Halloween is on a Saturday this year, which means we can celebrate it all day long. No need to wait until after work to go to a party, treat yourself, or watch a movie. You can get out of bed, have a cup of coffee, and immediately feel the spooky vibes.
However, that’s a lot more hours in the day, and we at io9 thought we’d let you know what we’re watching this Halloween to potentially inspire you.
The thing
I’m not a fan of costumes or parties, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the spooky vibe of this time of year through themed pop culture. I save my annual viewings of Friday the 13th but for Valentine’s Day, and Halloween It just seems a little too sharp. So this year I’m reprising John Carpenter’s 1982 classic The thing. The visual effects are still stunning all these years later, Ennio Morricone’s score perfectly captures the feelings of intense isolation and growing paranoia, and it stars Kurt Russell and Keith David. What more could you ask for from a film? – Jen Lennon
Alien 2: On Earth
Every October we declare “horror month” in my house, downplaying the fact that we watch a lot of horror all year round. This year’s pile contained several titles I’d never seen before, including the pleasantly sordid Bloody Moonfrom the reliable Jess Franco, and our pick for Halloween night: 1980 Italian import Extraterrestrial Terroralias Alien 2: On Earth. This alternate title was clearly intended to fool someone, anyone, into thinking it had a connection to Ridley Scott’s 1979 blockbuster, which of course was not the case. Already a good start.
The plot follows a return space mission in which all the astronauts have been replaced by monsters with explosive powers. That would be enough to keep us going, but it also features an encounter with a group of cave explorers, so hopefully we’ll see splashes galore in a setting roughly reminiscent of some sort of underground cavern. And the tempting promise of poorly dubbed dialogue? I can’t wait. – Cheryl Eddy
Pulse
This Halloween, having friends with blind spots in their Letterboxd filmography means living vicariously through them while rewatching some cult classics. And what better classic to get the block rolling than Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2001 techno-horror film, Pulse? Knowing that I was the head of Japanese cinema in our group of friends’ small film reading club, they foolishly thought I would suggest Hideo Nakata’s. Ringu (they only saw the American version and quite liked it) or Kurasawa’s Heal since they were subjected to hearing me yap about it before I wrote a retro review about it. Fools. We only make deep cuts in my apartment (with a significant investment in a home projector for such occasions).
I chose Pulse like this year’s Halloween watch, especially because my friends all felt like the horrors on display from the Behind the scenes And Obsession– while a total ambiance in its own right – leaves a bit to be desired. I think Pulse will marry these have-nots for anyone who feels the same way. But above all, I chose Pulse because there’s a particular shot of a silhouette in the finale of Kurosawa’s film that sticks in my memory as one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve witnessed in a horror film. It’s just as frightening as the looming outline of Nikki spinning upside down in Curry Barkerthe movie. In fact, I’d bet on Barker taking inspiration from him. Like a crab in a barrel, it is my civic duty to share the first premonitory fears of Pulse with my friends this season, and I invite you to do the same. – Isaiah Colbert
The Blair Witch Project
Growing up, there were only a few movies that truly terrified me. I loved watching slasher movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street And Friday the 13thand I thought of classics like The shiny And The Exorcist were incredible. But the films that really made me uncomfortable? It was a short list. One was the original Halloween. Another was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And then there was The Blair Witch Project.
It’s mainly because I saw The Blair Witch ProjectIn early 1999, when the marketing still wasn’t clear whether it was real or not. I have written a lot about this. This year, however, I’m ready to watch the film again, not because I need a good scare – I got over that 25-year-old fear – but because the film means so much to me and has a somewhat nostalgic moment. From its connection to internet culture, the way its sequels failed so uniquely, the behind-the-scenes battles, and even the next reboot (or whatever), it all makes me long for simpler days when a $27,000 found footage movie could take the world by storm and gross hundreds of millions of dollars. The fact that there are new editions on physical media doesn’t hurt either. – Germain Lussier
Want more io9 news? Check out the best movies and TV shows to stream this month and all the upcoming sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books that should be on your radar.
Gn entert
