STILL HERE is a new column by Jasper Magazine editor Cindi Boiter
I remember being invited to a Halloween costume party in my early 20s when we lived in DC and being flummoxed by the invitation to “dress up” in a costume for the event. Dress up? Like a child? I thought. This was in the early 80s and all I could think was that Halloween was for children and I had no idea how to approach “dressing up” as an adult. Thankfully, the years have passed and taught me that Halloween may be for children, but it is also a sacred night for so many of my LGBTQ+ friends who love the holiday for the personal and aesthetic freedom it has traditionally allowed, as well as artists and creatives, like my friends Bohumila Augustinova and B.A. Hohman, who treat Halloween the way they treat their daily lives, with creativity and panache.
In any case, I’ve learned my lessons about Halloween, and now I recognize that I don’t dress up primarily because I’m too lazy. That said, I appreciate the spookiness of Halloween, as seen through the eyes of my grandchildren, and I love a free night that allows me to stay in and watch scary and, sometimes, esoteric films.
To that end, I took advantage of having filmmaking friends who know much more about scary flicks than I do and I asked a few of them to recommend some films to watch on Halloween night. But because I’m a wimp I also asked them to indicate whether there are scare-jumps in their recommended movies (I hate them!) and to rate the films for gore with 1 being OK for wussies (me!) and 5 being grossest.
Thanks to Thaddeus Jones, Chris Bickel, and David Axe for helping me out. Here’s what we came up with.
David Axe, independent filmmaker
SKINAMARINK (2022)
“A divisive and unique cinematic nightmare. No jump scares, just dread.” (Axe)
Gore Rating - 1
Jump Scares - 0
~
CUCKOO (2024)
“A trippy and atmospheric horror set in the German alps. Several jump scares.” (Axe)
Gore Rating -2
Jump Scares - many
Chris Bickel, independent filmmaker
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
“No real jump scares, but an unexpected ending. The movie that started everything and ushered in the modern horror era. I watch it every Halloween. “
Gore Rating – 2
Jump Scares - 0
PIECES (1982)
~
“Amazing Eurotrash slasher movie”
Gore Rating – 4
Jump Scares -1
~
THE MIDNIGHT HOUR (1985)
“0 on the gore scale, just dumb fun. No jump scares. Made-for-TV comedy horror with Levar Burton and Sheri Belafonte. Kind of hard to find, but worth seeking it out for stupid fun. It's like if Michael Jackson's Thriller was a feature-length TV comedy.”
Gore Rating – 0
Jump Scares – 0
Thaddeus Jones – independent filmmaker
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008)
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl. (IMDB)
Gore Rating – 3
Jump Scares – 2
~
SLITHER (2006)
A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters. (IMDB)
Gore Rating – 5
Jump Scares – 2
~
TRAIN TO BUSSAN (2016)
While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan (IMDb)
Gore Rating -2
Jump Scares – 3
~
THE SHINING
Stanley Kubrick classic based on the Stephen King novel starring Jack Nicholson
Gore Rating – 2
Jump Scares --3
Jones also mentioned one of my favorite horror films, The Fly (1986) starring a very cute Jeff Goldblum and a porcelain-skinned Geena Davis. I favor the zeros when it comes to jump scares and gore, and Thad gave The Fly a 4.5 on gore with 1 jump scare, which made me film brave af. But I wonder if, like me, Jones also prefers the 1958 version starring Vincent Price with David Hedison as his brother who, spoiler alert, ends up with the arm and head of a man, but the rest of his body, a fly, feebly and frighteningly muttering those infamous words that are still tattooed on my brain, “Help me. Help me!”
If you’re staying in and watching something horrific on Thursday night, let us know what you have queued up.
