Atomic Fangirl

“Always looking for ways to serve you better. You’re gonna love the food!”
“Are you ready for what’s coming?”

Story: Fast food commercials. Aren’t they better than every other commercial? Don’t they make you hungry? Come to Buffet Infinity and take your mind off that weird noise, and all those disappearances! And maybe swing by Ahmed’s Pawn Shop for their crazy huge inventory! Don’t ask why their inventory is so huge, just come out of your house and head on down! Why are you in your house, are you hiding? Don’t hide! Come out!

Scares: An overall sense of dread.
Splat Factor:  Head explosion, cannibalism, various other body horror.

Subgenre: Epistolary Horror
Year Released: 2026
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Hoo boy is this original.

Trick or Treat?: Infinity is crazy, disconcerting, and absolutely batshit. And it’s just what the horror genre needs right now; more unique voices creating things we’d never thought of before. This is an epistolary film that lets you connect the dots while you’re desperately wanting more.

“Ki ki ki ma ma ma…”

Story: Remember that kid that drowned at Camp Crystal Lake? You know, that camp where so many counselors died? Then the killer went to NYC and outer space? Yeah, this is a movie about all that.

Scares: Unless you get scared from film clips of movies you’ve probably already seen before? This is more infomational than eerie.
Splat Factor: Lots of clips from the film series. So, yeah. Lots of blood.

Subgenre: REALLY Long Documentaries
Year Released: 2013
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on the book of the same name.

Trick or Treat?: It’s taken me a while to get to this one. Why? Because this sucker is almost seven hours long. That’s a whole lot of documentary at one go. So I didn’t do it in one go. And that’s exactly how I suggest you approach this beast.

“Well, that’s dumb.”

Story: Gwar “hosts” a series of stories that focus on the horror of sound and music.

Scares: Creepy rather than scary.
Splat Factor: Bodies ripped apart, decapitations, a a whole lot of creative, bloody kills.

Subgenre: Found Footage Horrors
Year Released: 2026
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original.

Trick or Treat?: The V/H/S series has it’s good, it’s bad, and it’s straight up terrible. Add Mixtape to the dregs of this franchise. I checked my watch at least every three minutes. Each time, I was hoping it’d be the last segment, even when I knew the movie had just started. Let’s get to these stories.

“Something’s not right in this place.”

Story: Four college students try to figure out what’s going on with a strange book left in the office of professor Zandor, who’s gone missing. Meanwhile, the professor’s brother Amos is trying to bring Zandor back. But first, he’s gonna need a lot of hearts.

Scares: Only for the lightest of touches.
Splat Factor:  Lots of well done red stuff for such a low budget flick.

Subgenre: Z Grade Horrors
Year Released: 2026
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original, but uses Lovecraft mythology as a jumping off point.

Trick or Treat?: Gateway is a perfect example of bare bones budget filmmaking. Sure, there’s a lot to goof on here, as with any empty wallet productions. While this is a messy story that barely holds together, I couldn’t help but be impressed with what the creators achieved with pocket lint and a dream.

“So awful. Nice find!”

Story: Margot works for Kino, a social media company, helping to filter out unacceptable content. Employees aren’t allowed to talk about what they’re seeing on the job. Bosses don’t want to alert police because it might hurt the platform. So when she stumbles upon videos of deaths that look way too real, will anybody do anything? Y’know, besides the killer tracking her down…

Scares: The idea that some people actually do want to see people die
Splat Factor: Bloody kills. Realistic wounds.

Subgenre: Slashy Social Media Critiques
Year Released: 2026
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on – or rather uses as a launch pad – the original Faces of Death.

Trick or Treat?: When I saw the title of this film, I was skeptical. The OG Faces was a weird mix of real and fake, and a remake sounded like a bad idea. But this film uses that film as a springboard for a critique of our world in the social media era. It doesn’t always land, but it’s in-your-face message hits hard.

“Keep your head on a swivel, keep your eyes open.”

Story: On his first night as a security guard, Edward Yoon encounters all the usual first day kinda stuff. Weird, asshole boss. Strangely unfocused HR lady. A spooky, soon-to-be demolished mental asylum full of creepy medical mannequins. Mondays, am I right?

Scares: Lots of dark room shenanigans. A few jump scares, as is the wont of the found footage genre.
Splat Factor: A dead body viewed in night vision.

Subgenre: Found Footage Frights
Year Released: 2026
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original

Trick or Treat?: I picked this film because it’s a new release, and had no expectations. I mean, I’ve been burned too many times with this year’s 31in31 choices. But Infirmary is a solid horror story with lots of chills and suspense.