Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films to watch, focusing mostly on ones I haven’t seen before. The schedule, a mix of theatrical screenings and home viewings, is published for posterity and for the sake of anyone who might like to join me.
This year I seem to be nostalgic for the age of Satanic panic, as I’ll be doing concurrent, chronological deep dives on The Exorcist and The Omen, two franchises with doe-eyed children in the grip of the devil, both of which started in the ’70s and both of which introduced new installments in the last year. Other series getting an overdue look include The Stepfather and The Strangers.
Also on the docket, thanks to the Criterion Channel, are some made-for-TV fright flicks and a full week of classic giallo films, the latter narrowed down by choosing only ones whose titles are full sentences. Other odds and ends are peppered in as well, and more additions are likely as the month goes on.
As always, I haven’t seen most of these films before, so don’t take them as recommendations per se, but none of them were included frivolously. If you decide to watch any, I hope you enjoy. Have a horrific month!
The Spell
A distraught mother must cope with her embittered daughter who has the ability to cause “accidents” to happen.
Someone’s Watching Me!
A young woman moves to a high-rise apartment building and soon begins to be tormented by an unknown stalker who seems to know her every move.
The Stepfather
A seemingly mild mannered man—who has just murdered his entire family—quickly adopts a new identity and leaves town. After building a new relationship with a widow and her teenage daughter, he struggles to hide his true identity and maintain a grip on reality.
Stepfather 2
“Stepfather” Jerry Blake escapes an insane asylum and winds up in another town, this time impersonating a marriage counselor. With a future wife and new stepson who love him, Blake eliminates anyone who stands in his way to building the perfect family.
Stepfather 3
After escaping a Puget Sound institution, “Stepfather” Gene Clifford alters his appearance with plastic surgery and takes on another new identity: Keith Grant. Moving to Deer View, California, Keith falls for a divorced school principal, arousing the suspicions of her wheelchair-bound, computer-savvy son.
The Strangers
After a 4 a.m. knock at the door and haunting voices, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt’s remote getaway becomes a psychological night of terror as three masked strangers invade. Now they must go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.
The Strangers: Prey at Night
A family’s road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover of darkness, three masked killers pay them a visit to test the family's every limit as they struggle to survive.
In a Violent Nature
The enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness unleashes an iconic new killer after a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower that entombed its rotting corpse.
When Evil Lurks
Residents of a small rural town discover that a demon is about to be born among them. They desperately try to escape before the evil is born, but it may be too late.
Death Walks at Midnight
Valentina, a beautiful fashion model, takes an experimental drug as part of a scientific experiment. While influenced by the drug, Valentina has a vision of a young woman being brutally murdered with a viciously spiked glove. It turns out that a woman was killed in exactly the same way not long ago and soon Valentina finds herself stalked by the same killer.
Don’t Torture a Duckling
A reporter and a promiscuous young woman try to solve a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town rife with superstition and a distrust of outsiders.
Who Saw Her Die?
Between a four-year gap in the murder of a young girl, the daughter of a well-known sculptor is discovered dead, and her parents conduct an investigation, only to discover they are in over their heads as the body-count keeps rising.
What Have They Done to Your Daughters?
Police investigate apparent suicide of teen girl and uncover details of a teenage prostitution racket. They go on the hunt for a motorcycle riding killer.
Strip Nude for Your Killer
After a fashion model dies during a botched abortion, the doctor stages her death to exonerate himself but is murdered by a mysterious assailant who soon begins hunting down her agency colleagues.
The Exorcist
When a charming 12-year-old girl takes on the characteristics and voices of others, doctors say there is nothing they can do. As people begin to die, the girl’s mother realizes her daughter has been possessed by the devil—and that her daughter’s only possible hope lies with two priests and the ancient rite of demonic exorcism.
The Omen
Immediately after their miscarriage, the US diplomat Robert Thorn adopts the newborn Damien without the knowledge of his wife. Yet what he doesn’t know is that their new son is the son of the devil.
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil four years after her possession and exorcism. Has the demon returned? And if so, can the combined faith and knowledge of a Vatican investigator and a research specialist free her from its grasp?
Damien: Omen II
Since the sudden and suspicious deaths of his parents, young Damien has been in the charge of his wealthy aunt and uncle and enrolled in a military school. Widely feared to be the Antichrist, he relentlessly plots to seize control of his uncle’s business empire—and the world.
The Final Conflict
Damien Thorn has helped rescue the world from a recession, appearing to be a benign corporate benefactor. When he then becomes U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Damien fulfills a terrifying biblical prophecy. He also faces his own potential demise as an astronomical event brings about the second coming of Christ.
The Exorcist III
On the fifteenth anniversary of the exorcism that claimed Father Damien Karras’ life, Police Lieutenant Kinderman’s world is once again shattered when a boy is found decapitated and savagely crucified.
Omen IV: The Awakening
Damien Thorn is dead, but his prophecy is reborn in a mysterious girl named Delia, who is adopted by two attorneys.
Exorcist: The Beginning
Years before Father Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil’s soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Father Merrin takes a sabbatical from the Church to devote himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith.
The Exorcist: Believer
Since his wife’s death, Victor has raised his daughter Angela alone. After she and her friend return from a three-day disappearance with missing memories, they begin displaying frightening behavior reminiscent of the MacNeil possession fifty years prior.
The First Omen
When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Brainscan
A lonely teenage horror-movie fan discovers a mysterious computer game that uses hypnosis to custom-tailor the game into the most terrifying experience imaginable. When he emerges from the hypnotic trance he is horrified to find evidence that the brutal murder depicted in the game actually happened—and he's the killer.