Horror Movie Recs (Halloween is approaching!) 🎃

Hello again! 🦇

To get myself back in the groove of writing in this blog, I thought I'd do a quick and fun post about some of my favorite horror movies. When it comes to my taste in horror, I'd say it's really all over the place. I like "quality" horror movies that are technically good cinema, and I like cheesy 80s movies. In fact, I think I like "bad" 80s horror more than ever before. 

A lot of horror gets a bad rep for being corny, but to that I say -- that's what the genre is all about! I also think a lot of movies we think of as "bad" can actually have more to say than you might think. But I don't think horror needs to be high-brow to have value, and the value can be in the shock, the camp, and the sheer love put into it. Anyways, my boyfriend and I have been making a point of getting through classic horror franchises the last few spooky seasons — every Friday the 13th, every Nightmare, and so on. 

I've fallen more and more in love with horror with every passing year so without further ado, here are some of my favorites that I recommend for this Halloween. I decided just to stick to 5, because I couldn't possibly name all my favorites.

1. Friday the 13th franchise —Yes, every single one.

OK, so this counts as like, 10 movies, but my absolute favorite horror memory is getting through every single one of these. Some are godawful, some are so-so, and a handful of these are genuinely good movies. I recommend watching them all because it's fascinating seeing the journey of directors and writers pass on Jason's story, and the decisions made along the way (without getting too spoilery, Part V makes a huge departure for the franchise that I wish they'd followed through on!). 

Some of my favorites are the aforementioned Part V, but I also like Jason takes Manhattan (8), the Final Chapter (4), and the delightfully fun Freddy vs. Jason. Friday the 13th as a franchise is completely no-frills, but there's a lot of love in it for the craft of horror movies. Plus, Tom Savini is the master of practical effects. 

2. Fright Night

Vampires. 80s dance tunes. Chris Sarandon. Incredible practical effects. This movie is so much fun -- I watched it recently for the first time and immediately rewatched it the day after, and then the significantly less fun remake. 

I know a lot of people consider The Lost Boys the iconic 80s fun vampire movie but to be honest, I'm not a huge fan. Fright Night is where it's at... and the nightclub scene will forever be branded in my memory as one of the sexiest moments in vampire movie history. 

3. Noroi: The Curse

I wanted to include at least 1 J-Horror in here. There are so many good ones but I think the movie that scared me the most and truly marked me is Noroi. Koji Shiraishi is a master of found footage, and Noroi is definitely his best movie. The lore is delivered at a perfect pace, there are twists and turns, and some images will haunt you for a while after. Highly recommend this for a good scare. 

4. X

The most recent in the list (2022!), X is an homage to 70s slashers, most notably the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Most interestingly, Mia Goth plays both the final girl and the killer, and does an incredible job in both roles. The kills rely on practical effects which is refreshing to see, the premise is interesting, and the cinematography is beautiful (it's an A24 movie, after all). 

This isn't a perfect movie, however. It does fall back on some tired tropes around the elderly and uses naked old bodies for shock value, which I could have done without. But it still left an impression on me and it's great to see such a classic slasher formula come back. 

5. Scream 4

Why didn't I pick Scream 1? Cause this one is my favorite, sorry! The original Scream is incredible and I'll always love my homoerotic killer boyfriends, but Scream 4 absolutely bamboozled me. I don't want to say too much because you really have to watch it, but it's definitely the most solid sequel in the franchise. 

---

Like I said, there are too many other movies I could name, but some honorable mentions that didn't make the cut are Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, RINGU, The Exorcist I and III, the Candyman remake, and Bram Stoker's Dracula (barely a horror but still a favorite).

This year my boyfriend and I plan on getting through the entire Hellraiser franchise, so maybe I'll make post about that at some point. This October I definitely plan on watching a ton of horror, making spooky cocktails, and I want to try my hand at baking a coffin cake. I'm more in the season than ever before! Happy Halloween Season!