Do you make excuses to avoid seeing the latest horror flicks with your friends? Are you desperately afraid of jump scares? Do you kind of want Halloween to be over already?
Not to worry, Close-up Culture have compiled list of films that you can watch with your friends this Halloween without being made to feel like a total horror flick wimp.
Option 7. Aesthetics Over Scares
Some horror films are so gosh darn beautiful that it is relatively easy to distract yourself from any scary moments. Just spend your time admiring the aesthetics and try to forget the horror playing out on-screen.
Top Pick: The Love Witch
Other Options: Edward Scissorhands, Suspira (1977), Under the skin, The Others, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Pan’s Labyrinth
Option 6. Amination And Nostalgia
This is a fairly transparent way to avoid a scary flick, but you can try to claim you are yearning for a little nostalgia or something lighter after a hard day at work. Throwing out one of these films as a suggestion should appeal to a fellow closeted horror wimp.
Top Picks: Coraline
Other Options: The Adams Family, Hocus Pocus, Goosebumps, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Witches
Option 5. Sci-Fis And Technophobia
Sell your friends on the terrifying A.I. future that is fast approaching and settle down for a not-so-scary evening. Be careful not to fall into the trap of watching a genuinely terrifying technophobic film like The Fly or Videodrome. These films might also leave you with nagging fears that stick much longer than a jump scare.
Top Pick: Ex-Machina
Other Options: Super 8, Personal Shopper, Midnight Special, Bladerunner, Bladerunner 2049, Annihilation, Terminator
Option 5. The Subtitle Distraction
People will often claim they avoid watching foreign-language because they struggle to read and watch at the same time. Well, it is finally time to use this movie-goer dilemma to your advantage. Spend your time focusing on the text and attempt to ease yourself into the film.
Top Pick: Pan’s Labyrinth
Other Options: Perfect Blue, Raw
Option 4. Just A Little Gore
A solid option for those who can stomach blood and guts, but fall to pieces at the sight of demons or a jump scare.
Top Pick: Bone Tomakhawk
Other Options: The Hateful Eight, Green Room, The Hounds Of Love
Option 3. Classic Horrors
A tough sell for most, but you are onto a winner if you can persuade your friends to pick a classic horror. The right choice should allow you to come out from behind the sofa and have some fun with the dated effects and costumes.
Top Pick: Creature From The Dark Lagoon
Other Options: The Blob, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, It Came From Outer Space
Option 2. Unsettling (but not too scary) Thrillers
Another tough sell on Halloween and an admittedly risky route for those who have zero tolerance for anything remotely scary. Do not get complacent as this route does not guard you from the occasional jump scare.
Top Pick: Mullholland Dr.
Other Options: Personal Shopper, Nocturnal Animals, Spring Breakers, Side Effects, Black Swan, Gone Girl, Mullholland Dr, Perfect Blue, Mother!
Option 1. Laughs Over Scares
As Beetlejuice turns 30 years old, you already have a ready-made excuse to switch on Tim Burton’s comedy classic and escape into a scare-free Halloween space. There is no better way for a scaredy-cat to spend Halloween than to be laughing and shovelling down candy care-free.
Another warning that even horror-comedy can throw up a cheeky jump scare or two.
Top Pick: Bettlejuice
Other Options: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Zombieland, What We Do In The Shadows, Ghostbusters