Turn down the lights, close the curtains, and take a ride to the dark side with one of these arthouse horrors
Sure, there are some mainstream classics that are always going to be a winner for Halloween viewing. Stephen King’s canon alone could fill a whole day of horror-screening. But why not try a change of pace with an alternative arthouse piece of cinema that will get your heart racing and mind thinking.
RAW (2016)
This film was the breakout horror of last year, inspiring a number of walkouts from screenings because of its intense gore. Raw tells the story of a freshman girl Justine (Garance Marillier) forced to eat offal as part of a hazing ritual at college, even though she was raised as a strict vegetarian. After which she gets a taste for raw meat and turns to cannibalism in a bloody and stomach-churning journey to self-discovery. Although the film is a gore-fest, it’s a lot more than just that. Raw explores the psyche of a woman desperately trying to fit in and find her own identity. But perhaps cannibalism isn’t the best way to make new friends.
THE BABADOOK (2014)
When a newly widowed single mother Amelia (Essie Davis) becomes concerned about her son’s intense fears of monsters, she believes the creatures haunting his mind are purely fictional. But, like with any great horror movie, she's wrong. It’s only when The Babadook, a storybook creature that hides in the dark corners of their home, starts to terrorise Amelia too that she tries everything in her power to destroy it. This Australian film was a smash at 2014 Sundance Film Festival and its creepy monster has become an unlikely icon of the gay community.
UNDER THE SHADOW (2016)
Critics went mad for Under the Shadow when it was released last year, and Mark Kermode even named it his favourite film of 2016. Based in war-torn Tehran in the 1980s, this Persian-language cinematic triumph tells the story of a mother and daughter navigating both the true evils of war at the end of the revolution, and spiritual evils haunting their home. Under the Shadow isn’t just aimed at horror fans, it’s a film worthy of a watch by just about anyone.
IT FOLLOWS (2015)
The premise may sound quite silly, but It Follows is a nightmarish tale of losing grip on reality. Teen Jay (Maika Monroe) sleeps with her new boyfriend, Hugh (Jake Weary), and then learns she is the latest recipient of a fatal curse that is passed from victim to victim via sexual intercourse. She begins to have strange visions and is troubled by the constant feeling that someone - or something - is following her. Obviously, at first her friends don’t believe her. But when they too start seeing phantom assassins out to get Jay, they band together to try and stop them.
THE WITCH (2015)
Set in New England, USA, in the 1600s, devout Christians William (Ralph Ineson) and Katherine (Kate Dickie) live with their four children on the edge of wilderness when their youngest son goes missing. After his disappearance, the family’s crops begin to decay and die as well. Oldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) is blamed for the series of misfortunes, leading the family to turn on each other in grim and devastating fashion. The Witch is shot on the rarely used 1:66:1 aspect ratio to give it a more timeless aesthetic.