What to watch this Halloween – The Observer

It’s my favorite time of year to watch movies – Halloween. Well, it’s not Halloween yet, not quite. But we are only a few weeks away. The weather is getting colder, clothes are getting warmer and every streaming service is filling up with horror films. Here’s a look at what I’ve already seen or will be tuning into, and why you should do the same.

“Fright Night” (1986)

Available for Max

It’s been a long time since I last saw a movie and immediately knew it would be one of my favorite films for the rest of my life, but that’s what happened when I watched the classic vampire erotic horror thriller “Fright Night.” ” looked at earlier this month.

The best thing about “Fright Night” is that it was simply better than it had to be. I would have been happy if the film had ended and I had been sufficiently entertained and somewhat frightened, but Fright Night has so much more to offer.

The film is extremely entertaining and incredibly scary at the same time, which is mainly due to the two main actors William Ragsdale as the film’s protagonist, Charley Brewster, and especially Chris Sarandon as the vampire villain Jerry Dandrige. Sarandon is incredibly charismatic as he seduces every member of Charley’s life, and on the other hand can be overwhelming and terrifying when he shows off his true vampire side.

“Hellraiser” (1987)

Available on Prime Video

For years I scrolled past the Hellraiser poster looking for something to look at, and for years I always thought, “Maybe next time.” Well, the next time for me came this past weekend and I was completely blown away.

“Hellraiser” isn’t what you might think, and that’s always for the better. It’s a much slower, methodical film than its counterparts in the ’80s horror pantheon – like “Friday the 13th” or “A Nightmare on Elm Street” – that builds to a truly exciting final act involving the interpersonal family dynamics Be imbued with psychosexual horror Then sprinkle some Cenobites on top.

The Cenobites themselves aren’t in the film for that long, which was a shock to me, but not necessarily bothersome as there’s still plenty of body horror in the hour leading up to their arrival, thanks to some – like “Fright Night” One of the main characters has some truly extraordinary practical effects.

“The First Omen” (2024)

Available on Hulu

For my money, the best horror film of the year. I saw The First Omen in theaters earlier this year and plan on watching it again this month. A prequel to a good, if not great, horror milestone of the ’70s, “The First Omen” reinvigorated not only “The Omen” franchise but also religious horror in the mainstream, just weeks before another film that I really liked it, “Immaculate” debuted.

This film, marked by one of the best opening scenes in a horror film and one of the most terrifying final acts, is carried on its shoulders and would absolutely not work without the complete dedication of the leading actress Nell Tiger Free to her role and without director Arkasha Stevenson’s poise and maturity in her directorial debut.

Although it shares many similar beats to its original predecessor, I feel like “The First Omen” showcases its influences in a way that is endearing and complementary, rather than vacuous and distracting. In addition to the original film, “The First Omen” is also based on films such as “Possession”, “The Exorcist” and…

“Saint Maud” (2020)

Available on Prime Video

“Saint Maud,” possibly the most obviously desperate film of the last decade, has been on my mind ever since I saw it. The last shot in particular, even the last second, is burned into my brain.

The film lives and dies on the outstanding direction of Rose Glass and the outstanding performance of Morfydd Clark. In her directorial debut, Glass creates a world that doesn’t seem worth saving, preaching, or praying for. The streets are dark and rainy and the people are rude and predatory, Maud possibly the worst of all.

As a former churchgoer, I have always been drawn to religious horror. I just talked about The First Omen, I wrote extensively about Immaculate last year, and The Exorcist is one of my favorite films of all time. “Saint Maud” goes down its own path, so to speak, offering a film that focuses exclusively on the internal – and subliminally external – horror that the titular Maud endures.

If there was one movie that I talked about here today that you would watch this Halloween season, I would hope it would be Saint Maud.