by Justin Query

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October is synonymously famous for candy, costumes, and sinister cinema. Perhaps the only ingredients missing here are those “Best Of” horror movie lists that invade social media posts like three persistent masked strangers invaded a home back in 2008.

In an entirely unsolicited fashion, Front Center Seat has compiled a list of some compelling – perhaps not the best, perhaps a bit off the beaten path – that one can watch in order to make the most of the spooky cinematic season. With this list, view these pictures night by night, binge the weekly recommendations as soon as they’re announced, or simply return here if you or someone you know is looking for something that might not obviously appear on any Top 100, Top 50, Top 25, or Top 10 list of horror movies.

What’s provided here is a curated list of genre filmmaking categorized by theme: frightening family films, movies populated with petrifying places, unique takes on terrifying motion pictures, and more. Each week’s entry also includes a bonus “midnight feature” for those strong-willed enough to stick around for one more screening.

So sit back, stream, and scream …

… As Front Center Seat welcomes you to Just Another Horror Movie Viewing Guide, Week 1: Origin Stories.

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10/1 … Nosferatu (1922)

In this B&W classic starring the inimitable Max Shreck, director F.W. Murnau took the audience on an imagery-laden retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula. Over time, there have been a number of attempts to recapture the lightning in the bottle that Nosferatu demonstrated, but filmmakers have often imitated but never replicated it, for now.
Available on Amazon Prime.

10/2 … Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Many of the original Universal Pictures’ monsters demanded our sympathy, but not one of them did more so than the Creature, a seemingly prehistoric gill man whose home is invaded by scientists. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro allegedly said that he was disappointed that the film was not a love story between the Creature and Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams), and The Shape of Water (2017) was del Toro’s cinematic solution.
Available on Amazon Prime.

10/3 … Night of the Living Dead (1968)

A copyright mishap hasn’t awarded director George A. Romero the spoils he deserves from making this seminal piece of filmmaking about survivors holed up in a farmhouse during the early moments of an apocalypse. But what history cannot steal from Romero is his contribution to the zombie movie genre today, which continues to be expanded upon today, both in film and on TV.
Available on AMC+, Paramount Plus, Peacock, and more.

10/4 … The Blair Witch Project (1999)

An example of guerilla filmmaking from production to marketing, this particular Artisan motion picture ignited the found footage phenomenon and should be celebrated for its placement in the history of filmmaking, whisking its audience helplessly away on a journey of horror that they will not only view but experience, as if in real time, about three amateur filmmakers hoping to document a haunting in the dark, deep rural woods.
Available on Peacock.

10/5 … Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

Nothing says “origin story” more than a film that embraces the meta approach of a would-be killer hoping to be the next, real-life slasher. The slasher subgenre has maintained its popularity with a number of films and franchises over time, but Anchor Bay’s picture simplifies things so as to be a primer of other movies of its kind: both a Dummies Guide for and a love letter to slasher film horror.
Available on AMC+.

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This week’s Origin Stories Midnight Feature …

Raw (2017)

Directed by Julia Ducournau, this French motion picture – a moving / coming-of-age / body horror indie film – follows a meek, stringent vegetarian (Garance Marillier) in her first year at veterinarian school who, after an unsettling freshman hazing ritual, begins to appreciate the taste of meat. Her tastes, unfortunately, may go beyond the critter cadavers that occupy the school and may soon include the young students who populate the local nightclubs.
Available for purchase on multiple streaming services.

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Next week’s theme: Family & Friends

A 1996 slasher film sets a new standard in horror franchises; a compelling ghost story is eclipsed by one of the biggest genre films of the year; America earns its own giant monster; and more …