Raise your hand if you recognize that horror movies or television series are not just for Halloween.
Granted, I have a rule in my household that the kids know all too well. During October, we ONLY watch Halloween-themed or spooky movies and shows. Sometimes I even start in September!
Now there are different kinds of horror movies, and some of them don’t phase me at all, while others will surely keep me up at night. I’m usually not bothered when it comes to anything about ghosts or paranormal activity. When it comes to gore, blood and guts, I’m usually not bothered BUT I don’t like it. If it’s a well-written horror movie, it won’t need all that. Now, the movies that keep me up at night, those are going to be psychological thrillers. Can we consider them horror? For me, they certainly are because they horrify me. And so, I have determined that the horror genre is really going to be different for each viewer.
So, I love Stranger Things, I love Ghostbusters (all of them), Poltergeist and of course Halloween. With the latter being the one that freaks me out the most because I spent many a night babysitting in unfamiliar houses and being hyper-aware of every little sound. Poltergeist and Ghostbusters are not scary, they are spooky and now that I’m in my 40s, they bring me a bit of nostalgia which I love.
Here are quick snippets about a movie and a TV series I enjoyed last Fall. I’m looking forward to streaming something new and thrilled this coming Fall.
NOPE
One of the more recent spine-chilling movies for me is Nope. Nope is a 2022 American science fiction horror film written, directed, and produced by Jordan Peele, under his and Ian Cooper’s Monkeypaw Productions. The film premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on July 18, 2022, and was theatrically released by Universal Pictures in the United States on July 22, 2022.
Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as horse-wrangling siblings attempting to capture evidence of an unidentified flying object in Agua Dulce, California. The object sadly kills their father, which means they have a personal reason for wanting to get to the bottom of it. Especially after strange things happen to the remaining family members and their horses. Beyond the obvious, the film also carries several messages about the price of fame and the dangers of chasing it.
The Watcher
This series is based on a true story, so it instantly piqued my interest. “The Watcher” is an American mystery thriller television series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. It premiered on October 13, 2022, loosely based on a 2018 article by Reeves Wiedeman for New York magazine’s website, “The Cut.”
The series is based on a true story that occurred in 2014 when Derek and Maria Broaddus purchased their dream home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, and received creepy letters from an unknown stalker who called themselves “The Watcher.” Netflix made some changes, of course, and not all of their characters actually existed. Names have also been changed, so the married couple in the show are Nora and Dean Brannock. They move into their dream home in a fictionalized version of Westfield, New Jersey, and are harassed by creepy letters signed by a stalker who goes by the pseudonym “The Watcher.”
In middle school, I wrote a short story called “The Watcher in the Woods.” I remember feeling super creeped out one day after taking a walk near my house. It felt like someone was watching me from inside the wood. So, I sat at my doc processor and got to typing. I’ll have to see if I can find that story somewhere so I can share it here.
But I digress.
I will say that I do not like how the TV series ended. I could have done without the last 15 minutes really. Especially due to a bit of animal cruelty that felt completely unnecessary.
The identity of “The Watcher” remains unknown, and the case remains unsolved to this day.
If you have watched or plan to watch either of these, let me know what you think in the comments below.
