It's that time of the year once more -- falling leaves are drifting through the cold air, and the nights grow longer and darker -- perfect conditions to indulge in some Horror entertainment. Halloween, and the weeks before and afterwards, seem like the best time of the year for fans of the genre. It's kind of like Christmas, just with more terror and violence. ( Well, depending on your relatives and friends, maybe it -is- just like a Christmas party. )

Anyhow, for a few years now, I've had this tradition to go on a Horror binge during October, trying to watch or play something Horror themed each night. I've already watched a few films/series, and finished a few games this month, and felt like sharing my thoughts about some of them. Currently my plan for this thread is to write a little mini review every other day or so, for some of the things I've watched. However, I know I'm not the only Horror fan around here, so I was hoping some of you would like to contribute.

Do you have any favorite Horror games, especially any recent ones? Any great new films? Or do you perhaps have any all-time favorites, which you like to watch/play every year? Or how about some Horror themed music? ( I'm thinking bands like The Misfits here -- Justin Bieber doesn't count. )

Here's hoping we can get a nice discussion going, exchange some opinions and recommendations, and maybe discover some releases we didn't even know about! I'm also thinking about giving away a Horror game or two, but I'll save that for later this month.

Have fun and be nice to each other! Oh, and ignore those bodies over there in the corner. They're just... sleeping. Yes.

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Addition: For those of you too afraid to play Horror games ( *insert chicken noises here* ) here are some recommendations of non-Horror Autumn themed games:

Night in the Woods - Mostly a slice of life story, with simple, exploration based gameplay. Great autumn atmosphere, with a certain melancholy and beauty. Memorable characters and storytelling, unique art style, funny, thought-provoking and occasionally also a little creepy, but not really a Horror game. ( DRM-free/ available here on GOG )

Costume Quest - A Halloween themed game, but in a very cute and family-friendly style. I remember I was a bit disappointed about the lack of voice acting, and as with most J-RPG style games the fights may feel repetitive after a while. Still a fun game overall, if you'd like to enjoy some childhood nostalgia, or if you have kids of your own you can share it with. ( DRM-free/ available here on GOG )

I'll try to add some more games to this list -- Feel free to make suggestions!

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Update: I started a second thread, specifically for sharing some real life creepy stories ( real or made up ), and I'm giving away a copy of Darkwood for the best story. You can check it out here: https://www.gog.com/forum/general/spooky_fireside_stories

I'm usually not one for horrors, but I'll be having a horror movie week ending on Halloween, as I do every year. I consider it a great opportunity to watch the movies I'd usually avoid. That said there are some horror's I love, like most of Carpeneter's stuff, Evil Dead II, Fright Night or Nosferatu the Vampyre... Actually, now that I think of it there's quite a lot of horror's I like, I just have a hard time making myself watch them the first time around :D

I definately don't like horror games though. That's just no fun to me at all. Hiding, looking over my shoulder, jumping at every noise... the closest game to a horror I ever truly enjoyed would probably be Alan Wake.

Maybe you just need to find the right sub-genres of Horror which you find enjoyable. There are certain types of Horror games and films which I don't enjoy either, because they're boring to me, or just unpleasant or annoying in some way. I guess I'll get more into that, once I post those short reviews of some of the things I've watched/played.

I see you're primarily a fan of the classics. I mostly watch Horror films from the 80s as well. Do you have any favorites among modern Horror films?

For one thing, I hate gore and jump scares. It has to be about the mood, tension and mystery, not buckets of blood or loud noises. One or two jump scares are ok, but only if they're earned (The Woman in Black version from 1989 has one of the best, earned jump scares I remember).

And on the other hand, a lot of horrors that people consider scary, I find just plain silly. This may sound weird, but I consider The Exorcist to be downright hilarious. It's just so goofy, with the little girl with a spinning head and a silly voice... I don't know, maybe I'm just weird, but I watched the whole thing like it was a comedy. I even found some moments in the Omen kinda funny.

Oh, and I hate zombies. If it's about zombies, then I just don't care. And found footage. I can't stand it. It's unwatchable and usually nonsensical. A few (though I have not seen many). There's a spanish movie The Orphanage which I remember was really good, and scary as hell. Cronos and The Devil's Spine by Guillermo del Toro were also great (Pan's Labirynth was even better, but I don't consider it a horror). I really liked 1408 based on the Stephen King short story, it was exactly the kind of "mood & mystery" horror I like. The new It was ok, although it had too many jump scares for my liking, and at times did get almost comedy- level silly. I guess I like it, but think of it more as a mystery/adventure type thing, like a dark version of Goonies, rather than as a horror.

I'm not a fan of the Horror genre but I do like some movies, though I'm not sure if all fit this category. They Live (1988), 28 Days Later (2002), 28 Weeks Later (2007), Ghosts of Mars (2001), Resident Evil (2002) (just the 1st one).

Probably there are a few others that now I forget about. But my favourite ones are The Mist (2007), Sinister (2012) (not Sinister 2) and Dawn of the Dead (2004).

I plan to see those "The Conjuring" that I keep hearing about, maybe they are that good, but I doubt it - we'll see.

As for games, I haven't played many, but Clive Barker's Undying is very good and Painkiller, if it's considered horror. The Suffering and Dead Space are okay. Also F.E.A.R. and its expansions are dear to me, but I don't see them as horror.

As a connoisseur of all things horrific, I like to think there's different horror genres within the horror genre.

For example there's gory (Saw), horrific (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Devils Rejects), scary (Paranormal Activity), comedy (Return of the Living Dead, Drag Me To Hell), real horror (Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer), sadistic (Hannibal), nauseating (The Girl Next Door, Human Centipede, I Spit on your Grave), macabre (The Shinning), classic (Bram Stoker's Dracula), psychological (The Cell, Hellraiser 1)

It depends on what your into. :D

I own the first two Human Centipede movies on DVD. :P I also have TCM, Devils Rejects, The Shining, and Hellraiser.

The only beef I will make with your list is Dracula. It's a piece of shit and more important, Coppola named it "Bram Stoker's Dracula" but anyone who has read the book knows the only thing it has in common with the book is the fucking title. :P

Other good titles from my DVD Collection: "28 Days Later", "28 Weeks Later", "Let The Right One In", "The Exorcist", "Faces of Death", "Rosemary's Baby", "Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1978)", the original "Dawn of the Dead", and of course the move widely accepted as the greatest horror film of all time, the original 1968 "Night of the Living Dead".

I take beef with not liking Dracula. :p Wonderful visuals, epic performance by Gary Oldman.

Does Alien Isolation count? I'm not typically one for horror games/movies because they don't do anything for me. *shrug*

I assume you're talking about the original, and not the remake. If so, what's you're opinion on the remake. Because I found it utterly worthless. I can't even remember anything about it, other than the fact that I hate it. Funnily, I'm making an effort to convince my brother to spend Halloween together and play Alien Isolation. Actually he would do the playing and I would do the cowering. For those interested, the complete collection is 80% off on the Humble Bundle Store. Yes... it's STEAM only, but what can you do... I'd rather spend some time with my brother playing on STEAM, than apart. He is extremely busy, but maybe he'll fall for it, seeing how he's a fanatic about Alien.

This. And it's still closer to the book than most of cinematic Draculas, including, unfortunately, the much praised Christopher Lee version.

My opinion on the remake is that I don't even want to see it :P Hell, I don't even want to see the sequel, as it sounds rather insulting (the main character no longer belives in vampires?! Amy isn't even in it? WTF)

I think both Fright Nights have their good points, the new one grew on me once I stopped comparing it to the classic Fright Night. It's quite a decent, well produced little horror movie.

As for videogames I would recommend taking a trip to Silent Hill.

Wishes for children to be murdered, wonders why his posts get removed. :P

But seriously? What kind of an ass clown hates Halloween!? XD I can't even begin to fathom that. I stand a better chance of understanding theoretical physics than I do understanding someone hating Halloween. If you don't like it, don't want to celebrate it, fine I'm cool with that, but to actually hate it, so much so that you take the time and effort to rally against it.

It's ponderous.

Thanks to everyone who contributed something to the thread so far -- I'll reply to specific posts later!

Here's my first little review, of a film I just watched last night. I'll try to avoid any specific plot spoilers in my reviews, but be warned that follow-up posts may contain spoilers. I'll add a 10 point scale rating to each review, and I'll try to keep it fair and consider the good and bad aspects of each film/game. That said, the score primarily reflects how much I personally enjoyed the experience overall, so your own mileage may vary.

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-- Horror Hotel -- ( aka The City of the Dead; 1960; featuring Christopher Lee )

To learn more about the history of witchcraft, a female student travels to a small remote village in Massachusetts. ( Alone. At night. Because, what could ever go wrong? )

To get straight to the point, I didn't care much for it. Overall, it felt like a poor man's version of "The Wicker Man*", since they share a very similar theme and plot. Except, unlike The Wicker Man, the pacing in this one is all over the place. This may have been partially a budget issue, but they don't take the time to explore the village, or flesh out some of the characters. Instead of a gradual build-up, there is a rather dramatic scene early on ( too early ), which arguably reveals too much and destroys any sense of mystery. The portrayal of the villains also seems rather flat and cheesy, at least from a modern point of view ( have to remember that the film is almost 60 years old, and audiences back then probably perceived things differently ). There's one more thing that distinguishes this film from The Wicker Man -- While the latter had a memorable and rather dark ending, the "climax" of Horror Hotel seems ridiculous.

For what it's worth, I think the acting performances were decent, and I liked the atmosphere in the village. ( Despite the cliché fog and perpetual night. ) It's a shame they didn't take more time to explore the village, during the earlier parts of the film. Overall I'd rate it at 5/10, and can't really recommend it, except perhaps to hardcore Christopher Lee fans ( but even his role is somewhat flat and disappointing in this one ). I would have given it a slightly higher score, if it wasn't for the ending.

( * And yes, I'm talking about the original, 1973 version of The Wicker Man. It's sad that I even have to add this for clarification, but apparently today's film and game industry isn't capable of accomplishing much, other than sub-par, uninspired remakes, often released under the same title as the original version. )


Well, um... Thanks for sharing your feelings with the rest of us. Now shoo~

Hey, at least I did recommend you a movie as well ("Dead Silence"). You can watch it, it's scary!
Halloween is cultural imperialism. I don't care if it's "celebrated" in the US, but it has no place in the rest of the world.