Get goosebumps with 'Netflix and Chills'
It’s spoopy season — a time for pumpkin carving, trick or treating and “Hocus Pocus” reruns. But, if you’re anything like me, you want more out of your October than wholesome spooks and friendly ghouls. You crave the most petrifying scares, the goriest misfortunes and the creepiest tales.
This Halloween season, Netflix released “Netflix and Chills,” a collection of eerie movies and TV series bound to put you in a ghastly mood. While it includes fluffy childhood classics and vampire romances, I’ve handpicked the most disturbing, hair-raising films and shows to keep you at the edge of your seat. Caution: The following are not for the lighthearted.
American Horror Story: Murder House
The series boasts eight seasons, but outspoken fans have agreed — little can trump the legendary first season, “Murder House.” Centered on a broken family living in a haunted home, it’s hard to distinguish the living from the dead in this intricate tale of twisted, sociopathic characters. Incorporating romance, drama, murder and manipulation, “American Horror Story: Murder House” keeps viewers entranced and disturbed: Who knew murder could be so sexy?
Would You Rather
How far would you go for money? How about if that money could save your dying brother? A childhood game takes a gory turn in “Would You Rather,” where adults compete in a real-life contest with deadly outcomes. Watch the characters decide what’s worth more: the risk of death or the possibility of riches.
The Lovely Bones
“My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was 14 years old when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” These chilling words describe the heart-wrenching story of a girl raped, killed and dismembered by her neighbor. A tale of finding peace after death and justice on Earth, “The Lovely Bones” is disturbing for its eerie believability — the possibility that any one of us could be Susie.
The Mist
Humanity is tested when a mist surrounds a small town in Maine, and bloodthirsty monsters linger in the darkness. Following strangers trapped in a supermarket, “The Mist” focuses not only on the dangers of the supernatural, but also on how humans react in times of crisis. Who will turn against whom in the face of survival and pressure of fear? With one of the most distressing and saddening endings in cinematic history, this 2007 Stephen King adaptation is unforgettable.
Creep
Have you ever gotten a bad feeling from someone, but can’t tell if something is actually off or if you’re just being paranoid? After taking a job in the middle of the woods, a freelance filmmaker contemplates if his life is in danger when his client makes some odd requests. “Creep” toys with viewers as they debate whether the antagonist is a true threat or just downright bizarre, resulting in an exceptionally unsettling experience.
The Conjuring
A classic for any horror junkie, this film can make anyone jump. Supposedly based on a true story, a young family is terrorized by demons that reside in their home. With the aid of demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, the family struggles to relinquish the powerful grip the demons have on the children and mother.
Terrifier
One of the goriest films of 2017, “Terrifer” combines one murderous clown, two drunk girls and lots of blood in a Halloween thriller that will make viewers squirm. Beware of watching this on a full stomach.
Gerald’s Game
Upon the recent success of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Gerald’s Game” shows the horrifying side of BDSM. When a husband unexpectedly dies on top of his wife during sex, she’s left handcuffed to a bed in an isolated lakehouse alone. While stranded, she’s flooded with hallucinations and dark secrets from her past, desperately searching for a way to escape her death.
Suggested films and TV series can be found on Netflix as a part of the “Netflix and Chills” collection.
More from The Rice Thresher
Study Abroad Photo Contest spotlights global experiences
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, students gathered in the Ley Student Center to celebrate global experiences through photography.
Review: "The Crux" Should Redefine Djo
Joe Keery’s work has been boiled down to Steve Harrington from “Stranger Things,” but this label shouldn’t define his 10 years in the entertainment industry. Keery, under his stage name “Djo", is the voice behind the TikTok hit “End of Beginning,” which was released with his album “DECIDE” in 2022 and climbed the charts for the first time in 2024. With “The Crux”, Keery’s third album, he tries to separate his work as Djo and an actor, evidenced by the album’s visual of Keery escaping a building.
Review: “Lonely People With Power” merges blackgaze fury with dreamy introspection
Fifteen years into a storied career that’s crisscrossed the boundaries of black metal and shoegaze, Deafheaven has found a way to once again outdo themselves. “Lonely People With Power” feels like a triumphant return to the band’s blackgaze roots, fusing massive walls of guitar-driven sound with whispery dream-pop interludes, recalling their classic album trio of the 2010s (“Sunbather,” “New Bermuda” and “Ordinary Corrupt Human Love”). It also bears the learned refinements of “Infinite Granite,” the 2021 album where they dabbled more boldly in cleaner vocals and atmospheric passages.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.