Welcome back to and thanks for checking out May’s Monthly Horror Recs, because every time of year is the time for scary movies! As any self-respecting horror fan knows, it’s already halfway to Halloween! It’s as good of an excuse as any to cozy up and watch some spooky spectaculars, then again… I don’t even think I need an excuse to do that! I’ve been on my usual beat and scouring the genre for the hidden gems and forgotten older films to gather for you here! Here’s five of my favorites!
Red Rooms (2023)
True crime is one of the hottest topics in the media world right now, and it naturally has been tackled by horror many times since its newfound explosion of popularity in the 2010s. There are entire films that use it as a backdrop of sorts like March’s Horror Recs pick undertone, and there are even some established franchise films that use subplots or characters to comment on the phenomenon like Halloween (2018) or Terrifier 3. It’s only about time now that someone takes a deep look into the face of it and seriously considers its social and personal consequences. That film is Red Rooms. It’s structured beautifully around one central character and multiple different tones. It starts with a cold and precise depiction of a widely publicized trial of a serial killer who killed three young girls. We don’t ever get to see anything gory or violent, but we do hear the audio from some of the recorded videos of their torture, and it is seriously some of the most disturbing audio storytelling I’ve ever experienced in a horror film before. It then moves to the main character, Kelly-Anne, who is as cold and distant as the presentation of the trial is. It then proceeds to dissect her character as much as the trial lawyers dissect the case, with exacting detail and leaving all the right details to our imagination. You follow her downward spiral as she meets another woman obsessed with the trial and showing how their paths eventually diverge in meaningful and revealing ways. It’s a chilling watch to say the least, and it’ll leave anyone who makes it to the credits with a lot to chew on regarding social isolation, desperation to belong, and why you may be drawn to the brutal and morbid. Check this one out with great haste.
Watch it on AMC+, Shudder, Philo
Mute Witness (1995)
1996 marked the year of the teen slasher resurgence with the now classic Scream, but just the year prior there was a separately innovative take on the slasher formula that’s lack of conversation and presence in the public zeitgeist is nothing short of a massive shame. Mute Witness starts out familiar enough, with a mute special effects artist for a euro-trash slasher witnessing a real murder after hours with tense chasing ensuing. Marina Zudina is on fire as final girl Billy Hughes, combining the tenacity of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley with the powerful facial acting of Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. She’s as unique, fierce, and intelligent as any horror fan could ever hope for in any slasher they throw on. What made this really special is how it evolves its structure and approach as it goes on. The initial murder is classic slasher with shades of giallo, horrific and gory, played for maximum impact. It slowly evolves into a thriller with tense chases, mind games with the police, and surprise reveals as to the scope of what’s going on. As the scope increases and the menace of the antagonists with it, so does the intensity of the plot and the momentum in which it progresses. It genuinely reminded me of some action films of the era by the climax, the setups, the payoffs, even some climactic explosions to boot. Its evolution is genuinely so satisfying, and it even lets that evolution serve as a fun way to unexpectedly carry on and endear us into side characters that in any other movie would’ve been cast aside once their use was over. I was always not quite sure where it was going, in the best way, and by the end I could say I’ve never seen an experience quite like this one before.
Watch it on Tubi, Shudder, Philo, Fandor, Screambox
The Wind (2018)
Emma Tammi is currently most known for directing the (so far) two entries in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series. Say what you will about that franchise, but the direction has never been my specific complaint about it. I always appreciated her dedication to the games’ tactile designs and how much she focuses on production design and art direction. Still, color me surprised when I checked out her debut and it was a slow burn western horror. This is not the flashy popcorn of her later films, but an extremely moody and sensitive descent into feminine isolation, trust issues, and dark barren plains that stretch as far as the eye can see. It’s told in a cleverly non-linear structure that lets us see information in unexpected ways and reveal context to events we saw previously to devastating effect. The film centers around Caitlin Gerard’s Lizzy Macklin, a hardened and weathered frontierswoman who’s recently settled into a more domesticated role, but her entire reality begins to unravel once a new family comes to move into the nearest house across the plain. I was beginning to truly question reality as the film went on. I was always grounded by Caitlin Gerard’s phenomenal performance, but what was real and how it was all being experienced was constantly unraveling from beginning to end. Making me question where the real evil was coming from…is her husband hiding something? Does the family across the plain have dark intentions? Or is there a genuine evil entity lurking in the pitch dark of night? Worse yet…maybe all of these can be true and intertwined with one another. I don’t mean to give the wrong impression, this is not a plot- or explanation-heavy film. It primarily operates as a moody psychological horror with a deliberate but satisfyingly slow pace. What makes that pace work is how much implication and feeling it lets you sit and rest with as you live with these characters. This was one of my biggest horror surprises of the year so far.
Watch it on Tubi, AMC+, kanopy, Shudder, Sundance Now, Philo
Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
I’m almost afraid to talk about this one, because I know nothing that I can say will ever do genuine justice to not only the film, but to the heartbreaking realities in which it portrays. I’ll simply approach this by tackling what I know to be true. Horror movies rarely affect me as deeply as this one does. It’s hard to start talking about this in any way without simply mentioning just that, this movie is an absolute punch in the gut. Not through excessive cruelty or meanness, not gore or shock value, but genuine emotion and provocative storytelling. The main group of kids it follows are not even close to at fault for what circumstances they are dealt, and it builds them up excellently as dynamic characters all on their own without ever forgetting that they’re kids. Those moments of genuine innocence stand out to me a lot in retrospect. Throughout the movie things like trauma, violence, and poverty are thrown at them constantly, but it still gives them moments of worth and genuine companionship. It’s a heartbreaking juxtaposition as the terror mounts and the situations more dire. The supernatural forces in this movie are honestly only the cherry on top, it’s symbolic in the best way and always presented creatively. We as movie fans all crave that feeling when you walk out of a movie and go “Holy crap” in total disbelief and wonder how much it affected you. This movie gave that to me, and I have no doubt that it could give it to you as well.
Watch it on AMC+, Hoopla, Shudder, Philo
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)
One of my personal favorite underseen horror gems of the 2020s in horror so far, full stop. This movie really relishes in the inherent comedy that can come from the most innately human and tragic parts of ourselves. Sure, our main character is a vampire who needs to drink blood to live, but she just doesn’t like the whole murder thing. Once she meets the apparently suicidal Paul, it seems like it’d be a situation that’d just work itself out…right? Well, the stroke of genius this movie really holds in its sleeve is the heart it pulls out from that darkly comedic dynamic. As Paul begins fulfilling the few things he wanted to do before his life runs out, our main character, Sasha, in tow, they really strike up a strong friendship and eventually romance. It’s a surprisingly effective exploration of desire, ethical consumption, and finding someone who truly matches your freak. It nails the goth vibe and spirit without ever going outwardly over-the-top gothic in its visual style. It’s shot wonderfully, acted brilliantly, and I swear this script is to die-and-then-brought-back-as-a-vampire for. It’s simply a must see.
Watch it on AMC+, Kanopy, Shudder, Mubi, Philo
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