Myles Hughes
Eagle-eyed readers of Awards Radar (or indeed, eagle-eared listeners of our excellent podcast) will know that for the first time since the site began, a tradition has been broken. For the past 5 years, my wife Kelly and I have been devout participants of the 31 Days of Halloween challenge, wherein every October we inject another 31 spooky or spooky-adjacent films into our collective veins.
This year such an undertaking proved impossible due to my commitments to the West End Productions presentation of Brian Friel’s Translations, which will have opened by the time you read this. As much as I’ve loved playing a sad Irish hedge-school teacher contending with colonialism in the 1830s, I will admit that October did feel significantly less festive this year. Clearly mainlining an assortment of horror content has become an essential part of our annual film-going diet, and we really felt its absence last month.
So while we debate amongst ourselves how to make up for it next year (100 Days of Halloween? 365 Days of Halloween? Leave us a suggestion in the comments), I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on some of the best films we’ve watched in the course of this challenge. We’ve selected our three favorites from each year we’ve been doing this for a total of fifteen “all-stars.” I’ve listed them below in release order along with my thoughts at the time. Let me know what you think, and shout out your favorite recent spooky watches so I can add them to next year’s list!
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Dir. Robert Wiene
Here we decided to look into what Roger Ebert described as the “first true horror film”. I’ve always had an admiration for the style and techniques of the early German expressionist films (Nosferatu is another great example), but actually watching films from this era can be a little bit of a crap shoot. Often, even if one can appreciate the films’ historical significance, the act of watching them is still rather laborious. Not so with this film, however. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari feels revolutionary even now, a full century after it was made. The stunning art design and abstract sets are invigorating in their own right, while the narrative innovations within the silent film format are highly impressive (this is one of the first films to involve major plot twists, let alone several back to back). One can easily see how heavily the imagery inspired more modern filmmakers, especially one Tim Burton (who perhaps owes his entire visual style to this film, among others from the expressionist era).
Spookiest Scene: The first appearance of the somnambulist, Cesare, is truly eerie. He stares into the camera, and you feel like he’s staring into your soul. - The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Dir. James Whale
If the original Frankenstein is the first of the Universal monster movies that I’ve actually liked, then its sequel is the first of them that I’ve actively loved. Despite the title character only appearing onscreen for a few brief minutes, this film is everything I’ve ever wanted from this particular era of cinema. The performances are outrageously campy (shout out to Ernest Thesiger’s delectable line readings as the villainous Dr. Pretorius), the score is instantly memorable, the cinematography and especially lighting are to die for, and in general one can sense that director James Whale is having a lot more fun this time around, an enthusiasm that proves infectious. I don’t like to throw this word around too much, but for what it’s doing and trying to be, The Bride of Frankenstein is a masterpiece.
Spookiest Scene: The build-up to the creation of the new monster is nothing less than riveting. - The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Dir. Charles Laughton
Even by our generous standards, this one might stretch the definition of horror-adjacent, but it’s hard to care when I’m watching one of the greatest films ever made. From the dreamlike cinematography, to Robert Mitchum’s towering performance, to the complex themes about faith with no easy resolution, this is a timeless classic, the likes of which every self-respecting cinephile should seek out.
Spookiest Scene: There is almost no violence depicted on-screen, but the scenes leading up to and immediately following the death of Shelley Winters’ character are among the most haunting. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Dir. Brian De Palma
A rockin’ 70s soundtrack lays the stage for this musical fantasia of industry greed dotted with plentiful classic horror touchstones. William Finley’s Winslow is a tragically iconic antihero, Paul Williams makes Swan is a detestable antagonist, and Jessica Harper is always a treat when she gets to show off her pipes as the radiant Phoenix. A new favorite in the Hughes household.
Spookiest Scene: Every time you think Winslow can’t be brought any lower, Swan finds a way to drag him down. Their final confrontation finds both characters at their most monstrous, though one obviously garners far more sympathy than the other. - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Dir. Philip Kaufman
This one has been on my list of films to see for years, and somehow always missed the cut until now. I’m delighted to report that it may very well have been the most enjoyable new film we saw in our first year. Consistently unsettling, with a decent helping of paranoia thriller and body horror, it’s an all-around winner with warnings about the dangers of conformity that feel timeless (not to mention it’s yet another film about characters needing to stay isolated to avoid a contagion they know little about. We watched a lot of those in 2020). The all-star cast of quirky character actors certainly doesn’t hurt (Donald Sutherland! Leonard Nimoy! Jeff Goldblum! The blonde girl from Alien!), and the film is directed in a way that feels both experimental and precise, with a memorable synth-y score to tie it all in a nice bow.
Spookiest Scene: The half-formed pod people are absolutely disgusting, and I love them. - The Fog (1980)
Dir. John Carpenter
John Carpenter’s peerless ability to send shivers down the spine with little more than shadows and synths is on full display in this spooky seaside ghost story. Effectively paced, gorgeously shot, and eerily scored. Sit back and watch him cook.
Spookiest Scene: The atmosphere of a campfire story come to life is established very literally by an opening scene that introduces the film’s lore via a tale told to terrify kids. A brilliant suggestion of what’s to come. - Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Dir. Tommy Lee Wallace
It gets a lot of crap for being a Halloween film with no Michael Myers, and the insane plot revolving around Irish curses, pieces of Stonehenge, and masks that turn your head into bugs and snakes is the kind of thing where you either fully embrace the lunacy, or reject it outright. But to anyone who dismissed this film out of hand as not worth your time, I implore you to reconsider. Anyone who enjoys a bit of campy 80s weirdness like I do will know that this film has more entertainment value than you could ever imagine. And even if you think it’s too stupid to take seriously (not an unfair criticism), it still absolutely works as a film that’s fun to laugh at as much as with.
Spookiest Scene: A Halloween mask turns a kid’s head into bugs and snakes. What more do you want? - Opera (1987)
Dir. Dario Argento
Now here is the weird, perverse, unhinged Argento that I know and love. A combination of striking visuals, top-notch camerawork, and plenty of outrageous kills make this a winner. Makes great use of beautiful settings and juxtaposing music choices.
Spookiest Scene: A flock of ravens being unleashed into an unsuspecting audiences in a gambit to identify the killer features some of the most impressive cinematography of Argento’s filmography, building up to a beautifully nasty reveal. - Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)
Dir. Lee Harry
Sometimes, especially within the horror genre, you just want to turn your brain and watch something that’s objectively trashy, poorly made, and devoid of good taste, especially when those elements coalesce into a stew that’s so deranged it might actually be brilliant. Considering that the Christmas season is nearly upon us, you might do well to seek out this scrappy little slasher if you ever find yourself in such a mood. Don’t worry if you’ve never seen the original Silent Night, Deadly Night: the first half or so of this film is literally just flashbacks to the events of its predecessor, with recycled footage shamelessly employed throughout. However, once the new footage starts to take over, that’s when the genius of Eric Freeman’s hilariously aggressive performance really starts to shine through. If anyone knows anything about this movie, it’s the iconic “Garbage Day!” scene that became a meme before we had memes, but the entire extended sequence it’s a part of is equally inspired. The film doesn’t have a tasteful bone in its body, but if you want to watch a goofy, grungy film about an axe-wielding Santa facing off against a wheelchair-bound nun, you can’t do much better.
Spookiest Scene: An early flashback to Billy and Ricky’s traumatic experience with another killer Santa is the closest the film gets to actual horror before going off the rails in the best way possible. - Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Dir. Joe Dante
I had heard the stories. I’d seen various clips of all the crazy creatures out of context. I’d seen the Key & Peele sketch spoofing the creative process that could have conjured such an insane follow-up to a largely beloved holiday horror classic. But friends, believe me when I say that the absolute madness of Gremlins 2 must be seen to be believed. Nearly every detail of this sequel is an opportunity for a gag, from the building-shaped hats of the tour guides of its central location, to the identical twins playing a pair of scientists whose cloning experiments are going very well, thank you, to the fourth wall-shattering cameo by Hulk Hogan, to the sheer variety of titular monsters that have been brought to the screen with love and skill by Rick Baker and his team of wizards. This film feels more like a live-action cartoon than director Joe Dante’s own Looney Tunes: Back in Action, which as the title implies, actually stars the Looney Tunes (though they do make a brief cameo at the beginning and end of this film, so consider the tone established). I may well have seen better films that this one throughout the past five years of doing this challenge, but I don’t know that I saw one that was quite as much fun.
Spookiest Scene: The many Donald Trump parallels with John Glover’s Daniel Clamp are certainly unpleasant, even though the version presented here is far more of an affable goofball. - The Craft (1996)
Dir. Andrew Fleming
The 90s sure were a vibe, weren’t they? This delightfully spooky tale of teenage sisterhood gone awry features a perfectly period soundtrack and infectious chemistry amongst its lead quartet. Fairuza Balk is a chaotic force of nature. Loved it.
Spookiest Scene: The girls deciding to push their powers further by making each other levitate does an excellent job of making their blend of terror and excitement feel palpable. - Perfect Blue (1997)
Dir. Satoshi Kon
The age-old conversation about whether animation is just for kids should hopefully be dispelled by this psychological thriller about a pop idol attempting to transition into the world of acting, which infuriates her fanbase and slowly starts to damage her mental health. Despite its age, this anime is impressively put together thanks to a surreal visual language and editing so razor sharp that it’s easy to relate to the heroine’s confusion about what scenes are real, which ones are part of a TV project she’s working on, and which ones are only happening in her mind. It’s a merciless condemnation of celebrity culture and fan entitlement that feels even more potent today.
Spookiest Scene: Any scene involving the deeply disturbed fan who appears to be stalking our protagonist will immediately fill the viewer with an intense amount of dread. - Audition (1999)
Dir. Takashi Miike
At this point in our first year, Kelly had already been buttered up with a few fun spooky films that weren’t too intimidating when it comes to scares, I figured it was time to cash in that goodwill and force her to watch one of my all-time favorites. This movie is a lot, and it’s definitely not for everyone. Until around the halfway point, if you didn’t know any better, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a quirky romantic drama, with some light commentary on Japanese society at the time. But then the screws start to turn, and the film reveals itself piece by piece, all building to one hell of a finale that would go on to inspire an entire generation of what David Edelstein referred to as “torture porn.” None have done it quite as artfully as Takashi Miike does here, in what is shockingly one of his most accessible films. Kelly has put on a brave face, and she’ll never say as much out loud, but I suspect she quietly resents me for making her watch this one, even if she thought it was really well made. And that’s totally fair.
Spookiest Scene: The aforementioned torture scene is one of the most unsettling in all of horror cinema. Deeper, deeper… - Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Dir. Michael Dougherty
A brilliantly varied anthology of loosely connected stories involving undead kids, serial killers, werewolves, and more, and it’s a crime that it was never initially available on the big screen before now. Hopefully the buzz from its re-release will pave the way for its long-in-development sequel, but for now we can enjoy this delightful concoction that celebrates everything we love about Halloween. From the opportunity to dress up and let out our innermost demons, to the superstitious practices and the sensation that spirits are walking among us, there’s something here for every kind of horror fan, making it the perfect conclusion to the month.
Spookiest Scene: Adorable trick-or-treater Sam enters the home of a seasonal grump played by Brian Cox in the final chapter, allowing for the most suspenseful moments in the whole film. - Your Monster (2024)
Dir. Caroline Lindy
As a lover of monster movies, backstage drama, and unconventional romance, this really hit my sweet spot. Not just one of the best films we saw last October, but one of my favorites in all of 2024. Melissa Barrera is transcendent in what should be a true star-making performance, and Tommy Dewey makes for a charmingly offbeat companion with all the chemistry you’d need in a classic romcom. Be warned: this is also a surprise musical.
Spookiest Scene: It’s not hard to see the parallels between this story and any given iteration of Beauty and the Beast, and during the early scenes when the Monster of the title is establishing his dominance, Dewey manages to give his delivery a suitably terrifying boom.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you for all the spooks in store next year!
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