Watch Now on Netflix: Veronica (2017)

Veronica just hit Netflix streaming and I had heard mostly positive buzz about this supernatural horror film, so I couldn't wait to watch it! It is directed and co-written by Paco Plaza, who is most know for his [REC] movies (he co-directed the first and second of these films with Jaume Balagueró before directing the third film solo) as well as directing the excellent The Christmas Tale segment in the Films to Keep You Awake series. I really enjoyed the [REC] films and The Christmas Tale, so I was interested to see how he would handle a more supernatural-style film.

Watch Now on Netflix: The Ritual (2018)

I read Adam Nevill's The Ritual last year, and it made me eagerly look forward to the film adaptation (which was one of my most-anticipated films of 2018), which just hit Netflix Friday, February 9th. The book's first half was terrifying, and I couldn't wait to see such nightmarish visions come to life on the screen as imagined by director David Bruckner (who gave us strong segments in V/H/S and The Signal).

Top 10 Horror Movies of 2017

Entering 2018, I'm still catching up on horror movies that were released in 2017, which is why I'm a little late in posting my favorite horror films from last year. I've seen a lot of horror this past year (though I still haven't watched all the films I wanted to!) and us horror fans were lucky to get a lot of quality horror films released via various platforms, whether it was in theaters, via Netflix or Amazon or other streaming services. Overall, I was pleased with what I saw this year, though I feel only a few films really wowed me, though there were about 20 films I really enjoyed.

I've really struggled putting together this list, as I have 20+ horror favorites from 2017. There was just sooooo much good this year, and I'm still not really satisfied with the order I've ranked the films below. So please, don't pay too much attention to the order the films are placed in below, but appreciate all the top 10 and honorable mentions I've mentioned below. I've also included a section on a few films that personally disappointed me.

Watch Now on Netflix: The Devil's Candy (2015)

I was so excited to see that Netflix added The Devil's Candy to their instant streaming catalog! I had been looking forward to seeing it since early 2016 (where I had it as one of my most anticipated movies of 2016). Even though it technically had a 2015 release (probably at film festivals), it was really hard to track down, though I think it was available on Amazon at the beginning of 2017.

I really enjoyed writer/director Sean Byrne's last film The Loved Ones, so I couldn't wait to see The Devil's Candy. As soon as I saw it pop up on Netflix I dimmed the lights, lit a few candles, and snuggled up on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn to finally watch The Devil's Candy!

Watch Now On Netflix: I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (2017)

Last Friday Netflix released Macon Blair's directorial debut I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore, which was one of my most anticipated movies of 2017. It's a quirky revenge thriller about a woman who has had it with our rude, self-centered society, and is pushed to the brink when her house is robbed. When the cops can't help her, she takes things into her own hands to track down the robbers. She enlists her socially-inept neighbor and together they find the robbers, but also realize they may be in way over their heads.

Top 10 Horror Movies of 2016

2016 was a rough year for a lot of us, but at least it brought us some pretty rad horror films! We got to watch horror movies about witches in New England, punks and neo-Nazis in the Pacific Northwest, djinns from Iran, Halloween spirits from hell, demonic possession in England, not to mention all the ghosts, spirits, hauntings, and even zombies on a train!

Many of my picks below were also mentioned in my list of most-anticipated horror movies for 2016, however, I was blown away by a few surprise flicks that seemed to come out of nowhere. Whether I expected them to or not, there were plenty of weird, unusual, and spooky flicks in 2016!

I have listed my favorite 10 horror films of 2016, as well as including honorable mentions, below. In addition, I also decided to list films I was disappointed in or didn't care for just to provide an accurate picture of what I watched this year. Read on and then let me know your picks in the comments!

Watch Now on Netflix: I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House (2016)

Fair warning, most horror fans will NOT like I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House - it is extremely slow, has a very thin storyline, and it isn't structured like a traditional horror film. However, it totally nails the atmosphere and really got under my skin, which is why I have chosen to recommend it here.

The film is about a hospice nurse that moves into an old home to care for an elderly author, and realizes her books may be inspired by the house itself, which may be haunted by the ghosts of its past inhabitants.

Watch Now on Netflix: The Curse of Sleeping Beauty (2016)

I happened upon The Curse of Sleeping Beauty by chance while browsing Netflix the other night, and while it didn't look too promising I decided to give it a try. While it is more dark fantasy than horror, I found myself enjoying this one for its beautiful visuals and decaying yet fascinating mansion.

Synopsis: A man inherits an ancestral mansion and an ancient curse stemming back to the Crusades. As he battles to keep demons in the house at bay, he tries to awaken the beautiful Briar Rose to rescue her from a terrifying netherworld.

Watch Now on Netflix: Baskin (2016)

Baskin, the surreal Turkish horror film, finally hit Netflix instant! This film generated a lot of buzz last year when it hit festivals, so I've been dying to see it! It is directed by Can Evrenol and based on his 2013 short film of the same name (the poster above is actually from his short rather than this full-length feature, but I loved it too much not to use it!).

Synopsis: A group of cops responding to a request for backup in an abandoned building stumble upon a portal to hell and inadvertently become part of a horrifying ritual.

Watch Now on Netflix: Darling (2016)

A lonely young woman (Lauren Ashley Carter) descends into madness when she becomes the caretaker of a mysterious New York mansion that has a troubled past.

This film from Mickey Keating (Pod, Ritual, Carnage Park) just hit Netflix streaming over the weekend, and it is a psychological, cerebral trip that is worth a watch! It is filmed in black and white, has very limited dialogue, and relies on sound and startling flashes of horror to unnerve the viewer.

Watch Now on Netflix: The Invitation (2016)

I have been wanting to check out director Karyn Kusama's The Invitation for quite some time and it is one of my most anticipated horror movies of 2016. Lucky for me, it finally hit Netflix instant this past Friday, and you better believe that evening I was firmly planted in front of my TV to watch this much-anticipated film.

When Will's ex-wife, Eden, invites him to a dinner party at the home they once shared, he assumes she wants to put unresolved tensions to rest. But soon, Will senses that Eden and her new spouse have something sinister in mind.

Watch Now on Netflix: Extraordinary Tales (2015)

I haven't been posting as many "Watch Now on Netflix" articles as I would like and have a lot of (fairly) new Netflix titles to recommend to you that I need to catch up on (hopefully soon, maybe in one big post)! However, when I saw this animated tribute to Edgar Allan Poe's work, I knew I had to write something about it immediately. You see, I have been wanting and waiting to check out Extraordinary Tales for quite some time now, and was ecstatic when it was recently added to stream on Netflix Instant!

This animated horror anthology features horror greats like Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Guillermo del Toro, Roger Corman, and Julian Sands narrating five Edgar Allan Poe tales and one wraparound story. Each animated short is narrated in a different style, with one having a stark graphic novel look, another one looking like a soft watercolor painting, another featuring bold colors in old comic book style, and so on.

Watch Now on Netflix: The Hallow (2015)

A family who moves into a remote house in Ireland must battle malicious spirits living in the ancient Irish wood that surrounds the new home. 

The Hallow was at the top of my list when I wrote about the 10 Irish Horror Films to Watch on St. Patrick's Day last month, but it is an excellent horror film that can be relished any time of year! And now, it is streaming on Netflix for your enjoyment.

Film Review: The Witch (2016)

Note: I haven't done a full film review in quite some time, though I might do them on a more regular basis if I start to enjoy doing them again. I thought this film was worth writing about, and had to get my thoughts on it down somewhere. Anyways, I give you my thoughts on The Witch!

Why aren't there more horror films set during Colonial America? It was a time of upheaval and religious reformation, not to mention a period when colonists faced living on an entirely different continent, which sparked fears of the unknown and fueled superstitions, all the while early settlers endured unimaginable hardships in their fierce fight for survival. All these frightening experiences that colonists went through seem so ripe for horror movies, since many are about facing basic fears. It's really a pity we don't have more period piece horror films, because The Witch is an example of how well horror works in a historical context.

In 1630's New England a family is banished from a settlement and determinedly set out for the wilderness to start anew, alone. The family consists of father William (Ralph Ineson), mother Katherine (Kate Dickie), eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), son Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), twins Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson), and baby Samuel. Together they establish a small farm on the edge of a dense forest, but when baby Samuel is snatched by a supernatural evil lurking in the woods, despair and panic envelope the family. Soon, crops begin to fail, the other children are threatened, goat's milk turns to blood, and suspicions of witchcraft began to mount.

It is best to go into this film knowing as little as possible. I saw The Witch Thursday night, and besides seeing the trailers I tried to avoid seeing/reading much about it at all. I wanted my own experience, and didn't want to hold any expectations for the film going into it. So please, if you have yet to see this film consider stopping here and reading no further. I don't give any spoilers away below, but it really is best to have no preconceived notions before seeing The Witch. If you do want to read what I thought, continue reading...

Watch Now on Netflix: Hellions (2015)

As soon as I heard this movie was set on Halloween, I HAD to see it! There could never be too many horror movies set in or around Halloween! And evil, perhaps otherworldly, trick-or-treaters, too?! Ooooh I was soooooo in! 

Alone at home on Halloween, a 17-year-old waiting to share big news with her boyfriend is instead besieged by a pack of evil young trick-or-treaters. 

Watch Now on Netflix: Contracted Phase 2 (2015)

If you haven't seen the gross-out first installment, Contracted, do it now (it's on Netflix, too!)! It is a great indie film about a sexually transmitted disease a woman picks up that...changes her. I really enjoyed the first film in all its groddy body horror glory, and was excited to see Contracted Phase 2 hit Netflix.

Watch Now on Netflix: When Animals Dream (2014)

I had heard many things about the foreign horror/drama film from Denmark called When Animals Dream - some were good, some not so good. It was intrigued by it because it focused on female werewolf transformation, like Ginger Snaps (which I LOVE), so I knew I had to give it a go myself.

When 16-year-old Marie breaks out in strange rashes, her small-town neighbors panic and her family's terrifying secret can no longer be contained.

Watch Now on Netflix: Spooksville Season One

I loooooove spooky kid shows so I was really excited to see Spooksville on Netflix! It's a mix of Are You Afraid Of The Dark?, Goosebumps, R.L. Stine's Haunting Hour, plus some Goonies thrown in! However, it is not an anthology series, and instead it follows three teens in their fight against the dark forces at work in their small town of Springville, aka Spooksville, leading them on daring adventures.

This is a really great show full of quirky characters, fantastic monsters/creatures/creepy-crawlies/witches, really cool special FX, unique episodic storylines and an engaging wrap-around story! I was hooked from the moment I started watching and binge-watched the whole season one that's currently streaming on Netflix.

The show is based on Christopher Pike's line of young adult books of the same name. I was thrilled to see Pike's name since I devoured Pike's books as a kid, along with the books of R.L. Stine and Stephen King. I always thought Pike's books were more mature than Stine's (and therefore more thrilling), and I really like how well they translated to the screen. His protagonists always felt more real to me than Stine's sometimes cartoonish characters, and in this show I love the dynamic of the trio of friends and how genuine it feels. The actors did such a fantastic job in keeping the audience rooting for them, which I know sounds weird for a kid's show, but that's what makes the show so great even for adults to watch!

The Hub Network (never heard of it, but then again I don't have cable) premiered Spooksville back in October 2013, and it looks like there is currently only one season of it available (boo). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this show gets picked up again (according to Spooksville's Facebook page, there is talk that Netflix may pick it up for more seasons if it performs well, so go check it out now!!).

You can watch season one of Spooksville now on Netflix streaming!

If you don't have Netflix, you can also purchase it on Amazon!

Watch Now on Netflix: The Sisterhood of Night

I usually recommend horror movies in my Watch Now on Netflix series, but I just saw a film so powerful that I wanted to share it with you. So, full disclosure, this is not horror, but I still think this is worth a viewing.

The Sisterhood of Night is about a group of high school girls in a small town that eschew all forms of social media, create their own secret clique, and hold mysterious meetings in the woods at night. They have taken a vow of silence and promised to never speak their secrets to those outside their circle. One girl who is denied entrance to the group takes revenge by spreading wild rumors via her blog about blood sacrifice, sex rituals, and Satanic worship. This fans the flames of suspicion and distrust throughout the town, and soon The Sisterhood is embroiled in a modern-day witch hunt.

Watch Now on Netflix: Nightcrawler

One of 2014's underrated gems was Nightcrawler, a dark and gritty neo-noir film starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a young hustler who gets sucked into the sordid but lucrative business of trolling the streets of Los Angeles to film fires, car crashes - and murder. It's not precisely horror, but its wickedly dark tone certainly caught my attention - and it is now available on Netflix streaming!

Here is the official synopsis:

Los Angeles denizen Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) survives by scavenging and petty theft. He stumbles into a new career as a cameraman and -- armed with a camcorder and police scanner -- begins nocturnal forays across the city in search of shocking and grisly crimes. When he catches the eye of a shopworn news director (Rene Russo) who welcomes the chance to raise her station's ratings, Louis goes to increasingly greater lengths to catch the "money shot."

The film was thrilling, especially set against the reflection of neon and flashing red and blue lights in LA's blood-soaked streets, Crime photography has always fascinated me, and the dark side of it the movie presented really drew me in. I also really dug the weird-o character Gyllenhaal played (he did such a phenomenal job in this role), who I actually started to sympathize with as the film went on, despite how he far he spiraled. And the quirky bits of dark humor his character injected into the film really made me like him even more! The social commentary aspect of the movie was also timely, especially when most people have access to film/photograph almost anything 24/7, not to mention our culture having an intense fascination with disasters and accidents that may lead to death.

I highly recommend you check out Nightcrawler, streaming on Netflix now, but also available on other places as well as on Amazon!