31 Days of Halloween (2025)

✮⋆ The watchlist only ever grows.

And just like that... another Halloween enters the archive.

As per usual, certain themes tend to emerge throughout the month. This year that included: a deep dive into OG monster movies, an exploration of Guillermo del Toro's works (old and new), and plenty of (dark) comedy. Favorites and complete list below.

FAVES 🥀

Blade

A horror/action flick with 90s camp just cannot miss! Watch for the leather-clad vamps, perfectly dated CGI, and insane one liners. Also, I did not know this was Marvel??? Good for them.

The Descent

Jump scares! Sport climbing! Uncharted caves! Blind Sméagols! This was obviously going to be a claustrophobic survival story, but the creatures took it to the next level. Watch with the UK ending.

Bugonia

The latest Yorgos offering. More sci-fi and black comedy than horror, but we like to keep our spooky season liberal over here – and a completely batshit third act more than makes up for the slower second. Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis are outstanding.

Frankenstein (2025)

I said it once and I'll say it again: this is how you do an adaptation! This story was made for GDT's dark, fantastical touch. It carries the emotionality of the novel (entirely absent from the 1931 version) and re-interprets the ending in a way I could only ever dream of for the monster. I was lucky enough to see this during its limited theatrical run, but it should be on Netflix next week.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Saw this at The Music Box with a live musical accompaniment from The Invincible Czars. Their performance added a lot of humor and life to what would've been an otherwise silent viewing. The Phantom's unmasking is nothing short of iconic.

October 2025 ☕️🐈‍⬛🕸️

10.1 - Haunted Hotel E1+2 🏵️🪞🔌

10.2 - Twin Peaks Pilot 💔🌲🏍️

10.3 - Haunted Hotel E3

10.4 - Haunted Hotel E4-9, Gothika 👩🏽‍⚕️🪓🔥

10.5 - Haunted Hotel E10 🧇☄️👯‍♀️

10.6 - Gremlins 2: The New Batch🗽💋🧬

10.7 - Strange Antiquities (Video game*)

10.8 - Five Nights at Freddy’s ⚙️🍕🐻 

10.9 - Twin Peaks E1+2 ☕️🥂🃏

10.10 - Twin Peaks E3+4, Zombeavers 🦫🧪👙

10.11 - Twin Peaks E5, The Mummy (1932) 📜⚱️🪔

10.12 - 👻

10.13 - Rear Window

10.14 - Rear Window 🧑‍🦽🪟🚬

10.15 - Vampyr (1932), Twin Peaks E6, Black Mirror 🐝📱📍, Frankenstein (1931)

10.16 - Twin Peaks E7

10.17 - The Sect 🐇🌝🗡️

10.18 - 👻 

10.19 - Lost River, Blade 🆒🕶️🩸

10.20 - New Group 🥅🏃🏻💨

10.21 - Blade II, The Descent 🕳️🧗🏼‍♀️🔦

10.22 - 👻 

10.23 - 👻 

10.24 - Bugonia 🍯👽🌀

10.25 - Frankenstein (2025) ⚡️🫀🧟‍♂️

10.26 - Twin Peaks E8 + 9 🦉🪢🥧

10.27 - The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

10.28 - Cronos 🪲👨🏼‍🦳🧸

10.29 - Carrie (1976) 🐖✝️🔥

10.30 - Strange Horticulture (Video game*)

10.31 - Twin Peaks E10

**Special shoutout to Bad Viking for developing some really lovely occult puzzle games! I absolutely devoured Strange Antiquities and Strange Horticulture this month. Very Needful Things meets Nancy Drew, with seasonal ambience and narrative.