By Jason Pyles
*This column was originally printed in the October 2018 edition of The BP Times newspaper.
Even movie lovers who aren’t horror fans want a creepy watchlist for October, so this first edition of Considering the Cinema has 17 easy-to-find recommendations.
Amazon: “Summer of 84” follows a youth who worries that his policeman neighbor might moonlight as a serial killer.
Netflix: As beautiful as it is scary, “The Wailing” is a haunting South Korean horror film about a mysterious sickness that overtakes a village. Also from South Korea, “Train to Busan” is a full-bore, action-zombie flick that’s a fun and violent crowd-pleaser. But if you prefer more low-key zombies, I’d recommend “Cargo.” Martin Freeman plays a virus-infected father who only has a couple of days to find a suitable caretaker for his baby before joining the ranks of the mindless undead.
“The Ritual” follows hunters who become the hunted when a bizarre beast in the woods begins to prey upon their group. And “Calibre” is a suspenseful thriller about two friends whose hunting accident comes back to haunt them. “The Invitation” is a dark surprise in which a dinner party devolves into diabolical danger. And from Australia, “Killing Ground” is a violent and upsetting survival horror film in which heinous crimes occur at a campground.
Redbox: Rent two of the best horror films of 2018: “Hereditary” is a devastating film that explores a dysfunctional family, and “A Quiet Place” depicts a close-knit family that must maintain silence to survive in a world where ferocious creatures hunt by sound.
Lesser-known gems: “Jackals” follows a family that stages an intervention and reclaims their son from a killer cult that comes to retrieve him. And “Marrowbone” is a slow-burn chiller that delivers a different spin on the “haunted house” film.
In Theaters: “Searching” is an effective mystery that stars John Cho as a determined father who’s trying to find his missing daughter. The entire film takes place on laptop and device screens. And both “The Nun” and “The Predator” are simultaneously dumb and delightful.
HBO: “Sharp Objects” is an eight-episode mini series starring Amy Adams as a troubled journalist who’s assigned to report on the serial murders of young girls in her hometown. This one is unsettling, and it stays with you.
Coming Soon: Every horror fan is living for the new “Halloween” movie releasing on Oct. 19.
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Coming at you again straight from the heat waves of Arizona.
First things first. I can’t champion [The Wailing] enough! Sure, it has its problems, but the atmosphere in that small Korean village will absorb you right in and keep you hostage for most of the film’s long runtime.
[Train to Busan] is another great film, and I’m going to be giving it a rewatch soon since the owner of the sushi restaurant I frequent recommended it to me out of the blue and I thought it was so cool that she knew what the movie was so I told her I would rewatch it and thanked her for the rec.
I’ve got a bone to pick with you on [The Ritual]! “The hunters become the hunted…” Jay, my guy, I’m almost positive they weren’t hunters! They were out there to honor the memory of their friend who passed away! I think your brain got confused because you were writing about Calibre, which sounds like a “hunters become the hunted” type of film 😉 The movie itself is pretty solid though. The visual design of the beastly freak was rather original, and I liked that it looked more on the dark fantasy side of things given its supposed origin.
[Hereditary] is an awesome film that I enjoy quite a lot. I’ve seen it twice now even though I didn’t think I’d want to put myself through it again after the harrowing first watch. My second viewing was hampered by watching it with a bunch of rowdy guys that were making jokes about the movie the whole time. Hard to zone in and take it seriously with those assholes making a racket! (I love those guys though, some of my closest friends. I’ll forgive them… this time. If they do ever do that to some of my all time favorite films I might have to invite them to a cabin in the woods and pick them off one by one… 😉
I wasn’t a fan of [A Quiet Place]. It felt like a drama first, action second, sci-fi third, and horror FOURTH. If I went into it expecting a sci-fi thriller then I might have liked it more, but everybody kept telling me it was an awesome horror flick and I disagree.
Movies you’ve turned me onto with this quick article are: Jackals, Marrowbone, Calibre, The Invitation, and the HBO show Sharp Objects.
Especially Jackals, Marrowbone, and The Invitation. I’ll be trying to watch those pretty soon.
Thanks for the recs as always Jay. Keep on cranking ’em out and I’ll keep on tuning in.