Iconic horror movie checklist for the weekend

Schenelle Dsouza 

One of the most beloved horror movies from the early 2000’s Bhool Bhulaiyya is getting its own sequel starring Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu in prominent roles. While the trailer left most of us with mixed feelings, curiosity continues to creep in given the first movie’s gripping plot. If you haven’t watched it, then you definitely should, before you indulge in the sequel Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 which is set to hit theatres on May 20. 

And for those who have, here’s a list of true spine chilling movies that are a must-watch for true horror fanatics.  

Get Out

A low budget psychological thriller with a bracing impact, Get Out is not your basic horror flick. It’s a spine chiller with a plot that highlights racism and its stand in modern society. No, it does not divide and play with race; however, it portrays a warm welcoming environment for the people of colour, which of course raises a few suspicions.  After dating for about five months, Black American man Chris travels with his Caucasian girlfriend Rose to her family home for what seems like a harmless getaway. But all is not as it seems.  

Watch on Amazon Prime  

It Follows

In horror movies, spirits, ghosts and demons often find new ways of culminating into the lives of the innocents. Reading from unholy scripts, venturing into abandoned closures, you get the drift. The newest of probably most unheard of is the STD curse presented in It Follows. After having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend Hugh, teenager Jay Height is cursed to be followed by ghosts and spirits, wherever she goes, with no escape. That is unless of course she decides to pass it on, the same way she got it.   

Watch on Amazon Prime 

Midsommar

Love often makes you do crazy things, like follow your boyfriend to research about an isolated cult! Like many coming of age films, Midsommar does not delve into ghost, paranormals or any supernatural figures. Only humans, behaving far from civilised individuals. Like many coming -of-age thrillers and horror flicks, Midsommar shows us how humans too can be far more dangerous and monstrous than actual monsters. In order to fix her almost broken relationship with her boyfriend Christian, Dani travels to Northern Europe with him to study a cult in its annual Swedish mid-summer festival, a bright and peaceful retreat that soon goes awry.  

Watch on Amazon Prime 

Scream

Slasher films were a classic in the ’70s but soon boiled down to tiresome screams, bloodbaths and of course a psychotic killer on the loose by the ’80s. And by the early ’90s audiences were almost done with the genre that is until Scream hit the floors in 1996. A classic revival for the slasher genre, Scream is full of irony with teenagers mocking the stupidity of people escaping killers in horror movies until they face the same fate. A psycho that is obsessed with the genre was now recreating their own movie, but with real people. Blood, screams and the iconic ghost face mask, this movie is everything a ’90s horror movie should be! 

Watch on Apple TV 

The Blair Witch Project

Documentary style movies like Paranormal Activity are only as popular and gripping if they have a great plot. Because who really enjoys a shaky screen with terrible sound effects. The Blair Witch Project, however, despite its shaky footage, and cracking sounds really leaves you hooked and terrified at the same time. Three students, Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard travel to a forest in Maryland to explore and uncover the truth behind the Blair Witch legend, leaving behind nothing but footage of their deadly journey. A cult classic, this movie is not for the faint-hearted, and it is definitely not for those who love camping in the woods.    

Watch on Amazon Prime  

The Cabin In The Woods

Something about treading into the woods always seems to leave people gritting with fear. Maybe because of movies like The Blair Witch Project and The Cabin in the Woods.  These should be referenced as an instruction manual of what not to do when going for a trip into the woods. Instruction 1: Don’t go for a trip into the woods!  As most youngsters do, looking for a fun summer getaway, a group of five go to an abandoned, questionable looking cabin and do everything that one should not be doing and after a series of events they unknowingly summon a family of murderous zombies eventually becoming involved in a ritual of human sacrifices meant for subterranean deities.  

Watch on Apple TV 

The Exorcist

Saving the best for the last, The Exorcist is one movie that everyone has heard of, and few have dared to sit through. Even after all these years, The Exorcist remains a true blue example of sheer horror, with gory bits, eerie sounds and unnatural sequences that were, mind you, created without any special effects and camera tricks. The daughter of a successful actress, young Regan experiments with an Ouija board in her basement only to summon the evilest beings, becoming possessed by a demon. From there on comes a series of spine chilling movements and gut-churning drips that to this date beat any scary horror movie ever made, including the movie’s many sequels that followed after.  

Watch on Netflix 

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