Getting into the spirit of Halloween, here are some Horror movies that you could spend your night getting scared with. Movies that have not really been mainstream, but definitely need to be checked out more. So with that it’s time to get unnerved, chilled, grossed out and spooked.
PULSE (2001)
DIRECTED BY: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
One of the foremost figures of the Japanese horror landscape, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s movies haven’t been brought to the spotlight enough. And Pulse is one of the best both he and J-Horror have to offer. Referred to as a techno-horror film, Pulse follows two parallel plotlines both dealing with the supernatural invading the realm of the living via the internet. Tackling with the issues of loneliness and depression through is horror, Pulse packs in some highly unsettling sequences that will leave you chilled. A movie that really creeps its way into you.
DON’T LOOK NOW (1973)
DIRECTED BY: Nicolas Roeg
When a couple loses their child to drowning, they travel to Venice where the husband has some work and they hope to recover from their grief. But this not the Venice of postcards and picture books. A chilly, desolate place, matching the emptiness in John and Laura, this Venice hosts some unsavoury surprises for the couple. Don’t Look Now is a slow burn ride that latches onto you and sinks itself deeper and deeper as you feel the weight of the suffocating atmosphere of horror surrounding this damaged couple as they try to get away from their grief only to further spiral out of control.
PHENOMENA (1985)
DIRECTED BY: Dario Argento
One of the most prominent figures of Italian Horror cinema, esp. Giallo, Dario Argento’s movies can be a Halloween staple. Phenomena may not necessarily be the first Argento movie that comes to your head, but it is an insanely fun horror romp with a bonkers of a plot. Starring a really young Jennifer Connelly, the setting of the story is in Switzerland, concerning a serial killer on the loose killing young women. Connelly plays a student at a Swiss boarding school who uses her psychic powers of communicating with insects to pursue the killer, and also involves a smart chimp. Phenomena is a blast, revelling in it’s campiness punctuated by an insane soundtrack.
VIDEODROME (1983)
DIRECTED BY: David Cronenberg
One of the pioneers and most important figures in body horror, Cronenberg has been among the top tier of horror filmmakers for a long time now. His 80s classic Videodrome is among the top tier of Cronenberg flicks. When TV station CEO Max Renn manages to get signals from a dangerous program showcasing realistic torture, he feels like it will be the perfect fit for his adult oriented TV channel and gets to digging around. But this is going to lead him to far unimaginable. Having some really grisly and innovative body deformations and transformations, Videodrome is a classic of the body horror genre, in a plot that combines torture and sex in unnerving, and absolutely wild ways led by a plot that goes absolutely bonkers creating an unforgettable experience.
RAW (2016)
DIRECTED BY: Julia Ducournau
Before her Palme d’Or win for Titane, Julia Ducournau arrived on the scene with this twisted coming of age story of a girl studying to be a vet, who starts to develop an unusual taste for meat after first tasting it during an initiation session with seniors. Led by Garance Marillier, Raw is a deeply unsettling watch in the way it ends up making you uncomfortable. The sound design, the cinematography, the plot progression, the way the lighting plays with your senses, this is a movie that effectively gets under your skin. Starting from the first shot, Raw hooks you in leading all the way to the ending. Garance’s unnerving performance making us feel the way her character grows along with the increasing addiction to new tastes and the ways in which she sets about to get that.
