I don’t know about you, but the month of October has me all sorts of tangled up in the excitement for spooky season. It’s not the literal changing of the seasons or the cool air coming in that excites me. But more of the costume parties, candy, and the mere celebration of Halloween. Although I am not a huge fan of spine-tingling, nightmare-haunting, horror films, I still have a range of shows and films that I recommend for the faint of heart.
Below is a list of some of the best binge-worthy shows and films perfect for those who want a taste of something they’ve never seen and those who prefer to be disturbed rather than petrified.
1. Corpse Bride (2005) by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
My all-time favorite. A classic since my childhood, and the perfect combination of romance and spook is this stop-motion masterpiece by Tim Burton in collaboration with Mike Johnson. “Corpse Bride“ has disturbingly corpse-y images that never fail to pull at my heartstrings. The story revolves around a young man named Victor, who mistakenly marries a corpse on his way to his mortal wife-to-be. Now, Victor is left to overcome obstacles in the underworld in order to marry his one-and-only love Victoria, who is on the verge of being coerced to marrying Victor’s rival.
Image via Movie Mania
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2. Elite (2018) by Darío Madrona and Carlos Montero
A heart-stopping and mind-boggling story, that first caught my eye for its cinematography techniques, soon had me at full support. The series follows the story of three lower-class students enrolling in the upper-class high school of the city. This causes a string of clashes between the two demographics, which soon lead to a gruesome murder and a mystery uncovered. Now, if you’re a fan of Money Heist, then you should probably look into this Spanish thriller drama, but even if you’re not, I still think you should watch this heated teen thriller available on Netflix.
Image via Capricho
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3. Re:Mind (2017) by Akira Uchikata
This psychological thriller caught my eye for its captivating images and its unraveling story. The story revolves around the female students who find themselves restrained in a dining room, held hostage. To find answers to their questions, they end up point-blaming each other on past incidents involving a classmate. The Japanese are famous for their horror films, but this film creeps up on you on a different level, giving you the ambiance of absolute mystery and disturbance.
Image via Twitter
4. Coraline (2009) by Henry Selick
Ah yes, a classic to the spooky season enthusiasts, and one of the many spectacular works in stop-motion animation history. Coraline is a story that revolves around the life of a young girl named Coraline, who found a secret door inside her new home. This door led her to a parallel universe where her own reality is mirrored in a heightened satisfactory play on life. Now, she must try her best to make it back to her real life and escape this mystic universe that always gave me the creeps.
Image via Babble
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5. Hush (2016) by Mike Flanagan
Hush is one of those films that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand and gets you to clench your pillow, just without the ghosts and horrific beings of the underworld. It’s one of those movies that puts you in a position to think about the main character’s situation, immersing yourself in a world where you are deaf. This story follows the life of a female writer who lives in solitude in her house in the woods (I know, the house in the woods got me spooked already). One night, she is left to fight off a kidnapper in a battle of complete silence.
Image via Netflix
6. Eerie (2018) by Mikhail Red
This film is a personal favorite just because it hails from my motherland, the Philippines. Although critically acclaimed by international critiques, I have never seen this film and may never see it. I cannot deal with ghosts after watching The Conjuring 2 and I also like getting a good night’s sleep without having to leave the lights on. Now, I left this for last because it is a recommendation for the brave. The story basically follows the unexpected and gruesome death of a female student that turns into the threatened existence of a Catholic school for girls. Nothing screams “haunting” more than nuns and gruesome deaths. So if that calls you on, go ahead! It’s available on Netflix and should be saved for one of your many Halloween movie nights with friends.
Image via Netflix