Crowdfunding Games I Wish I’d Backed

I don’t have too many requirements for what can go on the list. The one that I do have is that the game is out, or at least production copies are close, there is one exception to my list, I think. But generally the game needs to be out. I missed these games and now I wish I had them because the game looks good. There are some games, Arkeis, for example, that I really am interested in, and I wish I’d backed it, but I don’t know enough about it still to say for sure.

Also this is a fairly long list, though some will surprise you on the list. You’ll have to see what they are, but let’s get into the list.

Final Girl

This one is going to be an interesting one, because I am going to back it. But I just said I’m sad that I missed it. I am because now we are onto season two. So that probably means that I’ll be getting more for the game, and clearly I need even more of a game that I already don’t own.

Final Girl is kind of what it sounds like. You are the trope of the final girl in the horror movie. Can you survive the serial killer and escape? Can you rescue others, or will you truly be the last one standing? I love that theme, especially since those Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th type of movies are my favorite for horror movies. This one I don’t know why I passed it by the first time, I won’t this time.

Unsettled

Another one that is coming back to crowdfunding, I believe Kickstarter. This is a planet exploration puzzle. It reminds me, in some ways of TIME Stories, but in space instead of this weird time travel mechanism for the game. So it’s modules that you explore to try and complete objectives. The game sounds really cool.

They are coming back to Kickstarter so that they can drop some more planets into the game. That is something that is great about this game and system, that I can tell, they’ll always be able to add in more planets. And from what the reviews have said, this has some really good writing with it as well. So while not a big campaign game like ISS Vanguard which I did back, this is going to give me a lot of planets to explore as well.

Solomon Kane

Now, this isn’t my exception, but you can watch on Malts and Meeples me unboxing Solomon Kane. Well, that’s because I bought it on eBay. I wish that I’d backed this on Kickstarter. I think that Mythic Games brought it to Kickstarter when I wasn’t checking as much. And by the time I heard about it, I think it was too late, or I didn’t know about the late pledging of things.

This is one that I still need to dive into my copy of it. It was an option to stream when we chose Sleeping Gods instead. And it is very possible that I will stream it later this year. Because, while it is kind of a campaign, it is shorter stories that are campaigns. That is similar to how Roll Player Adventures is doing their campaigns as well. I like that because it means that I am not signing up for 100 hours of game play.

Vampire the Masquerade – CHAPTERS

Here’s the cheater one, this one isn’t out yet. So why is it on the list, because Quackalope has a very polished looking almost production copy that I’ve watched played. I’ll add the video below. But the game looks right up my alley. It has tactical elements for combat where you need to think about positioning. But it is so much more about story, and I love a good story in a game.

Not to mention that the whole world of Vampire: The Masquerade sounds interesting to me. This world of vampires, but not vampires who are ripping peoples necks out. This is about the intrigue and codes that they have, and being subtle about the hunger and when and how you get your blood. And the different clans and how they interact amongst each other in a struggle for power.

Maximum Apocalypse

This is an interesting one because I’ve again, had a chance to get it. And not just a chance, two chances, and then there is more of a campaign version of Maximum Apocalypse as well that I could have gotten. So why do I regret not getting it, but also haven’t pulled the trigger? This is a survival post apocalyptic sort of game, or during the apocalypse. And it’s done with random tiles that you are searching and different objectives to complete. Plus you have a lot of different apocalypses you can play in.

So theme is great for me. Game play looks like a lot of fun. It just hasn’t caught my attention quite enough. And now, and this is a bad reason, there is a lot of it. And I’m going to want to own all of it. That is a bad reason not to get it. I can get a little bit and if I love it I can get more. I do that often with games. But this one, stuff like the Kaiju expansion I really want, but isn’t part of the base box. So I haven’t bitten on it, yet.

Mars Open

You’re going to see a lot of big games on the list. We know what I like my big campaign games, but this is a small game. And I don’t actually remember what kept me from backing this one. And I keep on looking at it on eBay thinking I should pick it up. Mars Open is a dexterity game, basically paper football flicking, but instead of football, it’s golf. And you are play some holes and low score wins.

That game sounds hilarious to play. I have to imagine that I’d be bad at it, but I’m okay with that because it’ll be a good end of game night game. It reminds me of PitchCar as a game where when someone has a crazy good shot, everyone is going to be excited for them.

Horizon Zero Dawn

This one I’m glad I didn’t back, but I also wish I had. The minis in the game are amazing. And the core box has a lot of cool things. but it has a limited number of things. I likely would only have backed the core, and while people seem to like the game, the general consensus is that you need more. The base box gives you a good gaming experience, but not enough to come back to and feel like it’s different.

That said, there isn’t only the base box, there is a lot more. And if you went all in on everything, there is going to be a ton that you can play. Plus the theme, I love the theme. I haven’t beaten Horizon Zero Dawn, but I need to get back to that game. Honestly, too many video games to get through right now. But in terms of setting this is one of the coolest.

Graphic Novel Adventures

From Van Ryder Games, these are basically mini choose your own adventure in graphic novel form. But they are more than that, it’s not just flip through and read stuff, you have a character and you have stats. That is going to determine how well some things go for you. And they put so many themes into the different graphic novels. Pirates, Sherlock Holmes, and werewolves just to name a few. And I own one, which I really need to play. If I love it, they seem to do more every few years, so I can get another one. I really need to play mine.

Sea of Legends

Another one that is coming back to Kickstarter soon, or maybe Gamefound, I’m not sure. Sea of Legends is a pirate game with app assistance. To me, this looks like it’ll be similar to Merchants and Marauders, a game I like but don’t love, and then add more story into it. In Merchants and Marauders there isn’t story, it’s what you bring to the game. And while the theme is solid, I like games that have story.

Sea of Legends did start out rough with an app that was bad, issues with the rule book, and generally felt like Guildhall sent it out before they polished it. I think that there are still issues with the rule book, but the app seems to be better. And it has a whole idea, that you pick out three different things, I forget what they all are, and enter them into the app and that drives your story. So you can change them up and the story is going to change as well.

This is one that I’m probably going to either grabbed use, my FLGS has had a copy, or back when it comes back. Pirates are a theme that I love, and a generally open world game with story, I like that too. I mean, you can see me now playing Sleeping Gods, a game that I almost put on this list. I own it now, and I like it.

Wild Ascent

This is kind of a Monster Hunter style board game. Or a boss battler game, where you have a village phase and then fight a monster. Kingdom Death Monster might be the one that popularized the genre. KDM (Kingdom Death Monster) is one that didn’t make the list, but was close. I want it, but that Kickstarter was insane.

Wild Ascent does a lot of the same things, and seems like it’s a shorter campaign. KDM feels more like a lifestyle game. And while I wouldn’t mind having a solo lifestyle game that I can keep set-up all the time. Until I get a board game table, which I want to do eventually, and can get two levels and leave a game up all the time, one is about all that I can manage.

That is why I passed on Wild Ascent twice. There was a Gamefound and Kickstarter campaign, and the Gamefound one I was so tempted by. But I held off because do I need another big game that will be hard to get to the table? No, but I really really want it.

Chronicles of Drunagor

Another campaign game, and one that I did end up backing the second time around. So why is it on the list, because I was interested in it when it came out the first time. And if I had backed it then, I could be playing it now. This is another big dungeon crawl campaign game that does some really cool things.

Firstly, the terrain is 3D, meaning levels to go up and down. And when you get to a door, that door tells you what is in the next room and you set it up then. Plus the action system is really interesting. You have cubes that determine what you can activate, which is great. Because as you activate spots you start to lose what you can do. And then you pull everything back, but you cover up an ability.

The puzzle of the game just seems good. And there are a number of reviews out for it now, and they are good. So I could be playing that now, but so many games that I probably wouldn’t actually be.

QE and On Tour

So, I own half of these games now, and I wish I owned both. But it’s also one that I kind of don’t mind I don’t own it yet. I own On Tour, a great roll and write game. And one with a great app. But QE is one that I think I want to own, but for sure want to try.

QE is a bidding game where you buy companies and get points. The trick is that you are bidding and there is no set amount. So I could be 20 trillion dollars. However, the person who has bid the highest total amount of money at the end is automatically eliminated. So bidding will escalate, I think it’d be impossible for it not to, because if one person gets everything, everyone loses. how much and how crazily, who knows.

QE really doesn’t sound like it should work. But everyone who reviews it says that it does, though, often, they don’t know why. I think it might be a bit group dependent, but in the right group could be hilarious. Another one that seems like a great game night game.

Canvas

I backed the second Canvas Kickstarter and I wish I’d backed the first. Not only could I be playing it now, but I wouldn’t need the expansion. On the second Kickstarter, the option was just there to get the expansion and base game together, not just the base game. I am sure that I won’t mind having the expansion, but do I really need it.

Canvas is a game where you are painting a picture. You do that by selecting cards and layering them on top of each other. The game Gloom is one that I have which does something similar. But in this one you are creating pictures. And depending on the symbols at the bottom of the picture, you score points. The game looks simple but also like a lot of fun.

That’s The Crowdfunding Wish List

Now, I could have picked more. Lords of Hellas, wish I’d backed it, maybe, same with Deep Madness, but I own most of both of those now. Or there were games like Monumental that almost made the list. Deck building with an interesting action mechanism sounds really cool. But I want to play it more than I want to own it. And maybe once I play it I’d want to own it.

Have there been any games for you that you wished you’d backed? Do you pick up those games on eBay or hope that they get a second crowdfunding campaign? Let me know what your top game you wished you’d backed is.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street

Freddy Krueger is such an iconic bad guy, and if you wanted to see a young Johnny Depp before he just started playing Johnny Depp in various roles, this is a good chance. This one definitely is not a pure B-horror film, but it has some of those elements because of the time it was created and just how it’s aged. It still have a wonderfully terrifying slasher in it, and it hits on that peak slasher feel. Probably my favorite slasher franchise out there.

Hellraiser

I think what is so interesting to me about this one is the premise. This idea of people putting themselves through torture to feel basically, and this puzzle box and really Pinhead just make it an iconic horror film. The first one, especially does a good job of not just being about the world of the Cenobites but about the people who go there, eventually it becomes a bit more about the world and about the torture as you watch through the series, but overall quite enjoyable and interesting.

Friday the 13th

Another one that spawned a franchise, you think about the iconic character of Jason Voorhees, but he isn’t actually the villain in the first one. This is one that it’s been a while since I’ve watched it, but I need to go back and see it again. But it is one of the iconic horror films, and really spun out not only it’s on franchise but so many others that have that camp as the backdrop as well as a very good episode of Psych.

Re-Animator

This is a B-movie through and through based loosely off of Lovecraftian lore, and Frankenstien-esque monster, it is about a man who decides to bring someone back to life. Another series that it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but I remember it fondly as some glorious horror fun that isn’t too horrific and falls more in the line of just an interesting idea and B-execution and a good time. The main character portrayal is amazing as well, Jeffrey Combs is great as Herbert West and in that B movie role.

Sleepaway Camp

I don’t know that I’d as highly recommend this one as some. When I talk about how Friday the 13th spawned some other films, this is one. I think that this one, as compared to others on the list, takes itself a bit more seriously. With that said, it was well done film with a twist at the end, which I don’t know if it was shocking, I kind of figured it out, but it was interesting, though fairly well lead up to.

The Evil Dead

Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.

If you need more reason than that, this movie is just a classic B-Horror film, it blends in a lot of horror with comedy as well. As compared to other of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s work together, this one is a whole lot more about the gore and horror than future installments. Still, The Evil Dead is one of the iconic 80’s horror films and worth checking out.

Gremlins

I feel like Gremlins is another amazing horror trope, where you get something that looks maybe a little bit cute, or at least not dangerous and then something happens and everything goes insane. Which of course is wonderfully fun, and as I’m looking at it, so many of these spawned franchises, whether or not any of the sequels were that great, but definitely checkout Gremlins for a weird spin on a creature feature.

They Live

Is this horror, kind of, but ultimately I would say that this is a wonderfully dystopian 80’s story with some horror elements, kind of in line with something like Soylent Green (which was from the 70’s so not on this list). They Live is just incredibly B as the try and pull in a popular wrestler to do some acting, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and while his performance isn’t horrible, this film is just all over the place and so much fun. It has several iconic scenes for something that critically can’t be called that good.

Now, there are a lot of great other horror films out there from the 80’s that are much more actual horror that I could talk about. These are just some of the weirder and what I would call iconic Halloween ones. While horror always gets associated with Halloween, these are the ones that people so often talk about. What are some of your favorite Halloween horror films, not the ones that are amazing horror but that blend that goofiness of Halloween together with the dark side of Halloween?

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So what makes those characters so Iconic and more, like Pinhead from the Hellraiser films, Pennywise from IT, etc?

I think that the starting spot is the look. Michael Myers has his mask, Voorhees his hockey mask, Freddy Krueger his gloves, and more. Each of these slashers or monsters has their very specific look to them and that’s going to make it stick out in your head more and be more memorable. And while there was something that it stick out in memories, they weren’t extremely over the top in their outfits with the exception of Hellraiser and Pinhead, but even his was more muted in tones. I think something that feels reasonable makes it stand out more with the parts that aren’t reasonable.

I think that a lot of them too hit about the right time for something like that. If you look at the iconic horror movie slashers, Halloween was made in 1978, Friday the 13th was made in 1980, A Nightmare on Elm Street was made in 1984. There was a peak time for these horror films that really made them stick out. Now, what the reason for that is, I’m not sure. But there is something about the 80’s horror icons that really stand out compared to a lot of the newer ones. It’s tough to put your finger on it, but I think the newer ones either go too light, in that they are shooting for a PG/PG-13 rating or delve too much into the R rating. The 80’s horror films definitely have horror, but there is some bit of camp to them.

And I would say that’s another thing, and might be why it works from the 80’s and less so now. But the movies having camp to them just a bit, makes it more iconic as well. It can’t be an intentionally campy movie. If it’s too obvious that the movie is trying to be campy, the slasher might get recognized for a little bit, but generally the movies don’t have as much staying power. None of the big three, or even the earlier Hellraiser films (later ones intentionally campy) are attempting to be campy, there is just something about them that allows them to blend horror and that campiness really well. I think some of it is budget, and I think some of it is technology. No matter how large budget or how much effort they put into making it feel horrific, it was never going to look like real life, so it was always going to be just a little bit off, which oddly enough, I think makes them stand the test of time and be memorable.

I think the final question to ask, and I’m not sure I know the answer to this, would it be possible for there to be a modern iconic slasher. Now, there have been good modern horror slasher films, and a lot of bad ones, and don’t think that in the 80’s there aren’t a lot of bad ones as well, but what would it take and would it be possible, to have a modern horror slasher film spawn a series the way that Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween have? And even those iconic ones as remakes really didn’t capture the same feel. The closest that I can see are the Saw films. Though, I’m not sure that I consider Jigsaw to be a slasher, but that started with a kind of absurd premise that took itself seriously, but overall couldn’t be actually taken that seriously. And even with those, I feel like Jigsaw wasn’t the iconic piece to it, like Freddy or Jason on to their franchises, but it was the traps and the puzzle horror.

So, what are your thoughts, what makes in iconic slasher? Is it possible to have an iconic slasher created like we had with Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers again?

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Now, this is obviously going to be somewhat subjective because it’s my thoughts on horror, and your thoughts on what you prefer might vary greatly, but I think that there’s going to be a number of takeaways that most people will probably agree with.

Let’s start by thinking about why people read or watch horror. There are probably several reasons for it, but the biggest one that I know of is that energy that you get from feeling scared. It triggers some of the fight or flight adrenaline in people who love horror. There’s a sense of high emotion that you’re getting even though you’re feeling scared. It’s an energy that is going to stick with you for a while, even if it does haunt your dreams later.

With that in mind, how do you best go about creating those feelings and moments?

There are a number of things, but one of the biggest is also basic for any sort of story generation. Keep your characters interesting and sympathetic. You want your readers or watchers to be able to relate to the main characters, because then they are going to feel more when those characters are scared. It’s really being able to insert yourself into the shoes of the character so that you can imagine it happening to you. The more you can do this, the more of a true reaction you’re going to get out of people.

Now, that isn’t for every horror movie, in movies like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, or Cabin in the Woods, I doubt we feel like we’re any of those characters. In those cases you’re playing off of the expectations of people as to what is going to happen in a story. They will be looking for the jump scares to happen to those characters, but if the jump scare is done well enough, the people taking in your story are still going to jump as well. The stories that use this methodology aren’t going to stick around as long with people because you already have some idea as to what is going to happen.

Then how do you continue to build from there?

I’m going to break this part into two different sections, the more realistic first than the more trope driven methods of horror.

In a more realistic approach you’re trying hard to keep everything based somewhat in reality. A movie that I haven’t seen yet, but that has some reasonable feel to it while being completely out there is A Quiet Place. Being quiet so that no one knows where you are, that seems very reasonable to the human brain, which makes that movie scary. You’re going to feel for the people every time they make a noise because you can imagine it happening to yourself and how scared you would be when you hear a noise. Cloverfield is another example that seems a bit odd, because there’s a giant monster attacking New York City, how realistic is that? But with the handheld camera and found footage feel they are going for it feels more realistic and more relatable. Now, it’s less effective than some because it is a monster, but another thing that Cloverfield does well is the not knowing all the information about what is going on. This is also shown in 10 Cloverfield Lane. The main characters do not have all the information and because we’re basically just seeing it from their perspective, we’re also lacking in information which makes it more tense.

The danger to the characters also matters a lot, you don’t want it to feel like any characters are particularly safe. Cloverfield does this by having a character you met very early on who seemed fairly likely to survive dying in the monster attack, then another character dying from a monster attack part way through the movie. In fact, in that movie no one is safe. If you’re worried that the character you might light will die, that adds more to the stress and fear that you’re going for in this sort of horror.

Also, keep away from the buckets of blood. A grisly death can be effective in this sort of horror, but it isn’t needed by any stretch of the imagination, and really in any horror, the over the top plethora of violence doesn’t really make it scarier. A lot of gore isn’t generally scary, it tends to be gross. You’re going to get a reaction of revulsion versus being scared and that’s going really horror. It might be horrifying and traumatizing, but  if we go back to what my original definition for good horror was, it’s not going to kick up the fight or flight adrenaline. Especially in something that you’re targeting to be more realistic, it only works if you are doing something disturbing to a character that you care about, and something makes sense within the story. 10 Cloverfield Lane does this with the character being killed in a vat of acid, and even with that, they don’t focus in on the gore of it, it’s just something horrifying that happens primarily off screen. The concept of what is happening is where the horror comes from, not actually seeing the event, and how far the character is going to go is scarier than the actual event.

So what about the trope filled horror, how do you make that scary?

You still do want to feel for the characters some. So try and keep them somewhat sympathetic. They just aren’t going to be as realistic as the other type of horror. You’re going to have them fit into the various tropes as to what sort of characters are in a horror film. If you want to see a good way that the different tropes of characters are used in a horror film, Cabin in the Woods does it nicely with the characters starting out one way, and because it’s a horror film being shaped into a certain expected horror film trope.

Next you are going to rely on a lot on jump scares. It’s less about the psychological because you probably have a killer or horror instigator like Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger. They are not highly realistic, though they can do interesting things, like Krueger attacking through dreams, but even in that case, it’s more about how and when they pop up. I would say with a good jump scare it’s about misdirection. A viewer or reader versed in horror is going to know when to expect it to happen, but you want them looking for it in a certain spot and have it come in from a different direction.

You’re also trying to subvert expectations once in a while. The heavier trope focused horror should generally follow the expected story progression. You want it to feel familiar because people will start to get into the story and what is happening and start looking for things, and while jumps should fairly often come from a misdirection of where they are coming from, not so much when, you should try and have some sort of twist in the main plot that is at least a little surprising. It’s mainly done through the backstory of the villain in movies like Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street, but you could hit other areas as well, such as having a character turn on the rest of the characters at an time they don’t suspect.

And how do you deal with gore in this sort of film? I still don’t think you need to lean heavily into disgusting violence. But this is the spot that you can use a bucket of blood. Black Sheep, a movie about zombie sheep in New Zealand, has a ton of gore to it with buckets of blood and people getting torn apart, but it isn’t done in a twisted sort of way, it’s just straight forward over the top gore. It doesn’t add much to the scariness of the movie, but as compared to some movies, it also doesn’t detract from the movie.

I think either of these methods creates an interesting horror story. It really depends on the person which one they prefer or if they prefer either of them. Which type of horror do you prefer and what are some of your favorite books, shows, or movies in the genre?

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A Nightmare on Elm Street

Out of the three classic series, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street, this is my favorite. Freddy Krueger just makes a better villain and it’s a little less the standard that we’ve seen. The fact that Krueger gets to people through their dreams is a fun horror concept and that separates it from the others which have a bit more of the slahser vibe to them. Now, I won’t say that all nine of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies are great, but they are, for the most part, entertaining and not a heavy horror watch.

A Nightmare Before Christmas

Another more main stream horror film A Nightmare Before Christmas is the kids Halloween entry on the list. If you are saying that this is a Christmas movie (clearly says so in the title), go watch Die Hard and stop reading this article, or something like that. No, it’s a movie that you could watch for either if you really wanted, but it has more of the movie in the aesthetic of Halloween than it does of Christmas. There are a few scarier moments in it that might be too scary for a small kid, but it really is a lot of fun. And that’s also where the title for the article comes from, “This is Halloween” is the line from one of the songs in the movie.

Dog Soldiers

Now we’re getting a bit out of the normal, though we’ll be getting more mainstream with the next one which is also by the same director. Neil Marshall is one of my favorite directors, and this is probably my favorite film by him. It’s about a group of soldiers in the woods, dealing with werewolves. It is very much a horror film with some nice twists that might not be too shocking, but are done well. The movie does a good job of keeping the characters confined and ratcheting up the tension. I haven’t seen this in a few years, but having watched it a few times, it has held up well.

The Descent

Another film by Neil Marshall, this is his biggest or most successful film. Now, it wasn’t as big a success here in the US as it was abroad, so before complain about it, watch the unrated version or the European release (both should be the same thing). The film ends like it should and it really packs a punch as compared to the US ending. It’s a smartly done film and again has that confined location, as it’s about a group of spelunkers who are trapped in a cave. The film just has a lot of intensity and a lot of stress while watching it wondering what is going to be happening next. Descent is a movie I really need to watch again because it was that good.

Repulsion

This is not your typical horror film. As compared to a lot of the above that have jump scares, this is just unsettling and it works so well at it. An early Roman Polanski film shot in black and white, it really delves into a character whose world is crumbling around her and she is spiraling into madness. Very different from your standard horror film, but very well done, it doesn’t have jump scares, it’s about things falling apart. It’s not going to be the film for everyone because it has a more plodding pace to it and might not be ideal for what people are looking for with a Halloween film. However, it is a very well done horror film.

10 Cloverfield Lane

This film is a bit newer than everything else on the list, but one of my favorite recent horror films. It’s probably considered more suspense, but seems to have a strong horror feel to it as well. In my opinion there is a good amount over lap between the two and a good horror film should have strong suspense to it. The original, Cloverfield, which isn’t on the list, but I’d still highly recommend, is more of the straight up creature feature horror film, but 10 Cloverfield Lane builds on it in a different direction and it’s done very well. While it is pretty straight forward, there are a few elements that you never feel like you fully have a grasp on and that makes it a strong film. Also, the acting in the film is really well done. You can check out my article on it here.

Black Sheep

The Chris Farley film is absolutely a horror masterpiece. Oh, wait, I’m not talking about that one, I’m talking about the one with the pissed off sheep. This small movie from New Zealand is the classic horror/gore/comedy and is just well done. There are a few scenes where it’s slightly over the top in the use nudity and gore, but for the most part, it’s just absurd. It’s not a high budget film, it’s not even the that well done, but it has that campy feeling that you come to expect from Halloween films and is definitely a film that no one knows about that is fun to watch.

Evil Dead

Classic horror film, the original, with Bruce Campbell. I think the first film that I saw him in, and it’s just amazing. Definitely a violent film, and if you think that the special effects are going to look good still, no chance. But it’s one of those classics that is definitely worth checking out for the B-Movie horror. Since Kristen doesn’t like horror films, it’s again one that I haven’t seen in a while. I think it might be time to do a horror movie night sometime when she can plan something else.

Finally, a few more less serious ones.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

This horror comedy works well as it runs with the classic tropes from Wrong Turn and others where you are alone in a cabin in the woods but instead of the hicks being the bad guys, things are thrown out of balance when the college students show up. This is much more of comedy, but because it uses horror tropes so heavily it’s definitely one to watch around Halloween. It’s probably a film that I could pop in and watch whenever I want. And Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk are amazing in the film.

Repo! The Genetic Opera

A weird little film, it’s a musical and it actually has a pretty decent cast. Yes, Paris  Hilton is in the film, but she’s playing herself, and it actually works out well enough. The film has a bit of a comic book feel to it, intentionally done, and a bit of a horror film to it. It isn’t a pure horror film, but it makes sense to watch around Halloween with the aesthetic in the game. Basically, the plot of the film is that people have extended their lives by getting organs implanted, and it’s a huge deal in the world, however, if you can’t pay, you can take out a loan, and if you can’t pay your loan, the organs get repossessed. It’s weird, but I enjoyed it a lot.

Cabin in the Woods

The final one on the list is really a amalgamation of a ton of horror films. It has a weird ending, but it throws out nods to horror films like they are candy. It isn’t as silly as Tucker and Dale vs Evil or other parody horror films, but this one is more a satire versus parody. It ends oddly, and some people don’t like that, but I think it’s an odd twist on horror and why there are horror films. It definitely has a nice horror aspect to it and one, that if you want to see a ton of different horror films, but only have time for one, Cabin in the Woods will cover all the horror films that you want to watch.

What are some of your favorite horror films for Halloween?

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