The Scariest Things

Cinephiles and physical media collectors, this episode is for you! The Criterion Collection has been the premiere distributor of cinematic excellence for decades. Did they find room for horror? Yes, they did! It is a very select group of films, but you might be surprised at some of the inclusions. Here are our picks from their horror library.

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The Letter sumptuously recreates the era of H.P. Lovecraft's 1930's New England. This languidly paced mystery feels like a Call of Cthulhu adventure, set in an elaborate mansion, and stocked with scheming characters with old grudges. This little indie film has big aspirations and ambitions but could have used a little streamlining. Prepare yourselves for lots of exposition and dark musings in period dialogue, while appreciating the fine details and rich textures.

Aaron Moorhead is one half of the prolific writing/acting/directing duo of Moorhead and Benson. The acclaimed duo produced some of the past decade's most mind-bending cosmic horror movies. It was only appropriate that he would serve as the keynote speaker at this year's H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and he took some time out of his busy festival schedule to talk with Eric Li about his Cosmic theories and theses.

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Cosmic Horror meets found footage in the parasomnia-infused Dream Eater. Documentarian Mallory and her boyfriend Alex retreat to a snowy cabin, celebrating Alex's 30th birthday. There, they hope to relax and get relief from Alex's violent sleepwalking episodes. Unfortunately, fate would have it that something ancient and evil is behind his psychological traumas, and Mallory struggles to make sense of it before it destroys them both.

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The Daemon was a perfect vessel to be unleashed at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. The debut feature from Devino and Yohe taps into all of the key tropes of Cosmic Horror: coping with inner demons, battling psychoses and grief, dreams from the underworld, and elder gods rising from the deep. Add in some wonderfully grotesque body horror and you get a banger of a movie. Plus: we get Azathoth. If you know, you know.

Let's turn back the clock to revisit an underrated year in horror movies: 1999. It's certainly a good time to put 1999 in perspective for its silver anniversary. In hindsight, this was a hinge year. Many old horror themes were getting swept away as new genre tropes emerged.

It has become a Summer tradition: The Scariest Things joins forces with our Podcasting sisters from the East Coast, The Jersey Ghouls, to do some summer school homework. This year's assignment from Liz was to spin the Wheel of Misfortune and receive a Horror Movie Studio. We then were to report back on their history and legacy, along with some recommendations. It was an education for us, and we're passing it along to you!

When considering foreign language horror, do not sleep on Spanish productions. It's not usually the first stop in horror, with French Extremism, Italian Giallo, and J-Horror often getting the most notoriety. There are some legendary titles from Latin America that you should consider. In Episode 186, the Scariest Things gives you nine titles worthy of a watch.

Oddity is the scariest horror movie of 2024. It crushed the film festival circuit, drawing acclaim at SXSW, Overlook, BiFan, and Fantasia Fest. The director, Damian McCarthy, took some time to talk with The Scariest Things to tell us about how he crafted the surprise horror hit of the year.

The 2024 Thingy Awards! It is time for the Mid-Year Scariest Things grand celebration: Once again, we surveyed and received votes from our favorite fans and industry contacts to determine the best horror movies of last year. If there were a couple of themes from last year: Possession and Australia. We got a lot of both in 2023, and it was GOOD. It was one of the best years for horror in the past ten years!