#31in31 – “Arcadian”

Posted on October 10, 2025 by Denise

“Wanna play Crack The Apocalypse?”

Story: 15 years after a global apocalypse, dad Paul, his sons Joseph and Thomas, and the bestest doggo Rocco, are simply trying to survive. But what happens when dad gets hurt, and the rebellious boys have to step up? Well…

Scares: Great “who goes there” creepiness
Splat Factor: Blood and guts. Plus a dissection scene. So, yeah.

Subgenre: Post-apocalyptic Monster Drama
Year Released: 2024
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?:Original

Trick or Treat?: Nic Cage, baybeeeee! This film is genuinely chilling, and a great one for a night where you want to be afraid of every creak and groan in your house. Arcadian is a quiet horror that centers around the bonds between brothers, sons, fathers, and family. Y’know, with the ever present threat of gruesome death around every corner.

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“Roofman” – sky high talent, bargain basement movie

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Denise

“Don’t you want to be a good guy?”

Story: Jeff just can’t catch a break. He’s been floundering ever since his tour in the 82nd Airborne ended. His wife divorced him, gaining custody of their three young children. And money? Well, he gets that by robbing places. So naturally, he gets busted…only to break out. But where to hide out ’til things cool down? Why not be a Toys ‘R’ Us kid? Not like he’s gonna fall in love or anything.

Genre I’d put it in: Based On A True Story That Feels Like Straight To Streaming
Release Date: 2025
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original:Based on the life of Jeffrey Manchester, called “Roofman” for his MO of breaking into places through the roof.

Gotta say: This shallow bait-and-switch of a movie puts highly likeable characters into a film that switches gears in the last act. Which is fine if there’s a solid foundation in the screenplay, but here? It feels like this wannabe Netflix meet-cute story record-scratches into a “well’p, guess I am actually the bad guy but now I’m wiser” ending. Spoiler? Kinda, if you don’t know about the man this is based on. But y’know what? I don’t care. Roofman is an enjoyable if tepid by the numbers romance that becomes absolutely insufferable at the end. I really hope this stellar cast got seriously paid for starring in this clunker.

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#31in31 – “Monstrum”

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Denise


“Disasters plague a nation that lacks leadership.”

Story: It’s 1527, and a deadly plague has been unleashed on the people of Korea. To add insult to injury, there’s talk of a monstrous beast haunting the woods outside Joseon (modern day Seoul). What’s causing th is horrible plague? Is this all myth, man, or actual monster? Why not all three?

Scares: Lots of darkness, hidden corners, and a huge, hideously mutated monster (poor sweet kitten never deserved this.)
Splat Factor: People get got. Lots of people.

Subgenre: Historical Horrors With Subtitles (suck it up, buttercup.)
Year Released: 2018
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original

Trick or Treat?: Miss Kingdom? Me too. So why not tune into another K-Horror about a deadly plague? Director Jong-ho Huh blends drama, horror, mythology and even humor to create one hell of a fun ride in this action-driven horror.

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#31in31 – my yearly Spooky Spotify Halloween playlist!

Posted on October 8, 2025 by Denise

It’s that time again, kiddies. Time for me to unleash this year’s horror playlist. All of these are songs I haven’t used in prior playlists. I don’t think.

So, when you need some spooky background sounds? Here you go.

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#31in31 – “V/H/S Halloween”

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Denise

“Twick or Tweeeet!”

Story: It’s time for Halloween, ghoulies, ghosties, and long-legged beasties! But before you go out, you might wanna revisit your Halloween etiquette. And maybe don’t go whole-hog on the holiday to the point of making an ass out of yourself. Oh, and while Halloween themed stuff is all well and good, perhapsbe a little selective on what you choose to partake of. Because you never know.

Scares: Lots of fun creepy, gross, and/or horrific moments.
Splat Factor: As with the rest of the V/H/S films? Oh yep. Though this is most definitely the grossest.

Subgenre: Anthology Halloween Horrors
Year Released: 2025
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: The eighth film of the V/H/S franchise.

Trick or Treat?: It’s October, so you know what that means; time for another installment in the V/H/S franchise! And this one might be the best one yet. Or at least the most fun you’ll have with a gang of friends. Halloween is tailor-made for group viewing, because you’ll definitely want your nearest and dearest nearby to scream and shot with.

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#31in31 – “Hollows Grove”

Posted on October 6, 2025 by Denise

“Ass balls.” [truer words…]

Story: A group of guys and their trusty producer create phony “ghost hunter” videos. That these guys call their show S.P.I.T. (Spirit Paranormal Investigation Team) tells you all you really need to know about these jackasses. So obviously, they’re gonna hit a place that’s actually haunted, right? Right.

Scares: Just the sinking feeling that you’ve wasted precious time in your life watching this garbage.
Splat Factor: All off-screen, with the syrup & red dye shown after the “carnage”.

Subgenre: Boring Found Footage Ghost Chasers
Year Released: 2014
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original, but it feels like a cut-and-paste of other films in this subgenre.

Trick or Treat?: Grove was such a nothing, I forgot the whole damn thing less than a day after watching it. So I had to watch it again. On Tubi. With commercials. I feel like I deserve a medal. But I’ll take Halloween candy instead. Reeses pumpkins would be awesome.

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#31in31 – “House on Eden”

Posted on October 5, 2025 by Denise


“Could somebody do something now?”

Story: Three ghost hunter vloggers – Kris, Celina and Jay – decide to scrap their planned cemetery visit, and hit up a supposedly haunted house nobody else has heard of. Hilarity ensues. Okay fine. Boredom ensues. For them, and for us.

Scares: Nope. This territory is too well tread for any creeping dread.
Splat Factor: Barely a drip, and that’s all off camera, shot in black and white.

Subgenre: Found This At A Haunted Place Films
Year Released: 2025
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original, but like a ton of other “people investigate something nobody with a functioning brain cell would investigate” films.


Trick or Treat?: Written, directed and starring Kris Collins, Eden definitely feels like her first effort. It’s an unfocused mix of The Blair Witch Project and The Witch with nothing original to say. This feels like a student film that stumbled onto a streaming release.

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#31in31 – “Spontaneous”

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Denise


“It happened again. A lot.”

Story: Senior year baby! Mara is sick to death of high school, and could just explode with ennui. But then one of her classmate actually does explode. Like, all over everybody, and right during calc too. Ew. It’s not an isolated incident, and as Mara’s classmates start to literally poof out of existence, the government, parents, and the students themselves try to figure out what’s happening. Meanwhile, Mara’s got a secret admirer that decides if everybody’s ‘sploding? Why not fess up.

Scares: Nope. Though the story is ooky, it’s more comedy than horror.
Splat Factor: This is literally a movie about spontaneous explosions of human beings. Guess.

Subgenre: High School Horrors
Year Released: 2020
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on the 2016 novel by Aaron Starmer.


Trick or Treat?: Damn son. 2020 was a helluva perfect time to release this – during COVID lockdown. A “disease” that nobody understands, locking down the senior class? Fuuuuuuu. I wish I’d watched it then. Still, Spontaneous is a wildly unusual film, that’s not only a commentary on how we interact with The Youths, but how we handle a crisis. Again, damn timely for 2020. And now.

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#31in31 – “Ziam”

Posted on October 3, 2025 by Denise

“This fish is fine.” [It was, in fact, not fine.]

Story: Climate change causes “a major elemental crisis”. Food shortages. Riots. Luckily, the citizens of Thailand are surviving (though not actually thriving) thanks to breeding insects for food, and lots of black market trading. When a strange looking fish is caught for a bunch of powerful businessmen to enjoy, what starts out as dinner turns into a sickness that puts anyone not infected on the menu. Can former Muay Thai fighter Singh rescue his doctor girlfriend from a hospital overrun with hungry ghouls?

Scares: Dread and such.
Splat Factor: As The Traveling Willburys sang, you got it.

Subgenre: Zombies And Muay Thai
Year Released: 2025
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original, but if this film is anything to go by? The start of a fun series, she said hopefully.

Trick or Treat?: Ziam combines two of my favorite genres; horror, and martial arts. So obviously I had to dig into this one. And I had a blast. Blood, gore, and great Muay Thai? This one’s definitely a Hallow-week re-watch.

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#31in31 – “Fear Street: Prom Queen”

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Denise

“Just breathe… It’s almost over.”

Story: Lori Granger has had a rough time in high school. Her mother Rose was accused of killing Lori’s dad on prom night almost 18 years ago, but even after being acquitted? That shadow lingers. So Lori decides to run for prom queen against the popular Plastics Wolves, a group of catty popular girls, because she wants “…something to change.” Instead, nominees start dropping like flies. Who’s the mysterious Red Raincoat doing the killing? Don’t worry, you’ll guess almost immediately.

Scares: Zero. Zip. Just the horror that I wasted an hour and a half on this.
Splat Factor:  Plenty of low budget gore.

Subgenre: Senior Year Slashers
Year Released: 2025
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on “The Prom Queen”
by R. L. Stine. Part of Netflix’s Fear Street universe or whatever.

Trick or Treat?: Queen is the kind of movie that’s the textbook definition of a streaming service cash grab. No style, no substance, nothing to recommend. “Sarah Fier Lives!” may be written in a bathroom stall, to hark back to the entertaining Fear Street trilogy, but Queen is surely the death knell of this franchise. 

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