Underrated Horror Movies to Watch This Halloween! (Part 3)

It’s that time of year again! It’s October, which means HALLOWEEN is in the air! And you know what comes with Halloween besides pumpkin everything and delicious mini versions of your favorite candies? Horror movies! In my opinion, horror movies are a year round thing, but there’s something extra spooky about watching them around Halloween time. This year, I’ve written part three(!) of some more of my favorite underrated horror movies (thirteen in all, of course, because that is the spookiest and unluckiest number!). These are some of my favorite and, just a warning, most of them have to do with the supernatural since that’s kind of my spooky jam. So get in the spirit (get it? I know, I’m sorry) and get watching! You only have a month to watch them all!

For When Going a Hiking Trip with Your Buddies in Another Country Just Isn’t Exciting Enough For You So Let’s Throw In Something Scary To Stalk You All:

Netflix

I’m going to be honest: this is based on a book which I did not like. At all. So when I saw that Netflix was making The Ritual into a movie, my expectations were suuuuuper low. But when I saw the movie, I was so glad that they changed a lot of the book and actually made a scary ass movie out of a not so great book (in my opinion, please don’t come for me book fans!). I was actually very impressed by the quality and the story, and it actually scared me! Me, horror movie extraordinaire*!  If you haven’t seen this movie, please do, it is entirely worth it! (Plus, Thomas from Downton Abbey is in it!)

*Not my official title.

For When You Want to Watch Something Both Spooky and Stylish (And If You Want to See Tom Hiddleston’s Butt):

Universal Pictures

Guillermo del Toro is a huge horror fan, so it makes perfect sense that he would direct his own Gothic tale Crimson Peak with his fantasy laced style woven throughout. The plot may not be the most complicated and twisted (I was actually hoping for more of an original twist and backstory, but oh well), but it makes up for that with a horrific sense of dread, fantastic sets, costumes, and creepy ghostly prosthetics, and some great, creepy acting, courtesy of Jessica Chastain (how has she not won an Oscar yet??). Plus, the classic Gothic style of the entire movie has been turned up to eleven, so it really is a horror lover movies dream (and most likely Guillermo’s too!).

For When You Thought Having a Twin Might Be Fun But You Learn the Hard Way That Having Someone Who Looks Exactly Like You Isn’t As Cool If They Want to Murder You:

Universal Pictures

You guys. This MOVIE. After seeing Get Out, I knew Jordan Peele was onto something with his horror movies. Get Out was so different and original than anything I had seen before and Us is no exception. The symbolism and story is just as thought-provoking as Get Out, but the story is completely different and all together more horror-like. I promise you will not have seen anything like this before and if you see that twist coming, then you must be psychic, because I swear, none of us did. And if you did, I'm a little scared of you, honestly.

For When You Watch Something That Will Remind You to Never, Ever, Ever Use An Oujia Board (EVER):

Film Factory Entertainment

You may have heard of Veronica, this Spanish movie because of the hype that surrounded it after Netflix released it, with people calling it the scariest movie they’ve ever seen. Was it the scariest movie I’ve ever seen? No. But was it a good horror movie with an excellent slow burn that ended in some great and scary final scenes? Heck yes! Plus, it was based on a real life police case that they officially ruled was caused by “supernatural” causes. Seriously.

For When You Want to Watch a Ghost Story That Is Classically Gothic But Also Has Harry freakin' Potter In It:

CBS Films

Who doesn’t love a classic Gothic ghost story? You don’t need blood and guts when you have a super scary backstory, an empty abandoned mansion, and a dead woman bent on revenge aka murdering your children in The Woman In Black (based on the novel by Susan Hill, which I have not read yet, but it is on my to be read list!). And here I thought all British towns were quaint and cute. Apparently not! (Also, this is a great reminder that Daniel Radcliffe has great acting chops and can star in almost any genre!)

For When You Don’t Think That You Are Terrified Of Small Spaces But After Watching This Will Now Have a Severe Fear of Exploring Caves (Among Another Things):

Lions Gate Films

You will never step into a cave on a girls spelunking trip* after seeing this movie. I can promise you that. Also, claustrophobic people beware: this will scare the sh*t out of you. So maybe don’t watch if you don’t want to be traumatized forever.

*There goes my future bachelorette party!

For When Moving Into a Haunted House Isn’t Creepy Enough- Try Moving Into an Old House with a Morgue in the Basement Instead:

Lionsgate

This is one that I feel is very underrated, very scary, and very unknown as far as horror movies go. It’s based on a true story (dun dun DUNNNN) which always make it a hundred times more terrifying. You’ll never want to move into an old house after seeing this. No matter how good the price and location is. (I think I might be the only exception to this rule. You know how in some parts of the world you don’t have to disclose if someone died on the property? I’d be asking the realtor to tell me because that would be a selling point if the house was haunted! But with nice ghosts, no malevolent spirits or demons or anything like that! Just making myself clear.)

For When You Want to Watch A Scary Halloween Based Anthology Movie That Is Both Fun and Frightening:

Warner Bros.

Trick 'r Treat is a cult classic for a reason: not only does it not get the recognition it truly deserves, it has a massive fan following that loves it to bits. Me included! If you’ve never seen the movie and are a horror movie fan in general, you need to watch this movie! It seamlessly weaves various story-lines together, slightly overlapping them, and all of the various plots occurring on Halloween night. But most of all, it’s whole bunch of Halloween fun. And you’ll end up loving/being scared of Sam. You’ll know who I mean when you watch the movie! He is literally a horror icon now.

For When You’re Home Alone and Nice and Relaxed But You Hear Something Coming From the Other Room, But You Swear All the Doors and Windows Are Locked (But Did You?):

Universal Pictures

This is another one based on a true story, though even if it wasn’t, any kind of home invasion movie is still terrifying. The entire premise of The Strangers is scary because it’s entirely possible for this to happen to anyone, you included (not that I would wish that on anyone! Well.... no, I'm just kidding!). The movie does an excellent job of building the story (and the scares!) to a horrifying climax (I hate using that word, but you know what context I’m using it in!) that will leave you exhausted and horrified.

For When You Want To Convince Your Friends That Clowns Really Aren’t That Scary- And End Up Scarring Yourself In the Process (Beep Beep, Ritchie):

New Line Cinema

I’m going to say something here that is going to upset a lot of people in the world: I am not a fan of Stephen King’s horror style. I know, I am a monster and don’t deserve to read books. But it’s true! I’ve read The Shining and I’ve read Pet Semetary, and while both are great stories and have good premises, I’m just not a fan of his type of horror. He is a fantastic writer, I will give him that, but his horror doesn’t spook or thrill me. So when the remake of IT, came out, I didn’t go see it in theaters. For obvious reasons. But I decided to give it a try when it came out on video and WHOA. I was not expecting to like it that much! I thought IT: Chapter One was terrifying and so well done that I immediately because a huge fan and had to see IT: Chapter Two as soon as it came out in theaters (loved it, but I thought the first one was better. Just an opinion!) For me, IT: Chapter One was the perfect balance of horror and those summer days of being a kid and hanging with your group of friends. Plus, Bill Skarsgard was perfect as Pennywise. He was so good in that role you almost rooted for a child eating clown? (Just me? Forget I said that.)

For When You Want to Trick Your Friends Into Watching a Horror Movie By Saying You’re Just Going to Throw on Something with Kate Hudson in It:

Universal Pictures

Kate Hudson the rom-com queen (I guess more like princess- Meg Ryan is my rom-com queen!) in a horror movie? Who knew! The Skeleton Key is a great mix of Southern horror, with some (obviously!) voo-doo inspired supernatural elements thrown in to make one original and spooky movie. It’ll creep you and make you think twice before buying a little voo-doo tourist souvenir the next time you’re in New Orleans (I know you want to, but don't do it!).

Honorable Mentions (aka not movies):

For When You Want to Watch a TV Series That Will Scare the Sh*t Out of You But Also Make You Feel All the Feels:

Netflix

Oh goodness, guys. This show was more than I ever expected it would be. Inspired by (and very loosely based on) Shirley Jackson’s classic novel, The Haunting of Hill House, the show goes back and forth in time to tell the story of the Crane family, where they spend a summer fixing up and flipping a very, very, very haunted house. As adults, they must come back together after a tragic event to come to terms and literally deal with what happened in their childhood. The first season is so well done, weaving different timelines, the character’s individual story-lines, and the history of the house all together, along with providing some shocking scares but even more potent emotional scenes and familial relationships. You’ll fall in love with the characters and root for them, despite the very human flaws they show. It’s the deepest character study I’ve seen of human nature and grief in a horror series. Watch it, you won’t be disappointed! And also, episode six, "Two Storms," may be one of the best TV episodes I've ever watched in my life. So, I guess look out for that one!

For When You Want to Be Reminded of Who the REAL Monsters Are: Human Beings:

Netflix

Most of the movies (and shows) on this list deal with the supernatural (or just random bad people who like to break into people's houses), and whether or not you believe in ghosts or demons, I feel like we sometimes forget who we should really be scared of: our fellow man. If you’re fascinated by serial killers, then you’ve come to the right show. Based on real accounts, in Mindhunter the two main FBI agents interview serial killers and learn what makes them kill. It’s a disturbing and interesting way of seeing the inner workings of killers’ minds and hearing in their own words (based on real life interview tapes with real life and very infamous serial killers) why they did the awful crimes they committed. And interwoven throughout the first and second season are short snippets of scenes of a (very famous) serial killer in various points of his life, paralleling the hard work the Bureau agents are doing to help understand and stop people just like him. It’s fascinating, gripping, and just plain old frightening.

And there you have it! Just in time for Halloween, my part 3 of some of my favorite underrated (well, some more than others!) horror movies to celebrate this most spooky time of year! What did you think of my list this year? Let me know in the comments if you've seen any of these movies and if you found them scary or not! (Let's keep it friendly though! I know us horror movie fans are a very opinionated lot!)

Stay Weird!