Another Spooktober has passed, the only month I wish exceeded 31 days.
It may be childish; but I love Halloween! My Scottish mother took the holiday seriously; the month of October would be spent planning costumes and trick or treating routes. Blue Peter presenters would spend nights in haunted castles (or as they’re otherwise known, castles). Monsters opened up Cafes (my favourite television show), and every Cartoon was based around All Hallows Eve.
My sister introducing me to Harry Potter was of course an October game changer!
While trick or treating was abandoned long ago and Halloween parties were never really my scene. Film has been my expression of holiday spirit.
Its true, most horror films are complete trash. The market is over saturated with cheap, low quality pictures, made up of cheap jump scares, mediocre sequels, outrageous CGI monsters and very often loosely based on urban legends that nobody has cared about for almost a decade (I’m looking at you Slender).
But there are still many great films residing in the genre! Many of which I got to know this month, especially as I was laid out with the some horrible virus for a good portion of the month (not the one you think though).
There is much great modern horror! It Follows, Get Out and The Conjuring are all examples of great films in the horror genre and they all kept me company this month. Not to mention some of the great works of Horror Television; The Haunting of Bly Manor and Hill House have occupied my mind since I watched them at the beginning of this month. But my favourite Horror Films are the oldies, my favourite of the month being the 1959 classic The House on Haunted Hill, we simply don’t see enough theremins in horror film scores anymore.
Classic Hammer Horrors possess a charm that was not translated to their modern day counterparts. I think the rather cheesy Monster Club is leaps and bounds ahead of The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death.
Silent Classics have played a role in my month too. Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari while keeping me up at night as a child served as the basis of my Film History project.
Its not been a terrible month. The world is terrible right now but I am very fortunate. Even when I am unable to get out of bed, I am happy for all that I have and especially the kind friends that I have made at this university. Friends who ensured I was well fed and not too lonely, who brought be sweets on Halloween recommended I watch what are now some of my favourite movies.
I have lots of articles planned for the coming weeks, so watch this space!
~ Alexander
T H E N A I V E F I L M M A K E R 