The day will come that you are sick of watching Hocus Pocus. We all love the Halloween standards, but there are only so many times you can watch the same movies every year before you start looking for something different. According to our Pinterest page, we have over 180 horror films in our collection, but it can be difficult to find the hidden gems without some guidance.
So, to be all wheat-vs.-chaff-y about it, we asked our staff for their favorite out-of-the-way horror movies that you should be watching this week. Our choices span almost a century, from a silent classic to a 2012 sleeper hit.
Chris recommends: The Wicker Man (1973) (HU DVD 6542)
When a young girl mysteriously disappears, Police Sergeant Howie travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But this pastoral community, led by the strange Lord Summerisle, is not what it seems as the devout Christian detective soon uncovers a secret society of wanton lust and pagan blasphemy. Can Howie now stop the cult’s ultimate sacrifice before he himself comes face-to-face with the horror of the Wicker Man?
Molly recommends: The Haunting (HU DVD 10161)
“It was an evil house from the beginning, a house that was born bad.” The place is the 90-year old mansion called Hill House. No one lives there. Or so it seems. But please, do come in. Because even if you don’t believe in ghosts, there’s no denying the terror of The Haunting. Director Robert Wise returned to psychological horror for this much admired, first screen adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House.” Four people come to the house to study its supernatural phenomena. Or has the house drawn at least one of them to it? The answer will unnerve you in this “elegantly sinister scare movie.”
Phil recommends: Berberian Sound Studio (HU DVD 11159)
Mild-mannered sound engineer Gilderoy arrives in Rome to begin work on the soundtrack to a film called The Equestrian Vortex, a tale of witchcraft and murder set inside an all-girl riding academy. Before long he finds himself entranced by the film’s mysteriously terrifying allure, and the lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur.
Sean recommends: Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (HU DVD 323)
Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen’s legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious—instead it’s a witches’ brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.
Media Librarian Chris Lewis also insisted that we include Vampire’s Kiss (HU DVD 6548), an ultra-nutty Nicolas Cage vampire movie. Your mileage may vary with that one.