With spooky season fast approaching, many viewers may soon be tempted by the ever-popular horror genre. Filmmakers often use horror as a critical lens to examine what society itself may be afraid of, as Jordan Peele does with “Get Out” (2017) and Bong Joon-ho with “Parasite” (2019). In other cases, filmmakers take traditionally “scary” motifs and turn them into comedy, as Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement do with the series “What We Do In The Shadows” (2019–). As the month of October draws near, it’s time to look at appropriately themed content.
There are far too many great horror movies to count, and the aforementioned two are particularly excellent recent masterpieces (though “Parasite” teeters the line between horror and drama a bit too much to be considered a true horror film). For those looking for classics, it might be time to watch M. Night Shyamalan’s classic thriller “The Sixth Sense” (1999), Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980) and Oscar-winner “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991).
More recently, production company A24 has put out some hefty horrors worthy of attention, especially from Ari Aster and Robert Eggers. From the creatively twisted mind of Astercame “Hereditary” (2018) and “Midsommar” (2019),which both contain fairly graphic violence layered with nuanced and abstract social commentary.Eggers’“The Lighthouse” (2019) is one of the quirkier horror movies of late, but certainly watching Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe sing sea shanties in black and white film is worthwhile.
Television has also seen its fair share of horror. Filmmaker Mike Flanagan is responsible for part of that; his “The Haunting of Hill House” (2018) was dubbed “close to a work of genius” by Stephen King, and his recent “Midnight Mass” (2021) has received mostly positive reviews. As many horror fans may enjoy, these series alongside his “The Haunting of Bly Manor” (2020) feature supernatural elements that work to reveal something more philosophical.
For those looking for something a bit lighter than a critical examination of the flaws with human society, turn to shows that take traditionally scary motifs and make them funny — “What We Do In The Shadows” and “Wynonna Earp” (2016–2021), for example. The former chronicles the lives of four vampires making their way through life in a mockumentary reminiscent of “The Office” (2005–2013). It’s light, it’s laugh-out-loud funny and it guest stars Tilda Swinton as herself as the head of the Volturi-esque “Vampiric Council.” The latter follows a motley crew of demon hunters in the fictional town of Purgatory and plays with horror and Western tropes as it gradually embraces the absurdity of its premise.
There is certainly no shortage of spooky content to watch, whether it be classic horror, social commentary, art house horror, supernatural miniseries or campy horror comedies. Of course, “Stranger Things” (2016–) and “Insidious” (2010) are great too, but with so much unique horror or faux-horror out there, it may be time to raise the bar.
