My October 2024 Horror Watchlist
I’ve done it: I completed my tenth consecutive 31 Days of Horror! My complete list of films is shown in the photo below, but read on to find out my short impressions of each one.
Week 1
October 1: Apartment 7A. This Rosemary’s Baby prequel starring Julia Garner was a good way to kick off the month. Garner is always great, and the film maintained an unsettling vibe of impending doom. The movie was fairly predictable if you know anything about RB, but it was still well done. I particularly enjoyed the midcentury production design, costumes, and makeup.
October 2: A Quiet Place Part II: I’d been meaning to watch this since it came out, and finally got around to it. I really liked this second installment. John Krasinski’s writing and direction was solid again, and the acting was great as well (especially the young performers). Was it as good as the first? No, but it was an engaging, tense sequel.
October 3: Cursed Friends. A bit more of a comedy than a horror, but it takes place on Halloween and involves the titular curse, so it totally counts. This 2022 film has a really fun cast (I especially enjoyed Harvey Guillén and Nicole Byer), a witty script, and a good pace.
October 4: Salem’s Lot. I didn’t actually have time to watch a movie on day four, so I watched this on the fifth. This is a remake of the Stephen King vampire novel and movie. This new version was just okay and didn’t really add much that I can recall aside from glowing crosses, which were kind of cheesy. The writing wasn’t great either. Meh.
October 5: Eating Raoul. I had never seen this 1982 dark comedy before, and it was a fun time. Very cheeky, weird, and probably pretty subversive for the early 80’s. Paul Bartel of Piranha wrote, directed, and starred in this uniquely offbeat film.
October 6: It’s What’s Inside. A pretty fun, buzzy new Netflix film that has a bit of a Talk to Me vibe. I liked the premise and the visuals, but the final third of the movie got a little overly complicated. A cool concept, though, and still worth watching.
October 7: Late Night with the Devil. This was my favorite film so far this month. A found footage late night talk show episode gone horribly wrong, starring the always interesting David Dastmalchian. The production design absolutely nailed the 1970s aesthetic, and the paranormal believer versus skeptic element was engaging throughout. Immaculately creepy vibes. A great pick!
Week 2
October 8: Abigail. I liked this movie a lot! Great cast (Melissa Barrera of Scream, Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey, Kathryn Newton of Supernatural, and the one and only Giancarlo Esposito). And Alisha Weir was great in the title role. I wish the one-liner description on Peacock hadn’t spoiled a major plot element, because it would have been even better had I not known. So I recommend watching this one totally cold if possible.
October 9: Faces of Death. I had somehow never seen this weird mashup of exploitation with cautionary and morality tales. It basically functions as a broad survey of real-world horrors that lead to death. Many of the scenes are obviously faked, which I knew going into the movie. The movie’s messages from 46 years ago are still relevant today because humans are too individualistic to effect meaningful change. Phew…did not expect to experience these feelings after watching this film.
October 10: Tenebrae. This 1982 Argento film passed me by until now. I liked the visual aesthetic and the score, which are elements I enjoy in all Argento films. The murder mystery’s story was rather cohesive and I did not figure out whodunnit, so it kept me guessing until the reveal at the end.
October 11: The Church. A 1989 Italian film directed by Michele Soavi and produced by Dario Argento. I believe this is the first Soavi film I’ve seen, and I enjoyed it. The movie had some weird elements and some unintentionally funny creatures. Also? Goblin was responsible for the music—the group scored Suspiria, which has an incredible soundtrack. Now I want to watch some other Soavi films.
October 12: Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor. The fourth and most recent installment of this creepy found footage series. When you find yourself thinking “no one would possibly still be filming themselves in this situation,” all you have to do is remember the existence of livestreaming and TikTok in order to suspend disbelief. I don’t remember this series’ overarching story too well, but the films do a solid job with jump scares and vibes of impending doom.
October 13: The Sect. My second Michele Soavi film of the month. Starring Jodie Foster doppelgänger Kelly Curtis, this was a slow burn and a weird movie, but in a way that held my attention.
October 14: Stopmotion. This is an eerie new film with a bit of body horror and some stop motion characters that are almost as cute as they are creepy. It’s not the most exciting or the scariest movie, but I liked its unsettling atmosphere.
Week 3
October 15: Prophecy. A 1979 creature feature with environmentalism and anti-colonialism messages. This would have been a good pick to watch the day prior, which was Indigenous Peoples’s Day. The film did lean in to the “magical Indian” trope, though that’s not surprising given the era in which it was made.
October 16: The Rental. My second movie with Dan Stevens this month! Also starring Alison Brie, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand. This film is the directorial debut of Brie’s husband Dave Franco. The ending wasn’t super satisfying, but overall it was creepy and will make you think twice the next time you’re booking an Airbnb.
October 17: Cutting Class. This 1989 movie stars Brad Pitt and features Martin Mull and Roddy McDowell. An amusingly weird high school serial killer flick in which all male employees of the school are lecherous creeps. Brad Pitt of course stands out among the cast.
October 18: Invitation to Hell. I had never heard of this 1984 Wes Craven TV movie starring Susan Lucci, Robert Urich, Joanna Cassidy, Soleil Moon Frye, and Barret Oliver (Bastian from The Neverending Story!). The movie was kind of slow, but it was still fun to see these big names cheesing it up in a made-for-TV horror adjacent flick.
October 19: Immaculate. This religious horror film starring Sydney Sweeney was better than I expected. It had obvious parallels with current-day issues regarding consent and men controlling women’s’ bodies. And I actually liked the ending!
October 20: Cuckoo. My third movie this month starring Dan Stevens! Also starring Hunter Schaefer from Euphoria. The film was uniquely weird and creepy, though I didn’t fully comprehend what was going on. The movie was still a fun ride even though the explanation for the bizarre events didn’t make total sense to me.
October 21: Maxxxine. The third and (potentially) final film in Ti West’s period horror series. I love West’s work, and Mia Goth is always incredible. I had a good time with this third installment, but I didn’t love the ending. The conclusion did have elements that I appreciated, but it felt like the weakest ending of the three films. Still a fun watch, though.
Week 4
October 22: Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh. I wasn’t sure if I’d seen this before, but enough of the imagery felt familiar that I concluded that I must have seen this in high school or college. It’s not nearly as good as the original film. Candyman is one of those horror villains who is actually a tragically sympathetic figure.
October 23: Longlegs. My third Neon film this month…this production house has been churning out indie horror and they are killing it. Starring noted Hollyweirdo Nic Cage, horror darling Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, and featuring an appearance by Kiernan Shipka. This film is creepy, odd, and a good watch.
October 24: Old. This film, shot during pandemic times, is not one of M. Night Shyamalan’s best. But I still liked it. Its horror lies in the fear of illness, aging, and death, and the film also had a few moments of genuine sadness. There were also moments that I found funny, though my guess is that was unintentional.
October 25: Trap. I had been wanting to see this and watched it the day of its release on Max. Josh Hartnett was great in the main role; director M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka in the role of Lady Raven was not as solid (though she is a talented singer). This film was an enjoyable game of cat and mouse.
October 26: Escape Room. This 2019 film is sort of a mashup of Saw and The Cabin in the Woods, though it’s not nearly as good as either. The cast includes some familiar faces (Jay Ellis of Insecure, Deborah Ann Woll of True Blood, Tyler Labine of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil). The third act wasn’t great, but overall it wasn’t a bad watch.
October 27: Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things. This is a slow and silly 1972 film from Bob Clark, director of Black Christmas, A Christmas Story, and Porky’s. Nothing too exciting here, but fans of early zombie flicks might get a kick out of it.
October 28: A Bay of Blood. My first watch of this early slasher film from Mario Bava. The gore must have been way over the top for 1971. Friday the 13th clearly took inspiration from this movie. The film has a very WTF ending that had to have been shocking back in the day but almost feels like a punchline now. I can see why it’s a classic Italian horror film.
Week 5
October 29: They. A pretty lame 2002 movie produced by Wes Craven. I found my mind wandering at points…to be fair, I was distracted by the election one week away. But overall, nothing special.
October 30: Fresh. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan, this movie contains some incredibly fucked up and disturbing content. So of course, I really liked it (LOL). It’s best if you know nothing going in. It had some cheeky moments, great music, and a satisfying ending. Not for the faint of heart, though.
October 31: The Substance. A very stylish and effective body horror starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid. I loved the production design, and I loved the commentary on our society’s obsession with youth and appearance. The film takes clear visual inspiration from The Shining, as well as character inspiration from Basket Case and Carrie. So great.
Horror by the Decade
This year my picks skewed very heavily toward newer films, most of which were quite good.
- 1970’s: 4
- 1980’s: 5
- 1990’s: 2
- 2000’s: 1
- 2010’s: 1
- 2020’s: 18
My previous years’ watch lists:
Overall, I think I did a solid job of picking films this year. On three separate days, I began watching a film and quickly had to switch to something else because my first picks were basically unwatchable. One of those times, I started watching the wrong (and much poorer quality) Escape Room. At least I didn’t waste my time finishing those movies. I’m impressed with the quality of a lot of the recent horror movies! It’s nice that filmmakers are keeping us horror fans on our toes.
I hope you had a wonderful Halloween!!
