Halloween is here tomorrow and this is our last Halloween Scavenger Hunt list. I hope you’ve found something new and interesting to watch during your Halloween viewing because of these lists. And doing this project has actually inspired a bigger project that is somewhat similar. Keep your eyes peeled. Now here is our list from Rachel Shatto! She’s a podcast guru and a sometimes writer right here at Geek Nerdery. Enjoy and Happy Halloween.
1. Absentia (2011) – This is the movie that made me a Mike Flanagan fan. Although he has since gone on to make a handful of consistently creepy films like Occulus, Hush, and most recently Gerald’s Game, it’s his first film, Absentia that really worked its way under my skin. The film follows two sisters, one who is finally ready to declare her missing husband dead in absentia and another who has attracted the interest of a creature lurking in a nearby tunnel. A pervading sense of dread, unique mythology, and unforgettable ending make this one to add to your October viewing list.
2. Love Object (2003) – I randomly stumbled onto Love Object while flipping through the channels late one night. It’s about a lonely man who is convinced his life-size sex doll is murdering people. With a description like that, how could I not watch it? I was expecting a low budget B-movie, but what I got was so much better. What could easily just be an absurd premise actually turns into alternately tragic, disturbing, and darkly funny psychological horror film, thanks to a chilling central performance by Desmond Harrington. I suggest pairing this with Pin for a double feature of… umm… anatomically correct killer doll movies.
3. Baby Blood (1990) – If you like your horror splattery and strange, find yourself an unrated copy of Baby Blood (aka The Evil Within). This movie is about a woman whose unborn baby has been taken over by a primordial creature that telepathically demands that she feed him blood so that he can be born, return to the sea, and take the world back from mankind. It’s all very Lovecraftian, but with loads more gore and nudity. It’s a French language film but I recommend the dubbed version so that you can enjoy the voice acting talents of Gary Oldman who inexplicably lends his voice to the killer fetus.
4. The Whisperer in Darkness (2011) – I adore Lovecraft and the universe he created (minus the racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia obviously). Unfortunately, most of the films based on his works are less thrilling. That’s not the case with The Whisperer in Darkness, which was produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society and, as result, you can feel the absolute love and passion for the source material in every frame. The film is based on the story by the same name and is a largely faithful retelling, but with an extended third act (because Lovecraft, despite all his talent for creating eldritch horrors of cyclopean proportions, often had trouble sticking the landing). Anyway… this film, which was shot in “mythoscope” to invoke the look and feel of a ’30 era film, is just so much fun for fans of Lovecraft, classic sci-fi, and horror. I can’t recommend it enough.
5. Resolution (2012) – I love horror that doesn’t sacrifice character development, I love mysteries, and I love films that I’m still mentally unpacking for days after the credits roll. Resolution ticks all those boxes and then some. It’s about two friends, one of whom has spiraled into drug addiction and psychosis and another who, in a last ditch attempt to help his friend get clean, comes up with the brilliant idea to just chain him to the wall for a week so he’ll detox. So, yeah, that’s a bad plan, but what he’s also not counting on is that the cabin they are holed up in is located right he middle of a metaphysical nightmare. This film wouldn’t work so well if the fraying friendship at its core didn’t feel so authentic or if the breadcrumb trail of clues left for them weren’t so intriguing.
Rachel Shatto is a culture and sex writer for Elite Daily, life-long horror fanatic, and co-host of several podcasts including The Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast, Cold Case Cinema, and The Cast of Ka.
