Humanity Hallows Issue 4 Out Now!
Pick up your copy on campus or read online.

Halloween is rapidly approaching and surely there is no better way to spend it than sitting in the dark eating the sweets you bought for trick or treaters and being scared half to death by something on the TV.

The clear film choices for Halloween are always Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, John Carpenter’s Halloween and Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs but, to steer away from the classics, Humanity Hallows has concocted a list of great and more recent horror films that will surely have you hiding behind the nearest pillow.

The Boy (2016)
Director: William Brent Bell
Stars: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans
Key Line: “Be good to him and he will be good to you.” 

The Boy tells the tale of a young nanny moving to England to look after a couple’s young son, only to discover the boy is actually a doll. Strange things soon start happening around the house as soon as the boy’s parents leave. Without dropping any spoilers the twist at the end gave me nightmares.

Hush (2016) Dir: Mike Flanagan
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Kate Siegel
Key Line: “I can get you anytime I want. But I’m not going to. Not until it’s time. When you wish you’re dead, that’s when I’ll come inside.” 

This Netflix film presents a new angle on the horror genre. The main character/victim is deaf, therefore making it not just an average masked killer film. This concept also adds a sense of extra fear as we see events through the eyes of the deaf protagonist. Another interesting point to the film is that there is very little dialogue but the suspense still draws you in.

Oculus (2013)
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites
Key line: “I’ve met my demons, they are many. I’ve seen the devil, and he is me.”

Oculus tells the tale of a young woman trying to prove her brother is innocent. The crime he is accused of is the murder of his father after seeing him torture and murder his mother.  But his sister knows neither of these events happened and that something supernatural caused the death of their parents in their old family home. She sets out to prove it to herself and her brother as well as everyone else.

Sinister (2012)
Director: Scott Derrickson
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance
Key Line: “One day I’ll paint something really good, then I’ll be famous like you.”

A creepy haunted house horror film that steps it up a level from the usual ‘What’s that noise?’ type. Sinister uses old super 8 movies to show the horror that has happened previously and the new home owner, a true-crime writer, tries to piece it all together. During his own investigations, frightening things start happening to him and his family. And what is in the dark, creepy cellar? The sequel is also just as gripping and worth a watch.

Saw (2004)
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Stars: Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes
Key Line: “He doesn’t want us to cut through the chains. He wants us to cut through our feet!”

A famous and obvious choice but Halloween wouldn’t be the same without Jigsaw and his games. The so far seven film franchise is a great way to celebrate Halloween in gory style, especially with the eighth film release date approaching quickly. This blood-soaked horror has everything; guts, gore and jumpy flashbacks with pig masks.

Alice is in her 3^rd year of an English degree. She reads a lot of books for her degree but in her spare time watches a lot of films and plays guitar. Follow her on twitter @AliceDee12.