Somehow Autumn has descended upon us in the form of flannels, pumpkin spice, and colour changing leaves — when it feels like it should still be March. But there’s no better way to get into the October mindset than a good dose of creepy, scary, Halloween-y movies or shows with a Fall aesthetic.
Using eleven recommendations from students at Carleton, I’ve compiled a list of Autumnal media for your viewing pleasure — ranging from Computer Science students to die-hard Film Majors — there’s a nice pop of variety. I’ve made sure to point out when one of the films is available on a Canadian streaming service, and there’s a good mixture of slasher, B-Horror, animation, humour, and drama.
So without further fanfare, I present to you CU Film’s October rec list!
Coming in hot we have Jennifer’s Body (2009) directed by Karyn Kusama and starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody.
When a newly possessed cheerleader turns into a killer who specializes in offing her male classmates, can her best friend put an end to the horror?
Standing at 1h47 this seems like the perfect addition to any Halloween watchlist. Perhaps as a more light-hearted end to a truly terrifying marathon?
From the recommender: “best horror movie in my opinion,” but if you haven’t seen it, maybe you should, and find out if it lives up to the praise.
Next up we have Black Christmas (1974), a Canadian slasher film directed by Bob Clark, which should appeal to both the horror and holiday lover in you.
A sorority house is terrorized by a stranger who makes frightening phone calls and then murders the sorority sisters during Christmas break.
Available to stream on Criterion Channel, this two-toned holiday film runs only 1h38. Watch it this spook-tober or save it for Christmas, that’s up to you, but I have on account of the recommender of this movie that it a) rules and b) still creeps them out to this day, and that sounds pretty fun to me.
Have you ever watched a movie that seems to possess every part of you until the credits roll? How about Possession (1981) directed and written by Andrzej Żuławski and starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill?
A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.
Described by the recommender as “like if Marriage Story was set in 1980s Berlin and contained tentacular demonic possession,” it’s the longest film in the list so far, at 2h7.
And now it’s up to you to decide whether Possession possesses the qualities of an outstanding film.
The oldest movie on this list, we have the king of zombies, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), available to stream on Prime Video and the Criterion Channel.
A group of people try to survive an attack of bloodthirsty zombies while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse.
As the writer of this article I think I’m entitled to a few recs, and the film that set off the zombie genre as we know it today is very high on my list. Not the first risen dead movie by any means, but without Night of the Living Dead, we wouldn’t have the flesh-eating, mindless zombies that we know and love. Where would we be without the idea of our beloved dead digging their way out of hard-packed soil to feast on our tender pink brains? We would be somewhere sad and terrible, is where we would be.
The best part of the horror genre, in my opinion, is how it’s able to tackle issues in our society so adeptly. We see that very clearly with Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2017), but it’s here in Night of the Living Dead, too, even if Romero didn’t intend it that way.
If you’re interested in reading more about the film’s social commentary check out this great article from Vox:
Here we have a true Halloween classic: Hocus Pocus (1993) directed by Kenny Ortega, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Thora Birch.
After 300 years of slumber, three sister witches are accidentally resurrected in Salem on Halloween night, and it is up to three kids and their newfound feline friend to put an end to the witches’ reign of terror once and for all.
Critically one might say this movie is not very good, but emotionally… It is everything. A dedicated cast leads to a Halloween romp that promises minimal spooks and a lot of fun.
And when I say dedicated, I mean that Bette Midler has dressed up as her red-headed witch every Halloween since the movie came out.
Now, if horror and Halloween aren’t your thing, then how about a sitcom that revels in the Autumn vibe: Gilmore Girls (2000 — 2007) created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as a wonderful mother-daughter duo.
Thirty-two year old single mom, Lorelai, lives with her teenage daughter Rory in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, with crazy neighbors and many ups and downs.
“This gives me such small-town in New England fall vibes. Even though it happens in every season, I most connect it with fall,” is what our recommender had to say about it.
If this sounds like the show for you, you can watch all 153 episodes, including the four-episode reboot, on Netflix.
Looking for something that says zombie but also says Korean horror, poignant familial relations, great characters, and fun dramatic sequences? Then the movie you’re looking for is Train to Busan (2016) directed by Yeon Sang-ho.
Martial law is declared when a mysterious viral outbreak pushes Korea into a state of emergency. Those on an express train to Busan, a city that has successfully fended off the viral outbreak, must fight for their own survival…
Another one of my recommendations (sorry not sorry), I thought it pertinent that if I was going to recommend the zombie movie that started it all, I branch out to this thrilling and heart-warming ride.
Much closer to a popcorn-flick than Night of the Living Dead, the 2h1 runtime of Train to Busan involves a lot more blood, while still promising a certain degree of social commentary. Similar to Snowpiercer (2013, Bong Joon-ho), the train compartments are able to act as class levels, making it easy to work with topics such as corporate greed and social responsibility.
From Robert Eggers, director of horror sensation The Witch (2015), comes The Lighthouse (2019), starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, a Shakesperian tale of men, mermaids, and madness.
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
“The way The Lighthouse explores isolation is what made me love it. I try and put myself in their shoes and wonder if I could survive,” is what one student had to say, and that isolation is felt very keenly in this film. It’s hard not to get swept up by its strangely erotic monochrome style.
The Lighthouse is available to stream on Prime Video.
Not interested in one-off horror hits, but rather looking for a terrifying series that you can binge all night long? Then perhaps you should try The Haunting of Hill House (2018) written by Shirley Jackson and all ten episodes available on Netflix.
The Crains, a fractured family, confront haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
“So scary and yet I really want to re-watch it” is what our recommender says, and that seems very telling. Imagine watching something and thinking “wow I’m absolutely terrified, my blood has run cold,” and then deciding you’re going to sit down and watch it all over again. Well, then it must be pretty good.
A Korean horror film with a lot of gore, Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw the Devil (2010) is a bloody and fantastic mess. Starring Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik, the latter may be recognized as the famous Oh Dae-su from Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (2003).
Kim Soo-hyeon is a trained secret agent who will stop at nothing to get his revenge. Kyung-chul is a psychopath who cares about nothing outside of his own twisted desires. The two circle each other in a game of cat and mouse — the question being which one of them is the cat, and which one of them is the mouse?
The last of my personal recommendations for this blog post, I Saw the Devil has a killer score and beautiful shot compositions which meld seamlessly and poetically into the violent action.
I first watched I Saw the Devil on Netflix, but it has since disappeared. It’s now available to stream on hoopla or rent on Flix Fling.
The score was composed by Mowg, who also scored Burning (2018, Lee Chang-dong), and it’s an eerie yet beautiful album.
If you’re interested you can find the original soundtrack on Spotify: here.
Last on the list we have Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) directed by Hayao Miyazaki. With fluid and gorgeous animation befitting the famous studio, Kiki’s Delivery Service is an adorable animation that feels right at home during the October season.
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
At 1h43 minutes, this is a perfect comfort film. Like all the other Ghibli movies, Kiki’s is available to stream on Netflix. You can also buy it on iMovie or the Google Play store.
What I wouldn’t give to be a little black cat on the front of my witch owner’s broomstick as she delivers packages to adorable townsfolk.
And that concludes CU Film’s October rec list. All the film synopses were taken from Letterboxd, except for I Saw the Devil, which I wrote. Many thanks to my fellow Carleton students for providing the different films on this list.
Is there a movie, short film, anime, or series that you’re really loving lately? Drop a comment below or direct message @mycufilm on Twitter/Instagram for it to appear in November’s rec list. Next month there will be no theme, but we’re always looking for underappreciated, unique, and/or diverse recommendations. Have a female-directed zombie flick? An amazing BIPOC animation? Something that was written by the LGBTQ+ community? An enthralling Arabic documentary? Let us know for next month!
This blog post was written by Lily Inskip-Shesnicky, a third-year film studies student at Carleton University, and the CU Film social media manager.
