Horror Watch 2025 - Day 12 - Host (2020)

  Okay, the first thing you need to know is that this poster is wildly overselling this movie.  It is not the scariest film of the past decade.  Not even close.  Content warning:  blood, violence

Bored in quarantine, six friends get together on a Zoom call to have a seance.  Only Haley (Haley Bishop) is a true believer; the rest are just there for a good time.  But when Jemma's (Jemma Moore) joking angers an entity, all the participants are suddenly fighting for their lives.

Before I delve too deeply, let me say that I enjoyed watching this.  It's not a bad movie.  Better than Paranormal Activity but not quite as good as Unfriended.  Maybe because I saw Unfriended first.  I had to get my praise in early, because the rest of this is probably going to sound super negative.  

This was filmed during the pandemic and it is not subtle.  All of the characters are isolated, forced to watch their friends suffering, unable to help or even help themselves as an invisible force invades their homes and kills them.  It is 56 minutes long, so it barely even qualifies as a feature-length film but that works to its advantage.  There's no time to really establish them as characters unless you have been part of a similar kind of friend group.  Then you can do some mental shortcuts.  Should they have spent more time fleshing them out?  Eh.  I was good with just the bare bones, especially since that meant there was more time to focus on the supernatural shit happening.  If anything, I would have put extra into the ending, since that did feel very rushed and unsatisfying.  Can't hate the hustle, though!  It's currently streaming on Netflix.

Horror Watch 2025 - Day 11 - Stay (2025)

  Man, if you think relationship counseling sucks, imagine if your therapist was a spirit.  Can't even escape your problems in death.  Content warning:  drowning, suicide

Kiara (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and Miles (Mo McRae) were a couple once.  But now they are separated, estranged, and trying to move the rest of their stuff out of what they thought was going to be their forever home.  Desperate to feel some kind of connection, Kiara performs a spell to reach back to the spirits of her ancestors, but frees something else instead, trapping her and Miles in the house.

This is like the sweeter, kinder version of Bring Her Back.  There's no gore, no blood, just a lot of crying and watching a couple Go Through It.  It's steeped in West African folklore, which is great to see.  I would have like a sharper script but honestly, I'm not mad at it.  It's nice.  This is a ghost story for people who don't like horror.  Which is fine!  Baby steps are still steps!  Maybe you just want a little something spooky  that isn't going to raise your blood pressure.  This is for you!  It's streaming on Hulu.

Horror Watch 2025 - Day 10 - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Meyers (1988)

  It's not a Halloween horror watch without a legacy franchise sequel.  Also, I ran out of streaming services really quickly so we're back to my TBW list.  Content warning:  blood, some gore

Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) was confined to a state facility after murdering a whole bunch of people in 1978.  Now, a decade later, he is being transferred to a different one.  It seems safe since he's in a coma after being shot and set on fire by his former psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance).  But one of the transfer doctors casually mentions that Myers has a 7-year-old niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris), living in his hometown, which snaps him out of it pretty handily.  Refreshed and looking to once again end his family line, Myers powerwalks to Haddonfield.  Loomis knows Myers is Evil Incarnate and is not looking to add another tiny victim to his conscience.  He reaches out to the Sheriff (Beau Starr) as well as the local drunk vigilante group, because he is taking no chances.

This movie does not overstay its welcome, I can tell you that.  It is a tight 88 minutes and it gets right to the point.  It's also a lot more tame than I was expecting.  There's violence, sure, but not nearly as graphic or lurid as other entries.  There is a lot of crying, though.  Like a LOT.  

It's streaming on AMC+ which I get through Amazon.

2025 Horror Watch - Day 9 - Organ Trail (2023)

  This one is just a victim of its own marketing.  How are you going to call yourself Organ Trail and not have cannibals??  I don't even feel bad about it.  You did this to yourself.  Content warning:  dead animal (rabbit), blood, dog/wolf whimpering (not on-screen, but audibly a dog/wolf/coyote gets caught in a trap and chews its own foot off, then leaves a blood trail.  It's not part of the plot and is never referred to again so if you are sensitive, I would fast-forward about a minute before pressing play.)

A family in the wilderness come across another covered wagon that had its inhabitants murdered.  They take in the survivor (Olivia Grace Applegate) only to learn the hard way that she is not what she seems.  Now Abigale (Zoe de Grand Maison) must find a way to survive and avenge her family from the gang of murderers who would deliberately injure a woman to use her as bait.  

Ah, the return of Women's Horror proper.  This isn't terrible, but it's also not very good.  It's fine.  Clearly, a lot of effort and thought went into it.  It's just that the characters aren't compelling and the story is basic.  There's nothing about it that makes it unique or special.  It's not a rape-revenge, thank God, and it was written by a woman (also a plus) who gave her female characters agency and recognized that Black people existed in the Old West as landowners and contemporaries, not just slaves and servants.  All good.  I just don't think it went far enough.

If you like a little smashing-the-patriarchy with your Halloween candy, it's currently streaming on Paramount+.

2025 Horror Watch - Day 8 - Bring Her Back (2025)

  I know this is supposed to be the new hotness this year but I think it's wildly overhyped.  Content warning:  blood, dead animals (chicken), vomit, child endangerment

When Andy (Bill Barrett) and his blind step-sister, Piper (Sora Wong) are orphaned, they are adamant that they not be separated.  The system puts them with Laura (Sally Hawkins), a former child counselor, who seems like an ideal match.  She even had a daughter (Mischa Heywood) who was also blind so she knows the accommodations Piper needs without coddling her.  But when the kids arrive, Andy finds that Laura isn't all that she seems and the other foster child in the house, Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips), a selective mute, is almost unbearably creepy.  The more he tries to figure things out, the more isolated he becomes from Piper, who is literally and metaphorically blind.  

This is an A24 film and it's trying really hard to be an A24 film.  Honestly, I think Hereditary ruined some people.  Like, do they know it's okay to make horror movies that aren't about the grieving process?  There is some really cool imagery here and the makeup design for Ollie is excellent but it's so sad and just drags on forever.  Very disappointing.  

It's currently streaming on HBO Max or whatever the hell it's calling itself now.

2025 Horror Watch - Day 7 - Haunted Mansion (2023)

  This is not the one with Eddie Murphy though they are both based on the same Disney ride.  Content warning:  Jared Leto

A widower (LaKeith Stanfield) takes a substantial payout from a single mother (Rosario Dawson) to do spectral photography inside her new mansion.  He thinks the job is bullshit until a watery ghost follows him home and he learns that the hauntings only stop once he returns to the mansion.  Now, trapped inside with a priest (Owen Wilson), a medium (Tiffany Haddish), and a local historian (Danny DeVito), he must discover what kind of spirit is behind the truly shocking number of murders committed on the property.

Stanfield is just one of those ridiculously charismatic actors.  Even in this shameless cash grab, he was riveting.  Far better than the movie deserved.  He almost single-handedly elevates this from "annoying, gimmicky schlock" to "mostly fun, if a little forgettable and corny."  The child actor, Chase Dillon, was also very good and has a promising career ahead of him.  There are a bunch of cameos from Jamie Lee Curtis, Daniel Levy, Winona Ryder, Jo Koy, and Marilu Henner.  Dawson never gets the credit she deserves but she put in her time here and I respect it.  

If you really, really like the Haunted Mansion ride or your kids have seen pretty much all the other family-friendly Halloween movies already, this isn't bad.  It's streaming on Disney+.

2025 Horror Watch - Day 6 - Dead of Night (1945)

  Okay, I cheated a little bit to break that weird streak.  This one is from my TBW queue.  Content warning:  ventriloquist dummy, suicide

Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) keeps having a recurring nightmare about meeting six people at a country house and having something horrible happen.  He tries to convince them that his dreams are real, but Dr. Van Straaten (Frederick Valk), a psychiatrist, disbelieves.  So several of the guests take turns recounting their own brushes with the supernatural.  

This movie is great.  The framing device is a little weak but the cast is phenomenal.  Each story feels fully fleshed out, like its own full episode, but doesn't drag the movie down.  Now, not every story is a winner.  The golf one irritated the shit out of me, personally.  But I can recognize that it was meant to be a mood lightener.  Obviously, the final one is the standout with an incredible performance by Michael Redgrave.  And Hugo, of course.  People talk about "dream logic" in films, which never lands for me, but the nightmare sequence here is actually quite jarring.  There are some great makeup effects in the crowd scenes.  

It's streaming for free on Kanopy, if you have a library card and it's definitely worth checking out if you like your horror more atmospheric and British.