Lucky for you, I’ve selected one for you to countdown each and every wonderful day in October.
Why wait until Halloween? The countdown starts now. The best are saved for the last week.
Think of it as a sort of twisted digital advent calendar for geeks.
Vintage horror, based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft!
Helmed by veteran television director Daniel Haller (Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Kojak).
That’s Ed Begely Jr.’s dad as Dr. Armitage, by the way.
Mario Bava at his most Bravo!
Creepy, classic, and a tad campy.
This one was a staple of Saturday afternoon horror television, and it’s also creepy as hell.
The Asphyx of the title is a capturing of spirits of the dead.
October 4th – Let the Right One In
The remake, LET ME IN, is also a welcome substitute, but if you’ve not seen the original, you owe it to yourself.
October 5th – The House of the Devil
This babysitting nightmare movie is a throwback in style and story to a early 80s VHS rental store shelf shocker.
Highly misunderstood adaptation of The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. Roman Polanski doesn’t approach the brilliance of his Rosemary’s Baby (also streaming on Netflix here), but it is a hell of a film.
As long as we have Satan on the slate this past week, check out this “other” demon possession movie from the 70s.
More eerie than scary.
Not that you need an excuse to watch the original Scream again, but here it is in HD.
With the original films it celebrates and mocks not actually on Netflix (though many of the sequels are), it’s a fine alternative and a modern-day classic.
This is one of many “Scream Factory” titles also on Netflix this holiday season.
If you never picked up their incredible physical releases with bonus features (and you should), at least check out this sick 80s entry.
Originally titled House 3, though it had nothing to do in plot with the first two.
A merge of retro art-horror and disturbing scares.
Highly recommend watching later in the evening.
Lights off, volume up.
Way up.
Finally, a Slasher Flick with Jazz Hands.
You can check out my full review from this past SXSW here.
After Saw, but before Insidious, James Wan went big(ger) budget for Universal Pictures with this original killer doll tale.
You can revisit my case for it here from a few years ago.
Less known than Scream is this also Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson team-up that attempted to reinvent the werewolf backstory.
It suffered major reshoot and recut work, but the final film is still kind of fun.
October 14th – The Frighteners
Few studio horror films are as outlandish or far-out as The Frighteners.
Enjoy it again, like it’s the first time you’ve seen it.
October 15th – Children of the Corn
Yes, it’s kind of bad, and totally misguided, but there’s still a really creepy thing going on with the music and production design.
That ending though is almost as bad as the freeze-frame ending to Cujo.
October 16th – Bram Stoker’s Dracula
While Dracula Untold hits theaters, I thought it would be good to watch when it was told best, prior to now.
And pre-CGI for the most part.
The original took place on Halloween, so it’s kind of more suitable, but the sequel has its moments.
Especially the middle story, The Raft, which comes directly out of King’s Skeleton Crew.
October 18th – The Human Centipede: First Sequence
Avoid the second, but the first sequence in this more talked-about than actually-seen, gross-out thriller is pretty interesting.
Suggested snack – gummy worms.
I loved this moody little tale.
It’s a ghost-version of Sixteen Candles, sort of mixed with Groundhog’s Day and Donnie Darko, but for moody emo pre-teen girls.
October 20th – Count Yorga, Vampire
It was originally planned as a soft-core porn exploitation film, which is the way it was marketed.
The actual film is more tame, but still kind of kinky considering when it was released to general cinemas.
Not a horror film, but I recommend this too-raunchy-for-Nickelodeon comedy flop.
Kudos for being set in the suburbs at Halloween.
Extra kudos to the original pairing of Jackson Nicoll and Johnny Knoxville, who would later make Bad Grandpa.
Stuart Gordon brings a great mix of horror and comedy to the H. P. Lovecraft story “Herbert West–Reanimator.”
October 23rd – The Legend of Hell House
Atmospheric, and well paced classic haunted house movie with bursts of violence that adds to its scare-factor.
October 24th – Invasion of the Body Snatchers
We’re getting into the final stretch of films now, and this is the perfect way to set it in motion.
A Halloween viewing essential
October 25th – House on Haunted Hill
You can tell Vincent Price is having a blast in this twisted Agatha Christie inspired William Castle classic.
If you’re really dedicated, you’ll wire a skeleton to fly from behind the television at just the right moment.
If you missed this recently under-released Joe Dante film, you’re in for a treat.
The Hole is an old-school spooky hoot. By the way, it’s suitable for the kids too (so completely switchable with October 31st, if you need something more family friendly).
October 27th – Night of the Creeps
It’s a throw-back to classic cold-war Science Fiction invasion films, but also a classic zombie film in its own day.
Also, Tom Atkins in a mustache.
One of the most terrifying movies ever made. Period.
Another modern classic, The Innkeepers takes time to become a proper horror film/ghost story, but it’s worth the wait.
The original HD release on Blu-ray was limited edition (Twilight Time), and way out of reach unless you want to drop hundreds of dollars on eBay.
Here’s a way to catch it looking better than it ever did on VHS, Laserdisc or DVD.
October 31st – Night of the Living Dead
One of the must watch movies of All Hallows’ Eve, and luckily always easy to find online anywhere since it’s in the public domain.
The version on Netflix is acceptable.
Feel free to pull out your worn out VHS for nostalgia if need be.
Note: Above-mentioned titles available to WATCH INSTANTLY on Netflix October 2014. All are subject to the studio’s deal with Netflix. All are recommended to watch before November 1, 2014.
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