My approach to my October horror viewing was slightly different this year than
last. As you no doubt recall, last year I spent the first half of the month
only watching films I hadn’t seen before and the second half only watching
films I had seen before. This time around I decided to go back and forth
between the two—one day a new flick for me, the next an oldy but goody. But the
big wrinkle in the plan this time around is that for the ones I’d seen before I
decided to stick to films from the 1980s (with a couple of notable exceptions)
since that was the greatest decade for the genre. I know the approach is
revolutionary, but somebody had to do it.
Also new this year is my approach to this blog post. Last year I said I wasn’t
going to comment on each film because that would be tedious, but this year I’ve
decided to be tedious. Don’t worry, for most flicks I’m only going to write a
couple of lines, so it shouldn’t throw you too far off your schedule.
And with that, let’s walk through my October 2026 horror festival day by day…
10/1/26: The Thing (1982)
– John Carpenter’s classic remake of a 1950s classic sci-fi flick. My dad took
me to see it in the theater when it first came out. He thought it was the most
disgusting thing he’d ever seen, and I was completely enthralled. (Seen before)
10/2/26: Gothika (2003) –
Interesting premise in which Halle Berry plays a psychiatrist who wakes up in
an asylum, but the plot gets increasingly convoluted, so despite some decently
creepy moments, I doubt I would ever bother watching it again. (New for me)
10/3/26: Videodrome (1983) – David
Cronenberg, one of my favorite horror directors, was a pioneer in the “body
horror” genre and this film is a flagship of that genre. Watch as James Woods’
quest to find the most depraved television programming for his network,
eventually leads to his body transforming in such a way that he can insert
videotapes into his torso. Yes, it’s an odd film, but what Cronenberg film
isn’t? (Seen before)
10/4/26: The Shallows (2016) – This film, in which Blake Lively plays a
young woman who goes surfing on a remote beach in Mexico, only to become
trapped on a rock a few hundred feet from shore while a shark circles her, is
very tense and poignant and I liked it way more than I expected. (New for me)
10/5/26: An American Werewolf in London (1981) – Want some comedy
sprinkled throughout your horror flick? Then this is the movie for you! You’ll
laugh, you’ll scream, you’ll leave with a newfound respect for the Credence
song “Bad Moon Rising.” (Seen before)
10/6/26: Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) – Considered one of the worst
films ever made, I have been meaning to get around to watching this for years
and I finally got to it this month. Oh boy, was I not disappointed! It is far
and away my new favorite “so bad it’s good” movie. From the scenes where Manos
is walking with arms outstretched so you can see the giant red hands painted on
his black cape, to the catfights his eight wives keep on having on the ground
around a campfire, to watching Torgo, the incoherent henchman who seems to have
pillows stuffed down each pant leg, clumsily walk from point A to point B,
there is no moment of this train wreck that is not unintentionally
entertaining. So amusing was it to me, I actually rewatched the last 20 minutes
or so because I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. (New for me)
10/7/26: Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – I know what you’re thinking:
“This is not a horror movie.” And you’d be absolutely right. But on this
particular day, my 17-year-old son had his wisdom teeth removed and we were
told to have him stay out in the living room so we can keep an eye on him. Given
his pain, I let him pick what we watched, and this is what we landed on. So,
while Avengers: Infinity War is not a horror movie, there was blood
coming out of my son’s mouth the entire time we were watching, so at least I
did get to see some gore. (Seen before)
10/8/26: Puppet Master (1989) – While this movie came out almost 40
years ago, I got to see this one in the theater! Every Thursday night, Terror
Trader, a local horror-themed shop, hosts a movie night at Pollack Cinemas. I’d
never seen Puppet Master before, so I thought I’d give it a try. While
not quite on the same level as some of the classic 80s horror flicks, watching
10-inch puppets stalk and kill snobby clairvoyants in an abandoned hotel, is
actually pretty entertaining. (New for me)
10/9/26: The Fly (1986) – Another David Cronenberg film, he took “body
horror” to a new level, as we watch Jeff Goldblum gradually transform from
human to fly over the course of 96 minutes. Probably Cronenberg’s most
commercially successful film, and quite possibly Goldblum’s greatest
performance. (Seen before)
10/10/26: From Hell (2001) – Johnny Depp gives a decent performance as
an opium-addicted detective trying to solve the Jack the Ripper case, but the
pacing is too slow, and the plot unravels a bit in the second half. Maybe I’m
just getting too old and tired, but I found myself nodding off toward the end.
Not awful, but just kind of meh. (New for me)
10/11/26: Fright Night (1985) – Fun movie about a teenager who realizes
that a vampire (Chris Sarandon) has moved in next door to him and he has a hard
time getting others to believe him. He eventually seeks help from an aging
actor (Roddy McDowall) who plays a vampire hunter in the movies. It has been
decades since I last watched this flick and it hasn’t lost its appeal. (Seen
before)
10/12/26: The Devil’s Backbone (2001) – As a big Guillermo del Toro fan,
I had been meaning to check this out for quite some time and I’m very glad I
finally did. Definitely the best of the movies in this month’s “watched for the
first time” category, it tells the tale of a boy placed in a remote orphanage
during the Spanish Civil War. Full of interesting characters and a creepy child
ghost, it gets my horror full seal of approval. (New for me)
10/13/26: The Witches of Eastwick (1987) – More fun than scary, it has
probably been a couple of decades since the last time I watched this. With Jack
Nicholson as the devil (maybe—they never explicitly say that) and Cher, Susan
Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer as friends/witches who become enchanted by his
charm, this star-studded cast is endlessly entertaining. Yet it’s the lesser-known
Veronica Cartwright who gives the best performance in this flick, as a
religious fanatic who instantly recognizes there is something evil lurking in
their small town. (Seen before)
10/14/26: The Rite (2011) – Anthony Hopkins plays an exorcist training a
young priest who is struggling with his faith. The young priest sees evil,
unexplainable things, thus restoring his faith. Meh. (New for me)
10/15/26: Dead Calm (1989) – Very intense slow burn in which Sam Neil
and Nicole Kidman play a married couple on a yacht by themselves in the middle
of the ocean, who come across a shipwreck in which Billy Zane is the lone
survivor. They rescue Billy Zane and you soon find out that was a HUGE mistake.
Heart-pounding thriller gets a big thumbs up from me. (Seen before)
10/16/26: Keeper (2025) – Another tale of a couple going to a secluded
spot but this time in the woods rather than the ocean. The lead actress,
Tatiana Maslany, is very good and there are several genuinely freaky moments,
but the plot gets increasingly thin and unwieldy and it stops just short of me
being able to recommend it. (New for me)
10/17/26: The Shining (1980) – Stanley Kubrick’s lone foray into the
horror genre, he knocks it out of the park as usual. With memorable
performances from both Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall, an incredibly ominous
soundtrack and stunning visuals, it is simply one of the greatest horror films
of all time. I watch it several times a year, so I figured why not throw it
into the October schedule. (Seen before)
10/18/26: Scream of Fear (1961) – A fairly obscure film that borrows
heavily from better flicks like Diaboliques and Gaslight, this
flick was still enjoyable, derivative though it may be. We follow the story of
Penny, a wheelchair bound young heiress who seems to be seeing spectral images
of her estranged father where nobody else sees him. As we begin to question the
motives of pretty much everyone in the film, the plot provides twist after
twist until it comes to a bit of a head-scratching conclusion. Nonetheless, I
give it an “E” for effort and a mild recommendation. (New for me)
10/19/26: Poltergeist (1982) – I don’t know for sure, but I think this
is likely the first horror movie I ever saw in the theater with friends, rather
than with my dad. I was 12 when it came out and it was rated PG, so nothing was
stopping us from seeing this sans parents. Although directed by Tobe Hooper, it
was written and produced by Steven Spielberg, and it has much more of an ET
vibe than a Texas Chainsaw vibe. That said, it is an extremely effective
horror movie with more than its fair share of scares. (Seen before)
10/20/26: Homicidal (1961) – This movie has a really interesting setup
and a plot twist that I did not see coming at the end. But the plot to get us
there is very convoluted and the acting is kind of uneven. Also, the ending
borrows too heavily from another film, which I will not name, as it would give
away the twist. (New for me)
10/21/26: Gerald’s Game (2017) – Based on the Stephen King novel of the
same name, this flick tells the tale of a sex game gone wrong, leading to a
harrowing chain of events for an unhappily married woman. Definitely not one of
the best films based on a King novel, but good enough to recommend. (New for
me)
10/22/26: Child’s Play (1988) – Another one I saw in the theater at
Terror Trader’s Thursday horror movie night. This is probably only the third or
fourth time I’ve seen it, but it somehow gets better with each viewing.
Watching a psychotic, possessed kid’s doll go on a killing spree is always a
blast. (Seen before)
10/23/26: Gremlins (1985) – I didn’t do it intentionally, but as I write
this, I realize that seeing Child’s Play and Gremlins
back-to-back actually makes for a good double feature. One is about a kid’s
birthday gift gone horribly wrong and the other is about a kid’s Christmas gift
gone horribly wrong. Of course, that’s where the similarities end, other than
the fact that they are both incredibly fun to watch. (Seen before)
10/24/26: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) – It’s quite possible that I
saw this as a kid and simply don’t remember since I used to watch Chiller
Theater on Channel 11 with my brothers all the time and this is exactly the
kind of movie they would feature. Starring Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein
and Christopher Lee as the creature, it is an okay enough entry in the
Frankenstein universe, though nowhere near as good as the original or the
recent Guillermo del Toro remake. (New for me…I think)
10/25/26: Day of the Dead (1985) – The third of George Romero’s zombie
flicks, after Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, this
one is not in the same league as its two predecessors. Although there is a bit
of decent zombie action, overall, it’s kind of boring and the acting ain’t
winning any awards. Stick with the first two in this series and save yourself a
couple of hours. (Seen before)
10/26/26: Demons (1985) – I wanted to like this one more than I did but
the main problem was that it is an Italian film that was dubbed and the voice
actors they got, were pretty awful. Okay, I lied, that wasn’t the main problem.
The main problem was that the premise is kind of cool—a bunch of people trapped
in a movie theater are set upon by demons—but I just told you the entire plot.
That’s it. A bunch of people are set upon by demons in a movie theater and
there is nothing more to it than that. It’s just kind of a free for all. But if
no plot with people being attacked by demons is your thing, then this is the
movie for you. (New for me)
10/27/26: The Changeling (1980) – A great under the radar ghost story
starring George C. Scott, my dad took me to see this film when I was a wee lad
of 11, and it freaked me the hell out. I’ve probably seen it at least half a
dozen times since then and, even though I know what’s coming, there are a
couple of scenes that still freak me the hell out. Highly recommend for any
horror fan. (Seen before)
10/28/26: Theater of Blood (1973) – Like The Curse of Frankenstein,
it’s quite possible I saw this as a kid on Chiller Theater and simply don’t
remember. This one is actually a lot of fun and features Vincent Price as a
Shakespearian actor who takes revenge on his critics by killing them in the
ways that people are killed in Shakespeare’s plays, acting out the scene as he
commits the murder. It’s brutal at times (if you’ve read Titus Andronicus
you get my drift) but all done very tongue in cheek. (New for me…I think)
10/29/26: Lifeforce (1985) – Basically a sexy and gory version of Invasion
of the Body Snatchers, this is not the greatest movie in the world, but I
watched it for a very specific reason—to pay tribute to Patrick Stewart, who
passed away earlier that day and has a small but very pivotal part in the film.
Horror was not a genre that Patrick Stewart delved into much (in fact, other
than this, the only horror film he was in was Green Room, which was
actually pretty good, but since it wasn’t from the 80s, I bypassed it) but I
wanted to give the man his due, so I decided to put it on. Stewart is actually
great in his small part, but the movie overall is just about average. (Seen
before)
10/30/26: The Whisper Man (2026) – Meh. A serial killer movie that is
well filmed and has some tense moments but is very derivative of Silence of
the Lambs and a thousand other serial killer films that came before it.
With Robert De Niro as a retired cop who gets drawn back to a case with
similarities to a case he worked decades earlier, the acting is pretty solid,
but the plot asks the audience to suspend their disbelief a bit too much,
particularly in the last 20 minutes or so. (New for me)
10/31/26: Halloween (1978) – While this did not come out in the 80s, it was
so influential that it pretty much established the arc of horror movies for that
decade. And how could I not include this film in October? Made on a shoestring
budget, this film proves that in horror, less is more. The sparse but insistent
score, the shaky handheld camera work, and the smalltown setting all work hand
in hand to make this a horror masterpiece. It’s the film that launched John
Carpenter’s horror career and the perfect way to end this month, since I began
it with a Carpenter flick, as well.
