Alright gang. We’re all done. Put away your 12 foot skeletons, shove the face paint to the back of the cabinet where you won’t find it for four years.
Halloween and the spooky season are over.
I’m lamenting. All that’s left to look forward to now is Christmas, and even that is just way too much fuss for comfort. Boohoo.
But! Bright side! You now have access to this post, which is insanely long! Turns out I eat my way through books like a lawnmower when I take a writing break. So we’ve got a lot of reviews to get through. Buckle in.
Since there’s a metric crap ton of stuff on here and I want you to be able to skip around to stuff you’re interested in, I gave you a handy dandy jump link block! Enjoy!
- BOOKS
- Freakslaw by Jane Flett (2025)
- The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North (2025)
- A Hunter Comes To Call & Other Vampire Fairy Tales by Walt Carlson (2025)
- The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates (2016)
- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (2021)
- This Cursed House by Del Sandeen (2024)
- The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi (2025)
- Whistle by Linwood Barclay (2025)
- The Changeling by Victor LaValle (2017)
- Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine (2023)
- We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric LaRocca (2022)
- Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin (1967)
- We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (2025)
- 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (2005)
- MOVIES
BOOKS
Freakslaw by Jane Flett (2025)
Reading dates: 10/3-10/7
Format: Physical
Rating: 5/5
A freak show sets up in a small Scottish town in the late 90’s, and the fearless freaks do everything in their power to enchant and inspire the townsfolk to think outside the magic box.
This book is The Night Circus if it had a bucket of neon paint and kettle corn dumped over its head. The prose is dripping with sugar and fat. I’m not a prose stickler at all, but when I see an example of it that just knocks my socks off, I find myself absolutely devouring the story. This book is deliciously messy and gross, a cotton candy daydream and sexy while simultaneously nasty. I really loved how freaking Scottish it could be at times (see the sentence: “Well, Derek’s only a wee bit of a numpty”). These characters and the setting are eerily timeless, and I found myself forgetting that it was set in the late nineties; at times it felt so 50’s, a la AHS: Freak Show.
Every character is rich and incredibly detailed. The contrast between the freaks and the townsfolk makes a great statement about confidence and the way one must learn to only value their own opinion of themselves to truly achieve it. I felt like all of the characters were my friends by the end, hell, by the 1/4 mark.
You absolutely must give Freakslaw a read. I guarantee you’ll have a blast.
The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North (2025)
Reading dates: 10/2-10/6
Format: Audio
Rating: 4/5
I was actually thinking this one was straight horror, but it turned out to be more of a thriller/murder mystery. Despite my mistaken assumption, this book was very enjoyable.
Daniel was a witness in a series of child murders as a kid, and as an adult criminal psychologist, he receives the news that his father, a former police officer, has taken his own life. Upon returning to the island on which he grew up, he begins to find connections between what happened to his father, the old child murders from years before, and a new rash of abductions and killings. Daniel combines his knowledge of the minds of murderers and his father’s unfinished work to seek out the truth of what’s going on.
As a mystery, this one had me pretty hooked. The three events in question are all very interesting and the ways in which they connect feel like putting together a puzzle. Daniel is a compelling protagonist, and I enjoyed the switching POVs between Daniel in the present, his father investigating in the past, and others. The killer wasn’t at all someone I expected, so it was fun to not know where we were going the entire time, as can happen with mysteries that don’t get very creative.
I also really appreciated how Dan’s father was very humanized, and their relationship was actually very nuanced instead of being that classic cut-and-dry bad father-son relationship that we often see with single fathers in books. It helps to make the narrative much more compelling. In addition, the perspectives following James in the past were heartbreaking and did a great job of getting me invested. I had somewhere I thought we were going with James, but I was surprised to find my assumption was wrong. I love being wrong in mysteries; there’s nothing worse than figuring things out early and just watching it unfold while grinding your teeth.
I recommend this book, and the audio reader did a great job.
A Hunter Comes To Call & Other Vampire Fairy Tales by Walt Carlson (2025)
Reading dates: 10/7
Format: Physical
Rating: 5/5
I realize that some might find my opinion to be biased in this case, as I can rightfully boast the fact that Walt Carlson is my cousin! I am being completely honest, though, when I say that this collection is absolutely stellar.
Presented from the perspective of a translator with a passion for a strange, mystery-shrouded story collection, this collection features ten creepy, eerie, and sad stories about vampires.
I was so enthralled (heh) by this book that I read it all at once, in a single day. I couldn’t bring myself to slow down and pace it out, like when I eat tiramisu. Walt’s writing is always so enchanting, and he absolutely brought it with these stories. I really loved the use of three-beats, repetitions, and cycles- it really made me feel like I was reading real folklore. Many of them feature lessons, almost like parables.
I loved the careful attention to vampire lore, such as slowing them down by making them count rice, and their ability to transform into animals of the night such as bats, wolves, and ravens. The more traditional approach to the attributes and mythology surrounding Walt’s vampires was just so delicious and perfect for the spooky season.
If you’re a Washingtonian, you can pick up A Hunter Comes To Call at the following locations in Spokane:
Find Walt at www.waltcarlson.net !
The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates (2016)
Reading dates: 10/6-10/8
Format: Audio
Rating: 4.75/5
Who doesn’t love a good haunted house story?
Adrienne inherits a crumbling house from a strange relative. When she moves in, out of money and without any other place to go, she begins to experience strange things. The small town near Ashburn House is abuzz with rumors, speculation, and the occasional truth about what exactly happened to its previous occupants. After a terrifying encounter, Adrienne and her cat, Wolfgang, must uncover the truth in order to survive Ashburn House.
The only reason this one didn’t get a full 5 stars was because it had a tiny bit of a slow beginning, but when it grabbed onto me, it grabbed me hard. At first you think it’s the classic story- old woman dies alone in a house with a murderous past, so you draw the logical conclusions. But this story did a few things to subvert my expectations, which I always love.
The residents of the small town nearby are actually very lovely to Adrienne, and she makes a few friends on her first full day in town. Everyone she speaks with is perfectly pleasant and as helpful as possible, which I feel like is a much more realistic picture than your classic “small town hates outsiders for no reason” trope, which gets really old. I loved Jane and Marianne and Sara (audio so might be spelling these wrong), and the bubbly girl working the front office at the vet was just adorable. It really helped to give the town a bit of character.
There’s a fun twist, and I can tell you right away so you don’t have to worry- the cat is fine. The most exciting and interesting bit is that Adrienne’s circumstances during the climax are just exactly right that she’s basically trapped in the house with almost no way to get help. It made it very claustrophobic at times, and I really liked the bit about the portraits in the hall changing, plus the mirror scares. The part that really got me- you’ll know what I mean- was the roof thing. God, that was chilling for some reason.
This was a really fun read and it left me surprised several times, and I even cried at the very end. Give it a go!
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (2021)
Read dates: 10/7-10/8
Format: Physical
Rating: 3.75/5
Finally, another Grady Hendrix!
A support group of Final Girls, whose survival stories were the inspiration for slasher film franchises, all become targets in the ultimate crossover sequel.
I had a lot of fun with the characters and premise here, but there were a couple things Lynnette did that I didn’t really understand. I could never tell if I was supposed to think she was batshit crazy or not. Like, some of the stuff she does, realistically, would absolutely not fly.
I did really appreciate the overarching themes of women never being believed and the commercialization of tragedy, and Grady is definitely one of those male writers that writes women so well. His women are almost never skinny twenty-somethings with perky boobs and an unending potential for romantic interests despite their life-or-death situation. Grady writes women of all ages, sizes, and backgrounds, and they are never cardboard cutouts. Even though I was a little unsure about some of these plot points, I still had a good time with the characters.
The epistolary sections were also very fun. They really fleshed out the world and gave it some extra context. If you’re a slasher fan, this book is absolutely for you.
This Cursed House by Del Sandeen (2024)
Read dates: 10/8-10/12
Format: Audio
Rating: 3.5/5
This one had been on my Libby TBR for a while, as I thought the concept was intriguing.
Jemma is hired by a wealthy but reclusive New Orleans family to rid their home of a curse.
This book really had me interested at the beginning. The family was delightfully awful, each of them in their own ways, and you really feel Jemma’s hopelessness and isolation as she finds herself in this situation. It had some really good messages about making up for the evil of your ancestors and being able to forgive those who’ve hurt you and yours.
Unfortunately, it started to really drag its feet after the halfway mark, and didn’t really pick up again until the last bit. There’s the first mini climax, and then a chunk of just really nothing happening, no character work, no plot furthering. The characters just kind of don’t know what to do with themselves, but they know the story can’t be over yet.
I will say that once it did pick back up at the very end, it was a satisfying and thought-provoking ending. It just took a little too long to get there, and I probably would’ve given up around the 75% mark if I wasn’t really pushing myself lately to finish things that aren’t amazing and perfect. I think, especially as an aspiring writer, it’s important for me to push through sloggy books like this, so I can analyze what exactly made it slog, what could’ve been fixed, and how to not do it in my own writing.
I didn’t hate this book, but I spent a lot of time bored and waiting for something to happen. But it had some really important messages about guilt and forgiveness, and for that I think it’s at least worth a try.
The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi (2025)
Read dates: 10/9-10/13
Format: Physical
Rating: 5/5
After Boys in the Valley and The Third Rule of Time Travel, I was ecstatic to witness my first Fracassi new release since becoming a fan. And what an immediately grabbing title!
Rose DuBois and the other residents at Autumn Springs Retirement Home find themselves targets of a creative serial murderer. Can Rose, the dedicated Detective Hastings, and a coterie of other residents unmask the killer before everyone falls to their hands?
I know it’s probably just because our main characters are elderly, but I got major Insomnia vibes from the beginning. Well, we’ve got basically a Ka-tet of elderly people working to solve a problem. That’s close enough to compare it to Insomnia, right?
Aside from being an exciting, bloody slasher, this book has a serious point to make, and it does it very effectively: we dump our elders in homes and forget about them like garbage. Currently, we have the largest number of elderly and aging people than ever in our history, a result of our Baby Boomer generation approaching old age and increased life expectancy. In a 2023 article for Census.gov, Zoe Caplan explains that the percentage of people living in the US aged 65 and over has increased from 4.7% to 16.8% over the last century. This has led to a heavy increase in capitol in industries that cater to the aging, including retirement communities. The problem is, these people tend to be forgotten about once they’re “put away”. In a harrowing chapter of the book, we see several residents calling their children and relatives, asking for a temporary place to stay to escape the killings. Everyone has some reason or another to say no. They are seemingly too busy with their own hectic lives to be there for their elders, who need their help.
I myself am guilty of something similar- I get so absorbed in the days, in my routines and all my busy-ness, that sometimes before I even know it, it’s been days since I’ve talked to my parents. And while my parents aren’t elderly, the above-mentioned chapter really hit home. We all think we’re so busy and that there will always be time for our elders and family “when it’s a better time”, but this book makes the point that one day, there won’t be time anymore, and most often, we won’t ever be ready for that day. So, aside from being a fun and thrilling read, this story really gave me some perspective on spending time with the generation above me in my family.
Another thing I’d like to praise Fracassi for is his characters and their relationships. The thing about a slasher is, you can’t just have 350 pages of murdering. We have to give a crap about the people being murdered, otherwise it’s just gore porn. And this book does a great job of that. Rose is a driven, strong and brave main character, and her love for her friends creates high stakes for the reader. Many of the victims and side characters get their own little section or two that makes us fall in love with them. This book would’ve just seemed cruel if we just saw a bunch of helpless old people get murdered. Instead, it becomes a tense race to unmask a killer before we lose more people Rose cares about.
This book was fun, exciting, heartbreaking, and inspiring. I highly recommend it.
Whistle by Linwood Barclay (2025)
Read dates: 10/14-10/17
Format: Audio
Rating: 5/5
This book pulled me in so fast it gave me whiplash.
Children’s book author Annie has had a rough year, so she and her son Charlie escape New York City for a summer vacation in Vermont. But a strange model train set left behind by the previous owners seems to be linked to odd occurrences involving not only Annie and her son, but a string of events over twenty years before in another town.
I loved this book for the same reason I love a Ronald Malfi book- it reads like a Stephen King trunk novel. Somehow Barclay pulls us in immediately, not only with a shocking opening scene but with characters we quickly grow to love. Annie is very complex and fleshed out, and she doesn’t make any stupid decisions that make no sense, which I see in thrillers constantly. She’s always doing what’s best for Charlie, even if she has to lie to him. I really love the themes of the power of both art and a mother’s love. By the end, I was sad to say goodbye to our characters.
The sections in the past are also just immediately interesting, and it’s fun to start connecting the dots as the two narratives unfold. This concept- evil model trains- is such a goofy but creepy idea that Barclay absolutely sells me on. The Stephen King blurb on the front is very deserved- this book takes after our Grandpa for sure.
I highly recommend Whistle– it’s a fun, tense, chaotic ride from start to finish.
The Changeling by Victor LaValle (2017)
Read dates: 10/14-10/21
Format: Physical
Rating: 4.5/5
I feel like this one had been on my shelf forever. After Lone Women, I was ecstatic to finally get to another full-length LaValle work.
Apollo Kagwa has the life he’s always wanted- a job that keeps his head above water, a wife that means the world to him, and a new baby boy- but Apollo is suddenly faced with monsters from a real-life fairy tale who seek to tear away everything he loves.
I went into this with zero background knowledge. At first I was enchanted by the cute little love stories and building blocks of families. I didn’t know where we were going, but I loved Apollo and was absolutely ready to go wherever he went.
And holy shit, this went downhill in an instant. One minute everything’s normal, nice little story about a family, then it’s that one GIF from Community with the pizza and the fire. Literally from one page to the next.
After that, I growled at anyone who tried to make me put the book down. Metaphorically. Mostly.
This story got so freaking weird past the halfway point, but good weird. What a ride. Check this one out, you won’t regret it.
Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine (2023)
Read dates: 10/20-10/23
Format: Audio
Rating: 5/5
I felt really dumb when I started this book. I was about half an hour in when I thought, “Dang, this is almost an exact copy of that one season of AHS I never finished. How lame. I hate that.”
Then I checked the Wikipedia page for that AHS season.
Yes, yes, I’m an idiot. But in my defense, AHS: Delicate was the only season to ever be an adaptation instead of an original story. It’s not usual for the show, so I get a pass. Anyway.
Actress Anna Alcott and her husband have spent the last two years in IVF treatment trying to conceive. The treatment finally works, only there are chilling twists and turns on the road to motherhood that Anna wasn’t expecting.
Once I realized I was, in fact, listening to a story whose beginning I was familiar with, I was all in for the ride. (Note: I only watched episode one of AHS: Delicate, so that’s all the background I had at this point.) I found myself immediately bummed that AHS aged down Anna, giving the role to Emma Roberts. I am a huge fan of her as an actress, but a good portion of the point of this story is that Anna is an older mom, a point of important conflict within the narrative. But that’s okay. I’m talking about the book here, so I’ll let that be.
This book was chilling and tense in a way I wasn’t expecting. The horror moments, such as the inciting incident of a strange woman in bed with Anna, were all incredibly effective at creeping me out. The first night I listened, I stayed up an hour and a half late because I was just so tense and into it.
This was one of those books I found myself thinking about all day at work when I couldn’t listen. Anna is such a compelling and real protagonist, and the entire book you don’t know who you can trust. The ending was completely unexpected and really made the whole thing into an important message about women and their treatment in the medical world.
I highly recommend this one. If you enjoyed AHS: Delicate or just want a good tense read, this is absolutely for you.
We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric LaRocca (2022)
Read dates: 10/21-10/22
Format: Physical
Rating: 5/5
I have so much LaRocca on my wheel it’s not even funny. By the way, check out that sick cover art. Love it.
After Mara’s father is killed, she and her mother become host to a party of terrifying creatures in their crumbling apartment.
I say this in every review I leave on a LaRocca. This felt like being in a nightmare. This was horrible, off-putting, disgusting, and miserable to read. I loved it.
The setting, a crumbling war-torn apartment building, is isolating and claustrophobic. We literally stay there the entire story. There’s sewage pipes leaking all over the apartment and no clean water, so you can just imagine the way it smells here. These awful creatures are so… just… wrong feeling, and my skin crawled several times just imagining this giant snake talking to me.
I always feel a little sad when I finish a LaRocca, since they tend to be quite short. This was more of a novella, barely 100 pages, and though of course I always wish for more, I felt satisfied with the containment of the narrative. Check this one out if you want to feel awful in a good way!
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin (1967)
Read dates: 10/22-10/24
Format: Physical
Rating: 4/5
Good to get a classic on here. I’ve heard of this story for years, but never got around to the book or the movie until now. Also, I just thought it was funny that I spun this book while I was listening to Delicate Condition.
Life is good for Rosemary with a rising star husband and a baby on the way. But as her pregnancy progresses, she begins to question those around her, suspecting foul intentions for her unborn child.
This book was a fun one. I love finally getting to these classics I’ve been hearing about my whole life. While this didn’t actually read as a genre horror book in my opinion, the concept behind it is very terrifying- gaslighting and misleading women in the medical field is absolutely still a problem today. Every time Rosemary started to catch on and take control, those around her, including her own husband, would immediately take back over and pull her even further from any sort of lifeline. For that reason, this book felt incredibly tense and claustrophobic, even though there’s really no “scary” moments.
If I had to compare it to its modern-day retelling, Delicate Condition, I would probably go with Danielle Valentine’s take, even though I did really enjoy this one. I think Valentine took the psychological aspects of this one and did a great job developing them into a legitimately horrifying book. I am very glad to have read this one, though.
This book is short and sweet with a chilling message about all women’s ongoing struggle with medical care. Sit down with it for a rainy afternoon.
We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (2025)
Read dates: 10/26-10/29
Format: Audio
Rating: 2/5
This one had like, a three-month wait on Libby, so I figured there had to be a reason for that. Also, I think Stephen King said it was good on Threads.
Emily and her husband move to an old house in the moors of England, where strange occurrences convince Emily that the house is haunted.
I was pretty excited for this one, as it’s got a lot of hype in most circles. What I thought would be a spooky haunted house story turned out to be the story of why two people should’ve gotten divorced years ago.
You know how some reviews are like, “everyone in this book was awful. 5/5”? Think The Atlas Six, right? No. Everyone in this book was an absolutely piece of shit terrible person NOT IN A FUN WAY. I hated everyone. Both main characters, all of their friends, all of the side characters. How am I supposed to root for anybody when I don’t want any of them to have a good ending?
Also, the blurb on the front mentions a crazy twist. I have no idea what they’re talking about.
Everything that happened in this book was telegraphed from a mile away. I seriously don’t know what surprised people here. The steps the narrative took were obvious immediately, the people who died and how they died were completely expected. I just. I don’t get it. I don’t get why people enjoyed this book.
And if you know me at all, you know I generally enjoy books. I give a lot of five stars. I usually just have fun reading a book. Not this time. That’s how infuriating this was.
I don’t recommend it, unless you’re willing to read it and let me know where the twist was, since I couldn’t find it.
Boo.
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (2005)
Read dates: 10/26-11/4
Format: Physical
Rating: 5/5
This baby (like most here, oops) has been on my shelf for way too long. Finally I got to read some more Joe Hill. And I just love me a story collection.
This collection was a great time because, as is explained in the introduction by Christopher Golden, not all of these stories are outright horror. Many of them are heartwarming, melancholy, or just little slices of life.
My favorite by far was the last one, Voluntary Committal. There’s something so eerie about the box tunnels in the basement, and this story was so reminiscent of Grandpa King with its sensational characterization and unsettling turns that it made me openly gape at points.
Other hard-hitters for me were You Will Hear the Locust Sing (great body horror), The Cape (heartwarming, terribly sad, and a really unexpected ending), and My Father’s Mask (I had no idea what was going on, all I knew is that this was a straight-up nightmare).
Seriously, pick this baby up. I had a fantastic time.
MOVIES
The Thing (1982)
Watch date: 10/11
Streaming: Peacock
Rating: 5/5
I watched this movie a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed it, and those of you who know me know that I love rewatching movies. And this was even better the second time.
A research facility in Antarctica comes under attack by an alien life form that can mimic the physical form of its target.
This was a great commentary on suspicion and paranoia. It was released during the Cold War, which makes it reasonable to assume that the writers had some social commentary in mind during the process.
Kurt Russell is an absolute dreamboat here, what with those baby blues poking out from an almost ewok-like face full of fur and gorgeous shoulder-length hair. He does a fantastic job portraying the badass, let’s-figure-this-shit-out member of our little party.
And the dog. Holy shit. I have never seen such a talented dog actor in my life. How the hell did they get that dog to not act like a dog? I actually really want to know. Might have to watch some making-of footage if I can find it. That dog is the first thing to really get you unnerved and leaning forward in your seat.
The practical effects were a purist’s dream. The sheer amount of nasty, dripping, moist alien gore was delicious. I loved how parts would emerge from the center, then split, then more parts would come out from there. Like Russian nesting dolls. Loved it.
Check this movie out, please. Think Alien meets Among Us, and you get to look at young Kurt Russell for two hours.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Watch date: 10/12
Streaming: HBO Max
Rating: 3.5/5
It might’ve thrown you off that we started with the sequel, but Jesse and I watched the first movie together a few months back, so this was us continuing in the universe after that and Annabelle.
Ed and Lorraine Warren, famous demonologists, travel to England to assist with a disturbing case involving a young girl and her family.
There were things I loved about this movie and things that made me go “Oh. Oh dear,” cringing. I’ll start with the bad so we can end positively.
The creature scares were kind of not there for me. The Crooked Man was a creepy idea, and that spinning toy was a really unnerving prop. But the way it’s executed as the physical scare just made me chuckle. I think the problem was 1. They put him in too much light, so he lost that ‘scary unknown’ factor. 2. He didn’t look enough like the art on the toy for you to immediately say “Oh, it’s the Crooked Man!” For a good ten seconds you’re just like, okay, what is this supposed to be and why is it goofy as hell. I also think we saw The Nun maybe one too many times, and she lost her scariness after that for me.
I do really like how the first two movies have a running idea- a family is being targeted and need the Warrens’ help, who are kind of dealing with a little side thing at the same time, and that thing ends up the focus of its own movie (see Annabelle, The Nun).
Something this movie really did well was the relationship between Ed and Lorraine. I loved the scenes of them being there for each other amid the criticism from skeptics, the communication and respect for each other they have (where Lorraine says she doesn’t want to take on new cases and Ed is immediately understanding). Lorraine’s concern for Ed and intense fear of losing him are really hard-hitting. The Elvis song and that little moment they have at the end was just too sweet and actually made me tear up. It makes me sad to know that the real Lorraine had to go on without her Ed for thirteen years before she herself passed.
Check it out if you’re doing a chronological Conjuring universe watch, but not if you’re just looking to jump in somewhere and get a good scare.
The Evil Dead (1981)
Watch date: 10/18
Streaming: Paramount+
Rating: 2/5
After watching Evil Dead last month, I was interested to see what it was based on.
A group of young adults gather at a cabin rental, where they become the fixation of an evil entity that sows chaos among them.
So if you’ve seen Evil Dead, this is an interesting watch. You can see where all the elements came from- the forest assaulting the girl, the way it slowly spreads across the group, finding a creepy book in the cellar, locking the main girl inside when she loses it. But it’s really only fun for that- as a movie on its own, this thing is pretty flat. There’s no plot, no character work, I don’t even remember anyone’s name except Ash because the one girl screamed it over and over. It’s almost like they had an effects guy as a director. It’s just a bunch of screaming and gory effects. Hacking limbs off, burning people, cutting them. That’s literally it.
I didn’t time it, but the last portion of the movie was just Ash fighting his possessed friends. For what felt like nearly forty-five minutes. I should go back and see the exact runtime for that chunk, because it was seriously just Ash running from and fighting everyone. It went on for so long that I pulled out my phone, which I never do during a movie unless I’m seriously uninterested.
This was probably just for the gore-freaks of the 80’s- they didn’t need a plot, just some practical effects to gross out their friends in the theater. But as a modern-day viewer, this was just a montage of cutting up turkey legs with fake hatchets.
I don’t recommend this one unless you just want to see some practical effects. Maybe you can throw it on in the background during a get-together or something.
Run (2020)
Watch date: 11/1
Streaming: Disney+
Rating: 4.5/5
This was a rewatch for me, but Saige came to stay with us over the weekend and we had to watch something spooky all together!
Wheelchair bound Chloe is doted upon by her mother, but when Chloe discovers an inconsistency, she begins to grow suspicious of her mother and the reality built around her.
We first watched this movie a few years ago and were absolutely entranced. Sarah Paulson is an absolute all-star in every role, and she absolutely delivered here. So many of these shots were perfectly placed and intentional, and while this is more of a thriller than outright horror, several shots here made us all go “Oh, fuck that.”
This movie had the perfect amount of twists and turns, and Sarah Paulson plays the uncanny psycho just so well. The ending made us yell in amazement.
The only reason this one got 4.5 instead of 5 was my own pettiness. Imagine my excitement to hear a movie is set in my town! It’s not.
The few shots we see of “Pasco” and its surrounding areas were just so offensively off that it angered me. Residents of the non-cliche parts of Washington (it’s not all pines and rain) will understand. The town shots were of this old-style small town strip complete with a non-franchise movie theater with a marquee. Plus it was full of shots of gloomy pine trees. Come on. Did they do any research? Pasco is an ugly-ass sagebrush desert with a main strip chock-full of franchises and three different Starbucks.
Thankfully, the movie itself was great enough for me to watch it despite this grave sin. Go check it out if you haven’t already.
Smile (2022)
Watch date: 11/2
Streaming: Netflix
Rating: 5/5
This is another rewatch for us. We had our Halloween party this past Sunday and of course we had to watch something good and spooky, and we picked this one because half of us hadn’t seen it and the other half absolutely loved it.
A psychiatrist begins to see strange things after a traumatic incident at work.
There is nothing more unsettling than a giant grin for no reason that doesn’t move or break. Seriously, this visual was scarring even the second time around. The way we see Rose slowly crumbling as the plot unfolds is so well done, and we were all horrified at the birthday party scene. IYKYK.
It definitely had something to say about mental illness and the cycle it can trap families in. I also thought it was a refreshing take on the whole Ring thing, passing a deadly curse on to others. It’s scary as hell, gory, and exciting
I highly recommend this one, and I’ve been told the sequel is just as good, so that’ll be coming up for me soon.
This year’s horror month was a fun one with a lot of books I’ve been meaning to get around to. While it didn’t feature as many shining stars as last year (Slewfoot by Brom, How to Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay, and more), I still had a great time fully immersing myself in the world of the tense, unsettling, and dreadful. Look out in a few months when I do a roundup of Out of this World Month, which I’ll be doing in January. That’ll be all sci-fi and fantasy!
This content was written and created by a human, without the use of any artificial intelligence tools. The authors do not authorize this article’s usage in training AI tools. We proudly support the original works of creators and individuals over technology that steals and manipulates original content without consent of creators.
Pen and Sword Blog 
Leave a comment