Halloween is right around the corner, and it’s time to talk about some spooky movies. We’ve seen a theme of sequels this year, with Smile 2, Terrifier 3, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Black Phone 2, and more. With all of these stories continuing, this season is bound to be exciting.
In celebration of two decades since its first release, the infamous Saw is returning to theaters this October. It was first released in 2004, growing in popularity. It has made over $100 million in box office sales worldwide. Some reviews state “Saw 2004 is a masterpiece,” “One of my favorite franchises,” and, “It’s different from other horror movies, and the rest who try to copy them fail.” Saw, starring Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Shawnee Smith, and Mackenzie Vega, is about two men who are trapped by a sadistic serial killer, Jigsaw. They must kill one another to survive, if they don’t their loved ones die.
While many people are counting down the days for the classic horror film to come back, others are more excited about the new releases coming out just in time for the scariest time of the year. Barlow’s peers heavily await Venom: The Last Dance, Terrifier 3, Smile 2, and The Black Phone 2.
Even though we’ve seen an influx of horror movies this season, the students at Barlow still love the classics like Scream and Saw along with their many sequels, Hocus Pocus, and our most loved Nightmare Before Christmas. Kyle Vansteelandt states “The Nightmare Before Christmas has enchanted billions of moviegoers with its innovative animation techniques, original storytelling, and, of course: its catchy soundtrack.” The movie is about Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king. He stumbles upon Christmas Town, wreaking havoc by attempting to kidnap Santa and take his role.
There are many other less popular movies, like Midsommar, The Conjuring, IT, and Halloween Town. It’s rumored that a TV show centering around IT Chapter 3 will be released around 2026-2027. Some brand new movies, Salem’s Lot, Rippy, Hold Your Breath, and Never Let Go, are coming out this month.
Many scary movies have been created over the years, and there are conflicting views on which is the most frightening. There are many terrors, including psychological and supernatural, found footage, slasher, and body horror. Each type of horror has its own scariest movie. Psychological has movies like Hereditary or The Babadook. These movies are meant to be focused on things like family trauma or mental illness, even grief and loss. Supernatural movies like The Conjuring or Insidious are more haunted and ghostly horrors. Some horror movies based on found footage are The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. These movies are often shot in documentary style relying on suspense and fear of the unknown. Slasher horror is trendy with movies like Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, meant to be more brutal and sudden. The final style is body horror, with The Thing or The Fly. These movies are both gross and psychologically disturbing.
The horror and Halloween movie industry has continued to grow and develop over the years, growing increasingly year by year. Over 2,000 horror movies have been made since 2022, with new editions of this year’s films to be added.
