Shudder on Halloween Horror movies can be this good and this bad

For the spookiest evening of the year, "blue News" recommends a few of the best horror films. And if you don't feel like being scared, you can enjoy the worst scary movies from Hollywood.

For a high-quality horror movie, there is a fine line between terrifying and ridiculous. Generally speaking, such films rarely find their way into cinemas unless a big name is in the background. Stephen King, Sam Raimi or even the late George Romero are familiar to every fan of the genre. Here are the best scary stories for the home screen on Halloween - and of course the worst.

Blair Witch Project (1999)

The story is about three teenagers who want to get to the bottom of the myth of a witch in the woods of the US state of Maryland. They talk to various inhabitants of the town of Burkittsville, who either believe in the legend of the Witch of Blair - or dismiss it as a fairy tale. However, none of the interviewees dares to go deep into the surrounding woods. Determined to put an end to the myth, the protagonists Mike, Heather and Josh head deep into the dark woods. According to legend, the witch killed seven children. She turned one of them to face the wall and then murdered another.

After a long, nerve-wracking search, the three protagonists suddenly find what they are looking for ...

The story, which goes through the marrow and bones, feels very real in places, as a text appears on the screen at the beginning: "In October 1994, three students disappeared in the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland, while filming a documentary. A year later, their footage was found." The viewer then follows the footage of Mike, Heather and Josh. A movie that will haunt your nightmares after the credits roll.

The Ring (2002)

Rachel Keller is a journalist who has to deal with an extremely strange case. She wants to get to the bottom of her niece Katie's sudden cardiac arrest. At the funeral, Rachel overhears a conversation between the deceased's classmates: They talk about a videotape that kills anyone who watches it after seven days. After some research, the young journalist finds the video and watches it straight away. There is nothing coherent on it, but the individual scenes are quite disturbing. Shortly after the end of the video, her phone rings: "Seven days!". Rachel is now pressed for time and researches the origins of the videotape, uncovering a tragic family story, but her remaining days are running out.

The horror film had a huge impact on pop culture after its release. Videos kept popping up that you "definitely shouldn't watch" because they ended with the same message as in "The Ring" - nightmare guaranteed.

The Evil Dead (1981)

Many horror films tried to copy the premise of Sam Raimi's masterpiece and failed. In the movie, a group of teenagers travel to a cabin in the woods in the US state of Tennessee. In the cellar of the house, they find a book called "Necronomicon Ex-Mortis" and a tape recorder on which various old incantations appear to have been recorded. After playing them, they immediately have an effect: "Evil" rises up in the forest around the hut - and decimates the intruders by using their bodies as hosts and attacking the others.

"The Evil Dead" is a classic of the genre and, like many horror films, was shot on a low budget. If you are afraid of the unknown, you should avoid Raimi's masterpiece - especially on Halloween.

Talk To Me (2022)

Writing original horror films is not easy. It is even more difficult to remain tangible. "Talk To Me" manages this effortlessly. The film revolves around 17-year-old Mia (Sophie Wilde), who enjoys an eerie pastime at a party with friends: her friends Hayley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio) have a severed, embalmed hand of unknown origin.

This hand can be used to communicate with spirits, and this is how it works: a candle is lit, which opens the gateway to Limbo, the place between life and death.

A person, in this case Mia, then holds the mummified hand and says "Talk to me" to make a ghost appear. But that's not all: anyone who now also says "I let you in" hands over control of their own body to the ghost.

The control is only temporary; after 90 seconds, Hayley and Joss sever the connection by blowing out the candle. This is the concept of the horror movie.

And here follows the problem: Mia has recently lost her mother to suicide and she finds her through the mummified hand in Limbo. So she becomes addicted to being able to continue communicating with her mother - and lets the 90 seconds pass.

The ghost thus remains permanently in the world of the living. There are no more details about the movie, spoilers are not cool.

As mentioned, not all horror films are as scary as you might think. Here are some of the most miserable films in this popular genre.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

Everyone knows the heartfelt story of Christopher Robin and his animal friends Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit and Owl. As the copyrights to the original expired in 2022, these characters now belong to the general public. This means that nobody has to be asked if they want to spoil the stories and characters.

And this is how the horror film "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" came about. The low-budget film actually has a not uninteresting concept: Christopher Robin is now a teenager and is going to college to study medicine. This means he has left his childhood companions behind - which displeases Winnie the Pooh and his friends. They have never learned to look after themselves.

The logical consequence? To avoid starvation, they hunt humans. They still live in the Hundred Acre Wood, but it is darker than ever. When Christopher Robin returns, he is confronted with his childhood memories in a brutal way.

Fortunately, the slasher film didn't cost much, because it wasn't well received.

Horror movies for Halloween

IMAGO/Panthermedia

Still no idea what to watch on Halloween? You're sure to find what you're looking for in our horror dossier on blue TV.

The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

The title of this film says it all about its content. Not even arachnophobes should have a problem with it.

One day, farmer Dan Kester discovers strange, diamond-like stones in one of his fields. He takes them home with him as he suspects they are of great value. However, it turns out that the stones are huge spider eggs - and soon tarantulas hatch out of them. One of them grows as big as a family home and begins to kill the residents.

Films with giant insects were all the rage in the 1950s. The producers of "The Giant Spider Invasion" wanted to bring this era back to life - and failed completely.

Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)

There are films that are deliberately badly made - perhaps with the intention of achieving cult status. This movie certainly doesn't achieve that. Alfred Hitchcock created an incomparable classic with "The Birds", but this movie resembles a pile of excrement.

A small town near San Francisco is attacked by birds for inexplicable reasons. They peck and mutilate people, and it's very rare that any of these birds look even remotely real.

On the highly respected site for films and series imdb.com, the film achieved a rating of 1.8 out of ten - and that with almost 20,000 votes.

Jason X (2001)

There are now twelve films in the "Friday the 13th" series. In the 80s, these were still really scary and murderously good, but over the years the screenwriters must have run out of ideas. In the tenth installment about the machete killer with a field hockey mask, the viewer goes into space. Jason Voorhees is regarded as a biological weapon and is put into cryo-sleep - i.e. frozen with nitrogen. Of course, this does not happen without Jason spilling blood.

Around 450 years after the killer is frozen, he is accidentally thawed out on "Earth 2" and does what he does best. The shreds fly in the space station and the "Friday, the 13th" franchise goes down the drain once again.

If you want to expose yourself to real horror, you shouldn't watch this movie, but fall back on one of our tips above. Happy Halloween.