As Halloween quickly draws nigh, you may find yourself looking for ghoulish good times to get you in the spooky mood. With the current uncertain atmosphere of the world, finding fun and socially-distanced Halloween activities may be difficult, but it isn’t impossible. Watching horror movies at home provides a safe, inexpensive way to get your scare on this year, and maybe escape from the truly horrifying nightmare that is 2020 for a few hours. Whether you’ve seen quite a few popular flicks or simply don’t know where to start, here are four overlooked horror films guaranteed to captivate and send chills down your spine.

Set in the midst of World War II, The Others follows Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) as she cares for her two young children who suffer from a rare, unnamed disease, causing photosensitivity, an extreme sensitivity to UV rays. After the sudden disappearance of her husband, Grace hires a group of three servants to help around the house and with the children. As the film progresses, odd incidents begin to occur around the house, and Anne (Alakina Mann), Grace’s daughter, claims to see three different entities, causing the family to fear that their home is haunted. Though this may seem like an average paranormal horror movie set in a creepy house with eerie characters, the twist at the very end will make your jaw drop. Filled with suspense, The Others will keep you on your toes watching the mystery unfold.

Released in 2009, Orphan is an unsettling film shockingly based on a true story. After the devastating loss of their unborn baby, Kate (Vera Farmiga, The Conjuring) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) decide to adopt a third child. The couple is immediately drawn to a peculiar, but mature, young girl named Ester (Isabelle Fuhrman, The Hunger Games). Though she seems to get along well with the family at first, dangerous events begin to occur wherever Ester goes, causing Kate to wonder if there is something sinister about their adopted daughter. Filled with mild gore, suspense, and disturbing scenes, Orphan will keep you both creeped out and entertained. The film can be a bit predictable at times and the acting may not be the best at points, but the story itself is engrossing enough to keep you tuned in. If children don’t already creep you out, this movie may change that.

If children don’t score high on the creep-o-meter, chances are the withered skin of senior citizens should do the trick. The Visit, a seemingly light-hearted movie, follows siblings Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) as they visit their grandparents for the first time. While their grandparents are slightly odd in the beginning, their behavior gets increasingly unsettling as the film progresses. Deanna Dunagan, who plays Nana, is incredible at acting like she’s losing her mind and makes her character the creepiest of the grandparents, while Ed Oxenbould provides immature but entertaining comedic relief throughout the film. Much of the movie is filmed through the view of a home movie, framing it in a more realistic atmosphere. You will never, and I mean never, forget the game of hide and seek in the crawlspace under the house. Despite his simplicity and stripped down approach compared to his typical films, M. Night Shyamalan of Split fame manages his typical twist ending to spectacular effect. Overall, The Visit provides a unique and enjoyable horror film sure to bring those visits to Grandpa and Grandma to a premature end.

As the title implies, Lights Out draws on the common childhood fear of darkness. As a child, Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) was haunted by an entity that only appeared in the dark. After moving away from her mentally ill mother (Maria Bello) and childhood home, Rebecca believed she had escaped childish nightmares but finds herself returning when her younger brother, Martin (Gabriel Bateman), begins to have the same unexplained experiences. Believing the spirit has an attachment to their mother, Rebecca digs into her past to find answers and save her family for once and for all. Filled with jump scares and terrifying scenes, Lights Out will send chills down your spine. The film will tap into your inner child, turning your nascent fears into a reality. You may want to keep a light on nearby after watching this one.

With the plethora of horror movies available, hopefully these four suspenseful and unique films will tempt you to weave them into your Halloween watch list. Though the season may feel different this year, staying safe doesn’t have to be boring. Maybe you’ll even find that these ‘scary’ movies are less horrific than the reality of 2020.

By: Caitlynn Gehl

Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue 2

October 30, 2020

Four overlooked horror flicks sure to distract viewers from nightmare of 2020