The Perfect Horror Movie Night Marathon

Settle in and turn on the TV for a truly chill-inducing marathon of some of my favorite horror films. When looking through movie rentals, you'll see a huge list of subgenres to choose your type of scare: sci-fi, thriller, gore, body horror, psychological terror, and so forth.

Growing up, I always loved the cheesy episodes of Goosebumps that would come on during Halloween, or even reruns of Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Even though these were considered corny versions of horror, I loved the stereotypical indie neighborhood settings and the subtle storylines that would end up scaring me nonetheless. Nowadays, my taste has morphed into the gritty atmosphere of the obscure, modern indie, and paranormal genres of horror. Sprinkled with a bit of psyche and classic ghost tales, movies in The Conjuring series or Stephen King films would always hit the spot. Even though these are very well known, I must praise the amount of expertise the creators put forth in the craft.

Yet, what is going to bring you the right scare?

Settling on a specific genre that you like while satisfying that craving for a good ol' fashioned haunt can be difficult.

Maybe you are into sci-fi, but dont like bloody axes popping up every two seconds.

If the redrum twins made you uncomfortable but zombie pets didnt make you flinch, then maybe you are looking for something more unique to add to your horrific palette!

May I suggest movies that fit the combo of my 3 favorite horror movie buzz words?

Well, Im going to share it anyway:

Gothic, Ghost-Story, and Grim.

The four movies I picked below hold some of these elements. The reason being, is that they combine traditional horror cliches and turn them into something extremely sinister. They are slow builds and unnerving turns to the climax, leaving you just as frightened as the main characters on the screen.

I have wrote about Eerie and It Follows in separate articles, but I just can't stress enough how much I loved their production.

“The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door…”

-Knock (Fredric Brown)

Without further ado, here we go...

1. Veronica

Ah, once again we are placed back into one of my notorious preferences for horror: the creepy boarding school trope. But in this case, the students are not spending the night here (probably for the best).

Veronica takes place in Spain, at a Catholic school, and with some watchful nuns who are in charge of their student body. We see in the beginning that Veronica is a girl who is the staple of her family, taking care of her siblings while her mom works endlessly at a restaurant job.

Due to this draining task, Veronica seems to feel overwhelmed and almost an outlier in her friend group. One day, she gets together with her friends at the school during a chance to break away from the day's activities. They pull out an Ouija board and began a forbidden ceremony at the school.

Even though her friends seem to be untouched by the evil lurking within the board, Veronica experiences something much different. Further outcasted as time goes on, her mental and physical state grows weaker.

Without revealing what happens entirely... here the story is about a coming of age gone wrong. When you mess with forces unknown, they will bite back. Hints of posession, the supernatural, and schoolyard tales are wrapped into this film.

Therefore, I give this the sticker of "Grim" in my horror word awards.

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

-The Tempest (William Shakespeare)

2. Eerie

PSA: if I could write 10 articles about this movie I absolutely would!

Is this statement an over exaggeration to the movie critics out there? Probably. Do I care? No!

Eerie is a fantastic compilation of what you would normally generalize as "horror cliches" and twists those into something dark and benevolent.

Okay great! So then...what are some of the prominent themes in this movie?

Well, you can probably guess based on my attraction for this particular background setting. Yep, you guessed it. We are back at it with the nuns, boarding schools, ghosts, and the supernatural.

In this case, a school counselor takes on the stressful task of connecting with the girls attending a religous boarding school in the Philippines.The catch is, there is a sinister past left in the school bathrooms. Similar to the popular Japanese urban legends of a school girl's ghost drifting in the last stalls of a deserted upstairs lavatory, Eerie plays on the same concept.

Erika is a ghost who appears to the counselor in-between her meetings with the students. She reveals herself to the counselor, but not in her entirety. Strange occurences continue to plague the school and students attending, so much so, that the community is not certain in the future of the school's success. No matter what, there is always a realm of confusion and unsettling tensions between the ghost girl and the counselor.

Erika's cloudy past doesnt let us know what her true character is even like.

Can we trust this ghost? What is happening to the girls at the school with the influence of Erika? Is the counselor able to piece this together?

Just look at the movie poster. Who wouldnt be automatically intrigued by the decaying teeth of a demonic figure, eh?

Ultimately, my horror word award for this film belongs to "Ghost-Story".

“Hope not ever to see Heaven. I have come to lead you to the other shore; into eternal darkness; into fire and into ice.”

-Inferno

3. It Follows

What do you get when you combine a timeless town, a group of teenage friends, and an invisible being? It Follows.

This film is the reason for my article, "Over your Shoulder". No matter where you go, this movie proves that your feeling of being watched is completely valid in some cases.

So, what is this being, exactly?

Is it an alien?

Human?

Ghost?

Demon?

Or, is it even the Devil himself?

All we know, is that it chases you endlessly until one day it catches up to you. It walks on forever in your direction. Slowly, that is.

It Follows is set in a neighborhood where time is quite literally an illusion. There is no semblance of a specific time period that the characters are in. It combines aspects of the 1980's technology up until modern day amenities. For instance, a character carries a clam shell e-reader yet drives an older car model. This is truly an indie film horror dream. The town is both old and new, yet it possesses a slightly gothic aesthetic that pennywise would find charming.

The main theme of this horror film is "sex". Due to this theme, the being is attached to dating and how this affects the main character, Jay, after she meets the wrong guy in a one night stand. He passes something onto her that cant be easily shaken, unless she decides to give her misfortune to someone else.

The gist of this plot revolves around an unknown spirit who terrifies its victims through grimey visuals and stomach churning appearances. It can do some physical damage to those it catches up with, which is seen within the first few minutes of the movie.

Will Jay and her friends succesfully run away from this thing? What even is this "thing"? Go find out!

I rate this a "Grim" horror word award.

“Walls have ears.

Doors have eyes.

Trees have voices.

Beasts tell lies.

Beware the rain.

Beware the snow.

Beware the man

You think you know.”

Songs of Sapphique (Catherine Fisher)

4. 1BR

Watching indie horror films at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago would always be a fantastic start to my weekend. You get to sit in those vintage seats, eat some snacks, and watch the pure essence of indie terror on the big screen. With that being said, if I had the power to pick the next showing it would be 1BR.

This film centers around the life of Sarah. She moves to Los Angeles and finds a pristine apartment complex to move into it. Perfect people, the environment is happy and friendly. Even the weather is awesome.

But doesnt this seem too good to be true? Well, it could be!

Soon enough, that once innocent assumption is proven shallow. It doesnt take a lot of time for things to begin to slip through the cracks into something more crooked. In this community, breaking the rules and coming in as an outsider is a dangerous position to be in.

Sarah is unfortunately not agressive in her life, and doesn't have much control over what is going on around her. When she is asked some basic questions at an open house, the cult-like behavior of the neighbors seeps into the storyline. This means its easy for her to fall prey to the horrors of the cult-like spiderweb she becomes tangled in. The once sought-after paradise of the apartment complex turns to a ravenous mess. Everything seemingly good turns inside out.

Will she able to break away from this all in one piece?

You'll need to move in to see for yourself. I rate this "Grim" on my favorite horror word awards.

"They're Coming To Get You, Barbara"

- Night Of The Living Dead

Now its time to turn on your laptop at 2 am, get cuddled into bed, and never go to sleep because of my recommendations!

Enjoy!