Words by Dustin Meadows
October is here, and that means it’s Halloween. Which means an excuse to watch scary movies every day of the month, a fun tradition which has come to be most commonly known as “31 Days Of Horror.” There’s all sorts of prompts and suggestions if you search that and similar hashtags on various social media, but here’s a list of my own to help you out. I’ll even give you a few recommendations (a few obvious, more accessible options and some more under the radar selections for casual horror viewers) for each day which you’re welcome to, or you can be really adventurous and seek out your own. Resident film critic Nicolás Delgadillo offers his own additional personal picks as well.
Most streaming networks will also have curated horror playlists (especially Shudder, which breaks its horror selections down into thematic collections), and there’ll be plenty to check out in theaters with the release of films like Smile and Halloween Ends. Some of these suggestions will have some overlap with other days, so if you miss Night Of The Living Dead for your siege film day, you can use it for a zombie day! Horror and heavy music go hand in hand, whether it's the extremism, the atmosphere, the imagery, or all of the above. Make this October a frightfully memorable one.
Day 1: Werewolves
“Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors. Beware the moon, lads.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: An American Werewolf In London, The Howling
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Ginger Snaps, Dog Soldiers
Nick’s Suggestion: The Wolf of Snow Hollow
Day 2: We’re Trapped! (A Siege Film)
“Now get the hell down in the cellar! You can be the boss down there, but I’m boss up here!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Night Of The Living Dead, From Dusk Till Dawn
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Green Room, VFW
Nick’s Suggestion: Gerald’s Game
Day 3: The Devil
“The Power of Christ compels you!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Idle Hands, Prince Of Darkness
Nick’s Suggestion: The Conjuring
Day 4: A Cabin In The Woods
“Okay, I’m drawing a line in the fucking sand here. Do not read the Latin.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, The Cabin In The Woods
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil, Scare Me
Nick’s Suggestion: Eden Lake
Day 5: Outbreak
“You bein' sick, that's your problem. Now Dennis is sick, that's my problem. And if I get sick, that's Lucille's problem. So we gotta stop the problem. We gotta stop the problem *right* now!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Cabin Fever, 28 Days Later
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Rec, Doomsday
Nick’s Suggestion: World War Z
Day 6: Vampires
“Don’t be afraid. I’m going to give you the choice that I never had.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Dracula, Interview With The Vampire
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Near Dark, The Lost Boys
Nick’s Suggestion: Jakob’s Wife
Day 7: Home Invasion
“Why are you doing this?” “Because you were home.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Purge, The Strangers
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: You’re Next, Don’t Breathe
Nick’s Suggestion: Us
Day 8: Killer Animals
“Bad fish. Swallow you whole!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Jaws, The Birds
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Crawl, Black Sheep
Nick’s Suggestion: Crawl
Day 9: Not Of This Earth
“It’s using the air shafts.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Alien, Pitch Black
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Attack The Block, Psycho Goreman
Nick’s Suggestion: The Fourth Kind
Day 10: Mama’s Boy
“She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Psycho, Friday The 13th
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Goodnight Mommy, Dead Alive
Nick’s Suggestion: Hereditary
Day 11: You Are What You Eat
“Eat to live. Don’t live to eat.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Cannibal Holocaust, The Silence Of The Lambs
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Ravenous, Raw
Nick’s Suggestion: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Day 12: Clowns
“I'm every nightmare you've ever had. I'm your worst dream come true. I'm everything you ever were afraid of.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: It, Killer Klowns From Outer Space
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Clown, The Last Circus
Nick’s Suggestion: Wrinkles the Clown
Day 13: Small But Deadly
“This is the end, friend!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Child’s Play, Critters
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Ghoulies, Leprechaun
Nick’s Suggestion: The Brood
DAY 14: Bugs? Ewwww!
“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Fly, Arachnophobia
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Eight Legged Freaks, Mimic
Nick’s Suggestion: Phase IV
DAY 15: Lemme Tell You A Story (Anthology)
“It’s showtime!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Creepshow, Twilight Zone: The Movie
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Trick r’ Treat, Scare Package
Nick’s Suggestion: The Mortuary Collection
DAY 16: Ho-Ho-Holy Shit! (Christmas Horror)
“Now I have another reason to hate Christmas.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Gremlins, Black Christmas
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Santa’s Slay Ride, Krampus
Nick’s Suggestion: Hosts
DAY 17: Weapon Of Choice
“THIS is God!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: A Nightmare On Elm Street, Phantasm
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: My Bloody Valentine, Slumber Party Massacre II
Nick’s Suggestion: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
DAY 18: Silent But Deadly
“He had the blackest eyes. The devil’s eyes.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Halloween, Friday The 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: It Follows
Nick’s Suggestion: Sator
DAY 19: Killer Cars
“It’s better than safe. It’s death proof.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Death Proof, Christine
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Maximum Overdrive, Joy Ride
Nick’s Suggestion: Rubber
DAY 20: From Beyond The Grave
“Sometimes dead is better.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Pet Sematary, Return Of The Living Dead
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Dead Snow, Zombeavers
Nick’s Suggestion: The Serpent and the Rainbow
DAY 21: G-G-G-G-Ghosts!!!
“You’ve had your whole fucking life to think things over, what good’s a few more minutes gonna do you now?”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Shining, Poltergeist
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Thirteen Ghosts, The Frighteners
Nick’s Suggestion: 1922
DAY 22: Science Gone Awry
“It’s alive! It’s alive!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Frankenstein, Godzilla
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: From Beyond, Deep Blue Sea
Nick’s Suggestion: The Fly
DAY 23: One Fucked Up Family
“”My family’s always been in meat.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The House Of 1000 Corpses
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Hills Have Eyes, The Addams Family
Nick’s Suggestion: Ready or Not
DAY 24: Body Snatchin’
“They’re here already! You’re next!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, The Faculty
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Slither, The Stepford Wives
Nick’s Suggestion: They Look Like People
DAY 25: Social Commentary
“They’re us, that’s all. There’s no more room in hell.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Dawn Of The Dead, Get Out
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The People Under The Stairs, Tales From The Hood
Nick’s Suggestion: American Psycho
DAY 26: Creepy Kids
“Bring him the blood of the outlanders!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Children Of The Corn, The Omen
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Lodge, Village Of The Damned
Nick’s Suggestion: Orphan
DAY 27: So Bad It’s Good
“They’re eating her! And then they’re gonna eat me! Oh my Goooooooooooood!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Troll 2, Jason X
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Wicker Man (2006), Thankskilling
Nick’s Suggestion: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
DAY 28: That’s So Meta!
“There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Scream, New Nightmare
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Final Girls, Scary Movie
Nick’s Suggestion: The Human Centipede 2
DAY 29: Killer Vegetation
“Feed me, Seymour!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Little Shop Of Horrors, Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Happening, The Ruins
Nick’s Suggestion: Annihilation
DAY 30: It’s Cold In Here
“First goddamn day of winter.”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: The Thing, Misery
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Dreamcatcher, 30 Days Of Night
Nick’s Suggestion: The Lodge
DAY 31: Happy Happy Halloween
“There’s no more time! Please stop it. Stop it now. Turn it off! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”
OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, The Crow
LESS OBVIOUS SUGGESTIONS: Night Of The Demons, WNUF Halloween Special
Nick’s Suggestion: Sinister
