Halloween is almost upon us, and lots of people are looking forward to watching a scary movie, curled up in a dark room to celebrate the spooky festival. We decided to give you a list of some horror movies you might have missed first time round in the cinema, but be warned; these films are terrifying, so don’t blame us if you have a few sleepless nights because of the list!!
First up is The Innkeepers, a brilliant twist on the haunted house story, where we follow two employees who set out to uncover the dark past that lie behind the eerily quiet doors of a hotel that’s closing down. The slow build only adds to the tension and the scares start to pile up as the staff find themselves at the centre of some freaky happenings in the dying days of the hotel. An excellent supernatural horror, we wouldn’t recommend watching with the lights out.
Let The Right One In is a brilliant take on the vampire story, following a shy boy called Oskar who is being bullied, and his friendship with a beautiful but strange young girl. Modernising the old myths and making them fresh again, without descending into Twilight territory, is no mean feat, and Let The Right One In nails the balance between the touching relationship of Oskar and Eli and the shockingly bloody and brutal violence she is capable of. There’s an English language remake called Let Me In, for those of you that hate subtitles, which is actually still quiet scary, but just not as scary as the original.
The Descent has, in my opinion, one of the greatest “jump moments” of modern cinema. It follows a group of girls who decide to go exploring some caves in an isolated forest, one of whom is dealing with some personal demons from an accident that haunts her. To say much more would spoil the fun, but this is intense, bloody and will have you chewing your fingernails off by the end.
The Orphanage is a Spanish ghost tale as terrifying as it is powerful and emotionally chilling. A woman who spent her childhood in an orphanage return there 30 years later with her husband and her young son to reopen it as a care centre for disabled children. It’s not long before the remnants of the old residents began to make their presence known and the film has some brilliantly creepy and chilling scenes to keep you peeking from behind your fingers!
Eden Lake is the kind of horror movie that stays with you long after it has finished. With a very real scenario – group of teens terrorise a couple on a romantic break and things spiral out of control – and great performances from it’s leads, Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender, it’s strange that this managed to pass most people by. Well worth a look over the Halloween period for those who like straightforward bloody horror.
REC is another Spanish movie, but this is treat for those of you that grew up on recent crazes in horror. Combining the “found footage” type film with zombies as an apartment block comes under attack, it’s an absolute thrill ride from start to finish and easily one of the best horrors of the last decade, spawning an American remake (Quarantine – very poor) and two sequels with another on the way. A must watch.
Drag Me To Hell is one of the more fun movies on the list, but no less intense or scary. It’s a great one to watch with the lights out and the tv turned up, as director Sam Raimi uses sounds and shadows to generate some brilliant jump-out-of-your seat moments. Its a story about a girl who ends up cursed after getting on the wrong side of a gypsy, and its a treat for those who like their horrors disgusting but with a bit of humour thrown in.
So, there you have it. If you manage to sit through all 7 of these then we salute your bravery! A gooht. d horror movie is something no good film fan should be without for Halloween night. We suggest you try one of these a night for the whole week leading up to Halloween!
Oh, and if you want an idea of how seriously we take our scares here, check out these two great horror shorts, just to get ya in the mood!
(Images and trailers – Youtube, Tumblr)
