marissa belle ｡･:*˚:✧｡࿐

Happy October to my lovely readers! 

If anyone asked me what my favourite film genre would be, it is probably a mix of horror and comedy. That has been my answer for as long as I can remember.

With Halloween around the corner and with my years of horror film-watching experience, I’m your girl when it comes to creepy things to watch. I will also be rating them according to a ‘scare factor’ scale, 1 being the least scary and 10 being the scare-your-socks-off most scary. Without further ado, let’s begin!

FYI – this is a spoiler free zone!

The Visit (2015)

Scare Factor : 7/10

The Visit is a film I always recommend to anyone looking for something to creep you out. Unlike other horror films, this one doesn’t actually include any ghosts or paranormal activity.

The Visit follows the story of 2 children, Becca and Tyler, who are being sent by their mother to live with their estranged grandparents for a week at their farm as a little ‘get to know me’ trip.

Tyler is an aspiring filmmaker and brings a video camera along to document their visit and interview their grandparents – sort of like a vlog! He documents their visit and strange things start to happen.

The film was released in 2015 and grossed over $65.2 million in the US box office and $25.4 million in its first opening weekend. I personally really enjoyed this film and I’ve seen it twice so far – even though I know the full plot, it still manages to creep me out!

Dead Silence (2007)

Scare Factor : 8/10

The plot of Dead Silence follows the story of Jamie Ashen who receives an anonymous gift of a ventriloquist doll (who the HELL does that?!) and mysterious things start to happen after that. He also received a message about someone named ‘Mary Shaw’, a now-deceased ventriloquist from his hometown.

He then visits his extremely wealthy father for some information regarding the strange ‘Mary Shaw’. After getting the information, he realises it is a much more serious affair than what he thought it was at the start.

I remember watching this film in the cinema like it was yesterday and actually getting scared a lot of times. I saw it with my mum and she loved it! To this day I wouldn’t ever dare touch a ventriloquist doll, they look creepy enough as it is before I saw this film. Now they just terrify me. Would highly recommend this film to anyone who doesn’t already have a fear of dolls!

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Scare Factor : 1/10

The ever so popular The Nightmare Before Christmas film is probably Tim Burton’s most well-known film and for good reason!

This stop motion animated musical film tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, who wrongly ends up in Christmas Town and realises he actually loves Christmas, possibly more than Halloween! He celebrates the holiday like it is his last.

The songs are extremely catchy and the characters are so easy to fall in love with, sometimes through random times of the day I find myself singing ‘What’s This?’ to myself, it is definitely my favourite song from the film.

I am a huge fan of Tim Burton and musicals, and if you are too, this film is the one for you!

Laddaland (2011)

Scare Factor : 9/10

Laddaland is a Thai horror film that follows the story of a family consisting of a husband, a wife and two children, all of whom move into a new house because of financial issues.

Even though Laddaland seems like a lovely and quiet neighbourhood, the entire family figures that the environment seems kind of… off. A neighbour is found dead next door and another neighbour abuses his wife and mother. Stranger things start happening that make the family ponder whether or not moving to this new place was a good idea or not.

Asian horror films are honestly the best and if you haven’t already watched one, I highly recommend it! They are the scariest and MOST creepy out of all that I’ve ever seen. An asian horror film has never not scared me. Thai horror films are especially top notch. If the language barrier puts you off, I beg of you to just put the subtitles on and watch one, it’ll change your perception!

Shutter (2004)

Scare Factor : 8/10

Shutter is another incredible Thai horror film that I’ve sworn by when it comes to scaring yourself.

The plot follows Jane and her photographer boyfriend Tun who get into a car accident after Jane unintentionally runs over a woman. They do a hit-and-run, which puts them in a situation for the worst.

Tun begins to notice bizarre things appearing in the photographs that he develops in the dark room, like white spots and even some faces. His girlfriend suspects them to be spirits but Tun doesn’t believe in that.

Shutter is another one of those films that all Asians have probably watched and love. Very very creepy and there are some points of jump scares, but the storyline is so interesting and there is also a lot of thrilling aspects in it.

The Devil Inside (2012)

Scare Factor : 10/10 (For me at least!)

When people ask me what the scariest movie I’ve ever seen in my life is, I always say OH MY GOD ‘THE DEVIL INSIDE’! That is solely because I hate hate HATE movies with a possession storyline. I went into the movie theatre not knowing what I was about to see and it has stayed with me for over 8 years.

The Devil Inside is known as a ‘found footage’ supernatural documentary-style film about a woman who is on a quest to find her mother, all while getting unintentionally involved in a large series of exorcisms.

The Catholic church is heavily involved in this and I grew up Catholic, which also might explain why I found it a bit too close to home. A quote on the poster even says ‘The film the Vatican doesn’t want you to see’. Yuck, makes my hair stand on end just thinking about it.

If you’re fine with watching films about demonic possessions or religious ‘procedures’, this probably wouldn’t scare you that much. But if you’re like me and you hate visuals of exorcism, this film will make you shit a brick. I watched it once and never again.

Corpse Bride (2005) 

Scare Factor : 2/10

To end off on a more pleasant note, the final film I’m recommending you is Corpse Bride, another Tim Burton classic – but a more underrated one in my opinion. Not many people know this about me but Corpse Bride is in my top 5 favourite movies of all time, and that’s saying something! 

Corpse Bride is a stop-motion animation film following the storyline of a Victor Van Dort in the 1800s who has an arranged marriage ordered by his parents to a woman he has never met before named Victoria Everglot, who is a daughter of an aristocratic couple. The marriage was arranged so as to raise the social class of the Van Dort family. 

However, during a little wander into the woods before his wedding day, Victor encounters something eerie, something he never thought he’d experience in his lifetime and it changes him forever. 

Corpse Bride is a beautiful film with an amazing soundtrack and I personally hail it as Tim Burton’s best piece of work yet. The storyline is so sweet and pure, the characters can get creepy but are still loveable, and I would highly recommend this. I think I’ve watched it over 50 times in my lifetime!

Thank you all for indulging me in my passion for creepy films this October! 

What’s a creepy horror film you enjoy and would recommend me? What’s your favourite type of horror film sub-genre, haunted houses, possessions, creepy children, poltergeists? 

Let me know in the comments below! Until next time, have a good October!