers at one place.
Since my Substack The Screen is mainly dedicated to overlooked, underseen, forgotten, and underrated gems (I have a column called "Horror Aughts" in which I revisit big horror hits from the 2000s that have been largely forgotten since) this list is right up my alley. My pick is a body-horror from last year called Birth/Rebirth, which is still quite underseen, sadly. Here's why it's worth giving it a chance:
"One of the most slept-on feature debuts in 2023 is Laura Moss's unflinching body-horror, Birth/Rebirth. Given its sensitive and morally murky premise about child loss, I’m surprised it didn't trigger more discussions among viewers — especially after the wide critical praise it received during festivals and upon release.
It’s basically a David Cronenberg horror without Cronenberg. A modern Frankenstein story led by two excellent character actors (Marin Ireland and Judy Reyes’s atypical duo is oddly appealing) who both sacrifice a piece of themselves, literally and figuratively, to keep a little girl alive. Mixing a cold medical approach with a mother's unrelenting love for her kid results in a distressingly boundary-pushing and thought-provoking film that’s not afraid to ask uncomfortable questions and even answer some of them. Its raw, wince-inducing gore isn’t for the squeamish, but those seeking an unusual horror delicacy should definitely give it a watch."
You hooked me in, Akos! I'm definitely watching Birth/Rebirth. Marin Ireland was incredible in William Oldroyd's Eileen last year. Thank you for the rec. I'm excited to check out The Screen.
I hope you'll like it. She's pretty awesome in most things.
SHe's on my radar, that's for sure. Can't wait.
Oh man, I'm a big fan of so many of these. Cure, Cat People, Pan's Labyrinth, Frailty. And I'm one of the true sickos who has seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer multiple times. (Got to meet fellow Alabamian Michael Rooker at a film festival years ago. What a nice guy.)
Thanks so much for inviting me to contribute to this list, Alex! I've got some new films to add to the Spooky Season watchlist.
Me too! I get to watch Charlotte F**king Rampling take down an Orca - all thanks to you, Jeremy
Hell yes you do!
🙏💛
Enjoyed this. Another dark fairytale with shades of Bacarau and Pan’s Labyrinth is Borgman. Definitely creepy in an insidious way.