October is here, which means spooky season is here. But for some people, October means avoiding movie trailers or turning down invitations to movie nights for fear of seeing something too big on screen.
I see you and I understand.
I used to be scared of this genre, but now I can watch movies like Long Legs and Alien: Romulus in theaters and just cover my eyes a little (during the gory parts). is.
So, if you have always wanted to dive into horror without feeling scared, let me introduce you to the movies that helped me easily get into this genre. These movies may shock you, but they won’t keep you up at night.
All movies below contain some spoilers. Something like the devil you know would be better.
Escape Room & Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Fear Level 1/5)
Synopsis: Five seemingly unrelated people are invited to a mysterious escape room with the promise of winning a large sum of cash. The twist? If you don’t solve the puzzle in time, you will die.
The Tournament of Champions does away with prize money and simply traps previous escapees in even more elaborate escape rooms. Recreate the entire beach indoors for one of them.
These movies aren’t advanced horror (though Taylor Russell acts like her life depends on it), but they’re great set pieces that provide hours of nonsense and fun.
Warning: Make sure you watch the theatrical cut of Tournament of Champions. The extended cut contains a completely different and completely unnecessary wraparound story. ERCU (Escape Room Cinematic Universe) is about escape rooms, not character development or a coherent narrative.
Why it’s not so scary: It’s Saw without the gore!
If you’ve ever been tempted by the intricate traps of the Saw series, but can’t stomach your guts, Escape Room is for you.
Both movies have a very soft M rating. There’s very little blood and most of the killing takes place off-screen. This gives you even more time to appreciate intricate Rube Goldberg-esque puzzles.
Eye-Close Moment : A guy gets electrocuted in Tournament of Champions, but it’s more cartoonish than anything else.
Where to watch: Netflix
Jennifer’s body (Fear level 2/5)
Synopsis: This misunderstood classic revolves around two best friends: nerd Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and cheerleader Jennifer (Peak’s Megan Fox).
One night, two gal pals narrowly escape a bar fire, but Jennifer encounters an even more terrifying danger: a group of men who believe their band can still survive.
The band members attempt to use dark magic rituals to obtain “virgin souls” in exchange for the band’s big hit.
Sadly, Jennifer isn’t even a virgin (her words, not mine). So this ritual transforms her into a succubus and she has to munch on local boys to keep her skin clean.
Why it’s not so scary: The script was written by Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, so the dialogue is super cute and fun, even when Jennifer takes off her jaw to eat a boy.
Although it was grossly mismarketed to teenage boys when it was released, audiences now realize that Jennifer’s Body is for girls.
Jennifer’s Body is a delicious (pun intended) 2000s heartthrob starring Adam Brody and Kyle Gallner as eyeliner-heavy emos and Johnny Simmons as dreamy high school sweethearts. In between, it’s a compelling rumination on adolescence, friendship, and societal expectations. woman.
Haven’t you seen the surprise horror hit “Smile”? Never mind, the sequel is bigger and better
Jennifer may be a monster, but what’s truly terrifying is how easily men can destroy her for their own benefit. (Don’t worry, this too has been addressed in a very satisfactory way.)
Eye-closing moment: There’s one dangerous post-kill shot around the opening 40 minutes. When Jennifer takes Jonas, a bad soccer player, to the woods, he keeps his hands close to his face.
Where to watch: Disney+
Whimsical (3/5 scary)
Summary: This is a teen horror take on the classic Freaky Friday trope. It’s awkward, except instead of mother and daughter swapping places, high schooler Millie (Katherine Newton) is swapped with serial killer Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn).
Why it’s not so scary: Freaky is a Blumhouse movie that still knows how to have fun (please, Jason, no more evil pools). Director Christopher Landon is also the director of the Happy Death Day series, so he’s quite capable of balancing the bad with the bad.
Vince Vaughn is scary as a serial killer. As a 16 year old girl, he is hilarious. And Newton can kill and wear as much red lipstick as she wants, and she still remains adorable.
Eye-Closing Moment: There’s nothing worse than this in the first 10 minutes, where the Butcher appears and slaughters a bunch of sexual teens in a variety of creative ways.
Where to watch: Binge and FoxtelGO
Ready or Not (Fear level 4/5)
What it’s about: Ready or Not centers on former foster child Grace (Australia’s Samara Weaving, the eternal “Last Girl”) who meets her on her wedding day.
She ends up marrying into the super-rich Le Domas family who made their money from board games. Well, it turns out that Grandpa Le Douma actually made a deal with the devil in exchange for generational wealth. So, when a new member joins the family, you need to choose a game card. If the card says “Hide and Seek”, then the Le Domas family must kill the new member by dawn or risk losing everything.
Of course, Grace chooses to play “hide and seek” and has to fight for her new family.
Why it’s not so scary: The Le Domas family is, to put it kindly, a bunch of clumsy idiots. They’ve never cleaned a toilet, much less killed someone with a crossbow, so they’re not all that scary of a villain.
Grace, on the other hand, is a powerful person and almost always has the upper hand over the rich fool.
Eye-Close Moment: At one point in the movie, Grace falls into a pit of corpses. There’s no way around it. Soon after, she puts her hand in the nail.
There are some shootings that are played for laughs, but they’re still a bit gruesome. Oh, and please don’t spoil the ending too much. But if people are about to explode, trust your instincts and close your eyes.
Where to watch: Disney+
Cabin in the forest (Fear level 5/5)
Contents: Exactly what it says on the tin. Five creepy, stereotypical friends (including a pre-MCU Chris Hemsworth) go on vacation to a cabin in the woods. Confusion ensues.
There is also an underground cabal of bureaucrats who ensure that chaos ensues to appease invisible but very vengeful gods.
Why it’s not that scary: On the surface, this is your typical zombie slasher horror movie, so there are some awful kills by awful monsters (they keep mentioning mermen for a reason).
But the meta-plotline that all the carnage is controlled by a group of pencil-pushing jabronis makes it more hilarious than horrifying.
Honestly, the scariest thing about this whole movie is the opening title card jump scare (you’ve been warned).
Eye-Closing Moment: In the third act, the remaining protagonists discover a zoo of sorts. It contains every possible horror movie villain, and then they all go outside. Listen for the elevator doors to find out when you can check back.
Where to watch: Netflix, Stan, or Prime Video
