Come Halloween, television networks and streaming services offer their curated takes on frightening flicks worth watching. Some are horror masterpieces and others campy classics.
Film studios continue to release horror films each year and 2022 is no different. Here are some recently released horror movies and others slated for release in the months to come.
• Scream: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette return to reprise roles they made famous 25 years ago. A new killer dons the ‘ghostface’ mask and terrorizes a California town. Screams undoubtedly ensue.
• Hellbender: A teen and her mother reside in the woods and pursue a passion for making music. A chance encounter with another teen has Izzy learning about a connection between her family and witchcraft, which causes a rift with her mother.
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The sequel to the 1974 hit arrives streaming on Netflix. A new group of victims unknowingly disrupt Leatherface’s home and are in for a gruesome surprise.
• Fresh: Noa finally meets what appears to be the ideal guy in Steve during a meet-cute in the supermarket. They exchange numbers and begin a relationship, planning to head away for the weekend. The rosy glow of their relationship soon extinguishes when Steve’s warped desires come to the surface.
• The Requin: A romantic trip goes south when a couple’s villa is swept to sea during a storm. The couple is forced to do what it takes to survive. The added horror comes from sharks circling them below.
• Umma: This supernatural thriller tells the story of Amanda, a quiet beekeeper who receives her mother’s ashes from South Korea. She is told that the mother’s ‘anger will grow as long as she remains in the box.’ Soon after Amanda is tormented by her mother’s spirit.
• Morbius: This offering from Marvel tells the tale of Michael Morbius. When he tries to cure himself of a rare blood disorder, Morbius actually turns himself into a living vampire, blurring the lines between good and evil.
• Choose or Die: Viewers will ponder if a video game actually can kill. That’s because young student Kayla stumbles upon an old game from the 1980s that mirrors the ‘choose your own adventure’ books of the era. It offers a $125,000 cash prize to the winner. Having been laid off, Kayla begins play, only to discover that what occurs in the game has very real consequences in her real life.
• Studio 666: The rock band Foo Fighters moves into a California mansion to record an album. However, that abode is steeped not only in rock and roll memories, but some grisly history as well.
The thrills of Halloween get even bigger when people watch the latest crop of frightening horror films. Scary movies are a must-see for many Halloween enthusiasts each October.
Classic characters like Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Jigsaw make their way into millions of people’s living rooms each year and serve as testaments to the staying power of scary movies. A scare might be what many people want on Halloween night, but such movies are best left to teenagers and adults. When it comes to more kid-friendly films this Halloween, parents can give these classics a try.
• ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ (1966): Parents can take a stroll down Memory Lane and enjoy this classic that has been entertaining kids for more than half a century. The costumes for the Peanuts gang, most notably Charlie Brown’s, elicit a few laughs, while kids will no doubt be in awe as Linus speaks of the Great Pumpkin.
• ‘Monsters, Inc.’ (2001): Halloween wouldn’t be the same without monsters, but the monsters in this beloved Pixar classic are decidedly more kid-friendly and significantly funnier than Frankenstein.
• ‘Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ (2005): This film based on the British stop motion comedy franchise gave the feature film treatment to Wallace and his dog, Gromit. The film’s action is centered around Tottington Hall’s annual giant vegetable competition and features enough silliness to keep kids laughing throughout its 85-minute run time.
• ‘Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island’ (1998): Youngsters who love Scooby-Doo and his mystery-solving pals are no doubt accustomed to a few lightly scary moments, so this story that unfolds when the gang heads to Louisiana to investigate a haunted mansion is sure to please.
• ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982): Produced and directed by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, this tells the story of a young boy named Elliott who befriends a charismatic extraterrestrial. The film is loaded with memorable scenes and dialogue, and parents who watched it as children will no doubt love the chance to watch their own youngsters’ eyes light up at the sight of E.T.