Greetings, and happy October to you all. It’s that time of year again when ghouls come out to play, ghost roam the halls, and horror fanatics prepare for long hours of movie marathons. While I may not be a big fan of Halloween, I’m always in the mood for a good horror flick. In celebration of this month, I’ve prepared a list of heart-stopping movies that are sure to leave you scared to close your eyes at night—and have you questioning if it’s all in your head, or not…

The Blair Witch Project

Ahh, this one brings back childhood memories. Blair Witch Project, while not the first of its kind, is definitely the first horror movie of the found footage genre to keep me up night after night. The movie—which was released in 1999—stars three film students in their quest to uncover the mystery surrounding the legendary Blair Witch who allegedly haunts the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland. The students decide to set up camp in the woods hoping to encounter and film the witch, but get more than they bargained for when strange events start to occur. Soon the students experience loss of time, a trail that endlessly leads them in a circle, eerie noises at night, and mysterious stick figures that appear hanging from the trees that surround them. Things go from bad to worse when one of the students disappears from the group…

I recommend this as a starter to those looking to venture into the world of found footage horror.

[REC]

Back in the days of “on demand” movies, I came across this wonderful piece of found footage titled [REC] which was released in 2007. While the cable service wasn’t known for having many titles that were worth mentioning, it managed to sneak this little gem into its list of horror movie options. This film tells the story of TV reporter Angela Vidal and her camera man Pablo who’re covering a local fire station in Barcelona for a TV series titled While You’re Sleeping. During their coverage, the fire station receives a call about an incident which has occurred at an apartment building involving an elderly woman. Angela and Pablo travel along with the fire fighters hoping to get some footage from the accident, but get more than they bargained for when they enter the building and soon find themselves trapped inside along with the residents. They continue to film the events that take place inside while looking for a way out—assuming, of course, that there is a way out…

Paranormal Activity

Also released in 2007 was the first of a would-be franchise, a movie titled Paranormal Activity that would go on to spawn five sequels (and one spin-off). In the first film we are introduced to couple Katie and Micah who move into their new home located in San Diego, California. The couple, soon after moving in, start to experience supernatural events, which Katie reveals she’s actually been experiencing since childhood. They both reach out to a psychic who then tells them that Katie is being haunted by a demon and advises them not to interact with it, as they risk inviting it further into their home. Katie takes heed of this warning but Micah is intrigued and goes as far as to buy a Ouija board to communicate with the demon, which then starts to communicate back with them…

If jump scares are your thing, then this movie is definitely for you.

Grave Encounters

Finally I get to talk about this creepy little treat. This one ups the “WTH” factor a notch by playing mind games with both the viewer and characters in the movie, creating the sensation that you are actually there with them, experiencing the horrors. Grave Encounters was released in 2011; it has us focus on a group of people who go around filming paranormal events for their reality TV show, which shares its name with the movie. For what would be their sixth episode, the crew decides to head to an insane asylum where paranormal activity has been reported to happen. With the decision to stay the night, and promise that the caretaker will let them out in the morning, the crew soon set up cameras and go exploring deep within the haunted asylum, trying to spark communication with the ghosts of the patients who were said to have been experimented on by the asylum’s doctor, Arthur Friedkin. With morning slowly coming and no luck with contacting any ghosts, they decide to pack up and prepare to leave—then their camera man suddenly goes missing and the caretaker never shows up. The crew gets what they were searching for and more…

V/H/S

Now we’re moving into heart-stopping territory. Released in 2011, this movie V/H/S is an anthology of short films. It is my personal favorite, and single-handed solidified found footage as my favorite sub-genre of horror movie. I highly recommended it if you like the sound of mystery, jump scares, and just outright weirdness. I mentioned another movie on this list that ups the “WTH” notch but this one just makes you go “WTF”!

The movie begins by introducing us to a criminal gang who take joy in recording their acts of vandalism and terrorizing citizens around their town. The group then receives a request from an anonymous source which offers them large sum of money if they can break into a house and retrieve a VHS tape the source wants. The group does indeed break into the house, where they are met with the sight of a dead man sitting in his chair in front of what appears to be a huge stack of VHS tapes and a TV with a static screen.  Amongst the tapes must be the one the anonymous source wants so they decide it best to watch all the tapes and figure out which is the one they need—but after putting one into the video player they soon discover these aren’t ordinary tapes.

I won’t reveal too much because it’s a good watch and anyone who partakes should be able to draw their own conclusions. The V/H/S series has three movies in total, and while they don’t present a specific order to watch them in, I suggest starting with the first one, then working your way up. Don’t blame me if you can’t sleep at night!

Heidi

I didn’t discover the 2014 film Heidi until this year, but after watching it I’m not sure how I let it slip right by me. As you might’ve guessed, Heidi is about a doll—but not an ordinary one, of course. Two high school friends and their camcorder discover the titular doll in the attic of an elderly woman who lives in the neighborhood. After snatching it, the pair witness a series of events which begin with the death of the elderly woman.

This movie is special in that it is the only found footage film based around a killer doll. If killer dolls frighten you then please watch at your own risk.

Hell House LLC

Without overloading you (and your heart) with horror films, I’ll end this list with a more recent movie to watch if you want to jump right into it. Hell House LLC, which was released just this past year in 2016, makes for a nice cherry on top as it’s centered on a group of adults who specialize in creating Halloween-themed haunted houses, and this time they plan to use an actual haunted house as their attraction which they have named Hell House. The film is shot in mockumentary style and follows the strange events, which lead up to a terrible incident that occurs on the opening night of Hell House and results in the death of fifteen guest and staff-members. It would probably be best that if you intend to visit a haunted house this year, you do so before watching this film.

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This wraps up my list of horror movies for the month, but of course you don’t have to reserve only October to watch these goodies—they’re great year-round.

Enjoy the watch and I hope you all have a happy Halloween!