Scream It or Leave It: Halloween Spooktacular
The top 3 movie and show picks from each ghoul this fright night
Mwa-ha-ha-ha, we want to suck your streaming TV time! Each of us ghouls is sharing our top 3 (so, 9 total) unique, creepy, and spooktacular films and shows to watch this fright night.
If you can’t decide what to watch this Halloween, then you’re in luck. And, stick around past the end of our show for even more discussion about your horror favorites.
Jeff’s top 3 Halloween picks:
The Brain That Wouldn't Die (2:31)
DailyMotion, Prime Video and YouTube (MST3K), 82 min
1962, Directed by Joseph Green
Starring Jason Evers, Virginia Leith
It’s melodramatic, poorly-written, cheesy, sleazy, and incredibly violent. It also conveys the hubris of American ‘50s hyper-masculinity and its backlash and make sure to watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 feature.
Let the right one in (15:57)
Prime Video, 112 min
2008, Directed by Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Screenplay and original novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Starring Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
Turns the vampire thing on its head and really spotlights aspects of ‘emotional’ vampirism.
The Witch: A New-England Folktale, (29:36)
Prime Showtime, Showtime Anytime, 92 min
2015, Written and directed by Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit), Ralph Inseon (The Green Knight)
Incredible moral stupidity and insensitivity of Puritans and early American settlers, who denied help to each other on the basis of disagreement over a bible verse.
Shindy’s top 3 Halloween picks:
Squid Game (8:29)
Netflix, 9 episodes, approx. 60 min each
2021, Written and directed by Hwang Dong-Hyuk
Starring: Lee Jung Jae, Jung Hoyeon, Lee Byung-Hun, Park Hae soo
People down on their luck or who’ve lost their way in life enter a game where they can win $40 million. With veiled commentary on capitalism and communism; a parody of the West; and it’s the most creative and original thing I’ve seen in a long time.
Dracula (19:45)
Netflix, 3 episodes, 90 min each
2020, Directed by Jonny Campbell (Westworld), Paul McGuigan (Wicker Park, Damon Thomas (Killing Eve)
Written by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, The Favourite)
Starring: Claes Bang, Dolly Wells
Funny, creepy, scary, excellent and witty writing. A fresh take on Dracula.
Black Mirror, “Metalhead,” Season 4, Episode 5 (27:10)
Netflix, 41 min
2017, Directed by David Slade, written by Charlie Booker
A post-apocalyptic land full of transcendent robot dogs along the Scottish Moors and filmed in Dartmoor and Devon. It’s terrifying, with lots of blood and gore, and edge-of-your teeth suspense.
Mat’s top 3 Halloween picks:
The Descent (6:29)
Prime Video, 100 min
2005, Written and directed by Neil Marshall
Starring Shauna Macdonald, MyAnna Buring (Twilight)
Low budget (as many of the best horrors are) but really solid and with a great all-female cast. Takes the time to set themes (grief, regret, friendship) and create an emotional connection with the characters, with a slow reveal at first and then gets ruthless. Lots of great scares, great sense of claustrophobia, superb ending - controversially cut in the American version. Note: the Prime Video is the U.S. version, sadly!
The Orphanage (El Orfanato) (13:52)
Starz or VOD, 105 min
2007, Directed by J.A. Bayona (Jurassic Park Fallen Kingdom, The Impossible, A Monster Calls), Produced by Guillermo del Toro
Starring Belen Rueda (The Sea Inside with Javier Bardem - best foreign language oscar)
Creepy-as-hell old-school supernatural horror but through the Guillermo Del Toro lens. Beautifully shot, atmospheric, and with a really compelling setup. The scares are well-earned and the narrative develops in a very emotionally-impactful way to a very satisfying and quite beautiful payoff. The ending washes away the creepiness, allowing me to sleep at night.
Annihilation (23:23)
Paramount+, Sling, 115 min
2018, Directed by Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, ExMachina)
Starring Natalie POrtman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa thompson, and Oscar Isaac
Incredibly atmospheric and immersive. We are as confused and dizzy as the leads as we enter this palpably living, breathing, sweating world. It’s surreal and creepy in a very effective way, creating some excellent scares as horror is mixed into nature in a wonderfully creative way - including a brilliantly-twisted bear attack. The ambitious (but likely too bizarre for many) ending.
What else we’re watching (34:45)
Jeff: Love on the Spectrum (Season 2), The Guilty with Jake Gyllenhall, Netflix
Mat: 100 Foot Wave, HBOMax
Shindy:
Animal Kingdom, Season 5, Prime Video
Britney vs. Spears, Netflix
The Great British Baking Show, Netflix
Bonus Bonus: Overflow horror picks (42:04)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Get Out (2017) / Us (2019)
Pet Sematary (1989)
A Ghost Story (2017)