Offbeat October, Vol. 1
The Film Yap offers up some unconventional picks to add to your October watchlist.
October, a.k.a. “Spooktober” or “#SpookySzn,” is among the Internet’s favorite times of year to recommend movies. “31 Days of Horror!” “A Fright for Every Night!” We’ve all seen these “Ultimate October Watchlists.” Many offer up a good mix of horror classics, cult hits, and streaming gems. But often, we see the same titles over and over again.
The Film Yap presents its alternative: an eclectic collection of unconventional October movie recs. Some are horror, some are not! Many are critically underrated, and most go criminally overlooked this time of year. But on some wavelength or another, they all hit the season’s vibe. With “Offbeat October,” we state our case that these picks deserve to be added to your October viewing.
We’ll post five collections of recommendations, spaced throughout the month.
Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
![Blu-ray Review] Scream Factory's 'Brotherhood of the Wolf' Collector's Edition is More a Collection of Scraps - KILLER HORROR CRITIC](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2bb3895c-a49f-4154-a3a4-3deca1cdc091_721x408.jpeg "Blu-ray Review] Scream Factory's 'Brotherhood of the Wolf' Collector's Edition is More a Collection of Scraps - KILLER HORROR CRITIC")
Mostly, when I think of writer/director Christophe Gans’ Brotherhood of the Wolf, I flashback to the time I showed the movie to some of my buddies. There’s an instance where Monica Bellucci’s bare breast transitions into a snowy mountaintop and one of my homies exclaimed, “That’s artistic!,” without an ounce of irony.
Gans, who co-founded and wrote for the French genre film magazine Starfix before becoming a moviemaker, made the best flick of his career with Brotherhood – other efforts include 1995’s Crying Freeman (starring Brotherhood co-star Mark Dacascos), 2006’s Silent Hill and 2014’s Léa Seydoux-fronted Beauty and the Beast.
Dacascos is the best reason to check out Brotherhood as he does some of his best work as Mani in this French period action-horror film. (Never mind that the Pacific Islander is playing an Iroquois Indian.) Beautifully complementing Dacoscos’ awesome turn is some awe-inspiring stunt choreography from Jackie Yeung (a veteran of such Hong Kong classics as Hard Boiled and The Bride with White Hair) and some wicked puppetry and animatronics designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
There’s also a training montage in which Samuel Le Bihan’s Grégoire de Fronsac does some target shooting with a flintlock pistol. What are his targets you ask? PUMPKINS! Nothing screams Halloween and October quite like this!
The 142-minute and subtitled Brotherhood would make an awesome double bill with Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. They’re two sides of the same coin. The movie is also good enough that its 4K restored version recently premiered as an Official Selection of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
Brotherhood is available in a very cool Blu-ray from Scream Factory and to stream with premium subscriptions to YouTube TV, Sling TV or Amazon Prime Video.
by Alec Toombs
Vertigo (1958)
In 1958, Jimmy Stewart starred in only two movies. Both movies feature supernatural elements, themes of obsession/manipulation and co-star actress Kim Novak as his romantic lead. One of these movies, Vertigo, is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, even topping the British Film Institute’s 2012 poll for all movies.
Vertigo, unfortunately, might be seen as Alfred Hitchcock’s most personal film. That’s because it’s about an older man becoming so enamored with a younger woman that it turns into psychotic obsession. (Hitchcock was well-known for his abusive attachment to his leading ladies, and he certainly would have been cancelled if #MeToo existed back then).
While not a traditional horror film, this psychological thriller features numerous elements that make it perfect for the month of October: a murder mystery, theories of being possessed by the dead and a haunting score by Bernard Herrmann.
Even the movie poster and opening title credits, an iconic spiraling design by the legendary Saul Bass, fills you with an uneasy feeling.
Sure, it feels creepy that then-50-year-old Stewart is in love with 25-year-old Novak (Stewart looks his age, if not older), but his character is kind of supposed to be creepy, so it works.
You can stream it for free with a subscription to Peacock.
by Adam Aasen
Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
A far more traditional October choice, this companion film to Vertigo falls under the radar somewhat. This light romantic comedy, based on a play, features Kim Novak as a witch, living in Greenwich Village, who casts a spell to make Jimmy Stewart fall in love with her.
Much like Vertigo, the age difference is weird, but the chemistry is certainly there, and if you’re a fan of shows like Bewitched or Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, you’ll catch many similarities. My favorite character is probably Jack Lemmon playing Novak’s warlock brother. He plays bongos in a jazz club and tries to sell his magical secrets to an author planning to expose their occult underworld. Similar to Vertigo, romantic obsession is a major theme.
You can stream this one for free on the Criterion Channel app, which offers a free two-week trial.
by Adam Aasen
The House of the Devil (2009)
1983: the glorious year of my birth, and also the time period of The House of the Devil. Samantha Hughes is a poor college student struggling to make ends meet in a nondescript college town. Samantha lives in the college dorms with an inconsiderate roommate who is not only messy but regularly has random guys over for “slumber parties.”
A self-described “neat freak,” Samantha finds a quaint little home in her college town with a dream landlord who is willing to work with her on the $300/month rent. For Samantha, there’s only one problem: she’s short $300.
On the way back to her dorm, somewhat dejected, Samantha sees an ad for a “Baby $itter” posted in the common area. She calls the number and speaks with a man who offers minimal details on the babysitting job, but offers her the position immediately. Samantha, who doesn’t own a car, is driven by her friend Megan to the babysitting job far away from the college campus.
Samantha and Megan meet Mr. Ulman, who tells them that he has recently moved into town and needs someone to babysit his mother-in-law while he and his wife go out to celebrate the lunar eclipse that everyone in the town is raving about. While hesitant at first to take care of an elderly person, Mr. Ulman assures her that this will be an easy job, as his mother-in-law is a recluse and likes to be left alone. The cherry on top: he offers her $400 for one night’s worth of work.
Samantha is left alone in the house, and as she starts to relax and get comfortable in her role, things start to get…weird. Without divulging too much of the surprises, just think The Strangers meets Rosemary’s Baby.
This movie was written, directed, and edited by Ti West, who did an amazing job capturing the 1980’s aesthetic. The camera angles and shots would make any film school student proud. The tension and uneasiness that this movie brings to the viewer is one of the main reasons why I watch horror movies.
by Mo Hammond
The Crimson Ghost (1946)
Mystery villains were a staple of serials almost from the birth of the genre in the early 20th century. The identities of these bad guys were guessing games that audiences — especially young ones — enjoyed as they watched over 12, 13, or 15 weeks.
Usually, the suspect they chose was the wrong one, as the writers offered enough red herrings to keep moviegoers off-balance. These dastardly felons — usually one of a group of counselors, scientists, or explorers — wore elaborate costumes and dubbed themselves with fearsome monikers such as “The Lightning,” “The Scorpion,” or “The Rattler.”
One of the most colorful was “The Crimson Ghost,” featured in the 12-chapter 1946 Republic serial bearing the villain’s name. He is neither crimson, nor is he a supernatural being. The Crimson Ghost was the last of these costumed scoundrels, and his visage — cloaked in a robe with a skeleton-face hood — became a cult figure when it was adapted by the punk rock band The Misfits.
The plot of The Crimson Ghost is very simple: A university scientist has invented a powerful atomic weapon he calls the Cycletrode, which can be used to destroy any electrically-powered device.
The Crimson Ghost wants the Cycletrode and uses a gang of dark-suited thugs and various scientific gadgets to try getting it and then, expanding its power.
Opposing him is Duncan Richards, a colleague of the scientist and a noted criminologist. Richards is aided by university secretary Diana Farnsworth. He is also supported by a foursome of university-scientists — one of whom, of course, is secretly The Crimson Ghost.
Escaping various death traps, including cars careening off cliffs, poison gas, a death ray, and falls from high places, our heroes successfully thwart the Crimson Ghost’s various schemes and unmask the culprit.
The Crimson Ghost is easy viewing. The first chapter runs 20 minutes, with the final 11 about 13 minutes each. It’s campy and fun. It can be rented from Amazon and Apple TV.
by Bob Bloom
Bob is a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews are posted at ReelBob.com, The Film Yap and Rotten Tomatoes.
Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1972)
It’s often been said that George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is the granddaddy of the modern horror genre, especially zombie flicks. If that’s true, then its oft-overlooked, cheekier stepbrother is Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things, which came along four years later in 1972 and set the tone for the mix of fright and gallows humor that now dominates scary movies.
Children assembles a group of young theater nerds who have come to a secluded island to perform a hoax satanic ritual to raise the dead. The troupe leader, a narcissistic tyrant played Alan Ormsby (who also co-wrote the screenplay), has planted henchmen dressed as ghouls to scare his underlings.
But the spell actually works, zombies scramble out from the earth, and all the thespians get properly munched. Like Night, Children has notoriously low production values, most of the zombies rendered through the haphazard slathering of whitish makeup and shredded formal wear.
What’s notable about Children is its deliberate step away from Romero’s grim tone and social commentary into puckish humor and outright buffoonery. It’s the sort of thing Sam Raimi would later leverage in his Evil Dead series, and a thousand other imitators. At one point the death cult kids dress the “boss” zombie, Orville, up in a bridal set and perform a mock marriage to their leader.
Despite what you might think, there wasn’t a sudden rush of zombie/vampire/slasher movies after Romero’s groundbreaking film came out. Children was really the first mainstream horror movie to arrive afterwards, and helped usher in a tidal wave of gore like Black Christmas, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Carrie, etc.
It was directed and co-written by Bob Clark, who owns one of the most eclectic resumes in Hollywood. Best known for schmaltzy family fare like A Christmas Story and Baby Geniuses, he got his start in horror (also helming Black Christmas) and broke out with the success of the skin-flick Porky’s, also helping launch the raunchy teen comedy oeuvre.
I just hope any enduring hagiography for Clark can include not just Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun, but also Orville and his schlocky crew of undead with a taste for actors.
This film can be rented from Amazon.