In the spirit of the fall season, I have embarked upon the journey of watching a singular horror film every day for this month, and it has been an experience I would not trade for anything.
This idea started after a two-week marathon of all 10 “Saw” movies with a group of friends — shout out to Reed, Griffin, John and Hecjar for bearing with me through that. We figured that watching a horror movie for each day of the month could be a fun idea, as we would get to experience everything from the classics to more experimental work, giving us all a look into the world of horror films.
As a side note, do not watch all 10 “Saw” movies in two weeks; it will shorten your lifespan.
Going into this, we decided not to stick to a singular franchise or series, instead opting to experience as much of the genre as we could, spanning anything from psychological thrillers such as “Psycho” or “Longlegs” to more experimental works like “V/H/S” and “The Cabin in the Woods,” classics like “The Thing” or “Alien”, and even horror comedy like “Scary Movie” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
This spread of genres ensured that our experience never got stale. With a new genre to look forward to each night, we never knew what we were in for.
We opened the month with Clive Barker’s “Hellraiser,” an odd film about a mysterious puzzle box and a man who has a pincushion for a face. This honestly set the overall tone for what this month would ultimately turn into: an amalgamation of great films with wild premises.
While we ultimately came to similar conclusions about this film, it was not long before our thoughts on each movie became divisive. Our differing opinions were a nice addition to the month, as they allowed us to express our likes and dislikes about different aspects of the genre.
Throughout the month I slowly started to notice patterns in these films, such as character tropes, common scare setups and even similarities between villains, however none of these things diminished my enjoyment of the genre, as some movies even call attention to these often comical depictions of characters and villains.
Two examples of this are “Cabin in the Woods” and “Scary Movie,” both of which I watched during the month (4 ½ stars and 5 stars, respectively), and each comments on different genre tropes that people often poke fun at.
“Cabin in the Woods” heavily focuses on the characters, with each of the five members of its cast embodying a familiar “archetype,” such as; “The Jock,” “The Nerd,” and “The Dumb Blonde.”
“Scary Movie,” on the other hand, focuses on genre tropes while largely parodying the movie “Scream,” down to having the killer wear the same mask as the iconic villain Ghostface. This movie parodies everything from “The Exorcist,” “Halloween,” and even “The Blair Witch Project.”
These films make up what many would describe as the “Slasher” genre of film, one where there is a character or group of characters being chased by some sort of evil force — usually with an iconic weapon to match, think Freddy Kruger’s claw or Jason’s Machete. But contrary to popular belief, this is not the only popular sub-genre of horror out there.
The genre of psychological thrillers is one of the less talked about in mainstream media but holds a special place in the hearts of many, myself included. Many of the films I watched this month fall into this category, with the standout of the bunch being 2024’s “Longlegs.”
Described as a spiritual successor to “Silence of the Lambs,” “Longlegs” is a serial killer thriller that follows FBI agent Lee Harker as she solves a case of murders left by a cryptic killer. Without getting into spoilers, this movie thrives because of its atmosphere, not relying on cheap jump scares or a horrifying-looking villain to scare the audience.
While I have only watched 27 of the 31 films at the time of writing, one has stood out above the rest. John Carpenter’s “The Thing” is not only my favorite film I watched this month but also my favorite horror film of all time, combining a level of psychological horror with shapeshifting aliens, leaving audiences questioning whether the characters they see on screen are human or not. This, on top of incredible practical effects for the time, makes this film a classic and, in my opinion, a must-watch during the Halloween season.
Overall, this month has been such a wild ride, and diving deep into the horror discography has changed my perspective on the genre. While not for everyone, there are countless horror films out there, so in the spirit of Halloween, it can not hurt to face your fears and try something new.
