With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to indulge in activities such as carving pumpkins, decorating the house, buying a spook-tastic costume, applying ghoulish make-up and either heading out trick-or-treating, or enjoying the spooky day with friends and family.
But what does this day hold for those who have outgrown trick-or-treating? A Movie of course!
Nothing compares to watching a scary movie on this spooky day, for an altogether more bizarre indulgence. COVID-19 may have dominated us throughout most of 2020, but old traditions die hard, and there’s no better way than watching a movie to distract your mind from the stresses relating to the pandemic, and transport you to a world where the horrifying stuff isn’t actually real.
We at Motivate Val Morgan have got your spooky movie night covered with a roundup of some ‘all-time favorite’ monstrous, scary, truly freaky and the not so creepy magical kids flicks to get you in the spirit of Halloween this year.
The Witches:
An adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches is dark fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, featuring Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci. Set in 1960s Alabama, the film follows an orphaned young boy stumbles across a conference of witches, while staying with his grandmother at a hotel, and gets transformed into a mouse by the Grand High Witch.
The Witches releases in cinemas across the middle East on 29 October 2020.
In addition to The Witches, here are 13 categories of scary movies to watch on-demand, some of which will trigger self-induced nightmares.
1. Monster Movies
One of the oldest forms of horror cinema, monster movies and their dreaded villains come in all shapes. Whether they’re aliens, ghouls or demons, monsters can represent a manifestation of our own fears. Such movies are often portrayed in a way wherein humans interfere with nature, ultimately leading to a monster attack.
A Quite Place
Bird Box
2. Deformed Humans
These are the kind of films where the antagonist is a deformed human, often seen wearing a mask following a horrifying accident.
Nightmare on Elm Street
Friday the 13th
3. Inanimate Objects
This horror category has a long history of haunted/ possessed inanimate objects that inspire guffaws instead of screams. Some of them are the work of a ghost, while some are just plain inexplicable. Yet they all have one thing in common: they’re kind of baffling.
Annabelle
Poltergeist
4. Vampire
Vampires exist in the folklore of almost every society on earth. Therefore, it’s only natural that it’d be a story expressed in nearly every language and thus, films around the world.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Van Helsing
5. Found Footage
These are horror films which capture events on screen and are typically seen through the camera of the characters involved in real-time. Also usually involves an investigation after a video or audio footage that is found to discover instances of what actually happened.
Paranormal Activity
The Cloverfield Paradox
6. Schlock
Widely known as ‘Gore’ or ‘Splatter’ films, these films are light on character and plot and heavy on fake blood and guts. Mostly low on story and high on shock value.
Evil Dead
Saw
7. Supernatural
The widely popular horror category of all times, supernatural occurrences often include ghosts, spirits and demons. Many supernatural horror films have elements of religion relating to themes such as afterlife, the Devil, and demonic possession.
The Conjuring
The Exorcist
8. Curse
Films of this type are often cautionary tales, where a character unleashes a curse unknowingly or by failing to listen to a warning. While non-believers would think these as coincidences or publicity stunts in a movie setup, some of these are just too freaky to ignore.
The Curse
The Grudge
9. Serial Killer
A booming horror category! Serial killer movies are classic horror movies with plenty of incredible, terrifying and mind-boggling murders.
Silence of The Lambs
Malevolence 2
10. Zombie
Who doesn’t enjoy the living dead, the ones that are driven by hunger of human flesh, and are nearly impossible to put down permanently?
World War Z
Train to Busan
11. Comedy
Light hearted films with a mix of elements – they are both funny and scary, catering to a wide audience. No wonder these films have long been one of the most popular genres.
Scary Movie
Shaun of the Dead
12. Apocalypse
End of the world movies combine a rush of adrenaline with dread – for the ones that fancy pulse-quickening suspense.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Legion
13. Animated
Lastly, if you are bored of the same old horror movies making the rounds every Halloween, animated movies offer something different for everyone to look forward to.
SCOOB!
The Addams Family
Team Motivate Val Morgan WITCHES you a SPINE-TINGLING Halloween!
Sources: Collider, Wikipedia, Premium Beat and ScriptFirm
Scary movie junkies, rejoice! The year ahead is packed with fright fests that will have you peeking over your shoulder and checking to make sure all the doors are locked — as all good horror movies should.
From modern adaptations of literary classics – Hansel and Gretel and The Turn of the Screw, to new installments in fan-favorite franchises – The Grudge and The Conjuring, and intriguing original tales, the slate of upcoming horror movies offers something for fear seekers from all walks of life.
Here’s a list of the most anticipated upcoming horror movies with release dates set over the course of next year:
The Grudge (January 02, 2020)
Andrea Riseborough will star in this reboot of The Grudge franchise, releasing early next year as a detective investigating the case of a young mother who murdered her entire family.
She later discovers that the mother was influenced by an angry ghost seeking revenge, as is the M.O. of the franchise. Nicolas Pesce, who recently made his directorial debut with the black-and-white horror film The Eyes of My Mother (2016) has been hired to direct the movie as well as rework a draft of the script that the studio has been working from.
Underwater (January 09, 2020)
Underwater hasn’t had the easiest road to theaters. Shot back in the spring of 2017, it’ll be almost three years later when the Kristen Stewart-fronted horror film makes its way into theaters on January 9th, 2020.
The movie follows a crew of underwater researchers who must scramble to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory. Trapped and running out of oxygen, they have to navigate through two miles in the dangerous depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety. Think of it as Armageddon (1998) meets The Abyss (1989).
The film is written and directed by William Eubank who also directed The Signal (2014). It stars Kristen Stewart as Norah Price, Jessica Henwick as Emily, T.J. Miller as Paul, Vincent Cassel as the Captain, and John Gallagher Jr.
The Turning (January 23, 2020)
Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw is one of the most popular and influential ghost stories ever written, and it’s been adapted for the screen numerous times. In 2020, the classic tale will get a new, modern take from the director of The Runaways (2010) – Floria Sigismondi with The Turning.
This version of the story will be set in modern Maine, but will still tell the story of a governess (Mackenzie Davis) tasked with caring for two young children (Finn Wolfhard and Brooklynn Prince) after the deaths of their parents. As she settles in for the job, she begins to suspect the mysterious estate where the family is living may be harboring a number of dark secrets, and may in fact be haunted.
Gretel & Hansel (January 30, 2020)
Starring IT franchise alum Sophia Lillis as Gretel and Silent Hill‘s Alice Krige as the child-eating witch, this twisted retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm story is rife with established horror talent. Journey into the dark wood alongside director Osgood Perkins – I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) for a flipped take on the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale in which Gretel takes the lead and there’s isn’t a gingerbread house in sight.
Fantasy Island (February 13, 2020)
Based on the classic 1970s TV series, Fantasy Island will rely on the same basic premise as the show: People from all over the world travel to a mysterious island where guests can live out their wildest fantasies — for a price. Except this time, there will also be a killer on the loose. Michael Peña will star as the island’s enigmatic host Mr. Roarke, a role originated by Ricardo Montalban.
The Invisible Man (February 27, 2020)
This new take on H.G. Wells’ classic novel will take a curious approach to the source material, which follows Elisabeth Moss as a woman who rebuilds her life after her invisible ex-boyfriend commits suicide, before discovering that her partner might not be dead. It’s a fresh take on the popular story, and one that hopefully provides an interesting spin on the familiar story. It’s also benefitted by being Leigh Whannell’s follow-up to his exceptional sophomore feature, last year’s Upgrade.
A Quiet Place: Part II (March 19, 2020)
After the first film exceeded expectations at the box office, A Quiet Place (2018) screenwriters and director John Krasinski decided to return to the silent but deadly world.
Krasinski is back to direct and Emily Blunt is also returning to reprise her role as Evelyn Abbott, a mother trying to protect her family in a world overrun by large creatures with hypersensitive hearing.
Others reportedly joining the cast include Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou.
The New Mutants (March 19, 2020)
This long-delayed, horror-centric X-Men spin-off has undergone extensive reshoots — reportedly to at least somewhat better integrate it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe — since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in March 2019. But its underlying storyline has seemingly stayed the same. The film, starring Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy and Antonio Banderas, centers on a group of young mutants who are being held against their will inside a secret facility that’s running horrific tests on them.
Candyman (June 11, 2020)
Jordan Peele, the mastermind behind Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) continues his foray into the world of horror with a “spiritual sequel” to Bernard Rose’s 1992 cult classic Candyman, which explores issues of race and class in America. The original movie stars Tony Todd as the titular hook-handed bogeyman, who, according to urban legend, is the undead son of a slave who has haunted Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project since being lynched for having a love affair with a white woman in the late 1800s.
This time around, Todd will return alongside Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who, despite reports to the contrary, director Nia DaCosta – Little Woods (2018) says isn’t taking over Todd’s original role.
The reboot was co-written by Peele and Win Rosenfeld, whose joint production company, Monkeypaw Productions, is producing alongside MGM Pictures.
The Purge (July 09, 2020)
Prepare yourself for yet another government-sanctioned night of lawless violence in The Purge 5, the fifth installment in the horror franchise set in a near-future United States where any and all crime is legal for one 12-hour period per year.
It’s still unclear whether the Everado Gout-directed Purge 5 will be another prequel like 2018’s The First Purge, or explore the fallout from the election in 2016’s The Purge: Election Year.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (September 10, 2020)
The third official installment of The Conjuring series and the eighth movie in the Conjuring universe won’t have series architect James Wan in the director’s chair. Those duties are being handled by Michael Chaves, the director of The Curse of La Llorona (2019).
The movie stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are reprising their roles as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The plot centers around the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who stabbed his landlord to death in the middle of a drunken struggle and claimed in court that he was possessed by a demon.
*Please Note – Movies release dates are subject to change
Which horror movies are you most looking forward to watch in the coming year?
Sources: Looper and Screenrant
