Seven of the best horror films for this spooky season

Seven horror films to spook you out

It’s been a long year, but spooky season is finally here, and what better way to celebrate than by scaring ourselves to sleep with some of the best horror films. While we’ve spent nearly an entire year watching the horrors of the news, it’s now time to unwind and binge watch some scary fictions created for our own entertainment.

Here are ten of the best horror films to get you in the mood this spooky season.

1.      Insidious (2010)

Shortly after the Lambert family move into their new home, their son Dalton falls into a coma. Following months of treatment, Dalton is  finally allowed home. Unfortunately, not long after his return home some paranormal activity begins to take place, leading Dalton’s mother to call upon a psychic for help. It is revealed that Dalton has been mentally travelling to different realms through astral projection, which only leads to further complications.

Insidious’ slow building and eerie feeling along with the jump scares throughout is a great place to start on your horror film binge. However, the first Insidious is enough as the following films in the series get progressively worse, and progressively less scary.

2.      Sinister (2012)

Just two years after Insidious, another blockbuster horror film graced the big screens. Sinister follows the story of true crime writer, Ellison Oswalt, played by Ethan Hawke, who moves his family into a new home where another family had been murdered, unbeknownst to his own. Soon after arrival, Ellison finds a box in the attic containing a projector and several reels of footage depicting the murders of different families. As Ellison discovers more, stranger things begin to happen.

Home videos became a major hit in horror films thanks to the Paranormal Activity film series, but Sinister takes it to another level. The old school Super 8 footage and the repetitive, creepy music, creates an uncanny feeling that you just can’t shake.

3.      1408 (2007)

Based on the Stephen King short story of the same name, 1408, tells the story of an author, Mike Enslin, who investigates allegedly haunted houses and consequently rents room 1408 at a New York hotel. After the hotel manager, played by Samuel L. Jackson, pleads with Mike to not stay in the room, Mike rebuffs his advice and instead spends one night in the room. Unfortunately, he soon realises that maybe he should have taken the advice.

This supernatural, horror film goes through all the stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, which all make sense as the film goes on and for that reason 1408 would fall under the stressful horror film category.

4.      The Others (2001)

Grace Stewart, played by Nicole Kidman, lives in an old family home with her two photosensitive children. Strange occurrences begin to take place in their home, which leads Grace to question whether there might be “others” in the house. As the film progresses, the complexity of the situation unravels, as Grace realises that things aren’t always as they seem.

5.      Candyman (1992)

As semiotics student, Helen Lyle, discovers the urban legend of the Candyman, a man who will be summoned if you say his name five times in front of a mirror, and then kills his summoner, she decides to write her thesis on it. However, Helen’s research only leads to horrifying discoveries as her world gets turned upside down.

The gruesome tale of the Candyman, along with the injustice on multiple levels makes this a great horror film. Based on the short story, The Forbidden by Clive Barker, Candyman is enough to scare anyone.

6.      Hereditary (2018)

Following an unexpected death, Annie Graham is encouraged by a grievance support group member to participate in a séance. After getting some resolution from the séance, Annie encourages her family to participate in one, which only leads to terrifying occurrences.

Toni Collette’s raw performance in Hereditary is one of the highlights of the film, but the suspense building throughout is what makes it a great horror film. Hereditary is slow burning, but it’s worth the suspense.

7.      Stir of Echoes (1999)

After being hypnotised by his sister in-law, Tom Witzky, played by the one and only Kevin Bacon, is haunted by visions of a violent encounter involving a girl. The girl is later discovered to be Samantha Kozac, who had disappeared some months prior. Tom becomes obsessed with the visions and desperate to uncover what had happened, putting himself in grave danger.

Stir of Echoes is an unforgettable horror film, receiving a decent score of 7.0 on IMDb. Although the film doesn’t have many memorable jump scares, the horror lies with the story, and it’s a good one.

Now you’ve seen the list, it’s time to turn on your TV or laptop, turn off the lights, get some popcorn and get yourself spooked this spooky season!

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