Wandering through the Shelves: Halloween

Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Thursday Movie Picks #466: Halloween/Television Edition Cults/Secret Societies

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween/Television Edition: Cults/Secret Societies

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 5 - Halloween Edition: Tourist Experience
October 12 - Halloween Edition: New Person (eg. new girlfriend, new stepfather, new colleague…etc)

October 19 - Halloween Edition: Workplace
October 26 - Halloween/Television Edition: Cults/Secret Societies

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Here are 3 that immediately came to mind.

The Clearing (2023)

Follows a woman who as a child was in a cult and now realises the leader of that cult may just be starting it up all over again. Set in Australia, this is based on a book that was inspired by a real cult in Australia. The story is sad and the atmosphere very creepy...the kids in the cult had had their hair dyed platinum blonde, wore preppy uniforms and they were soo brainwashed.

The Midnight Club (2022)

A group of terminally ill kids at a hospice, which apparently used to be the home of a cult, meet at midnight to tell scary stories...and spooky things do start to happen. Based on Christopher Pike's book. This was disappointing, so I'm not surprised it was not renewed for a second season. It's just not as emotional, scary or haunting as Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House. This was more like The Haunting of Bly Manor... very meh....

Archive 81 (2022)

An archivist is hired to restore a collection of tapes and finds among them a journalist's tapes from the 90's on her investigation of a cult hidden in an apartment building in the city. Adapted from a podcast. Of my picks today this is the one I really enjoyed the most. It was very suspenseful and super creepy and I was very disappointed when it didn't get renewed since the last episode looked like it was setting itself up for a second season, plus the series had review well and got a lot of views...so my guess it was because of budget cuts after the pandemic. I suppose I would have to listen to the podcast to know if there is a proper conclusion.

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Thursday, October 19, 2023

Thursday Movie Picks #465: Halloween Edition - Workplace

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - Workplace

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 5 - Halloween Edition: Tourist Experience
October 12 - Halloween Edition: New Person (eg. new girlfriend, new stepfather, new colleague…etc)

October 19 - Halloween Edition: Workplace
October 26 - Halloween/Television Edition: Cults/Secret Societies

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These workplaces are scary in itself because they're so isolated even without the alien creatures trying to get the characters.

Alien (1979)

Space - I only saw bits of the movie as a kid and it was scary. Hope to watch it in full one day.

The Thing (1982)

Antarctica - The shapeshifting element just heightened the paranoia and horror.

Underwater (2020)

Deep Underwater - The whole facility collapsing after an earthquake is just terrifying, then there are the creatures swimming around it trying to get to the surviving humans.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Thursday Movie Picks #463: Halloween Edition - Tourist Experience

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - Tourist Experience

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 5 - Halloween Edition: Tourist Experience
October 12 - Halloween Edition: New Person (eg. new girlfriend, new stepfather, new colleague…etc)

October 19 - Halloween Edition: Workplace
October 26 - Halloween/Television Edition: Cults/Secret Societies

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This will be a quick visual post of the three movies that came to mind for this theme. This post is also coming a week late as I forgot that October is a weekly TMP rather than a fortnightly one.

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Thursday, October 27, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #433: Halloween/Television Edition Horror TV Themes/Scores

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween/Television Edition: Horror TV Themes/Scores

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 6 - Halloween Edition: Horror Movie Themes/Scores
October 13 - Halloween Edition: The Final Girl
October 20 - Halloween Edition: New Home
October 27 - Halloween/ TMP Television Edition: Horror TV Themes/Scores

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So I'm picking the themes/scores I like and I feel like I am probably forgetting something.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)

This is one of the most Halloweenish sounding opening theme song ever .

The Walking Dead (2010 - 2022)

I may not like the TV series anymore because it got very manipulative and draggy, but I can't deny it has a good opening theme song and I liked the soundtrack of the seasons I saw.

True Blood (2006 -2014)

The opening theme song just fits so well and it's rather catchy.

X-Files (1993 -2018)

The X-Files was so much a part of my childhood. The song, that whistling is just so creepy.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #432: Halloween Edition - New Home

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - New Home

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

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There are a lot of horror movies about people having just moved into a new home, so I thought this would make a great theme with plenty of choices. I’m simply picking some of my most recent watches.

Intrusion (2021)

A woman and her husband who just moved into their new modern home in a small town become victims of a home invasion. This sort of reminds a little of The Invisible Man with the leads living in a modern home with lots of secrets. Intrusion is not as good but still entertaining.

Things Heard & Seen (2021)

A young family moves out of the city to upstate New York for the husband’s new job at a college. At their new home the wife becomes increasingly isolated and senses a presence of spirits while strains start to appear in the couple’s marriage. This has a low rating on IMDB, but I rather enjoyed it. It’s a mix of marriage drama, crime, suspense and a haunted house movie.

Aftermath (2021)

Strange things start to happen at a young couple’s new home which they had bought at a great deal as it had been a scene of a crime. The premise reminds me a lot of Within but this I thought was a little better. Still this is more of a B movie, one if it played on TV probably ended up on Lifetime channel.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #431: Halloween Edition - The Final Girl

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - The Final Girl

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

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I’m picking movies I like with strong final girls who save themselves.

You’re Next (2011)

A home invasion occurs during a family reunion with a little twist - one of them has survival skills. Horror with a little dark humour, it’s good.

Ready or Not (2019)

A bride newly married into a wealthy family that owns a games company is forced to play a dangerous game on her wedding night. If you like You’re Next, you definitely want to watch this; it also has plenty of dark humour with a little gothic horror.

Prey (2022)

A young Comanche woman fights to protect her tribe. I know this is probably not the kind of flick one thinks of as a Final Girl movie, but when you really think about it, it fits really well. This the first Predator movie I have ever seen, it’s a prequel to the original and I thought it was good. I like its early 18th century period setting which took the battle of wits up another level since the Predator’s alien tech and weapons are so far far more advance.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #430: Halloween Edition - Horror Movie Themes/Scores

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - Horror Movie Themes/Scores

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

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First week of this year’s Halloween Edition and it’s an easy theme for me. I love lullabies in horror movies because the vocalisation in them make them all the more haunting and here are three of my favourites.

Lullaby Part 1 and 2 from Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
It’s two tracks but it’s very similar. I haven’t seen the movie in awhile, I suppose part one was played in the beginning and part two at the end. Anyway the lullaby is creepy sounding and Mia Farrow’s humming just adds to the eerieness.

Casper’s Lullaby from Casper (1995)
This maybe from a kids horror comedy but there is nothing juvenile about the Casper’s Lullaby. It is beautiful, sad and haunting.

Pan’s Labyrinth Lullaby and Mercedes Lullaby from Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

I love this movie and the lullabies here are so haunting and beautiful. Pan’s Labyrinth Lullaby is an instrumental piece with a more polished sound. Mercedes Lullaby is slightly different with Mercedes, the mother, humming. Both tracks are very short and it’s general tune is what I have found myself humming often.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks #381: Halloween/Television Edition Horror

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 7 - Halloween Edition: School
October 14 - Halloween Edition: Folk or Urban Legend
October 21 - Halloween Edition: Horror Comedy
October 28 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

So this week is easy; since I only saw 3 horror TV series the past year, I'm picking them 3.

Servant (2019 - )

I picked this last year for Halloween TV Edition after watching season one and season two was released earlier this year. The new season was disappointing. While the the series is still very atmospheric, suspenseful and creepy, the story went nowhere. We still have no idea who or what the nanny girl is. The series has been renewed for season 3, so hopefully they will actually have some explanation or conclusion.

Midnight Mass (2021)

This is another Mike Flanagan series and I like it. Among his three series, I'd ranked it below The Haunting of Hill House and above The Haunting of Bly Manor. The creature work here I thought was excellent; the way the wings looked and the way the creature would swoop down, clearly someone from special effects spent a lot of time observing the movements of the animal it's inspired by. One negative I thought was some of the series' overly lengthy monologues, they could certainly have shortened them.

Locke & Key (2020 - )

I picked this last year for Halloween TV Edition too after watching season one. Season two was just released this month and I'm halfway through it. I think it's clear with the second season that this is going to continue to be more of a YA horror TV series rather than a horror series which is what the graphic novel is, it is an adult horror graphic novel not YA. Which I think is a pity because I prefer the darker graphic novel story. However, so far I'm liking this season a little more than the first. It has less of the high schooly stuff and the silly Scooby gang thing they were doing in the first.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks #380: Halloween Edition - Horror Comedy

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - Horror Comedy

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 7 - Halloween Edition: School
October 14 - Halloween Edition: Folk or Urban Legend
October 21 - Halloween Edition: Horror Comedy
October 28 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

I'm picking the ones I like from my most recent watches.

Ready or Not (2019)

While the basic premise is in the realm of scary, the violence is so over the top with an ending that is so out of this world that this is so obviously a comedy. One with a sharp wit, where the villains are these dumb bickering overprivileged people trying desperately to hold on to their privilege and a strong final girl that survives them all.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

The movie's a satirical horror thriller set in the pretentious art world and revolves around some cursed paintings. I like it...the movie was really having fun mocking that world.

Colossal (2016)

Colossal has this Godzilla like premise where there's a giant monster stomping around a city that is bizarrely connected to a woman across the world whose life is a complete mess. The first half of this movie is sort of sad funny then it went quite dark in the second half when we meet the real villain of Colossal...one that I did not expect when the character was first introduced.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks #379: Halloween Edition - Folk or Urban Legend

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - Folk or Urban Legend

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 7 - Halloween Edition: School
October 14 - Halloween Edition: Folk or Urban Legend
October 21 - Halloween Edition: Horror Comedy
October 28 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

So today’s theme is folk or urban legends. Can't say I really have any favourites, so I'm picking the movies I remember watching and I'll refer/link to the urban legend it references.

Urban Legend (1998)
If you're not familiar with urban legends, this would should be your first watch, as it features and is basically like an introduction to a couple of urban legends. While not great, it's not a bad movie either. I think it's one of the more memorable 90s teen horror movie.

The Babysitter

When a Stranger Calls (2006)

There apparently has been several movies that were inspired by this urban legend and this 2006 movie is also a remake of a 1979 one of the same name. I would like to see the original since it has a higher rating than the remake which I thought was one of the more forgettable 2000s movies...not much happens.

The Hookman

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I rewatched this sometime last year. The movie wasn't very good but it was a very nostalgic watch...it was soo 90s and starred 4 of the biggest teen movie stars (though Hewitt was the only actual teen) then. Did you know this was actually adapted from a book by Lois Duncan a YA author that was quite popular in the 70s and 80s. I read the book a few years ago and found it was very different from the movie. The book was not a teen slasher; the Hookman was something the movie added combining the story from the book and the urban legend character. While a thriller, I remember the book being more of a cautionary tale and about taking responsibility. Anyway, there's a new I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series coming out this October and I wonder if they're keeping the Hookman from the movies.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks #378: Halloween Edition - School

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - School

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 7 - Halloween Edition: School
October 14 - Halloween Edition: Folk or Urban Legend
October 21 - Halloween Edition: Horror Comedy
October 28 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

So today’s theme is horror movies that take place in a school which can a bit tricky because while there are plenty of teen horror movies out there, for most of them the horror events do not take place within school grounds. Anyway here are the ones that do take place in school that I like.

The Faculty (1998)
I haven’t seen this one in a long time but I love this movie, it is so much fun to watch. I was reading it’s IMDB page and one of the reviews described it as something like The Breakfast Club alien invasion movie and I totally agree. It’s quite amazing too that even though this is set in just a regular school (not boarding) they manage to keep pretty much all of the horror at school.

Cry Wolf (2005)
I had avoided watching this when it came out because I thought the poster looked scary. However, it was added to Netflix recently so I gave it watch and I ended up liking it; it was quite a fun little gem. Basically it’s about a group of teens at a boarding school that loves playing a social deduction game called Cry Wolf (which is apparently based off a real party game called Werewolf) and when a young woman is found murdered in the woods nearby, the teens decide to expand the game to the entire school by spreading a rumour that the murderer is going after students at the school. However, weird scary stuff start to happen and they can’t tell if it’s just one of them trying to scare the others or if their games have attracted and angered the real killer.

The Blackcoat's Daughter a.k.a February (2015)
I picked this a couple of times before but it’s perfect for today’s theme since it, like Cry Wolf, also takes place at a boarding school. Except this one is an almost empty school with only two students remaining whose parents are late picking them up for winter break and the school nuns who live in a house on the school grounds. The emptiness of the school, coupled with the snowy weather just gives this sense of creepy isolation and dread.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Thursday Movie Picks #329 Halloween/Television Edition - Horror

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition/Television Edition - Horror

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 29 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

Last week of the Horror Edition and it's also the TV Edition. My picks today are the most recent horror TV series I've seen the past year.

True Blood (2008 -2014)
I had seen this back when it aired then had stopped until about season 3 or 4 and finally completed the series this year. Basically watched right from the start again. Overall I enjoyed it; it was a fun sexy horror dark comedy.

Castle Rock (2018 - )
If you like Stephen King adaptations I'd recommend this though this isn't really an adaptation. It's new stories based around characters and settings made famous in some of King's books. I prefer the second season, less confusing and it has a more identifiable character that the story features, which was a younger Annie from Misery.

Servant (2019 - )

I really like this. It's basically about this couple whose baby died, I think from SIDS, and with the wife unable to accept the death, the family, upon a friend's advice decide to use a doll in place of the baby. The wife proceeds to treat it like her baby, alive and well. The series begins when the couple bring in a live-in nanny to care for the doll baby when the wife ends her maternity leave and restarting her job, which brings the weird to a whole new level. This series has such super creepy atmosphere and you can't decide who to be afraid for more, the young nanny staying in a household where one its members is suffering a mental illness, or the couple who have opened their home to a stranger from unknown origins.

Locke & Key (2020 - )
This, if you didn't know, is based on a graphic novel of the same name written by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son). I have been waiting for an adaptation of this since I read it a few years ago and there had been a pilot episode shot in 2011 that was never picked up for a full series. While overall I did enjoy this new adaptation, I thought the depiction of the supernatural stuff was pretty decent, season one is still a bit of a disappointment. The problem is that I remember the graphic novel to be much more sinister in tone and this adaptation is just too PG and YA-ish. I'm hoping they make the tone in the second season darker and not waste such a great horror premise.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020 - )

This is from the team that brought The Haunting of Hill House. This time it's an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw. Like the other series, this too was a slow burn, it only really started to get good for me from episode 5 (just like on Hill House) where things start to make a lot of sense and we begin to see the connections. While not as great as Hill House, Bly Manor was still good and features some similar things like: a lot of jumps between past and present, characters who aren't fully aware of their being, a character self sacrificing to appease the restless and it is similarly more sad tragic horror rather than jump scares horror. Now I'm eagerly anticipating what other literary house this anthology is going to tackle. Some have speculated it's the Eel Marsh House from Susan Hill's The Woman in Black which I am so for, that house is creepy. Another literary house I think would be interesting is Hundreds Hall from Sarah Water's The Little Stranger.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Thursday Movie Picks #328 Halloween Edition - Holiday Horror

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - Holiday Horror

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 22 - Halloween Edition: Holiday Horror
October 29 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

Well this was quite tricky, trying to remember what movies was set against what holiday. My picks today are all non Halloween movies.

Escape Room (2019)
Staying on her college campus during Thanksgiving break, a young woman accepts a mysterious invitation to an Escape Room. It was an ok tension filled movie where the characters try to solve elaborate puzzles before time runs out.

P2 (2007)
After working late at her office on Christmas Eve, a woman finds herself trapped in the garage and pursued by the crazy garage attendant. I don't remember much of this now, but I think it was an ok movie.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

On a day trip to Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day, a few students from a girls' boarding school and a teacher disappear. One of my favourite movies. I wouldn't really categorise this as outright horror, I'd say this is more of a mystery drama that has some horror elements, in that people have gone missing, with subtle hints of the supernatural. Overall the movie is beautiful and eerie. Also the movie like the book cleverly misleads you into believing that it's based on a true story.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Thursday Movie Picks #327: Halloween Edition - Snow / Winter Horror

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Halloween Edition - Snow / Winter Horror

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 15 - Halloween Edition: Snow / Winter Horror
October 22 - Halloween Edition: Holiday Horror
October 29 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

I think the snow and cold makes a good backdrop for a horror movie. It sort of heightens the sense of both physical and psychological isolation. Anyway this is another hard one. Mostly because I'm running out of movies to pick from. These are all ones I've picked before for other themes.

The Blackcoat's Daughter a.k.a February (2015)
Other than the two staff staying off the main buildings, the last two girls stay alone at their boarding school waiting for their parents who seem to be late in picking them up for winter break. I like it. The whole being alone at a school that looks quite isolated in not great weather is already creepy. Throw in a girl who seems off and you're just dreading in what way it's all going to go wrong.

The Visit (2015)
Two siblings on their own visit their estranged grandparents whom they have never met before for a vacation. I like this one too. It starts off like a fun vacation with the kids quite excited to meet their grandparents for the first time but then things get weirder weirder.

Let the Right One In (2008)

A bullied boy befriends his new strange neighbour. One of my favourites. I know the title is likely a play on the whole vampire lore of having to be invited into a home. But I also think it works in the case for Eli, in that she, the vampire, has to be careful who she lets into her secret, and we see that it's a cycle, that she had picked the right one in Oskar's predecessor.

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