Welcome back to spooky season everybody! Fear is in the air, whether that be decorating your front porches or sitting glued to your TV screens. It’s haunting hour folks, so let’s lock our doors and turn on some soul-stirring movies and have a Halloween horror film rewind. From classics to new releases, let’s take a deeper peek into what it takes to be truly horrifying.

Let’s see those teeth because Smile is the new horror film rocking audiences to their core as of recent. Director Parker Finn established a teeth-chattering terror of a film as we watch Dr. Rose undergo a traumatizing experience with one of her patients that has left the doctor confronting unexplainable frightening occurrences straight from Hell. This film had an exciting and interesting storyline with cinematography that developed an ease of flow throughout the film. However, there was an agreeably certain fear factor missing within the film. “I felt that it was more about developing the characters and the plot of the movie, rather than focusing on the scary element of the horror,” stated Natalie Labanowski. We agreed with Natalie, as it felt like there were numerous opportunities for jumpscares that were passed up on or ignored. The camera was lined up, your heart beat began to race faster as the anticipation of the scream was rising, only to be let down for an ultimately anticlimactic scene. Although focusing on the plot development of a movie is extremely important to create a quality film, horror movie watchers go to be scared, frightened, rocked to their core like no other. Audiences want to feel the adrenaline coursing through their veins, and that was a quality Smile was unfortunately missing. 

Nevertheless, there is no need to fear, your Halloweekend will not be corrupted with mediocre horror movies, as films throughout the decades have embodied the role of terror for your enjoyment. I’ve asked some fellow Gauchos to spill the tea on their most fearsome and gruesome films that will leave you gripping onto your blankets and believing in the unspeakable. A common trend of favorites has been The Conjuring movies, specifically the original The Conjuring. The American Horror/Thriller was developed in 2013 by director James Wan and completely broke the boundaries of a cut-and-dry horror movie of the time. The film is based on a true story that was frighteningly brought to life. Daniela Maldonado claims, “This movie made me believe in the supernatural.” Throughout the movie, we follow a sweet family turned evil, corrupted by a vicious demon bound to commit terrible acts.

If that doesn’t spook your excitement, perhaps you would like to test your strength with Us, a thriller created by Jordan Peele. In this movie, we watch a distorted family challenge their evil doppelgangers and face the violence and groundbreaking background to how they became. Analisa Ciolino stated, “This movie left me shaking in my boots; honestly terrifying!” This movie is one of our favorite scary movies as it established the best correlation between plot development and true terror. 

Here are only a couple terrifying movie suggestions to perfect your Halloween weekend! Be safe out there everybody, watch if you dare, and most importantly of all:

Don’t forget to Smile.