Stream It: Horror Movie Night

Fog engulfs the hills. Streetlights flicker outside your window while the growing wind howls across the roof tiles. The house is empty, void of movement, and it is getting late. Darkness of the evening hours begin seeping from the large glass windows into the walls. Even with your dog at your side, you can't help but shake the feeling that you aren't really alone in the living room.

Feeling uneasy yet?

Hope so! This is what I'd picture as the perfect environment to start a personal horror movie marathon in.

Building that terrifying tension, relishing in the unknowns of ghosts behind corners, and getting spooked by grim weather are some key features in horror films that I love best! The atmosphere of film making is everything, especially when it comes to successfully scaring an avid horror film fan like myself. To avoid a myriad of predictable jump-scares, there has to be a little bit of a guessing game in the plot for me to stay interested.

The long and winding trek to the climax of horror films is what I crave most over quick scenes of instant blood and gore. In order for a horror movie to hit the mark in my book, I've devised a horrific pie chart of the type of story elements that I look for on Decider's recommendations:

Here, we got:

• Murder Mystery- Who done it? Are the characters about to play a game of clue to find the source of the town's insanity?
• Decrepit Houses- I can assure you, any story with old houses are always unsettling! Who really wants to be at the last house on the block at 2am with boarded up windows and a faded "for-sale" sign?
• Psychological Terror- Mind games? Chaotic Behavior? Bizarre storyline? Yep. Hand it over.
• Legends & Myths- Did La Llorona make a cameo? What about the ghost in your local coffee shop bathroom? These are the elements to question!
• The Paranormal- Ouija boards, posessions, objects moving on their own, and all things that go bump in the night.

I put the most emphasis on psychological terror and the paranormal, since these are essential tropes of the movies I seek out!

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If you are a fan of Ari Aster films, such as Hereditary or Midsommar, then check out this range of horror for your next movie night!

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Coffin #1: Gaslight (1944)

Utter insanity, unexplainable activity in a creepy victorian home, and a controlling husband= Gaslight.

A young woman faces a grueling situation when she moves back in with her husband. After the death of her aunt, her situation has only been made worse by the suspicious behavior of her husband. Being fed countless lies, scare tactics, and confusing realities, this film depicts a wife's demise into a psychological hell.

Coffin #2: In The Tall Grass (2019)

Would you listen to the grass if it called out to you? It is always watching, you know.

In this film, psychological terror and supernatural forces combine to create a maze of endless torture within a sea of tall grass. A family goes out into a field of tall grass while traveling, responding to a call for help from a kid who seems to be lost.

Soon enough, the grass comes alive and hallucinations overtake them. There seems to be no escape.

Coffin #3: Mother! (2017)

Uninvited guests aren't always friendly!

The main characters, Him and Mother, live in a seemingly unthreating house with a bit of vintage flare to it. One day, a stranger turns up at their door asking to spend the night. As days go on, more guests begin flowing to the house. Secrets begin to uncover, as Mother becomes victim to a chilling game between the oddness of the guests and her deteriorating mind.