What’s better than one post about spooky season movie recommendations? Two posts about spooky season movie recommendations and because the moment I published part one I realised some worthy contenders were left off that list… so let’s dive in…

Final Destination

I regret forgetting to include this film in part 1 and arguably Final Destination has one of the most original premises there is in horror. In Final Destination there is no murderer running around yielding a knife or wearing a mask, there’s no ancient curse or ghostly apparitions. The killer in Final Destination is real. That killer isn’t a character but the inevitability of death and the plan it has for you. Just what happens if somehow you skip that plan? Well that’s what this film is about in all of it’s early 2000’s glory but even today this one holds up quite well. I’ll happily admit the premonition part of Final Destination shaped my work – the MC dreams his death and so therefore avoids it – this inspired my own story telling as the MC from my debut novel ‘Open Evening’ experiences a similar vision.

Final Destination and the tone it captures is something that has a place in my heart. Yes it’s a little absurd but the concept is both terrifying and wholly original. Those early 2000’s horror flicks make for some great viewing, trust me and this one is perfect for spooky season.

Scary Movie

Okay now before you leave I know that Scary Movie is predominantly a comedy but it’s a genius comedy that still holds up rather well-ish today. Those Wayans brothers know how to make a comedy and consider the film a spoof/ meshing of ‘Scream’, ‘I know what you did last summer’ and the plethora of other teen thrillers of the time. The cast is stellar with many familiar faces and some moving onto bigger better heights thereafter (Anna Farris) so if you want something that’ll make you laugh out loud then try Scary Movie – they don’t make them like this any more. Plus even though it’s mainly comedy there are some spooky bits also…

Zodiac

This film ‘effed my shizzle’ up and by that I mean why the hell hadn’t I discovered it beforehand? Well apparently this one released in the mid 2000’s and seemingly passed everyone by. Why? I do not know but the film which is a factual re-telling of how they ‘caught’ the Zodiac killer (google it) is incredibly intricate, chilling and gripping. It focuses on the investigation and one man who moves up from newspaper cartoonist to full on book writer as he deciphers the Zodiac killer’s coding to pretty much solve the case. It’s quite a long watch but well worth it! And did I mention it’s kind of chilling also!

Devil’s Pass

Now some of you may know I love a conspiracy theory, preferably the unsolved one’s and Devil’s Pass is a kind of found footage film that starts off rather well – probably why I’ve included it. Back in the early 1950’s a group nine people skiing out in the remote Russian mountains go missing and their remains are found in rather harrowing circumstances – that’s the true story part. This film does an incredible job of documenting what is now known as the ‘Dylatov Pass’ and those making the film decide to take a trip to the incident site through unpredictable cold weather to find out what happens. I mean would you bother? Predictably things start to go ‘wrong’ and well the film then unfolds. The truth is, I thought the ending to this film was dog shit, but the first three quarters pulled me in and so therefore it’s worth a look. If not just google Dylatov Pass Incident and thank me later.

It Chapter 1 (2017)

Although some will argue this film isn’t a full on horror and more of an extended version of the Goonies and partially I would agree it still makes for some incredible spooky season viewing. I love IT part 1 because of the story it tells between the ‘Loser’s club’ – a group of kids who aren’t popular and don’t have a lot going for them but they find each other. Of course there’s a demon clown running around killing kids also not to mention the wonderful photography and setting of Maine – Stephen King really does know what he’s doing! Although the running time is longer, it has nothing on the book so go check it out. Fun fact: I saw this film 3 times in the cinema. That’ll tell you how good I think it is…

The Mummy

Brendan Fraser is probably a name you haven’t heard of or for at least a very long time and I believe this film might be his best one. The truth is I saw this when I was 10 years old in the cinema and it’s rated in the UK at 12. Somehow I got in with my parents and brother, not only did this film partially terrify me but it also captivated me with gripping action, wonderful characters and a pretty well rounded story. The Mummy strikes the balance between thrilling and chilling with an ancient curse, gun toting action, archaeology adventure and Rachel Weisz. It has a cinematic charm paired with a wonderful musical score that I still listen to today – yeah I have a thing about film music… Trust me this one is perfect for Spooky season!

Well thanks for joining me for another Spooky Season Movie Recommendation post. You know at the very end of the month on Halloween you can expect to see my paranormal romance available for Free!