31 Movies in 31 Days

I took the October horror movie challenge, where I watched a single horror movie every single day of the month and I wanted to share that list with you. I’ll let you know which ones are worth watching and which ones can be left alone.

Unlike past years, I tried my best to go with movies I haven’t seen already as a way to be as objective as possible. Although, there are a few that made it to my list that I just have to watch every year.

1. Scream. We’re starting off strong with this slashic. If you’re a fan of the slasher subgenre of horror, this is a movie that you should watch. It’s a bit over the top and very campy, but sometimes those are the best kinds of movies. Of course, this being a slasher flick, there will be blood. So just be aware of that if it’s something you’re sensitive to.
2. Hell House LLC. This one has been on my radar for a while now and I’m a little bit upset that it took me this long to finally watch it. It is a found footage movie, but don’t let that be something that turns you away from it. A “good” found footage movie is really hard to find, and this one is actually good. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so please do yourself a favor and watch this movie.
3. Scooby Doo and Scooby Doo 2. Okay, so today’s box set aren’t technically “horror” movies, but they fight ghosts and monsters so I’m counting them! There’s not a whole lot that I can say about these besides GO AND WATCH THEM BOTH! YOU NEED TO.
4. Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel. Honestly, not as great as the original. However, I do feel like it’s one of the better sequels I’ve seen in recent years. It provides you with enough answers for the questions from the previous movie without being overbearing.
5. A Siren’s Song. This is a 25(ish)-minute fan film for Resident Evil. Don’t let the fact that it’s fan made stop you from watching it. You can tell they put a lot of time, care, and effort into this, and just for that it’s worth a watch if you’re a fan of Resident Evil. You could even argue that it’s hell of a lot better than most RE films despite not having the same Hollywood budget. The only “bad” thing I noticed was that the audio was slightly too quiet. But it’s nothing that captions won’t fix.
6. Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire. Until this year, I hadn’t watched any of the Hell House movies. So when I found out that there were three in total, I decided to watch all three. And I have to say… I’m a little underwhelmed by the third one. Of the trilogy, I feel like this is the one that people could potentially skip. Not to say that it was bad, but when you look at the other two it almost feels like it doesn’t belong. It didn’t feel like it added anything from the overall storyline. So if you decide to watch these movies, don’t feel like you have to watch this one.
7. Werewolf of Fever Swamp. It’s been years since I’ve seen or read this one and I wasn’t disappointed. Since Werewolf of Fever Swamp is a Goosebumps classic, of course it’s going to have some of that cheese to it. And I think that’s what makes it great. In fact, I think I feel confident in recommending any of the Goosebumps specials. Scratch that - just the whole entire series.
8. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. This movie holds a special place in my heart for two reasons. The first being that these were the first horror books I remember adding to my book collection and I cannot stress enough how much I loved them. The other is the fact that I ended up watching this in theaters maybe a month before we went into lockdown, and by extension, the last one I had seen in theaters for about 2 years or so. I have to say, if you are or were a fan of this series as a child, you should watch this movie. The “monsters” from the stories they used are true to the drawings from the book.
9. The Poughkeepsie Tapes. A fictional documentary movie about a serial killer. I will warn you that this is one of the scariest movies that I’ve ever seen. It is very disturbing and will give you nightmares. If you choose to watch this, I do recommend watching it with others.
10. Scary Godmother. It's a kids' movie, sure, but it's a classic nonetheless. It's a good movie to watch for the Halloween season especially if you need a break from actual scary movies.
11. The Wolf Man (1941). It’s hard to deny that this movie is a classic. Much like many horror movies from the earlier period of filmmaking, it did pave the way for other werewolf movies. That being said, there were things in The Wolf Man that aged really poorly. So if you decide to watch it, just be wary of that.
12. Train to Busan. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this movie, but I really wanted to revisit this. It’s a zombie movie, but it is 100% a modern classic. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of zombies, this movie is well worth the watch. When I tell you that you won’t be disappointed… Well, you really won’t be disappointed.
13. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. Usually when a franchise goes on for a while, it's a hit or miss with every single one past the first one or three. Besides Part VIII, I haven't seen any past Part II, so I can't say if they're all misses, but this one sure is. Besides the fact that they didn't get to Manhattan until the last 40 minutes of the movie, I literally cannot tell you a nowhole lot about it.
14. All Hallow's Eve. This is where Art the Clown got his start. It wasn't the creepiest movie I've seen, but for being kinda gory it was pretty spooky.
15. Terrified. The movie I think made Art the Clown known. While I did enjoy it to an extent, it kind of felt like it was gory for gore's sake.
16. The Exorcist: Believer. This is absolutely not the worst Exorcist I've sequel. In fact, I would even argue that it could be the best of the sequels. However, don't misunderstand - it will NEVER beat the original. It's solely just not the worst of the sequels.
17. As Above So Below. This is one I wanted to revisit, mostly because it did scare me the first time I saw it. That being said, it's not as scary the second time around. Even as I type that, it doesn't mean this film is bad by any means. But to get the most enjoyment out of it, once is good enough. Or at the very least, let more than 1-2 years go by between each watch.
18. Renfield. Okay, so admittedly it's not the best Dracula story. However, it's still great nonetheless. It's another one of those movies that if you're not in the mood for scary but want something in the spooky realm, this is a great choice.
19. Autopsy of Jane Doe. The thing I loved about this film is the whole uncertainty of it all. You get the feeling that Jane Doe is alive, but there's just enough there to say otherwise. It's unsettling but in the best way possible.
20. Monster House. Of course I had to watch this movie during the month of Halloween. It's a kids movie, but even so it's terrifying. It for sure sets the mood for the season.
21. The Boogeyman. This was probably one of the scariest Stephen King adaptations I've ever seen. Something about a monster living in your closet and possibly under your bed just terrifies me. Even the ending will send shivers down your spine.
22. Shipworm. This movie was a little different. It’s not your traditional movie in any sense; it’s closer to those old-timey radio dramas that your grandparents would listen to but with 21st century audio equipment and editing. It’s actually done really well. And the best part, to me anyways, was the ability to picture what the characters looked like instead of having casting directors choosing for me.
23. The Addams Family (1991). Yet another one that isn’t necessarily “scary” in the traditional sense. It’s still a great film nonetheless. A classic even! If you haven’t seen this movie, you have to do yourself a favor and watch it. You won’t regret it.
24. Scream 2. Cornier than the first for sure. Although it's still a fun watch and I highly recommend it.
25. The Disappearance of Willie Bingham. This is a short film about a man who murdered a woman. Instead of a “typical” punishment, like life in prison or a death sentence, Willie is given a new one: amputation. I did like this, but I would be interested in seeing this be turned into a longer film. Even if they ended up adding only 15 minutes. I think it would be interesting to delve, at least a little bit, into the anxiety Willie must’ve felt or the numbness that came near the end. But overall, it was such a great concept and very well executed.
26. The Midnight Man. This movie is based on the creepypasta, The Midnight Game. It wasn’t the worst creepypasta movie I’ve ever seen, but it also wasn’t a great film either. I will say, Robert Englund had to be the best part of it. If he wasn’t in The Midnight Man, I might not have liked it at all.
27. Urban Legends. A movie about how urban legends seem to be really happening. Robert Englund is yet again the best part of the movie. I don’t want to say it was bad, but at the same time it wasn’t great either. This movie was clearly coming off the heels of Scream, so it felt like Urban Legends was trying to be that without being that.
28. Idle Hands. Okay so this one is definitely a horror comedy rather than straight horror. It was filmed and released in the late 90s and you can tell. Because of that, it definitely has that nostalgic feel to it. So if you didn’t grow up in the 90s or early 2000s, you might not like it as much as someone who did. Although, if you think you can look past that, the story itself is actually not the worst I’ve seen. And I will say that the effects are pretty good for the type of movie it is.
29. Trick ‘r Treat. It’s been a few years since I’ve initially watched it and I am so happy that I did. This is another classic in its own right. Sam, the trick-or-treating demon, is an icon and deserves the attention. It’s so worth the watch, spook time or not.
30. The Collector. The thing that got me about this movie was the more realistic route it took compared to other disturbing movies. Human Centipede was gross and disturbing for the sake of it. Tusk was just outlandish and campy. The Collector, on the other hand, I can see happening when compared to the others. And that’s what chilled me the most.
31. Halloween. Of course I had to watch this on Halloween day. Why wouldn’t I? Jamie Lee Curtis truly paved the path for present-day scream queens. Even if you don’t watch it on October 31st, you’re not doing yourself any favors if you don’t watch it. It’s for sure a must watch.