Chit Chat and Recommendation Post: October 2023! (Patreon)

Hello, Patrons! Happy Halloween! Welcome to this month's chit chat and rec post, a cozy space to update each other on what we've been doing lately and all the things we’ve enjoyed during the month!

As you know, I had COVID this month. Not fun is putting it lightly. Even weeks later, I feel like I got squished by a steamroller. Still, it's not the worst I've ever felt! So I'm counting my blessings. (I had what was probably COVID back in 2020 before testing was widespread, and it took almost half a year to recover fully from that. This is bad, but it's nowhere near that level, thank goodness!) 

I'm lucky that my day job let me have a break during the worst of it, but I've had to make up the difference so I'm stretched a bit thinner than I usually would be at this time of the year.

Since I obviously didn't have time/energy to do much fun this month, I thought I'd do something a bit different for this rec post: a list of good spooky movies! All available free on Tubi! 

I did something like this back in June 2022 for the Steam Summer Sale, when I also had a month of zero IRL fun. I hope this list of some of my faves makes up for the lack of more meaningful, current recs!

I've tried to keep the list confined to more obscure selections that don't get much hype outside horror movie geek circles. ^^ Just to keep things interesting!

Just Good

Solid. Watchable. Well directed, acted and paced. In a genre full of ambitious ideas and often messy execution, these are worth your time.

Peeping Tom (1961, UK): A repressed young man obsesses over the effects of terror. His instincts  are fulfilled when he murders women and films their dying expressions.

Black Christmas (1974, US): Sorority sisters are as good as dead when they're stalked by a  psychopathic stranger over the Christmas holiday in this influential  slasher.

Dog Soldiers (2002, UK): Deep in the Scotland wilderness during a routine military exercise,  British soldiers are plunged into a terrifying nightmare of unlikely  enemies.

Ginger Snaps (2000, Canada): Although they’re obsessed with death, two sisters are not prepared to  handle when one of them is bitten by a werewolf.

Lovable Oddities

Weird, offbeat, often silly or campy, but guaranteed to be unique!

Brain Dead (1990, US): An experimental operation plunges a brilliant neurosurgeon into a  mind-bending nightmare that blurs the line between reality and delusion.

The Stuff (1985, US): Nobody knows how it's made or what's in it, but people are lining up to  buy the mysterious gooey treat with a delicious flavor to die for.

The People Under the Stairs (1991, US): Wes Craven lures you into the scariest house on the block in a chilling  tale of a boy trapped in a home full of nightmarish inhabitants and  creatures.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988, US): Send in the clowns, this cult classic is back! One-of-a-kind alien  invasion sci-fi featuring blood drinking alien clowns harvesting a small  city.

Lesser Known Slashers

You know Freddy, Jason, Michael and Chucky. These are the Juggernaut Franchises That Weren't. They're interesting, often fun but not without flaws. There's a reason most didn't spawn any sequels, but they're still near and dear to my heart. 

The Stepfather (1987, US): After murdering his entire family, a man remarries a widow with a  teenage daughter in another town and prepares to do the same thing all  over again.

Tourist Trap (1979, US): A group of friends stranded at a secluded roadside museum are stalked by  a man who uses his telekinetic powers to control the museum’s  mannequins.

Intruder (1989, US): With a murderous, sadistic maniac loose in their grocery store, a group  of employees band together to stay alive and expose the killer.

Goofy as fuck. Watch a couple of Raimis get hilariously murdered in a low budget cheapie I adore. 

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1974, US) Based on a string of unsolved murders, a serial killer prowls the back  roads of Texarkana. An ace investigator arrives to catch the elusive culprit.

A weird one! This little known true crime/slasher joint may have influenced both Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th: Part 2.

Giallo

Giallo (Italian for "Yellow") is a horror film genre with its roots in crime novels of early 20th century Italy. These novels were known for their yellow covers and lurid plots full of murder, menace and mayhem, many written in direct response to fascist censorship of the arts. As censorship loosened, film eventually spun out of these sensibilities in the 1960's/1970's, brimming with sadistic murderers, erotic elements and technicolor, aestheticized deaths. (All the Colors of Giallo is a nice documentary about the genre!)

In terms of cinematography and content, I prefer to think of these as "colorful film noirs," even though they're far better known as precursors to later slasher films.

Blood and Black Lace (1964, Italy): The Italian cult classic, restored and uncut, about an haute couture  fashion house where drug deals, scandals, and blackmail lead to serial murders.

My favorite Giallo. Stunningly shot with amazing production design.

Opera (1987, Italy): When a young opera singer takes over the leading role in an avant-garde  presentation of Verdi's Macbeth, she triggers the madness of a crazed  fan who repeatedly forces the diva to watch the brutal murders of her  friends. Will the woman's recurring nightmare hold the key to the  identity of this psychopath or does an even more horrific evil lay  waiting in the wings

Standalone Sequels and (Good!) Remakes

Don't let the fact these movies are part of a series or remakes put you off! Each one stands on its own merits and can be enjoyed without touching the source material.

Evil Dead 2 (1987, US): Ash, the sole survivor of THE EVIL DEAD, returns to the same cabin in  the woods and again unleashes the dead. With his girlfriend possessed  and his body parts running amok, Ash must again single-handedly battle  the damned in this unhinged horror classic!

If you've never seen Evil Dead 2 or don't know it by reputation, nothing can prepare you for it. You will not be able to predict what happens in each scene, even if you're genre savvy enough to map out the basic story beats. My favorite horror film of all time. Nuff said.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987, Canada): A prom queen's tortured spirit rises to get revenge against the  boyfriend responsible for her fiery death. He's now the high-school  principal. 

Contains one of my favorite horror movie death trap effects. Watch out for lockers!

Nosferatu: The Vampyre (1979, Germany/France): Jonathan and Lucy live in Wismar and the Count wants a house there. Varna is a port on the Black Sea, close to Dracula's castle.

I generally don't vibe with Werner Herzog as a director, though I adore him as a funky lil guy, but this is a masterpiece. One of the best horror remakes of the late twentieth century.

Day of the Dead (1985, US): A small group of scientists and soldiers have taken refuge in an  underground missile silo where they struggle to control the flesh-eating  horror that walks the earth above.

Third in George Romero's Dead trilogy after Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead, this is my sentimental favorite of the bunch. <3

And there's the list! I wanted to do more (grindhouse! gothics! classics! etc!) but I think eighteen films is more than enough to start with. 

I hope your October was better than mine, and that your Halloween was great! What did you get up to this month? Read/watch/play anything good?