100 Horror Movies in October Update Three

I have chosen this photo to remind myself of good times in a packed cinema! I obviously didn't watch any of these films like this but it's one of the things I'm missing the most.

25th October:

• The Appearance (2018, IMDb genre: Horror/Thriller) Watched on Amazon Prime.
• The Possession of Hannah Grace (2018, IMDb genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller) Watched on Netflix.
• Current total: 66

26th October:

• House at the End of the Street (2012, IMDb genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller) Watched on Netflix.
• The Invitation (2015, IMDb genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller) In a huge surprise to everyone I'm cheating again! We all know there's a crossover with thriller & horror, and I would argue this switches from thriller to horror in the last twenty minutes or so. Also, it was shown at Mayhem Film Festival which is 'Horror, Cult, and Sci-Fi' (and it doesn't fit as cult or sci-fi). Watched on Netflix.
• Sinister (2012, IMDb genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller) Watched on Netflix. There was a study recently using heart monitors that declared this the scariest horror film ever so I felt like it needed a rewatch. I'm not sure I agree it's the scariest ever but it did still make my heart hammer in places.
• Current total: 69

27th October:

• Brahms: The Boy II (2020, IMDb genre: Drama/Horror/Mystery) Watched on Amazon Prime.
• Haunt (2013, IMDb genre: Horror/Mystery/Romance) Watched on Amazon Prime.
• I Still See You (2018, IMDb genre: Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi) Watched on Amazon Prime, but you have to buy it.
• Current total: 72

28th October:

• Holidate (2020, IMDb genre: Comedy/Romance) I saved my final Wildcard for this & it was worth it! Watched on Netflix.
• Absentia (2011, IMDb genre: Drama/Horror/Mystery) Watched on Amazon Prime but you have to rent it (& it's called DUPLICATE_Absentia because I assume someone made a technical mistake!). Also, apart from Doctor Sleep I've now watched all of Mike Flanagan's horror efforts. What a talent!
• Hush (2016, IMDb genre: Horror/Thriller) Mum had had entirely enough of horror by this point in the month but she enjoyed Absentia a lot so I put another Mike Flanagan movie. This one didn't get the Mum seal of approval though, sorry Mike! Watched on Netflix.
• Relic (2020, IMDb genre: Drama/Horror/Mystery) Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw (2020, IMDb genre: Drama/Horror/Mystery) Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• Current total: 77

29th October:

• 12 Hour Shift (2020, IMDb genre: Comedy/Horror/Thriller) Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• Detention (2019, IMDb genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller) Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• Current total: 79

30th October:

• Bleed With Me (2020, IMDb genre: Horror/Thriller) Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• Short Film Competition. Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival. I'm counting this because I'm getting desperate but also although short films don't count, there were 13 of them and it took around 2 hours to watch them all so I'm counting it as a movie. My favourite was Smiles directed by Javier Chavanel.
• Current total: 81

31st October 🎃:

• Tales of the Uncanny (2020, IMDb genre: Documentary) In my final cheat of the challenge I'm counting this because it's a documentary about horror anthology movies. Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• History of the Occult (2020, IMDb genre: Horror) Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• Anything for Jackson (2020, IMDb genre: Horror) Watched at Abertoir Horror Film Festival.
• His House (2020, IMDb genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller) Watched on Netflix.

Grand total: 85! Only 15 off completing the challenge, I'm taking that as a success.

There weren't any particularly bad ones in this selection, The Appearance was a bit too dark and grim for me but it wasn't actually a bad film, so I'll review two of the best so mild spoiler alerts for History of the Occult and His House after this photo of how I reacted to any strange noise after watching scary films all month.

The Best: His House (2020):

Look at Netflix knocking out of the park again! The lead actors Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku are outstanding as Mr & Mrs Majur adjusting to life in the UK as refugees, but what have they brought with them from Sudan? It's an exploration of guilt and trauma that also throws in some genuinely horrific scares with jumps and intense body horror. If you like your horror to punch you in the emotions, keep you tense, and still be ultimately uplifting this one is for you. The fact that this is Remi Weekes' debut feature blows me away, he makes all the right decisions on how much to reveal and when. I think he has a bright future ahead of him in the British horror world. Horror can occasionally be repetitive so it's really interesting to see a different culture's spooks. Also, the sound design is sheer perfection. My only gripe with the film would be that it wastes Matt Smith in a tiny role with a dodgy accent. 10/10 stars.

Also The Best: History of the Occult (2020):

If I'm honest, just based on the description for this I wasn't hugely excited about it but part of a film festival is watching something different so I gave it a go. Boy am I glad I did! The film is black and white with odd, effective, flashes of red so it looks good. There's also a scene where the characters are having drug-fuelled hallucinations and the film adjusts aspect ratios for each trip which is a nice touch. The plot and ending are a little confusing but still very absorbing. It's a difficult film to watch in terms of subtitles because it's dialogue heavy but it's worth it. It's not overly scary or gory but there's a few moments and it makes use of dark humour occasionally. I highly doubt you'll be able to guess the ending, 9/10 stars.