Wednesday, 7 October, 8:30pm
Scream
MA15+
USA, 1996
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
What's it about?
Wes Craven breathed new life into the tired slasher genre in the '90s with this very "meta" horror gem. Filled to the brim with references to the horror classics (Halloween, Friday the 13th), such as "rules" to follow in order to make it to the end of the movie alive ("Sex equals death") and a wickedly dark sense of humour, it became a huge box office hit. A killer, wearing a terrifying mask inspired by Edvard Munch's famous painting, begins murdering teenagers in a small town. As the body count rises, one girl and her friends, fans of horror films, find themselves living in a real-life one.
Watch original The Movie Show 4-star review
Read: How Wes Craven redefined horror
Halloween
MA15+USA, 1978Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran
What's it about?
If you haven't watched John Carpenter's cult horror classic yet, now is the time to see for yourself what the fuss is about. The iconic villain Michael Myers is the convicted killer who escapes from the psychiatric hospital that's been home since he murdered his sister (on - guess what? - Halloween night). Fifteen years on, he's back, and he's not happy. It will take our heroin Laurie Strode, played by scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, all the perserverance and strength she can muster if she wants to survive Myers' murderous urges.
[link title="Read: Maika Monroe on It Follows and Her 5 Favourite Scream Queens" url="node/36721"]
Wednesday, October 14, 8:30pm
Fright Night
MA15+
USA, 1985
Director: Tom Holland
Starring: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowell
What's it about?In this 1985 horror classic by Tom Holland (Child's Play), teenager Charley Brewster starts harbouring suspiscions that his new neighbour, the charming Jerry Dandrige, might actually be a vampire. But no one believes him, and Charley sees no other solution that to turn to washed-up actor, Peter Vincent, who hosts Charley's favourite TV show, Fright Night. Together, they set out to destroy the blood-thirsty creature, but things don't quite go to plan. A funny and scary flick, that benefited from great make-up and special effects (for the time) by the team that worked on Ghostbusters.
The Orphanage
MA15+
Spain, 2007
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Starring: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep
What's it about?
In this refreshing take on the "haunted house" genre hailing from Spain, a troubled woman, Laura, opens an an orphanage for handicapped children in the childhood home she's just returned to with her family. Before long, an eerie sense of fear begins to set in, as things are revealed to be not quite as they seem. This gothic, atmospheric movie will haunt you long after you finished watching it.
Watch trailer & Read reviewWatch original The Movie Show 4-star review
Wednesday, October 21, 8:30pm
Night of the Creeps
MA15+
USA, 1986
Director: Fred Dekker
Starring: Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall
What's it about?
Another '80s gem, this one's set in a small-town college, facing an invasion by creepy-crawly creatures that transform all young people into dead people. The story starts in 1959, and Johnny and his girlfriend are enjoying Lover's Lane one evening, when the young man's attention is diverted to an evil light. He leaves to explore it, never to return. Twenty-seven years later, two college boys find Johnny's frozen body. When he thaws out, mysterious" creeps" leave his brain and spread terror on the campus.
The ABCs of Death
Available after broadcast at SBS On Demand
MA15+
USA/New Zealand, 2012
Directors: Kaare Andrews, Angela Bettis, + 25 more
Starring: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Iván González, Kyra Zagorsky
What's it about?
This horror comedy anthology, inspired by children's educational books, is directed by filmmakers from all around the world, included Ben Wheatley (Sightseers) for U is for Unearthed. Gritty, nasty, sexy, colourful, scary, funny – it's an alphabetised smorgasbord of death and depravity.
Wednesday, October 28, 8:30pm
Child's Play
MA15+
USA, 1988
Director: Tom Holland
Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent
What's it about?
Chucky wants to PLAY! Single mum Karen thinks she's just treating little Andy to a nice present when she buys him a blue-eyed playmate for his birthday. Rotten luck that the doll, renamed Chucky, starts showing worrying signs of wanting to murder people.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
MA15+
USA, 1974
Director: Tobe Hooper
Starring: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger
What's it about?
Originally banned in 1974, Tobe Hooper's low-fi slasher is now a cult classic, considered a game changer in the genre. When five young students decide to visit their grandfather's house in the country, they're hunted and terrorised by a chainsaw-wielding killer – the mask-wearing maniac Leatherface – and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.
Feature: Why The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the Best Horror Movie Ever Made
