The Scariest Things

Another year, another Overlook Film Festival, one of the premier genre festivals in the country. Unfortunately, this year, the main players of The Scariest Things were unable to attend the festival in person. Eric was able to get some of the films to stream, but, as is the norm, remote screeners were limited and did not include the showcase films. Fortunately for us, one of our loyal Patreon Contributors, Robin Marcotte, was in attendance again, and she helped fill in the gaps we missed. This year, there were a number of good films, and according to Robin, one GREAT film. This year, we watched fourteen films and thirty shorts. Give our recap a listen to hear our thoughts on the 2026 Overlook presentation. It pains me not to attend Overlook. It is one of my favorite events every year, but this doldrums economy forced me to be cautious with my funds, so I resorted to reviewing their films remotely. The pandemic spoiled stay-at-home movie critics, as nobody could attend festivals in person. All the films were remote. The times have reverted back, however, and one of the poorly held secrets is that film festivals rarely ever make their centerpiece films available for remote review. SXSW, Sundance, Overlook… the bigger films just don’t get the distributor go-ahead. However, some independent films were made available, and that was true for 2026. Fortunately for us, one of our valued Patreon patrons, Robyn Marcotte, was, as usual, in attendance, as she is a New Orleans local. Shockingly, many of the releases with known quantity actors and/or directors failed to connect with Robyn. Proof positive that The Scariest Things is not a shill for festival darling films! Still, there were a number of gems worth watching. Films we were able to cover: Obsession,HokumLeviticusAmerican DollhouseBuffet Infinity,Chili FingerCramps! A Period PieceNever After DarkNew GroupNormal,ParasomniaSuffocation Ugly Cry So, plenty of new material to find out about! Standout Short Films include: Here is the link to Episode 211: The Overlook Festival Recap

Sweet, sweet revenge. A subgenre best served cold, with a side of yanked intestines. It is a foundational tool for horror, both from the protagonist and antagonist perspectives. Anger, jealousy, and embarrassment create grudges that stick, and payback, she is a comin’. Listen in to our recommendations for your revenge fantasy satisfaction. In horror movies, sometimes you want to keep it simple. If your plot needs motivation… this is an easy check to cash. There are several sub-tropes here. Psychology Today lists several variants of revenge. As you might expect, revenge and justice are not simple concepts. There are different motivations and complex sources for the desire for payback. We tried to marry up the psychological categories to how they get executed in horror films: Simple or direct Revenge: Candyman, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Burning, Slaughter High, HatchetGhost StoryI Know What You Did Last SummerI Saw the Devil, MandyRedux ReduxOrcaSayara Constructive or transformative Revenge: Revenge, I Spit on Your Grave, They Call Her One Eye, Last House on the Left, Teeth, Ms. 45, American Mary, Hard Candy Honor revenge: Carrie, Piggy, Let the Right One InSisUpgradeAliensAlienGet OutScream Poetic or Ironic Revenge: ; the explosive destruction of the La Domas familThe Menu.Saw Collective revenge: WeaponsChildren of the CornThe People Under the StairsThe Island of Lost Souls Fantasy revenge: An American Werewolf in London.Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Subtle passive-aggressive revenge: The Sad Truth In many revenge horror movies, revenge is often a hollow victory. The wounds still exist. The trauma lingers. Your dead wife isn’t coming back. It is a short term dopamine high, but

We’ve got 2025 in the rear view window, and Hollywood has determined to not just relegate horror movies into the fall/Halloween schedule. Springtime apparently is a good time to have a big fear injection. So, we had to get the word out on movies you can anticipate coming to a theater near you! Admittedly, we’re out a little late this year. But, I would suggest we are just in time! Surprisingly, there are a lot of horror movies that are being released in late March. It also happens to be the eve of when many of the big genre film festivals get rolling. Sundance has just completed. SXSW is right on us now. Overlook is around the corner. So is Panic Fest. With these festivals, it sets the table for what you all can expect to come out this year. It becomes a bit of a guessing game for those of us who attend these festivals to predict what films are going to be on the schedule. Horror has proven to be profitable in what used to be a dead period for box office. Already, both Iron Lung ($50 million on a $3 million budget) and Send Help ($92 Million) opened up strong in January, traditionally the dumping ground for cast-off studio films. With the tremendous profitability and critical response to last year’s crop of films, we will see what will become this year’s banner carrier. My guess? Scream 7. There isn’t a studio backed big prestige movie like Sinners or Weapons this year, but I could very easily see a Neve Campbell led Scream 7 into a $300 million earner, much like Final Destinations: Bloodline from last year. If Scream 7 lives up to its potential, it could fly past that number. I don’t think that the effect of last year’s horror boom will be felt until next year’s crop. The studios didn’t have enough time to understand the influence until the season largely wrapped in October, well after prduction had wrapped for most films getting released for 2026. A Good Year for Indie Films? The indie horror films are in abundance this year. SXSW has a huge roster of genre films. Overlook just announced their roster, and so has Panic Fest. Usually there is a lot of overlap, but not so much this year. That suggests a wide variety and a lot of options out there. An that’s not taking into account the large Summer and Fall festivals like Frightfest, Popcorn Frights, and Screamfest. As usual, there will be films that we didn’t see coming because they come with zero fanfare, but end up surprising us with original storytelling or raw savagery. Better yet… both! We always summarize what we did from the previous year, and I think we actually did pretty well in our selections for 2025. You can check out last year’s predictions HERE. Will 2026 be as solid for Scariest Things selections? Listen in, and remember this come the end of the year! Episode 209: Looking Forward to 2026 Note… we announced this one episode off. Looking Forward To 2026: The Candidates

Here come the stinkers! It’s time to discuss the Worst Horror movies of 2025. Of course, just like our favorites, our disappointments are highly subjective. You may be surprised to discover that some of the movies we didn’t enjoy have received plaudits from other critics. We have some fun internal disagreements, for sure. We know you love hearing us throw shade on movies. Enjoy the hot takes! This year, we have big hits, well-established franchises, underdeveloped indie films, and even a book. (From Liz, of course.) We watched a record number of films this year, with Eric seeing over 100 and Heather more than 150. So, we have a good sample size to pick from. Also, remember that this subjective list may include movies we had high hopes for and were disappointed to see fall well short of expectations. And then, of course, there are the movies that you watch because of boredom on a Saturday night, and rent a free campy movie, and it really stinks. I regret to say that it happened to me often this year. Hey, it was free! I have a full roster of the movies I saw in 2025 on my favorites list. By the way, if you haven’t listened to our best of 2025 episode, you can listen to it HERE. And remember, most of us thought it was a very good year for horror, so these are the outliers. Some of our opinionated themes this year: Mike: Big directors who should know better, and gave us unlikable characters. Liz: Turned off more movies than she can count this year. Got burned at the festivals. Eric: After watching a record number of horror movies in a year… plot still matters. Here’s our Podcast for the Worst Horror Movies of 2025: Episode 208 If you watch any of these films, you’ve been warned! If you disagree with us, by all means, let us know. Trolls are welcome! (Ahem) Spoiler Alert: Here are our selections Bonus: Here are some other terrible titles that you should avoid if you are browsing through your free Tubi, Netflix, or Amazon choices: (Eric’s list) If you feel like you need to watch a Mickey Mouse Horror, watch Mouseboat Massacre instead. It’s not great, but better than the crap that is Mickey’s Mousetrap. For the better Popeye horror, watch Popeye the Slayer Man instead, which makes a whole lot more sense… even if the Popeye in Popeye’s revenge looks better. A Breed Apart is some of the worst digital animation you will see; it looks like CGI from the 90s. It might qualify as so bad it’s good, but I dunno. MAR.IA isn’t nearly as sexy as the cover suggests. Stay away!

If it’s January, you know it’s time for our Top 10 Horror Movies of 2025. You might think there is a group consensus, in a year that had so many good horror movies… but you’d be wrong! The best part of having a great sampler platter of movies to pick from is that there is something for everybody. This year, the box office and the awards programs agree, 2025 had a lot to offer. This was a year full of original story ideas, and, for a change, they were represented in both studio films and indies. Plus, the sequels and reboots this year proved to be both profitable and refreshing (for the most part). What you all may enjoy the most are the movies that split the critics. There are several movies on our respective lists that are very divisive, and you know what? That’s the best part of these episodes. Here’s the best part: you get to hear us argue the merits and flaws of these films, and you can decide for yourself whether it’s worth watching. If you are visiting our site for the first time, we have three posts that also describe our selections: Eric’s List, Mike’s List, and Robert’s List. Eric’s list has a full ranking of ALL 100+ films that he saw. But, that’s not the most movies digested in 2025, as Heather has seen over 120! That’s a good sample size, folks! We, who love horror movies, watched a lot of them last year. The best news is that, given that these movies hauled in the cash train, horror movies are going to get more attention. Here is the Podcast: Listen and behold!

Ready or Not Consider Feel Good Horror as a palate cleanser for those of you looking for a bit of optimism and good vibes in your horror movies. For those of you who may have followed up on our recommendations from Episode 205: Mean Horror, we’re making it up to you now. Triumph over evil! Protagonists for the win! Fist pumps all around. It’s time for some emotional healing through horror with Episode 206: Feel Good Horror. Just because the primary motivation of a horror film is often to scare you, that doesn’t mean you can’t be smiling the entire time. Horror films elevate your emotions, and often that means your happiness as well as your fear. Those movies that do both are usually big winners. When we consider feel-good horror, we ask ourselves the following questions: Final girls fit this model. Horror comedies often fit this category. Horror romances are often feel-good films. But, as always, the emotional takeaways from a movie are specifically subjective. Heather has different kinds of horror: films that are comforting and familiar, and films that are light, colorful, and breezy. These are the horror movies that put you into a happy place, however you get there. Podcast Episode 206: Feel-Good Horror You can listen to us discuss our selections using the link below. Don’t forget to find us on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or wherever you like to stream your podcasts! Key Feel-Good Horror Films include:

The House that Jack Built Great Horror movies can often be a bummer. Vicious, unrelenting, and cruel films that deny us the happy ending and the victorious fist pump. Many horror fans, and a couple of the podcasters for The Scariest Things in particular, seek these films out. We are crossing bridges too far. No punch pulling. Beware and behold Episode 205: Mean Horror. The caveats associated with the “recommendations” presented in this episodes have caveats on top of them. These are the films that may make you regret your movie selection decisions. These movies have merit, but these aren’t movies meant to be enjoyed. Quite the opposite, actually. These movies strip your soul, and make you ponder the darkness in society. Often times, these movies are human on human horror, delivering cruelty that only we can inflict on our own. Just know, we will be following up soon with the salve for the emotional wounds that mean horror delivers with our “Feel Good” episode to help you recover. Here are the criteria we used in picking our movies. The movie does not require to comply with all the listed criteria, but if the movie contains many of these themes then it would qualify for our selections. Note that this is not a reflection of the quality of the movies. Many of them are very good, and critically appreciated. They also don’t need to be gory to be mean, though they often are. The Podcast: Episode 205: Mean Horror With those caveats and warnings: brace yourselves. It’s time for MEAN HORROR. For similar content, check our Bridge Too Far Infographics. Consider yourselves warned.

You know? That movie was better than I remembered. How often do you tell yourself that? Or, alternately, "What was I thinking? This movie was awful!" We've all been there. The movies don't change, but we do. We get older. Our tastes change. Sometimes we weren't in the right headspace to appreciate a film for the first watch. The Scariest Things gets contemplative in Episode 204 and reviews movies that we believe should be re-evaluated... for better... or worse.

Horror movies love sequels and reboots. So, a recast is always around the corner. The Scariest Things is going to do what everybody fears: recasting movies that really shouldn't be rebooted. BUT WE'RE DOING IT ANYWAYS! Redoing A Nightmare on Elm Street with blockbuster casts. Check! A reboot of Jaws with women in the lead? Done! Extending the It story to 27 years, for a Chapter 3 using a senior citizen cast. You betcha! And Hereditary, but swapping out for an all black cast? We can do that! Sacrilege? Absolutely, but you know you want to know who we picked!

★★★★ out of ★★★★★ Intensity: 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 Betrayal. At its core, A Blind Bargain is a movie about the worst kind of betrayal you can imagine. Desperation and greed convince a young and troubled Vietnam veteran to submit his own mother to the schemes of a mad scientist. This groovy '70s retro thriller takes a cosmic turn through life-extending experimentation. This was the centerpiece movie of the 2025 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.

Are you afraid of reptiles? Horror movies suggest that you just might be. There is an abundance of movies with reptile and amphibian horror themes. Snakes? Lots of you. Betting odds would suggest that you either fear spiders or snakes, or both. Alligators and crocodiles? Probably not something that applies, unless you live in Florida or Egypt. But, how about frogs? Or turtles? If you are, then this episode is made for you.

If you hear squeaky shoes, run away! The very popular trope of coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, taps into childhood fears and manages to go to almost unthinkable extremes. With the rise of Art and Pennywise, the horrorverse knows there is a vein that taps into real, deep-seated fears. Join Heather, Mike, and Eric in our breakdown of some clown-themed films for your consumption.

Horror Mockumentaries succeed because of the implied truths they pretend to offer. The authenticity, tangibility, and verisimilitude all convey that what you are watching actually happened. And, it could happen to YOU. Because it is a MOCKumentary and not a DOCumentary, this is all fiction, though, and thank goodness for that. Some of the most brutal and horrific stories originate from this favorite subgenre of horror. Join us in Episode 199, as the Scariest Things investigates the truth of Mockumentaries.

We have reached a milestone recording episode, and also a good milestone date for horror movies. The first 25 years of the century, nay, the millennium, have passed. It is an opportune time to look back at the first quarter century and show our favorite movies of the past 25 years. We like our lists and rankings here at The Scariest Things!

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 How is it that babysitting, traditionally the lowest common denominator flexible starter job, is so dangerous? Dooba Dooba is a lo-fi found footage film exploring the perils of a woman babysitting an odd girl full of tricks and dark secrets. If you think you know babysitter horror, think again; this movie has some wild twists. The film creates a moat of anxiety which will have you twitching from the dramatic irony of knowing too much, while the characters head blindly into awful decisions.

★★★★ out of ★★★★★ Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 It Needs Eyes examines the link between the dangers of obsessive and addictive behavior when coping with grief. "It", in this case, is the dark web. Brutal social media requires people to watch the dreadful material to have any power. It has found an addict, corrupting the otherwise innocent Rowan, who is struggling through grief by watching things she should not see. This is a beautiful, slow-burning movie featuring terrific performances from young actresses Raquel Lebish and Isadora Leiva. The film never terrifies, but the story will get under your skin and unnerve you.

★★★★ out of ★★★★★ Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 Alma and the Wolf spins a strange and surprising story that weaves themes of unfulfilled dreams and dark secrets. Ethan Embry, Li Jun Li, and the rest of the cast provide an emotionally poignant and ultimately tragic fable. Part psychological thriller, part folk horror, this film may be the best showcase of Embry's acting chops in his extensive filmography. This movie was the opening film at the Portland Horror Film Festival.

For much of the Scariest Things crew, we are discussing horror movies from our backyard. This is our home turf. The Pacific Northwest is a suitable backdrop for horror, with its often gloomy weather, quirky urban cities, and history of cryptids. Famously, we keep it weird in the PNW, and the movies reflect these tastes.

Jump Scares are the foundation of so many horror movies. This blast of adrenaline keeps horror fans coming back to the cineplex. Great horror movies, awful horror movies—they all use them. The Scariest Things team discusses our favorite use of the easiest and perhaps most essential trope in the genre.

Overlook, the great New Orleans Horror Film Festival, has delivered its goods. Long-time Patreon supporter of The Scariest Things, Robyn Marcotte, joined us to share her experiences with Eric and Liz on the festival. More than ever, I found that I didn't have enough time to see nearly enough of the movies. Still, I was able to catch eight feature films and 23 short films. You have to pick and choose, as it is physically impossible to see all the movies. So, it became a bit of a guessing game as to what was going to be the best watch. In this episode, we share our thoughts on everything we did at the Festival.