Five Movies for Spooky Season

By: Mckenzie Gerdes

With the leaves turning color, a cool breeze rolling in, and apple-cranberry-spiced cider with caramel whip back on the Coffee Cottage menu, it seems that there has never been a better time to watch some good horror movies.

But where to start? As an avid horror movie fan, I have compiled a list of five high-quality horror movies to watch this spooky season. Additionally, all the movies below are scored 75% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes, which aggregates the scores given by film critics across a variety of publications.

“Sweetheart” / Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

“Sweetheart” is a 2019 thriller about a woman shipwrecked on an island all alone, or so she thinks. Something that makes this movie stand out in the thriller genre is that the main character, Jenn, is extremely smart and makes all the right moves. However, there is still something nearby so terrifying, so blood-thirsty, that the island is almost impossible to survive on for long, even for a woman as powerful as Jenn.

“Les Affamés” / Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

“Les Affamés” or “Ravenous,” is a French-Canadian zombie movie released in 2017. This is an example of a perfectly-crafted zombie movie. It includes stunning imagery of nature, deep messages, and the fear of the inevitable apocalypse. This film has some of the best jump scares I have ever seen, which only add to the quality of the movie. The best part of "Les Affamés" is the deep questions it asks throughout. For example, what commentary on human nature is depicted by the zombies standing around a tower of chairs as if worshipping an altar?

“Malignant” / Rotten Tomatoes: 76%

“Malignant” is a 2021 horror movie directed by James Wan, the genius who brought us “The Conjuring” series. This movie follows a woman named Madison, who deals with a lot of trauma in her waking life and in her dreams. There is a terrifying figure from her visions that seems familiar, but she can’t figure out who the monster is. The movie brings something new to the horror genre. It doesn’t follow the same storyline of a family moving into a house and experiencing a possession. No, this movie is much, much more disturbing.

“Train to Busan” / Rotten Tomatoes: 94%

One of the most stressful and heart-wrenching movies ever made, “Train to Busan” captures the viewer from the very first scene. This 2016, South Korean zombie movie follows a little girl and her father as they get on a train just as a horrific zombie apocalypse begins. It is fast-paced from beginning to end, creating a very realistic depiction of family, sacrifice, and the horrors of the end of the world.

“Veronica” / Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Based on a true story, the movie “Veronica” came out in 2017, and received a lot of attention from viewers for being one of the scariest movies. I completely agree. I couldn’t make it through the entire movie, at first. A year later, when I sat down to finish the movie, I appreciated the absolute skill required to create this visual nightmare. Veronica is the main character, a mostly responsible young woman, who falls down a very dark path.