Did not make the DEADline. What a GRAVE mistake. We achieved 24 films watched in the calendar month of October. That’s good. That’s close. That’s not SCARE-able. We’re almost done with the whole list of 31. Here’s the penultimate batch. (Penultimate batch is fun phrasing. What if it was Ben’s Ultimate Patch, and it was a pumpkin patch? The world really is wonderful.)
21. Companion (2025)
Mark’s rating: 6.5/10
Jeri’s rating: 7/10
Seen Before? Mark: Yes Jeri: Yes
Both stayed awake? Yes
Mark’s review: Pretty good overall. The tone varies a lot. I think it works best when it’s a dark comedy farce. Some nice setups and payoffs. It is not my favorite, but it works.
Jeri’s review: Music choices are appropriate and good. The movie is self-aware and not overly serious. Comedic timing is great. Jack Quaid makes for a good bad guy; he’s just enough of a weenie.
22. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Mark’s rating: 8/10
Jeri’s rating: 8.5/10
Seen Before? Mark: Yes Jeri: No? (Jeri thinks she saw part of it before)
Both stayed awake? Yes
Mark’s review: Easy to see why it spawned a whole genre of horror. Slowly builds the threat until impending doom seems inevitable. The lead actor is great, but with some of the others it is clear they are not professionals. Downer ending, but I’m sure it caught audiences off guard at the time.
Jeri’s review: I found myself invested in the story and the main character. Silence is used for creepiness more than music. Acting was 1968 style, like “Gee willickers!” Nice, straightforward horror movie and I much enjoyed it.
23. The Black Phone (2021)
Mark’s rating: 4/10
Jeri’s rating: 7/10
Seen Before? Mark: No Jeri: No
Both stayed awake? Yes
Mark’s review: I didn’t really like it. The plot wasn’t very engaging to me. A pet peeve of mine is when child characters talk more like adults, and this movie had some of that. The evil guy’s brother seemed like a very out of place comic relief character in a story about child abduction and murder. Why the CGI on the dog?!
Jeri’s review: Not what I was expecting, though I didn’t know much going in. Slightly confusing at points, but it never took me out of the story. I don’t know why the dog was CGI coming down the stairs (possibly some CGI on Ethan Hawke’s face too?) I liked how the phone calls built on each other to come together at the conclusion. Villains masks were great, and Ethan Hawke’s acting with just his eyes was impressive. It’s alright!
24. Poltergeist (1982)
Mark’s rating: 5/10
Jeri’s rating: 5/10
Seen Before? Mark: No Jeri: No
Both stayed awake? Yes
Mark’s review: It’s okay. The feel of it was unusual. The look of the characters and their mannerisms kind of said horror-comedy, but if there were supposed to be jokes I didn’t even detect they were there. Special effects were hit or miss, mostly hit. Maybe a good “family horror” movie to watch with your tween kids. It’s never truly scary but it has some nice scenes. Like I said, it’s okay.
Jeri’s review: The short psychic lady was the only character I liked. Parents and kids were just annoying. Sound didn’t work for me. The portal scene was too loud to hear the dialogue. Timeline of events feels unclear. Acting wasn’t great. I don’t get the hype behind this one.
25. Oculus (2013)
Mark’s rating: 7.5/10
Jeri’s rating: 4/10
Seen Before? Mark: No Jeri: No
Both stayed awake? Yes
Mark’s review: “Oculus”, or “The Evil Mirror That Gaslights People”. Has many scenes that feel straight out of a nightmare, where our characters are confused and misled and they panic because they don’t know what is real. Really effective. Splitting the story between the past and present kept either half from feeling too slow or repetitive. Not a masterpiece, but a solid entry in Flanagan’s filmography.
Jeri’s review: Had high hopes because it was a Mike Flanagan movie. I was disappointed. Story wasn’t interesting, acting was not great. I thought the twists were predictable.
26. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Mark’s rating: 7/10
Jeri’s rating: 7.5/10
Seen Before? Mark: Yes Jeri: Yes
Both stayed awake? Yes
Mark’s review: Had not seen it since ’99/’00 or somewhere there. Knowing the twist does make it kind of interesting, but there’s not much going on plot-wise. Acting is great. Cinematography and technical stuff is adequate. It’s really all built around the twist ending, but it is an all-timer in movie history.
Jeri’s review: Glad it held up to my memory of it. Never drags or rushes the pace. Performances and story are strong. Good moobie if you’re starting to get into horror.
27. Us (2019)
Mark’s rating: 4/10
Jeri’s rating: 6/10
Seen Before? Mark: Yes Jeri: No
Both stayed awake? No (Picked up again next afternoon)
Mark’s review: I remembered this being better. My opinion went down upon rewatch. The internal logic of how the duplicates mirror the actions of their originals just comes and goes whenever it’s convenient for the plot. Whatever the metaphor is feels very muddled. I dunno. I don’t really get it.
Jeri’s review: I see why they cast the main actress for the mom. Very expressive eyes. I enjoyed it, but there were several things I couldn’t make sense of. All of them joining hands didn’t have a clear meaning. The sole reason the main duplicates didn’t kill the main characters right away was just to mess with them, but everyone else is killed immediately? I don’t know why the dad and brother could influence their doubles, but not the mom and sister. I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure if I’d watch it again.
Okay folx, we’re down to the final four. And it’s only November fifth. NovENDer FILTH. The last ones will be watched and commented upon shortly. I know you’re all DYING to hear what we have to SLAY.
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