There’s something distinctly satisfying about flipping the calendar from September 30th to October 1st. Groundhog days are broken up by a cozy, intentional season. I welcome the shift.
October 1st is like my New Year’s Day. My candle-lit rituals include deep cleaning the cabin to make room for Halloween decorations, rearranging my closet from Summer to Fall and stocking up on stamps for letters and postcards to be sent off to far away places. With my orange hue rose-colored glasses, the good things seem that much better; daily inconveniences and life stressors seem more tolerable.
As a kid, I loved the idea of transforming into someone else, letting my imagination run wild and getting frightened just by the sound of the X-files theme song playing in the next room. I still love getting dressed in costume but I lean into being the weirder, more playful version of myself. I buy my favorite candy, seek out scares, and even keep the decorations out for too long (maybe even the whole year, who knows, I’ve done it before!)
I usually stick to a familiar rotation of spooky movies and shows but this year I strayed from my comfort zone and relished in new/new-to-me discoveries. From one Halloween lover to another, enjoy some binge-worthy treats to stretch out the spooky season.
Pearl:
Pearl is a small-town farm-girl with big-city aspirations of being a dancer. Trapped by an overbearing mother and sick father she’s responsible for, she’s also struggling to manage her murderous tendencies. If The Wizard of Oz was a horror film, Pearl is it. The fantastical vibrant reds and blues predominant in this film benefited on the big screen. Taking place in 1918, there were scenes of people with face-coverings to avoid the Spanish Flu. Perhaps the eeriest moment of the film was when Pearl snuck into a matinee with a mask as I was staring back at her with one on too. I normally don’t associate quality acting with the horror genre but Mia Goth deserves all the recognition in her performance as a hope-filled, complicated serial killer. Pearl lets audiences walk the line between empathizing with a monster and hoping someone intervenes and ends her rampage. Pearl is the origin story of “X,” and if you’ve seen the latter, you know she’s only warming up for her grand performance.
The Curious Creations Of Christine McConnell:
Addams Family meets Mystery Science Theater meets Martha Stewart, the crafty off-beat Netflix show is delightful to throw on while making dinner. Christine is a DIY triple threat: baker, sculptor and sewer with a penchant for Halloween. All the while, glamorously poised in tailored vintage outfits.
Inside her life size haunted dollhouse, she walks us through her masterpieces of intricate chocolate peppermint bark octopus tentacles, spooky tree candles and even a stunning red pin-up dress. Each project is more imaginative and elaborate than the next. Her soothing voice and funny banter between her kooky houseguests are a gothic fever dream.
Barbarian:
The less you know about Barbarian the better. I will say this, I hadn’t been as genuinely excited or startled by a horror film since Hereditary. The story has two, nail-biting acts and a climax that made my adrenaline pump hours after I walked out of the theater. It was such a well-thought out horror film with thrilling performances, sprinkles of humor (thanks, Justin Long) and the right amount of jump scares to color in the story-telling. Barbarian is an instant cult classic I’ll revisit year after year.
The Rental:
Released in 2020 and directed by Dave Franco the winning ensemble includes actors plucked from my favorite shows—The Bear, Downton Abbey and Madmen.
When two brothers and their partners take a coastal getaway, they are met with an unsettling Airbnb host that lives up the street. The ominous tension brims over the edges once they realize they’re being filmed. It’s a character drama first, horror film second. Something that may disappoint some audience members is actually what drew me in. The close-up look into the couple’s relationships are what made me care deeply about them. Each bad decision avalanches into a heart pumping nightmare. This film is an example of a slow-burn done right.
We Were Never Here:
An annual backpacking trip goes awry after a dead body ends up in a hotel room. Fearing their argument of self defense wouldn’t excuse them in a foreign country, the best friends cover up their tracks and vow to secrecy. When a similar situation happens the following year, the two start to question why tragedy follows them. As they handle their guilt and grief differently, the dark secrets wedge between their fragile relationship until the friendship unravels into a game of cat and mouse. It was impossible to put down. I’m filing We Were Never Here under one of my favorite books of the year and look forward to falling in the author, Andrea Bartz rabbit hole. This book reminded me of how immersive reading can be if you find the right one.
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