The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Halloween thrills, chills and spills to stream
From family favourites to mind-bending horror
A huge variety of Halloween favourites await on Netflix, Disney+, Crave and more
It’s the spooky season again and most of the major streaming services have been busy highlighting their original and licensed horror content just in time to snuggle up for a Halloween movie marathon.
For those who have been following my column for a bit, you know I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to horror, but I tough it out for the greater good, so without further ado, here are a few things you should check out and maybe avoid.
Note: although I am writing about content on Netflix’s platform, I am also cognizant of the issues of transphobia at Netflix — an ongoing issue for the company following a stand-up special that was outwardly transphobic and harmful. I stand in solidarity with the transgender community, staff and creators at Netflix.
AMERICAN HORROR STORIES — DISNEY+
Not to be confused with the award-winning anthology series American Horror Story, which has three seasons available on Disney+, American Horror Stories is a new horror anthology in the same tradition and even with the same creators — it’s a spin-off.
However, at least four episodes in and it’s lacking in the quality that made the original series such a smash.
The series kicks off in a familiar locale, the murder house, where people who are killed there are essentially doomed to spend eternity in those halls along with everyone else who met their untimely demise inside.
A family moves in hoping to make some renovations and turn the infamous Los Angeles property into a spooky tourist trap, but, as you can imagine, that doesn’t go so well.
The spirits slowly show their hand, influencing the new denizens who have set up there and bringing out the inner psychopath of Scarlett (Sierra Mccormick).
It clumsily delves into deeper issues of bullying and discovering one’s sexuality, and to the show’s credit, it does have strong representation of LGBTQ+ relationships and families, but the stories themselves fall flat.
In another episode, a forbidden movie re-surfaces with much fanfare, when watched, the film turns the audience into a horde of murderous zombies. It’s silly and at times kind of fun, making light of moral panics and media, but none of it feels earned. Everything from the production quality to the story development just feels half-baked — the leftovers that didn’t cut it for American Horror Story.
I was prepared to be really scared and freaked out based on the lineage of this series – but the flat performances and lukewarm ideas just don’t resonate and result in more eyerolling than actual screams.
You’re much better off sticking with American Horror Story than Stories.
MIDSOMMAR — NETFLIX
From the creator of one of the most harrowing and terrifying films I’ve ever seen, Hereditary (which is also available on Netflix), Midsommar follows a grief-stricken young woman (Florence Pugh), her boyfriend (Jack Reynor) and a group of grad school bros on a trip to rural Sweden, where they visit a remote commune.
Things seem idyllic at first, with flower crowns and an agrarian lifestyle on full display, but things quickly take a turn as the resident traditions turn bloody and disturbing.
It’s another stunning effort from writer and director Ari Aster, although not as mind-numbingly terrifying as Hereditary, which stayed with me for days after watching.
Midsommar, although more stripped down and bright for horror, is at its core a tale about grief and the slow implosion of toxic relationships at the end of their life.
A little bit of Wicker Man meshed in with some Swedish iconography whirling around a tragic break-up murder festival, what’s not to like?
Pugh is brilliant as her character tries to balance the tragic loss of her family, hanging on to a relationship on its last thread while coming to terms with increasingly insane rituals that slowly envelop her.
Midsommar wasn’t jumpout-of-your-seat scary in the traditional sense, but certainly disturbing and moody, and honestly, my kind of horror.
THE WITCHES — CRAVE+
Something a little more family-friendly, The Witches on CRAVE+, is based on the Roald Dahl novel of the same name and a film from 1990.
The HBO Max original, which debuted in 2020, stars Anne Hathaway as the Grand High Witch and Octavia Spencer as the grandmother.
Set in 1960s America, this version of The Witches focuses on a Black orphaned boy who goes to live with his grandmother in rural Alabama.
However, in this world, witches are real — and they’re quite terrifying, especially for a kids’ movie. Rather than a crooked black hat and a broomstick, these witches are described as demons that desire to destroy children. They are recognizable for their monstrously wide smiles, complete with sharp teeth and talon-like hands. They use their talents in the dark arts to put curses on people and cause trouble, but their main goal is going after children, whom they despise.
The boy and grandma, seeking to get away from these vile creatures, escape to a grand hotel but find themselves smackdab in the middle of a coven convention.
The film is rated PG, but I will caution parents that some of the scenes, especially with the witches outside of their glamorous disguises, may be disturbing for younger viewers.
Still, The Witches is a pretty fun family adventure movie and is just the right amount of spooky for a Halloween theme. It’s not particularly ground-breaking, but the performances are enjoyable, despite some iffy accent work from Hathaway. For me, Spencer steals the show.