Despite adoring the horror genre, I have an embarrassing lack of experience with watching scary movies, especially classics. I tried to change that this year by watching as many new horror movies as I could in October. Now that it has come to an end, here is my full ranking of all the new watches this month.
17. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Dir. by Wes Craven
This is easily my least favorite film of the whole month. I honestly found nothing entertaining about this movie. A few years ago, I watched the 2010 version, and I am just now watching the original film for the first time. I don’t know if that affected my opinion, but I thought the acting was poor, the sound design was annoying and screechy, and the villain was goofy and uninteresting. Maybe I am not into slashers from a personal preference, but if you keep scrolling you will see another classic slasher that I absolutely loved. I have low expectations for whenever I get around to watching Scream.
16. The Babadook (2014)
Dir. by Jennifer Kent
Not by any means a bad movie, The Babadook goes straight after mental illness with the façade of a horror story. It starts off like many horror movies, introducing the possibility of something haunting this mother and son. Pretty quickly, it is clear that the true horror revolves around the mother’s personal grief as well as her difficulty as a parent. By the end, the movie has well established a strong metaphor for grief and parental issues manifested in the form of the “babadook.” I feel like a lot of the juice of this film should have been more subtle, because by the end I felt a little bit beaten down by the message, finding it a little repetitive. But the ending really makes this worth watching. I won’t spoil it, but it makes up for a lot of the issues of this film (most of which are personal for me, not really technical issues).
15. Last Night in Soho (2021)
Dir. by Edgar Wright
Last Night in Soho had its reputation built up for me as being confusing and divisive, but I have to say I did not feel too confused by the end. Maybe I was a bit confused by the purpose near the end, but the plot made sense for the most part. I fully support Edgar Wright’s dedication to making a wildly original horror film. With a banger soundtrack, it feels almost like a horror musical. Extremely stylized in a lot of great ways, this film puts it all on the line. In the acting department, Thomasin McKenzie remains to be one of my favorite young actors, and this is most definitely her defining performance thus far. She is truly amazing in this. Anya Taylor-Joy and Matt Smith are excellent supporting actors as well. The runtime really flew by, but the more I think about it after watching, I see how some people find problems with some of the messages near the end. I guess you’ll have to make that decision for yourself. I recommend this to any fans of Edgar Wright (which I am not really), or anyone who likes the idea of neon, flashy dance scenes and breaking glass and purely original horror.
14. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Dir. by Robert Wiene
I apologize for watching this for the first time while I was sitting in class, pretending to be listening to a lecture with one ear and listening to this movie with the other. I also watched it on Tubi, which had really bad quality and I couldn’t read half of the book pages they showed. So this one really deserves a rewatch, because the only thing I fully appreciated was the awesome set design.
13. Nosferatu (1922)
Dir. by F. W. Murnau
The most deserving horror classic, despite being a literal copyright infringement on Bram Stoker. Nevertheless, I feel more cultured after watching this. I also appreciate that they made the vampire fangs the appropriate distance apart in his mouth to match the bite marks. I am sorry some of these paragraphs have very little to say of value. I don’t always feel the need to write a whole essay, especially on a first watch. Anyways, look at the IMDb poster for this movie. It is beautiful.
12. Vampyr (1932)
Dir. by Carl Theodor Dreyer
It might be a little controversial to have this one higher than the previous two films, but I absolutely fell in love with the atmosphere and tone of this movie. Although I did not fully understand what happened at the end, or most of the symbolism of life and death, I can appreciate that Dreyer did some incredible stuff with this film.
11. It Follows (2014)
Dir. by David Robert Mitchell
This definitely exceeded my expectations, as I expected it to have a creative concept with not much behind the scenes. But this movie looks and feels fantastic! There are a few long takes that are super cool and those occasional shots of hands doing various things look gorgeous. I feel like the first half is exceptional, but I don’t know if I like the non-ending. I was wondering how they would end it as I was watching, and it seems like they didn’t really know how to either. Is it a metaphor for STDs? Or just a movie telling you not to sleep around? I couldn’t tell you, but that doesn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this. The horror is actually awesome and really scary. The pool scene is ridiculously well done, and nothing comes off as cheesy or unbelievable. I liked it a lot. The only other thing that took me out of the story a few times was some strange editing with really choppy cuts in times of no action; just calm scenes with lots of jumping around for I don’t know what reason. Overall, the good definitely outweighs the questionable.
10. Eraserhead (1977)
Dir. by David Lynch
I have very little exposure to Lynch, but I loved this. That family dinner scene made me more uncomfortable than a certain dinner scene sitting at #4. Which is saying something. This movie really messed me up. I actually felt physically ill for half of the scenes. Surprisingly, despite having about two scenes of dialogue, the runtime seemed to fly by very quickly. I think this movie be one of my favorite horror movies once I do some reading and watch some interviews about it. Sometimes I feel like Lynch is just testing to see if you’re looking at the background because he puts some weird stuff on the walls. There is nothing I can put into words to actually describe what it is like to watch this movie. It is a unique experience.
9. Frankenstein (1931)
Dir. by James Whale
I believe that before this month, I had seen every scene of this movie at one point in my life, but never all in one sitting. This is an iconic film and a beautiful ode to the genre. The flower scene is amazing, and the minimal use of music works very well. I have to get into more of James Whale at some point.
8. The Wailing (2016)
Dir. by Na Hong-jin
The Wailing contains absolutely breathtaking craftsmanship and beautiful horror. It definitely did not disappoint in terms of the sheer amount of wailing that occurs. It starts out as a chilling mystery of why people are mysteriously dying from a strange virus, but is slowly builds up until it is exploding with terror and excitement. I recommend this to any fans of the mystery genre or the supernatural horror genre. Similar films include I Saw the Devil and Memories of Murder.
7. Godzilla (1954)
Dir. by Ishirō Honda
I actually feel pretty proud of myself for watching so many old movies. I usually struggle with most films in the ’50s or earlier. This movie, like many others in this list, is iconic and started a massive amount of spinoffs that will never be as good as this one. I watched this when I was super tired, so I kept dozing off and did not fully appreciate everything. But it is definitely an awesome film. And also much more political than I thought it would be. The underwater scene was amazing and I wonder how they shot it. Check it out.
6. Barbarian (2022)
Dir. by Zach Cregger
The newest film on the list, which I reluctantly did not experience in theaters, is one of my favorites of the year. Like every review on the entire internet says, I recommend going into this completely blind. Like don’t even read the plot description if you haven’t already. Just let yourself be put into this horrifying journey of sickening madness. The brilliant thing about this movie is that in the very last scene, I actually started tearing up. Horror that can make you feel emotional at the same time is masterfully crafted.
5. The Host (2006)
Dir. by Bong Joon-ho
Without failure, Bong ALWAYS blows my expectations out of the water. I was a little skeptical when I saw how terrible the CGI is on the monster, and I said to myself that I wouldn’t let it affect my opinion of the film unless there are other issues. And I have about zero other criticisms! This is a fantastic addition to Bong’s unflawed repertoire of films. It has brilliant direction, balancing countless themes and messages of activism, environmentalism, and western influence. I just read Silent Spring, which launched the environmental movement criticizing the use of DDT and other chemicals on the environment, and this movie fits in perfectly with that message. It may have been a little bit too long, but I loved this movie. And Song Kang-ho continues to impress me. He has a great face.
4. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Dir. by Tobe Hooper
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has more right to be called a horror classic than most from this era. Almost all of the films I am trying to watch this month are ones I have not seen because I am surprisingly uncultured when it comes to the horror genre, even though I love it dearly. But I am especially surprised that this is my first time watching this masterpiece. This film is raw and dirty, but also short and sweet. It gets done what it needs to get done without leaving you much time to breathe. There are a few scenes that truly terrify to the core of your being, and the final dance (above) is disturbingly beautiful. I don’t know if I will watch any of the sequels so I don’t ruin my enjoyment of this in the future.
3. Train to Busan (2016)
Dir. by Yeon Sang-ho
Within the horror subgenre considered “zombie movies,” there is a very large range of quality. There is a lot that can go wrong as well as a lot that could in theory go well. In the case of Train to Busan, everything goes swimmingly. This made it into my top 100 because of how much it leans into the genre, especially in the first half. The film has the incredible capability to develop a whole bunch of engaging characters, while moving at breakneck speed, literally. In any given scene, someone or something is probably sprinting rapidly. I thoroughly enjoyed this, as it sits on top of most zombie films as well as most *takes place on a train and barely anywhere else* films. Snowpiercer gives it a run for its money though.
2. The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Dir. by Guillermo del Toro
Why do I always underestimate Guillermo? Like I never view him as one of my favorite directors, but his craft is so refined and enthralling to watch. I wouldn’t say this is great in the horror aspect, but everything about this film is so engrossing. It is an immersive and personal experience that puts you in a world that feels so real and lived-in. Probably because of the historical context of the Spanish Civil War. The set design is also awesome, like most of his other films. It is a feast for the eyes, and to top it all off, the child acting is on point. Currently, this is my favorite del Toro movie, but I am in need of a rewatch of Pan’s Labyrinth.
1. Onibaba (1964)
Dir. by Kaneto Shindō
This might seem like a surprise if you haven’t seen it, but this is now one of my favorite films. For reference, this is the only one on the list that I gave a full 10/10. I randomly picked this from the Top 250 Horror Films on Letterboxd list at 10 pm on Halloween night for my final watch of spooky season this year. And oh my God this is literally the best I could have hoped for. Everything I love about film is in this movie. With an insane score, minimalistic setting and plot, one terrifying mask, and a beautiful ocean of constantly waving grass, this movie is so unique and set apart from the rest of the genre. Going into this blind was the best choice. I felt so much connection to the themes in this. Is the field of grass actually representative of Purgatory? I wish I could have a long conversation about this film, but I don’t know anyone who has seen it. But it will forever be one of my all time favorites.