The spooky season is here once again, and we all know that Halloween must not pass without getting ourselves some of that fear-induced adrenaline rush! So if you’re on the lookout for movies to get you spooked this month, then look no further. On this list, we’ve rounded up some of the most popular Pinoy horror movies that you might want to watch this Halloween!
Aurora
Aurora from director Yam Laranas tells the story of the islander Leana and her younger sister Rita. When a fatal shipwreck happens on the rocky shores of their island, the siblings try to look for missing bodies, until the dead comes looking for shelter instead. Watch Aurora on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5tlmpF_Fco&t
Eerie
Directed by Mikhail Red, Eerie follows a guidance counselor at a Catholic school for girls, who slowly unravels the mystery behind a student’s death through the help of a spirit. Watch Eerie on Netflix.
Nightshift
Another Yam Laranas film, Nightshift is about a young woman whose first day working at the morgue turns into a nightmare, when the dead bodies start to show signs of resurrection. Watch Nightshift on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrnVV-cVrq0&t
Seklusyon
From director Erik Matti comes Seklusyon, a horror flick that revolves around a group of aspiring priests who are sent to a remote convent to live in seclusion. Soon, a child who can perform miracles arrives, but is her power really from God or something else?
Bliss
Jerrold Tarog’s Bliss is a psychological horror starring Iza Calzado. It follows the aging actress Jane who tries to direct her first film, but an accident during filming cripples her. As she stays home, surrounded by people whom she thinks might harm her, Jane’s sanity begins to crumble. Watch Bliss on Netflix.
Clarita
Based on real events, Roderick Cabrido’s Clarita is about the story of demonic possession that took place in the 1950s. After being apprehended by the police, a woman named Clarita soon showed signs of being attacked by an invisible attacker. Soon, the police call on a priest to exorcise her. Watch Clarita on Apple TV.
Feng Shui
Chito S. Roño’s 2004 film Feng Shui has truly become a Pinoy horror classic. It tells the story of a woman who brings home an antique bagua, which seems to bring her family good luck. But with every stroke of luck she receives, someone close to her dies. Watch Feng Shui on Netflix.
Sukob
Another Chito S. Roño classic, Sukob follows two couples who unknowingly commit the superstitious sukob, where one marries within the same year when an immediate relative died. Soon, the curse takes over their lives, killing the people around them one by one. Watch Sukob on Apple TV.
Kuwaresma
Erik Matti’s Kuwaresma features a dysfunctional family unit at the core of its horrors. A young man returns home to his strict father and submissive mother after the death of his twin sister. Soon, the ghost of his twin seems to haunt their home. Watch Kuwaresma on Netflix.
Banal
Peter Abanna’s Banal tells the story of a group of teenagers who decided to trek a sacred mountain during their summer break, but they are welcomed by a sinister force prowling the woods.
Despite being a comedian, Jordan Peele has been under the radar of horror movie fans ever since his successful directorial debut with Get Out which won him multiple Oscars. Now, Peele’s third horror film Nope is finally coming to Philippine theaters this week!
Nope follows siblings OJ and Em who inherit a ranch of horses in Hollywood that are being used for film and television productions. Meanwhile, the former child star Jupe who is running a nearby theme park called Jupiter’s Claim, plans to buy the ranch from OJ. Things get bizarre when an unknown flying object begins to appear in the sky, but the siblings and Jupe find this as an opportunity to profit off of the flying saucer and the mysteries surrounding it. Watch Nope‘s trailer below:
Before you see Nope on the big screen this week, here are some fun facts about the movie you might want to know about!
1. Daniel Kaluuya and Jordan Peele are back.
Daniel Kaluuya won an Oscar for Best Actor in Peele’s first film Get Out, and now the two are back together for the director’s new movie. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the director shared that Kaluuya is his “favorite actor in the world.”
“I couldn’t wait longer to work with him again. One of the things I admire most about him is his powerful stillness. Nobody else has it. He doesn’t need words to communicate his thoughts or emotions. In the scariest and quietest moments, you know exactly what he’s feeling and experiencing just by looking at him, and that’s so powerful. His big eyes, his body language—he brings so much emotion,” the director explained.
2. Jupiter’s Claim has become a real Hollywood attraction.
Jupiter’s Claim, the theme park that Jupe has built to earn from his childhood tragedy, was rebuilt in real life to become part of the iconic Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. In an interview with Forbes, Universal Creative’s Vice President Jon Corfino shared that they were given access to Peele’s set for Nope to further understand how the set works.
“It’s unique to go out to a set and be there while it’s filming, to partner with Jordan and the production team, and get into the filmmaking process,” said Corfino. “We were allowed excellent access to help understand the film and figure out how we could do it. Usually, the movie is out, and you can tailor what you want to add from an attraction or backlot basis. Being there in real time was very different and very exciting. Jordan was so welcoming, and when I first went out there and saw him, he got very excited. That got me even more excited. It was one of those times when you think, ‘Oh boy. Don’t we have the coolest jobs in the world?’”
3. The film tackles the “wrong spectacle”
Peele is known for injecting commentaries in his films, like racism in Get Out and America’s fear of “outsiders” in Us. This time, Peele is inspired the “dark time” we find ourselves in.
“I wrote this movie in a dark time that still exists. We are obsessed with the wrong spectacle, and it distracts us from what we really need to focus on,” said Peele in the same interview. “The movie is a reflection of all the awfulness and the spectacular horrors that we’ve been living through.”
Photo: ‘Nope’ trailer
In an interview with CBC News, Peele also revealed that he was partly inspired by Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs.
4. Peele made an intro for the fictional sitcom ‘Gordy’s Home’.
In the film, the child star Jupe is introduced as part of the fictitious sitcom Gordy’s Home. The sitcom ended tragically, however, when the show’s chimpanzee murdered its cast members, leaving Jupe as the lone survivor. Peele has released the intro clip for the sitcom within the movie, which you could watch below:
Here’s another bonus fact about the tragedy that transpired on the set of the fictional show. Peele tweeted back in 2014 a dream that he had which is very similar to the young Jupe’s experience in the film. This most likely inspired Jupe’s subplot in Nope.
Dreamt that a baby chimp attacked some people then ran to me and hugged me all scared. I woke up with tears streaming down my face. #bruh
5. Gordy is made with CGI and acted by a “The Planet of the Apes” actor.
The chimpanzee that made the opening of Nope nightmarish is actually CGI created with motion capture used in The Planet of the Apes trilogy. The chimp was even played by one of the trilogy’s actors, Terry Notary, who starred as Rocket.
Nopeopens in cinemas nationwide this Wednesday, August 17, 2022. Book your seats in advance and buy your tickets here.
Jump scares and compelling plots may be crucial to making effective horror movies, but what makes these films really stick even after you’ve finished watching is the idea that they are more than just fiction put together for the screen.
The more the film blurs the line between fact and fiction, the scarier it becomes when you think about it. This is why exorcism movies or films about curses are extra creepy when they overlap your religious and cultural beliefs. It’s even creepier when these movies actually pull their stories from real-life events.
But it’s not always just in the idea, as a horror movie can also suspend your disbelief through the way that it is presented. This is where found footage horror comes in, the subgenre that ditches cinematography for shaky shots and blurry imagery to trick our minds into thinking that what we’re seeing is real.
A short history of found footage films
The first film considered to bring birth to the subgenre is the 1980 cult classic Cannibal Holocaust. The disturbing and gory flick by Italian director Ruggero Deodato depicted a group of documentary filmmakers who tried to film cannibal tribes in the Amazon rainforest but became food themselves.
Was it effective in pushing realism? Well, Deodato was actually charged with the murder of his actors in the film, and had to prove in court that everything was made with practical effects.
While it is the pioneer of the found footage technique in filmmaking, Cannibal Holocaust really gained its notoriety mostly because of the graphic violence and the controversies that came with it. But in 1999, there was an independent film that really emphasized the effectiveness of found footage in the horror genre: The Blair Witch Project.
Photo: ‘The Blair Witch Project’ trailer
The film followed three filmmaking students as they take a hike into a forest in the hopes of documenting a local legend known as the Blair Witch. What ensues is a nightmarish experience with something sinister waiting for them in the shadows.
After the success of The Blair Witch Project, the found footage subgenre was soon saturated with titles. After all, the technique allows for the films to be cheaper and easier to make. But while there are lots of bad films that piggybacked on the success of the subgenre, there are also some nice gems that are worth checking out post-Blair Witch Project.
If you want to dive deeper into found footage horror, we’ve listed down ten movies you need to watch to get you started.
10 Found Footage Horror Movies You Need to Watch
1. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
After a film crew goes missing while documenting the cannibal tribes of the Amazon rainforest, a rescue team had been sent to investigate. What they find are footage of what happened to the filmmakers– mutilated and devoured by the cannibals in gut-wrenching and gruesome ways. Needless to say, if you’re weak in the stomach, you should skip this flick.
Photo: ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ trailer
2. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Filmmakers Heather, Mike, and Josh brave the woods of Burkittesville, Maryland to find the truth behind the local legend of the Blair Witch. After being lost in the forest, the group’s journey gets more dangerous by the second, with an unseen evil stalking them at every turn. The film may lack in horror spectacle, but the actors’ performances really made this a spine-chilling experience to watch.
3. Noroi: The Curse (2005)
Noroi: The Curse is the found footage film to check out if you’re a fan of that classic Asian horror. The film tells the story of a paranormal researcher who disappeared after his house burned down and killed his wife. Through the recordings of his cameraman, the scary story behind the tragedy begins to unfold.
4. REC (2007)
This Spanish movie which had an American remake titled Quarantine, fuses found footage horror with a zombie thriller. It follows the reporter Angela Vidal who is making a report about the fire department when they were called in to attend to an emergency at an apartment building. What should have been a rescue operation becomes a nightmare when an old woman starts attacking and biting people, infecting them with her violent fits.
5. Lake Mungo (2008)
Presented in a mockumentary style, Lake Mungo blends a ghost story and a true crime tale. After the death of Alice who drowned while swimming, her family begins to experience unexplainable things. As they investigate Alice’s secret double life, the answers lead them to Lake Mungo.
6. Paranormal Activity (2009)
Paranormal Activity is another successful film from the subgenre that spawned six sequels. The story follows the couple Katie and Micah who are being terrorized by a demon in their home. Micah then sets up cameras around the house, capturing the violent attacks from their tormentor.
7. Creep (2014)
Another must-watch found footage film, Creep succeeds as a psychological horror rather than just resorting to visual terrors. It follows the struggling videographer Aaron who accepts a job to film a man with an inoperable brain tumor for his unborn child. But as he spends more time with this man in a remote cabin, Aaron soon realizes that something is very wrong with his client.
8. Hell House LLC (2015)
Five years ago, a malfunction at a horror house attraction led to the death of 15 people. This movie follows a crew of filmmakers as they try to uncover the truth behind the tragedy through its only survivor and the remaining footage from inside the house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ40kOmOgEI
9. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
This Korean film is one of the more modern horror titles to rise from the subgenre. In Gonjiam, a group that runs a horror web series decides to make their next episode inside an abandoned asylum, but they would soon discover that the evil they would encounter would be far more than what they bargained for.
10. Incantation (2022)
Incantation is the latest found footage horror film to make a buzz among the international audience. Hailing from Taiwan, this title tells the story of a mother who is trying to save her daughter from a curse that she and her friends had unleashed years ago. Aside from thriving through the technique, Incantation also takes it a step further by making viewers feel that the film could also curse them.
The Taiwanese horror film Incantation instantly became a hit when it dropped on Netflix, taking the viewers by storm with its creepy found-footage format and spine-chilling premise.
While it has been out for almost a month now, the title continues to gain popularity, especially with the TikTok crowd amplifying the viewers’ collective fear surrounding the film.
For the uninitiated, Incantation is a found-footage horror film that follows a woman named Ro-nan, as she tries to save her daughter from a deadly curse that she and her friends had unleashed years ago.
Netflix has given us a chance to virtually sit with the film’s director Kevin Ko, and its stars Tsai Hsuan-yen, who played the protagonist, Ro-nan, and Kao Ying-hsua who starred as Chi-ming, the counselor at the foster care center. Below are the highlights of the interview.
From Left to Right: Director Kevin Ko, lead actress Tsai Hsuan-yen, and actor Kao Ying-hsua. (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
The True Story Behind Incantation
Incantation further fuels the suspension of disbelief among viewers with their claim that the film is based on a true story. According to director Ko, the movie was inspired by an incident in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2005 where a family was said to have been possessed by deities.
“When I heard about this situation in Kaohsiung, I wasn’t there to note much about it,” shared Ko. “It was something scary for me, that I didn’t want to know too much. So I wanted to keep the same feelings and same elements in the story of the film that you see.”
Meanwhile, the incantation and the Mother Buddha from the film were purely fictional according to the director, so you’d have less to worry about if you accidentally chanted with the film.
Photo courtesy of Netflix
The Horror of the Holes
The film is sure to disturb those with trypophobia and claustrophobia as holes seem to be a recurring theme in the film. Asked if it was deliberate, the director shared it was the idea of the unknown that comes with these holes, that he utilized to evoke fear among the viewers.
“When I was making the film, I was thinking about what was the most terrifying elements to people,” explained Director Ko. “And it is something invisible, intangible, and something unknown. So for example when you see the film, there’s a tunnel, it’s dark inside. You see the Mother Buddha, it’s dark inside, and you see the hole in their bodies. It feels like you may be sucked inside the hole, and realize that something may come out of the hole. This kind of unknowing is the more terrifying element in the film.”
Photo: Incantation trailer
On Playing the Cursed
Actors Tsai Hsuan-yen and Kao Ying-hsua shared that the filming is not as scary as what we see on screen, or at least they didn’t feel it as they were focused on making the film convincing to the audiences.
“When I was making the movie, I had two roles. I have to play the role, and at the same time, I needed to be the cameraman,” said Hsuan-yen. “So these roles kept me in balance on set. I tried to think about how to make it realistic and convincing in front of the camera.”
Photo courtesy of Netflix
Ying-hsua agrees, adding that he did get scared when he finally watched the movie.
“When I read the script, when I was on set, I wasn’t terrified or scared. I just tried to make it very convincing. We wondered how many people would believe that it is true, and it turned out many people do believe it is true. So it was surprising to me, when I watched the film, I also felt kinda scared as well. I also had nightmares after watching the film,” the actor said.
Treading Over Taiwan’s Taboos
While the film is fictional for the most part, the director and the cast also talked about how they were careful not to break real-life taboos when they were filming.
Photo courtesy of Netflix
“We do have a lot of customs and religious taboos in Taiwan, especially in filmmaking,” said Director Ko. “We did have a lot of rituals and ceremonies before the filming process. We also have religious advisers on site to make sure that we do not break into any Taoist taboos. Also after filming, we would check if everyone is fine.”
As for the actress Hsuan-yen, she shared that she went to a famous temple in Taipei and got an amulet which she carried around during and after the filming. Meanwhile, Ying-hsua responded with: “I got my Lord Jesus so I got nothing to fear.”
Photo: Incantation trailer
What were your reactions when watching Incantation on Netflix? Did you also avoid their “Hou-ho-xiu-yi, si-sei-wu-ma… Hou-ho-xiu-yi, si-sei-wu-ma… Hou-ho-xiu-yi, si-sei-wu-ma…” chant? You can share your thoughts about the film on My.ClickTheCity.com or connect with us via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Horror movies have gifted us with some of the scariest and most iconic monsters and killers in pop culture, including Chucky, Michael Myers, Jason, and Pennywise just to name a few. But the movie genre has also given life to some of the most ridiculous killers that one could think up– objects and animals that you wouldn’t think could ever hurt you, like fluffy bunnies and rolling tomatoes!
On this list, we’ve rounded up some movies with monsters that are so weird and bizarre, they would probably not scare you, but they’re still worth considering if you’re in for the entertaining absurdity!
10. Black Sheep (2010)
Sheep have always been portrayed as helpless prey, but this movie tries to change our minds with its fluffy yet bloodthirsty sheep that crave human flesh. Set in New Zealand, the film centers on herds of sheep who are turned into carnivorous creatures by a mad scientist. Worse, one bite from such monsters and you will be turned into the human-sheep hybrid, Weresheep!
9. Jack Frost (1997)
A year before the family-friendly live-action Jack Frost movie was released, a horror take on the classic tale was put in cinemas with none other than the most well-known snowman as its monster. This killer snowman, complete with a carrot nose and twigs for eyebrows, is created after a serial killer gets melted by chemicals and is fused with the snow on the ground. Revived as a snowman, this monster can shoot sharp icicles, roll and crush things on its path, and can even enter a victim’s body!
8. Thankskilling (2009)
Thanksgiving takes a dark turn in the low-budget comedy-horror movie Thankskilling, which features a killer turkey… literally. Named Turkie, this crass, demonic bird was first summoned by a Native American who wanted to kill all Caucasians. Five hundred years later, a group of teens crosses paths with Turkie, who goes on a killing spree to fulfill his purpose.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z70Wr9nE41U
7. Night of the Lepus (1972)
If you think sheep and turkey are not non-threatening enough as animals to be turned into movie monsters, then Night of the Lepus and its enormous rabbits will beg to differ. Due to the growing bunny population, a West-American town decides to inject the rabbits with a serum that will control their birthrates, but as with many creature features, the experiment goes wrong and the small, fluffy animals turn into giant, carnivorous creatures ready to devour people.
6. The Stuff (1985)
We all know how devouring desserts too many is never good for our body, but the satire horror The Stuff takes this to a whole new level. An alien “stuff”– a white substance akin to ice cream, finds its way to the dessert market where it quickly became a hit! But the catch is, this sentient substance can turn people who eat it into mindless zombies before the stuff eats them from the inside.
5. The Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong (2013)
Charles Band is the man behind two of the most bizarre horror movie franchises. The Gingerdead Man is about a dead killer whose ashes had been baked into a gingerbread man, fusing his spirit into the pastry. Meanwhile, Evil Bong is about a malevolent bong that traps stoners inside its sinister Bong World. If these movies’ monsters aren’t ridiculous enough, Band also made a crossover flick where the two creatures wreak havoc upon more victims.
4. Rubber (2010)
You may have seen films where a car is haunted or is being used by a killer as a murder machine. In the comedy-horror meta film Rubber, however, the big villain is a lone car tire. The film, which declares in its opening scene that it is a homage to “no reason”, features the car tire named Robert who just suddenly gained consciousness. After discovering that he has psychokinetic powers, Robert goes on a killing spree, making people explode with his mind.
3. Slaxx (2020)
If you think all the ridiculous movie killers were born over a decade ago, and no more would follow suit, then you’re dead wrong. Slaxx is a 2020 film from the streaming platform Shudder which puts trendy consumers at the mercy of a killer pair of jeans. When Libby McClean gets hired into Canadian Cotton Company, she thought it was a dream come true, but it all turned into a nightmare when a possessed pair of pants begin to murder people inside the store.
2. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)
We know food could kill– as The Stuff depicts– but we always imagine that it’s through ingestion that food can become a sinister threat. In Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, however, the soft fruit actually kills by any means, including rolling around and squashing people on its path! Of course, you do not expect that this film will actually scare you with a tomato (Boo!), but the film being a parody film might make it worth seeing for fans of the genre out there.
1. Killer Condom (1996)
It has been a well-established trope for horror slashers that when two people participate in sexual intercourse, it is often followed by their deaths. In this comedy-horror film, intercourse is inevitably followed by a bloody mess because the culprits are condoms with sharp teeth! When New York gets plagued by these creepy creatures, it is up to Detective Luigi Mackeroni to put a stop to these bizarre attacks.
After over a decade, we’re finally getting a follow-up to the 2009 slasher thriller, Orphan, through the upcoming prequel film Orphan: First Kill.
Staying true to the premise of an adult woman pretending to be an innocent child, the prequel brings back the now adult Isabelle Fuhrman to play the role of Esther once more. When the film was first announced in 2020, it was revealed that the filmmakers would be using a combination of “forced perspective shooting and a world-class makeup team” to make Fuhrman look the part.
You can now watch the first trailer for Orphan: First Kill below:
The prequel film will reveal how Esther made her escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility, and how she picked up the identity of a wealthy family’s missing daughter. Soon, she’ll let her true face unfurl, pitting her against a mother who will do everything to protect her family from Esther’s malicious and murderous intent.
Directed by William Brent Bell, Orphan: First Kill also stars Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Matthew Finlan, and Jade Michael. It is set for release via streaming at Paramount+ this August 19. It is yet to be revealed if it will also hit theaters in countries where the streaming platform isn’t available.
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A woman finds herself in the center of a vampire wedding in the trailer for The Invitation.
From the producers of The Curse of La Llorona, the upcoming horror movie follows a girl named Evie who is in search of other relatives after her mother’s death. After taking a DNA test, she discovers a long-lost cousin and gets invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding happening in the English countryside. While being seduced by a sexy aristocrat host, Evie soon discovers the dark secrets of her family and the wedding celebrations take a dark, bloody turn.
Watch the trailer for The Invitation below:
The film stars Game of Thrones and F9 star Nathaniel Emmanuel as Evie, alongside Thomas Doherty, Stephanie Corneliussen, Alana Boden, Courtney Taylor, Hugh Skinner, and Sean Pertwee. It is directed by Jessica M. Thompson and is set for a US release on August 26, 2022. Its Philippine release date has yet to be announced.
