Seven fresh and non-trivial horrors that will help brighten up the evening on the eve of Halloween.
«No One Will Save You»
Young Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) lives completely alone in a large house on the outskirts of a small town. Contact with locals is poor: the girl is openly hated because of a tragedy with her close friend that happened many years ago. Brynn's mother also died around that time.
To cope with the loss, the girl creates a miniature model of the town in her living room, listens to music, and sews beautiful dresses for herself. One night, Brynn catches a real alien in her house. She defeats it in a short fight but realizes it wasn't alone, and now the whole town is in danger.
A modest indie horror became a major hit for 20th Century Studios this year, garnering a lot of positive press from critics. Director Brian Duffield unashamedly quotes genre classics like «Alien» or Shyamalan's «Signs» in «No One Will Save You», but doesn't forget his own authorial style, for example, adding an element of complete wordlessness (the lion's share of the film has no dialogue at all), focusing on clever editing and polished visuals.
Another difference from the classics is the ambiguous ending, which throws the viewer a new twist, leaving a pleasant (or not so pleasant) aftertaste. But in any case, it doesn't leave them indifferent.
We analyze the film «No One Will Save You», in which the main character, using a utility knife and a kitchen lighter, deals with an alien invasion and her own traumas.
Open material«Infinity Pool»
Writer James (Alexander Skarsgård) and his wife visit a privileged resort for the rich in the fictional country of La Tolqa for the first time. James recently wrote and published a book that was poorly received by readers, and now he seeks new experiences for inspiration.
At the resort, the writer and his wife meet another vacationing couple who have been there before, and they agree to leave the hotel grounds (which is strictly forbidden). On the way back, James fatally hits a local villager with the car and ends up at the police station, where he is offered to pay for the creation of his own double to avoid punishment.
Director Brandon Cronenberg carefully preserved his father's legacy, making an uncomfortable and oppressive body horror according to his precepts, where the main subject of transformation this time is not the human body, but the mind, blinded by greed, power, and impunity. Cronenberg Jr. not so much criticizes as mocks the colonial vacation of the rich white man, subjecting him to sophisticated torture against the backdrop of luxurious interiors and picturesque nature, turning him into a literally primitive state.
Brandon Cronenberg makes a failed writer plunge into inner darkness in the disturbing and mesmerizing horror «Infinity Pool».
Open material«Infinity Pool» is an uncomfortable, tense, skin-crawling film full of dark humor, quite suitable for watching on Halloween. Especially if you are a fan of the talent of , whose magnetic performance in «Pool» is simply stunning.
Alien invasion, nightmare in a rented house, mass murder on a porn set — this and much more in the list of the main horrors of 2022.
Open material«Paranormal Activity: Skinamarink»
Young children, brother and sister Kevin and Kaylee, unexpectedly wake up at night in their house and gradually begin to realize that something sinister is happening. Strange shadows crawl from the corners, objects disappear and reappear, parents say strange, frightening things, and someone seems to be watching them from dark doorways.
An intimate, unsettling, atmospheric horror shot as if on old grainy film by Kyle Edward Ball, unexpectedly made it into the annual TOP of the scariest films according to the Science of Scare research project, taking third place.
This is truly one of the most unusual horrors this year, differing from other genre representatives with its unconventional artistic techniques, forcing the viewer to look at everyday things through the eyes of a child, whose vivid imagination draws scary pictures at that moment. And if the director of «Skinamarink» hadn't gotten carried away with a global exploration of childhood fears, stretching the runtime to indecency, the film could have become a true underground masterpiece.
«Talk to Me»
A group of zoomers, in search of new thrills, come up with a game of summoning demons through a spirit, porcelain hand. The session should last no more than a minute and a half, otherwise the demon will remain among the living. At some point, the film's main character, a girl named Mia (Sophie Wilde), finds the allotted time insufficient, and everything starts to go to hell. Literally.
Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou made a low-budget film that, in general, resembles a whole bunch of recently released horrors (including even the fifth «Insidious»), where the central theme is the family or personal traumas of the main characters.
But at the same time, it is unlike any of them due to small but fresh finds, a decent script, and strict adherence to genre rules. This is, without exaggeration, a talentedly shot (though with noticeable sagging), eerie film with a moderately increasing degree of horror.
«Talk to Me» has been released, a moderately engaging genre statement about not disturbing the dead. About the popular horror that many (apparently, not without reason) have praised.
Open materialPerhaps no story about the danger of inner demons and the inability to stop in time in the search for thrills and approval in youth subculture has ever found such a clear cinematic embodiment. In short, with this film, Halloween will go as it should.
«The Mojave Maw»
A group of young people goes to the Mojave Desert to shoot a music video. At first, everything goes well: creative plans gradually come to life, the four friends are relaxed and having fun. But one night, the film crew hears strange sounds, observes unusual animal behavior, and gradually plunges into a bloody nightmare from which there is no escape.
Low-budget horrors in the already archaic genre style of «found footage» constantly appear in various thematic TOPs of horror films. In 2023, American director Robbie Joe Banfitch presented a terrifying first-person story through the lens of an amateur camera.
The film has a rather long exposition that can get boring, but the second and third acts more than compensate, not scaring with traditional jump scares, but gradually immersing the viewer in a psychedelic nightmare that causes constant discomfort. «The Mojave Maw» is suitable for those who are already tired of orthodox Halloween horrors and want to watch something truly unusual.
«Something's Wrong with the Children»
Margaret (Alisha Wainwright) and Ben (Zach Gilford) drive with their children to a secluded spot on the edge of the forest for the weekend. The pleasant vacation is suddenly interrupted by the mysterious disappearance of the children, who, however, quickly return. But the head of the family, like his wife, no longer recognizes them — the children have become evil, cruel, and seem to want to get rid of their parents.
«Something's Wrong with the Children» does not offer a new perspective on the conflict between fathers and children, but it helps to look at this issue from a slightly different angle. The film, despite some rough edges, is made with zest and the appropriate mood, including moderate jump scares, a steady rhythm, and a specific sense of humor.
«Totally Killer»
In 1987, a series of brutal murders of three 16-year-old girls occurred in a small American town. The unknown perpetrator committed the crime right on the eve of Halloween. The local police never managed to find the criminal, and now in our time, a fourth victim dies at the hands of the maniac, who had managed to start a family in the meantime. Her daughter Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) gets into a time machine and is transported back to 1987. Jamie realizes that this is her chance to prevent the murder of the girls and save her mother in the future.
The most optimistic film on Halloween in our selection. Time travel, crazy 80s, the then-emerging slasher genre, moderate humor, and an unwavering belief that everything happening today can be fixed in the past.
You just need to go back and forth, and you can start life with a clean slate without thinking about the consequences. with nostalgic notes from «Back to the Future», is probably the very slasher that you can turn on in the evening on Halloween and just enjoy watching.
The moderately fun slasher «Totally Killer» has been released online about how hard it is for zoomers to survive in the eighties. About why this mix of «Scream» and «Back to the Future» will basically brighten up any evening.
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