Gothtober: Add these horror movies to your Netflix queue
It’s that time of the year again. We’re not talking about Christmas just yet. Instead, keeping in line with the vibes this year has been giving us, Halloween seems like a better celebration. And since we’re all stuck inside during spooky season, we’re all preparing the ultimate movie marathon for the right dosage of trembling. Move over The Exorcist. Here are some Netflix flicks you can catch this year.
#Alive
Who doesn’t love a little artificial spook from part-cadavers who shuffle about, moaning in burial garb? We’re talking about a good ol’ zombie attack, in case the imagery missed you. The latest zombie movie on the block, #Alive is a treat from South Korea. Besides, the theme has an eerie & uncanny resemblance to the year of all horrors, 2020.
Seoul is plagued by zombies & our protagonist – an introverted housebound character – is stuck in his apartment. The isolation & loneliness begins to take a toll on him & his sanity as his mental health goes for a toss. Directed by Cho Il-hyung, #Alive looks at the biggest fear of all: the enmity of your own mind.
In his own words, “The film resonated with many people because it is comparable to our current reality, where we are quarantined and distanced, filled with uncertainty and fear,” he said. Cho added that the film was a metaphor for the importance of maintaining human connection, even in a world where humans can be a vector for disease.”
A Quiet Place
We love a psychological horror that feeds on some of the most primal fears. Losing your sense organs would be one thing – but being forced to not do something you’ve been doing instinctively since you were born in order to survive is a huge bet.
Starring the real-life couple John Krasinski & Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place understands the horror genre in a way very few movies are able to. It’s a masterclass in the understanding of what makes a horror movie scary. Just like Sandra-Bullock flick Birdbox, the survival of the kids is at stake.
Silence is equated with survival in this movie, which is not great news when you have a tiny tot with a thing for battery-operated toys. Their three children communicate urgently in sign language in order to survive & the threat is presented in the form of blind, hungry creatures who use their sense of hearing to navigate. Will the family survive?
The Nun
If you want to lay easy on the scary parts, The Nun should do the trick for you. It starts with a suicide, but – surprise – it has comedic punches as well. The plot follows the investigation of a young nun’s suicide in Romania. What the investigation uncovers is a demonic nun.
It may not be as pronounced, scary, or inspired as the rest of the Conjuring series, but The Nun is a welcome change from the typical horror plots with the big mansions & dimwitted families.
Warm Bodies
Could the apocalypse look any better than the one we see in the movie adaptation of Isaac Marion’s eponymous novel? Warm Bodies combines the best of all worlds – paranormal, zombie horror, romance, comedy – and mixes it together in a misadventure where a zombie goes against his instincts to save a girl.
Going against nature rarely ends well, now, doesn’t it?
The Babysitter
We’ve seen guys crushing on their babysitters, but how do you react when you find out that your babysitter is a sketchy character? Teen horror-comedy seems very appropriate for our times, so add The Babysitter right into your list. Watch out for a lot of blood, no exaggeration.
Come for the original movie, stay for the sequel The Babysitter: Killer Queen.
