A helping of HORROR

SCHAEFER ON THIS YEAR’S FRIGHT FLICKS

Hollywood and Halloween make an ideal match — but moviegoers know horror on the big screen is really a year- round affair.

Unlike big-budget superhero franchises, horror flicks are attractive to filmmakers because they can be inexpensive to make and market.

And, with any luck, a hit horror movie will spawn a franchise or, better yet, become nearly as profitable as those mega-buck behemoths.

This Halloween weekend is scarily overstocked. Already in theaters are the justopened “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” with Tyler Perry back in drag, and a second round of malevolent vibrations for those who dared to play “Ouija: Origin of Evil.”

Friday brings “Recovery” and “The Unspoken” in limited release. In “Recovery,” a young woman is stuck in a house that's occupied by flesh-eating demons, keeping with the “isolated and in danger” theme of several horror entries this year:

“The Shallows” — a surfer stranded and stalked by a Great White,

“Green Room” — a punk band trapped in a remote club by neo-Nazis, and

“10 Cloverfield Lane” — a woman held captive in an underground bunker by a crazy survivalist.

This year critics and audiences embraced a smash trio of spooky hits that raised the horror bar with smart writing, great acting, stylish direction and grueling suspense: “The Conjuring 2” (earning $320 million globally!) went to England to battle demons, “Don't Breathe” (nearing $90 million) turned the tables on foolish teens who dared to burgle a blind Vietnam War-era vet, while “Lights Out” ($148 million global) terrorized with its abusive ghost threatening a mother and son.

And the chills just keep coming. Nov. 11 sees the opening of the horror comedy “The Love Witch,” about a modernday sorceress who uses magic to make men fall in love with her. Meanwhile, Naomi Watts and Jacob Tremblay, the young “Room” discovery, costar in “Shut In.” Watts is a widow who must try to save a young boy from disappearing forever. She's isolated, of course, in a setting that's perfect for a spooky tale: rural New England.

SPELL OUT FEAR: Lulu Wilson, above, plays a possessed girl in ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil.’ Naomi Watts must save Jacob Tremblay in the New England-set ‘Shut In,’ below.

DON’T LOOK BACK: Vera Farmiga, above, battled poltergeists in ‘The Conjuring 2.’ Samantha Robinson, below, stirs a potion in ‘The Love Witch,’ opening next month.

— cinesteve@hotmail.com