Giselle BoehmWe’re onto the final countdown to the 31st… but there is still time to get some spooky viewing in! Here is our Halloween watching guide part 3.
Welcome to The Gateway‘s version of a cable T.V. Halloween movie marathon. It’s more terrifying than SU Election voter turnout, more twisted than your calculus prof’s idea of a “simple concept,” and more inconsistently pleasing than your last drunken Dewey’s hookup. From the depths of Netflix, to the nostalgia of our childhoods, we bring you our picks for what to watch this Halloween season.
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
Directed by S. Craig Zahler
Available on Netflix
This entry into cinema’s current genre mixing craze combines western, and horror for a satisfying movie. The film follows a sheriff’s posse as they try to save kidnapped townsfolk from cannibals. The first two acts are relatively calm, and ultimately uneventful, building tension for an unbelievably brutal third act. It is this third act that leaves you terrified. The violence is directed in a slow method that gives you an uneasy empathy. It also helps that, like any good western, the characters are believable and the performances are phenomenal. Bone Tomahawk is a brutal horror-western you won’t soon forget. – Nick Neitling
Hannibal (TV show)
Available on Netflix
Midterm marks got you down and distrusting academics in positions of authority? Great! There’s a whole show that plays into that anxiety. Though NBC certainly cancelled it too soon, the three seasons of Hannibal that did manage to reach airwaves redefined horror-drama on cable. With four-Michelin-star cannibalism, psychosexual intrigue, dream sequences and death aplenty, a marathon of Hannibal is just what your deep-seated fears need this Halloween. Mads Mikkelsen is impeccable as the title villain, Hugh Dancy is pitch-perfect as the damaged FBI profiler Will Graham, and a stellar supporting cast includes Lawrence Fishburne, Gillian Anderson, and Michael Pitt. Combine this with the spine-tingling dread that has defined the Hannibal Lecter cinematic universe for nearly 25 years, and you have a recipe for a perfect Halloween Netflix marathon. – Mitch Sorensen
That’s So Raven: “Don’t Have a Cow” (TV Show)
Remember a time that you didn’t fucking hate Raven Simone on The View? I do. Before this bad-haired know-it-all somehow made her way onto daytime television, she was better known as the the more lovable Raven Baxter on Family Channel’s That’s So Raven. I’ve was always been a sucker for the sitcom Halloween specials, and That’s So Raven’s “Don’t have a Cow” takes top spot in my memory. What makes this particular episode so memorable is the perplexing and “udder-ly” horrifying cow makeup used to transform Raven and Chelsea into what can only be described as a werecow…? If nothing else, Google it, I promise that you won’t see anything scarier this Halloween. – Sydney Podgurny
Firestarter (1984)
Directed by Mark L. Lester
In the midst of a solid studying procrastination session, I found myself channel surfing, and eventually landed on AMC’s Fear Fest Halloween movie marathon. The matinee flick that afternoon was this ‘80s, Stephen King adaptation, starring a young Drew Barrymore as a little girl with mental powers to start fires. I think she was maybe on the run with her dad from the government? I wish I could say more about the plot or the film’s quality, but to be honest, I was only half paying attention and didn’t watch the whole thing. That being said, I did read the soundtrack is performed by legendary electronic music act Tangerine Dream, and (since it’s sci-fi from the ‘80s), that Stranger Things “borrowed” some elements from the film for their popular Netflix show. In my books, any old movie where a stuntman with a deathwish is set on fire is always gold — and this movie seems to check that box repeatedly — so it’ll merit a real watch before Monday. – Sam Podgurny
Silent Hill on PS1 (Video Game)
Silent Hill was one of the original survival horror games to be released on the PS1 back in the ’90s. I have vivid memories of cowering outside of the TV room as my mom would play because my youthful mind could not handle the sheer terror that it produced. This game has remained the scariest game I have witnessed and played (in later years). Now as a 20 year old man I recently (and wrongfully assumed) I was too old to be scared by this game. Boy, was I wrong. While the mechanics might have not aged well, the horror sure has. Make your way to a vintage game shop or buy digitally though the Playstation network and let Silent Hill remind you that a 17-year-old game can still terrify like it’s brand new. – Nick Neitling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNGYJRcq5BM
Halloweentown (1998)
Directed by Duwayne Dunham
It isn’t Halloween without an annual viewing of Halloweentown. With its 90s nostalgia, who can resist watching Marnie travel to a town that is literally Halloween all year long. It’s a young kid’s, or even a university student’s, dream come true. I don’t care if you say you are too old to watch it— you are lying to yourself if you say you don’t enjoy it. Embrace your inner child and crack open the Halloweentown VHS this spooky season. – Jessica Jack
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV Show)
What says Halloween more than a talking, sarcastic AF cat? If you want to be jealous of someone’s entire life watch this show. Sabrina is a likeable blonde chick, can use magic to learn important life lessons, lives with her cool 600-year-old aunts, and her boyfriend Harvey is the nicest. With questionable outfits and hip references to Britney Spears and No Doubt, this show is a spooky reminder of how weird the 2000s were but maybe if we cast a spell we can go back, it was a simpler time. – Sofia Osborne
Teen Witch (TV Show)
Try to imagine yourself back in high school. Now give your awkward teen-aged self the unholy powers of reality manipulation. Basically, Teen Witch depicts this horrific idea with 15-year-old Louise who discovers that she was once a witch in a past life. What does she end up doing with her newfound powers? Establish world peace and cure cancer? Well, she decides to become the most popular girl at school, hook up with the school hunk Brad, and force her poor friend into cheesy rap battles against some ‘rad’ classmates. Yikes, I don’t even think The Conjuring could “top that.” – Mark Soriano
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Directed by Edgar Wright
British people fighting a walking zombie apocalypse in Britain? Oh, it stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, too? The most brilliant British comedy duo possibly ever? Yeah, this movie is nuts. Regarded as a cult classic, it satirizes Romero’s old school zombie flicks in an exceptionally deft way, thanks most in part to writer-director Edgar Wright. It’ll make you laugh more than it’ll scare you, but it’s still a right blast of Halloween fun. Pop this in after watching The Shining or The Grudge and hopefully you can laugh away the amount of sleep you’ll be losing that night. – Zac McEachern
28 Days Later… (2002)
Directed by Danny Boyle
On the opposite side of the spectrum from Shaun of the Dead, this film features some insanely terrifying zombies with amounts of speed that will probably make you shit your pants. It’s bloody, blood-curdling and more than definitely deserves it’s 18-A rating. From Trainspotting director Danny Boyle, 28 Days Later… is a reinvigorating zombie film. Not just that, it’s also an expertly crafted film altogether, with delicately drawn characters and societal themes that prove that horror can still be smart, and can still say something. – Zac McEachern
Black Mirror (TV Show)
Available on Netflix
Black Mirror is the Twilight Zone of the digital age. This British anthology series deals with the horrors of modern society and the unexpected consequences of advanced technology — think of clones, memory erasures, and a pretty nasty episode involving one unfortunate pig. It strikes an uncomfortable nerve within modern audiences and makes you question your unbreakable friendship with Siri. The third season has just been released on Netflix; however, the whole series itself comes to just 13 episodes in total. It’s the perfect format for a late-night TV-show binging marathon. – Mark Soriano
