[Written By: Charlie Clarke]
Spooky season is FINALLY here Boils + Ghouls, so this month we are ‘treating’ you (no tricks here!) to not 1, not 2, not 3, BUT 4 Spine-Chilling Blog Posts!
Now we know a lot of you, just like the team here at Superfreak HQ, love to cram as many horror films into the month of Spook-Tober as physically possible. So with that in mind we thought we’d kick things off with some of our favourite Horror Films and some of our ‘not so favoured.’ All in the hopes we can inspire your very own spooky-season viewing!
Halloween (1978)
Obviously Halloween was going to make our Top 3, it’s a firm favourite amongst the team! It’s packed full of suspense, gruesome kills, moments that make you jump and not to mention that killer soundtrack. Of course Halloween then spawned a whole bunch of sequels, some that are good, some that are not so good, but that doesn’t take away at all from the Original. There is a reason you see homages to Halloween or Michael Myers in so many of it’s imitators. So whether you’re watching it for the first time or the hundredth time this Halloween, we dare you not to love this film!
Scream (1996)
The film that truly elevated Wes Craven into God tier of Horror Filmmakers, actually scratch that, Filmmakers full stop. After making us never want to sleep again with Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes decided it was time to take all of the ingredients of the slasher sub-genre and create a satirical whodunit with one of the best killer reveals ever. Hats off to you Mr Craven! You won’t get any spoilers from us here (if you haven’t already watched it), but we would say that Scream is enjoyable to watch over and over again. Even after you know who the killer is because you then get to go back and play detective spotting all the clues along the way. We are also REALLY excited to see what Scream (5) has instore for us when that gets released, although sadly it won’t have Wes at the helm, we have very high hopes!
Hocus Pocus (1993)
If you’d like a little insight into life on a Superfreak set…you’ll almost definitely hear some quotes from Hocus Pocus being thrown about! Ok, so this might not fall into the same category as the previously mentioned films, however we couldn’t not include our favourite witches, the Sanderson Sisters! This film is camp, it’s spooky, it’s funny, it’s got Bette Midler in and you can watch it with the smaller spooky people in your life! So if you are looking for something that a little less bloody and slashy, Hocus Pocus is the perfect film for you!!
Jigsaw (2017)
Are we harsh putting this down as one of the worst horror films out there? We don’t think so…put quite simply this film had us all on side until *SPOILER ALERT* we realised it was just the plot of Saw 2 re-hashed and re-packaged to try and fool us. It did not! It was just one of the biggest let downs after such a hype was made about John Cramer making his return. Gone are the days when you used to look forward to a new Saw film every Halloween. Jigsaw unfortunately was well and truly the nail in the coffin for the franchise. Although arguably a little enjoyable in parts, we chalk this up to another example of the Saw franchise trying to be a little to clever for it’s own good. We recommend you stick with the first 3 entries!
I Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)
Here we have a fine example of when Film Studios don’t know when to stop! We didn’t need the sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer, so we certainly didn’t need a third entry into the mix! This was a Straight to DVD film, with none of the original cast and instead of reinvigorating the franchise it unfortunately just falls flat. Relying on cheap jump scares and lazy call backs to the previous two films, it doesn’t offer much to even the most die-hard slasher fan. James Wan has partnered with Amazon Studios to breathe new life into the franchise with a I Know What You Did Last Summer – Series set to drop any day now, but we don’t have high hopes. You definitely want to give the third film in the franchise a miss, and maybe check out the Scream Film Series instead! You’ve been warned!
The Nun (2018)
Did we have high hopes for this film? Yes. Did this film have all the ground work laid out for it to be incredible? Yes. Did this film fall flat on its face? Yes. This was possibly one of the biggest disappointments to come out of the Horror genre in last 10 years. Valak was set up as an absolutely terrifying antogonist in The Conjuring 2. We have vivid memories of sitting in the cinema, hiding behind our popcorn as a pale set of fingers clawed their way around a portrait of a Demonic Nun. So when it was announced a stand-alone film was being made explaining Valak’s backstory, we were bloody excited. What we got wasn’t exactly in line with that expectation. Instead we got a hokey script, cheap looking sets and some of the worst jump scares we’d ever sat through! If we were you, we’d stick with The Conjuring 2 if you want to see Valak in action!
So there you have it, some of our best and worst Horror Films for spooky season! Even the bad ones on this list can be enjoyed in their own way, and as always we have a huge respect for the filmmakers behind them. We just know how quickly time flies through October and before you know it it’s time to bust out the Christmas Films. So if we can help you dodge a few of the naff ones, let us make sure your October is filled with the best that Horror has to offer. We sure hope we’ve inspired your Spooktober watch list!
Do you agree with us? Did we miss something off our list? Let us know in the comments, you know we love to hear from you.
Until next time, stay safe and keep it creepy!
Team Superfreak.
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