Do you feel it? That sudden chill in the air. The crunch of leaves underfoot. A slender breeze, like cold fingers, dancing at the back of your neck. It can only mean one thing. That’s right, it’s Spooky Season! And as the nights draw in and temperatures drop, there’s no better way to get in the ‘spirit’ of things than dimming the lights, getting your comfiest blanket ready to hide behind, and sticking on a darn good horror movie. To quote from the classic Halloween (what else?), “Everyone is entitled to one good scare”. This year, we’d like to help out by giving you 31!
Every day for the month of October, we’ll be adding a new movie to this countdown, and telling you where you can watch it. Rather than giving you titles you’ve likely seen before (you won’t see Freddy, Jason or Jigsaw lurking on this list), we’ll be focusing on hidden gems – under-seen or under-appreciated movies that we feel deserve more attention. We aim to cover all bases: from Folk Horror to Found Footage, Supernatural to Sci-Fi, Werewolves to Witchcraft. And if you like what you see and want more, we’ll be recommending what to watch next!
So get ready for all things creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky. Maybe even altogether ooky! It’s time for Film Ireland’s 31 Days of Halloween. Dare you watch them alone?
1st October – Red Rooms
What better way to ease into a month of frights than with a virtually bloodless serial killer entry that still provides enough chills to keep you hooked and spooked? French-Canadian thriller Red Rooms follows Kelly-Anne, a successful fashion model attending the trial of alleged serial killer Ludovic Chevalier. Accused of kidnapping, torturing and murdering three girls, Chevalier’s gruesome acts are streamed live from a “red room” on the dark web.
Writer-director Pascal Plante opts to avoid the explicit gore typical of the genre. The courtroom scenes are hauntingly shot, emphasising sound over visuals, enhancing the discomfort without graphic imagery, while Juliette Gariépy delivers a chilling performance as Kelly-Anne, keeping audiences guessing about her motives for attending the trial to the bitter, shocking end.
Red Rooms offers a profound commentary on our fascination with violence, challenging us to reconsider our own obsessions with true crime. Not sold? You can read the full review by Conor Bryce here.
Red Rooms is available to view on streaming services now, including IFI@Home.
If you liked Red Rooms, check out: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), The Snowtown Murders (2011), Frailty (2001).
2nd October – The Monkey
Speaking of serial killers, last year you most likely caught Indie Horror stalwart Osgood Perkins’ mainstream breakout hit, Longlegs. Utilising guerrilla marketing tactics and a unforgettable performance from a never-creepier Nic Cage, it rattled up a cool $120 million at the box office and ended the year at the top of many a horror fan’s top 10.
However, Perkins’ hotly anticipated 2025 follow-up was mostly met with lukewarm reviews and disappointing box office numbers, quickly slipping off must-see lists in favour of the year’s crowd pleasers Sinners and the sixth Final Destination movie. Which is an crying shame, because The Monkey – VERY loosely based on the Stephen King short story of the same name - is easily the most gruesomely gory fun you’ll have this year.
This is horror with the gloves off. It’s almost as if all the creeping, nervy restraint Perkins put to great use in Longlegs gave him an insatiable need to cut loose with as many shocks, thrills, jump-scares, and - yes - laugh-out-loud moments he could dare cram into The Monkey’s zippy 98 minute runtime, with the latter’s plot as slight as the former’s is complex.
Twin boys find - then try to forever hide - a wind-up, drum-playing toy monkey that causes bizarre and random deaths every time its key is turned. 25 years later, the monkey returns. Cue absolute bedlam. The bazillion monkey-induced death sequences easily out-Mousetrap the aforementioned Final Destination series in terms of inventiveness. A who’s who of character actors, including Theo James, Adam Scott, Tatiana Maslany and a scene-stealing turn from Elijah Wood, deliver endlessly quotable lines with the deadpan oddness that wouldn’t be out of place in a Coen Brothers’ movie. And Perkins’ eschewing of explanation as we white-knuckle along plays gleefully at odds in the current era of ‘Elevated Horror’, where everything often happens for a reason.
It’s probably no surprise that a gifted artist like Perkins, who tragically lost his mother in the 9/11 World Trade Centre attack, chooses to laugh in the face of random cruelty, perhaps as a way of working through his trauma. It’s also no surprise that Mr King himself - one of Horror’s oldest punks - praised the film, describing it as "batshit insane", even though it took huge liberties with his story.
Their sketchy collaboration is our gain. Introduce a little anarchy this Halloween. Wind up The Monkey and strap yourself in.
The Monkey is available to view on many streaming services now, including Amazon Prime.If you liked The Monkey, check out: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023), Renfield (2023), Triangle of Sadness (2022, not a horror, but equally as laugh-out-loud shocking!).
3rd October – Hell House LLC
The Monkey’s famed author sure knows a thing or two about creepy clowns, with IT’s Pennywise doubtlessly topping the long list of scary circus dwellers. But in 2015 there emerged a cadre of new challengers, haunting the dimly-lit halls of the first in our Found Footage Friday series. Got a touch of coulrophobia? Tough break, because Hell House LLC’s inhabitants are about to ruin your night.
The Found Footage subgenre has been running rampant since The Blair Witch Project took an idea made flesh by the likes of 1980’s Cannibal Holocaust, and soared with it. Due to the inexpensive nature of shooting in a few locations with handheld cameras and a small crew, you can’t throw a rock these days without hitting yet another limp Witch clone. But writer/director Steven Cognetti’s Hell House franchise - while still relatively unknown to mainstream audiences - has gained a solid cult following for good reason.
Followed by three sequels, a ‘traditional’ fifth entry and an upcoming series, Hell House LLC is scary as hell, fun as heck, and a great group movie to scream along to. The premise is simple and solid - 5 years after a group of young creatives buy the abandoned Abbadon Hotel with plans to make it into a haunted house (or ‘Haunt’, as the kids call them), a documentary crew tries to determine why they mysteriously vanished. Thankfully for them - and us - the Hell House crew filmed the whole project. We soon discover the hotel’s dark history, and why some doors are better left closed.
While not aiming to reinvent the wheel, Hell House LLC excels where many of its peers fall short. Its characters are likeable, with great chemistry - both bafflingly rare in the subgenre. They don’t make stupid decisions, and there’s always a solid reason for them to keep filming. Conjuring an atmosphere milkshake-thick with dread, Cognetti ramps up the scares gradually, culminating in an opening night from hell. And yes, the interior of the Abbadon is chock-full of terrifying (but supposedly stationary) mannequins in clown costumes. Supposedly stationary, you say? Why yes, I do say…
The ultimate goal of a Found Footage horror movie is to suck us into its world, to make us feel what we’re watching is real and panning out in real time. Few attempts are as successful as Hell House LLC. Perfect for a Halloween watching party, it deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity as one subgenre’s best offerings. Why not go all out - watch it in the early evening then chase it with a visit to a real Haunt. Tis the season, after all.
Hell House LLC is free to watch (with ads) at Plex, and on many streaming services including Shudder.
If you liked Hell House LLC, you’ll love: Apollo 18 (2011), Chronicle (2012), Grave Encounters (2012).
