31 Scary Movies in March has come to an end. Out of the thirty-one days in March, I watched a total of twenty-one films. While this is still not quite the magic thirty-one I was looking for, I am proud to say that I watched ten more movies than I did back in October. (Eleven if you count the unfinished watch I did of The Sadness.) I am not too upset about being ten off from my goal. This month-long endeavor, and this post, is just for fun.
Since March was the month of my birthday, I decided to mix my watches between films I have not yet seen, and films I have seen. I think doing this helped me quite a bit with keeping up with all of the movies on my list. Now the list I had made at the beginning of the month is way different than the list I have right now, and not all of the movies I watched were on either list.
The Movies I Watched This Month!
- Grave Encounters (Watched on Shudder)
- It Follows (Watched on Netflix) *
- Prom Night (2008 Remake) (Watched on HBO Max)
- Piggy (Watched on Hulu) *
- Triangle (Watched on Shudder)
- Deadstream (Watched on Shudder)
- Train to Busan (Watched on Shudder)
- Death Drop Gorgeous (Watched on Shudder) *
- Scream VI (Watched in theatres upon release!)
- Barbarian (Watched on HBO Max)
- The Menu (Watched on HBO Max)
- Open 24 Hours (Watched on Shudder)
- The Cleansing Hour (Watched on Shudder) *
- Glorious (Watched on Shudder) *
- Pure (Of Hulu's Into the Dark series) (Watched on Hulu)
- Jennifer's Body (Watched on HBO Max) *
- Slash/Back (Watched on Shudder)
- Scare Me (Watched on Shudder)
- Superhost (Watched on Shudder)
- Nope (Watched on Amazon Prime)
- Night of the Living Dead (The 1968 Original) (Watched on Shudder)
WARNING: Some of these movies contain material that is not suitable for younger audience, or certain triggers. I would suggest using your discretion and the internet when deciding whether or not you will be watching these movies. Asterisks will be by ones that are explicitly 18+ in the area of sexual/sensual content. If I miss any, let me know. These are just the ones I remember.
How am I going to rank them?
Similarly to last year, I will be ranking things based on a point system and judging on different categories. The choices I make are based only on my taste. This year I will be using some of the same ones from last year, along with some new ones. I will be using the following categories here.
- Most Enjoyable First Watch
- Most Enjoyable Rewatch
- The Protagonist(s)
- The Final Girl/Guy
- The Supporting Characters
- The Antagonist(s)
- The Killers
- The Story
- The Kills
- The Most Painful Deaths (to me)
- Most Satisfying Death
- Best Performance
- Scariest
- Best Scream
Points will be assigned as follows. (I will probably change this for one or two categories today, and I will make sure to make it clear how many slots I am doing for each category if I am not doing five.
- First: 5 points
- Second: 4 points
- Third: 3 points
- Fourth: 2 points
- Fifth: 1 point
- Honorable Mention: Half a point. Because some of these movies had great qualities.
If you choose to proceed, there will be spoilers for these movies! If you wish to watch some of them and come back later, this would be a wonderful place to stop.
Most Enjoyable First Watch
While I always love watching movies I have seen over and over again, but there's nothing wrong with watching new movies. It's a harrowing, sometimes scary experience that is elevated when you do not know what you're getting yourself into. These are the movies I most enjoyed watching for the first time. This one was VERY hard to pick.
- Deadstream - Youtube celebrity tries to face fears and faces the consequences.
- Scream VI - This Ghostface was something different, for sure!
- Jennifer's Body - High school teenager becomes a literal demonic maneater.
- Train to Busan - The zombie apocalypse brings out the best and the worst of the passengers of a train in Korea.
- Grave Encounters - A mockumentary film showing a tv show's crew spending the night locked in a very haunted asylum.
- Honorable Mention: Scare Me - Two authors, both on a retreat, come together after the power fails to tell scary stories.
These were all such great movies. It really hurt to cut some of the other choices I had in this category. And the placements themselves were pretty hard too. But I made the decision and I am pretty confident in my choices.
Most Enjoyable Rewatch
Rewatching movies is something I do all of the time. Some of these movies on my list, I have seen four or five times already! These are movies that I watched, that I still enjoy just as much as the first time I watched them.
- Superhost - Youtube Reviewers stay in an Airbnb with a quirky, sinister Superhost. She needs the five stars!
- The Menu - A chef invites a group of patrons to his exclusive, expensive restaurant to experience and partake in his menu.
- Barbarian - A young woman goes to her Airbnb in an abandoned dark neighborhood, only to find that there's already someone staying there.
- Open 24 Hours - A young woman, eager to escape the ghosts in her mind and of her past, takes a graveyard shift at a gas station.
- Triangle - After a storm capsizes their sailboat, five friends board an abandoned cruiseliner, only for them to get picked off one by one.
- Honorable Mention: Death Drop Gorgeous - A dejected bartender and an aging drag queen try to survive a corrupt city, while young gay men are turning up dead all around town, drained of all their blood.
All of these movies are really good. I picked most of these at the beginning of the month because I knew I loved them all. And I would watch them all again!
Best Protagonists
The protagonist is the key to any good horror movie. You have an unlikeable protagonist, you will probably have a hard time getting people to care about what happens to them in the movie. There's not as much I need to say here as I did this category last year.
- Ben -- Night of the Living Dead -- The first ever black protagonist in a horror movie.
- Seok-Woo -- Train to Busan -- A bad father turned self-sacrificing hero!
- Shawn -- Deadstream
- Jay -- It Follows -- Resourceful, smart, played by Maika Monroe. Like seriously, what else could you ask for.
- Teddy and Claire -- Superhost -- Struggling Youtubers both looking to bring life back to their dead channel (and their relationship.)
- Honorable Mention: Fred and Fanny -- Scare Me -- Two writers, both with a case of that green monster...
These were my favorites out of the non-final girls/guys crew. They were the main characters that stuck with me the most.
Best Final Girls/Guys
The Final Girl or Guy trope in horror usually applies to people who survive a massacre. However, there is more. Final Girls/Guys need to be able to fight back against their attackers, outsmart them in some way, or ultimately kill them. The point is, they survive.
- Needy -- Jennifer's Body -- Cute, smart, gets her weapons from Home Depot.
- Margot/Erin -- The Menu -- Fast thinking, good with her words.
- Sam and Tara -- Scream VI -- Two sisters who fought hard to get to the end credits.
- Mary -- Open 24 Hours -- She, in fact, did NOT like to watch, JAMES.
- Dwayne -- Death Drop Gorgeous -- The likable bartender. Looks good splattered with blood.
- Honorable Mentions -- Jess -- Triangle -- A woman who shows up with no memory and a heck of a headache. Very resourceful, good at improvising.
As you can see, more spaces and different movies leave our two tops from this category in October's review at fourth and fifth respectively. (I still adore Mary and Dwayne though. One hundred percent.)
Best Supporting Characters
They're around to be with the main character when things get bumpy (and if it's a slasher... they may end up cushioning the body count.) However, when done right, these characters can be likeable, loveable even. These characters are characters who are not top-billed, but they still make you feel like they should have been. At least, that's how I see it.
- Any of the major supporting characters could fit here. -- Scream VI -- They have to be good if I can't single out one performance I loved without changing my answer twenty times.
- Sang-Hwa, Seong-kyeong, Soo-An, Min Yong-guk, and Jin-Hee -- Train to Busan -- Another movie with a great ensemble cast! Like seriously, I loved each of these characters so much.
- Paul -- It Follows -- He sacrificed his safety to make sure the girl he liked was safe. The man is a hero.
- Elsa -- The Menu -- Cool, collected, sharp-tongued. Like, I have always wanted to say "No" to a customer!
- Drew -- The Cleansing Hour -- It's Kyle Gallner! But seriously, he was such a good character with a huge stake in what happened to the other characters.
- Honorable Mention -- Bobby -- Open 24 Hours -- The emotional center for the main character in this movie. He put her, and me as the audience at ease whenever he was on-screen.
This category was so f*cking hard. That's literally all I can say. I enjoyed so many of these side characters. It's a shame I couldn't display more of them. But it is what it is.
Best Antagonists
This category is for the bad guys who didn't do a whole lot of killing per say. (There is one exception.) They were just evil, and sometimes not actually ghosts or monsters (in the physical appearance sense.)
- The Demon -- The Cleansing Hour -- It did what it needed to do. (And won?)
- Chef Slowik -- The Menu -- You know it's bad when the bad guy kinda has a point.
- The Spirits -- Grave Encounters -- They were ruthless to this film crew. Plus, LOBOTOMY MAN!
- Mildred -- Deadstream -- She literally did everything she did to torture Shawn and make sure he never left. And honestly, slay.
- Mother -- Barbarian -- She wasn't even really evil! She's just a misunderstood person created in horrible circumstances. But she's also responsible for kidnapping and death.
- Honorable mention -- The Entity -- It Follows -- It's just walking there... MENACINGLY. No joke, it will kill though.
No follow-up here. I pretty much said all I needed to.
Best Killers
These are the people/monsters that slashed their way through a cast of characters! They're bloody, they're messy. But you can't just look away from the screen.
- Rebecca -- Superhost -- Gracie Gillam's unhinged performance makes this character that much more intense and unnerving.
- Jennifer -- Jennifer's Body -- Megan Fox's villain is just a teenage girl who wants to stay beautiful and relevant. And the demon wants some yummy, yummy men to munch.
- Gloria Hole -- Death Drop Gorgeous -- You can't grow out of style if you're young and pretty forever. Those twinks don't need their blood.
- Jess -- Triangle -- Melissa George's young mother has great motivation as both a final girl trying to survive a time loop, and a ruthless killer trying to end it so she can get home to her son.
- Ghostface -- Scream VI -- While Ghostface was more intense this time around, there are few things that put it below these others for me.
- Honorable (Not) Mention -- James -- Open 24 Hours -- This man made his girlfriend watch him commit awful murders and got her put in jail as an accessory. Ew.
Best Story
The story of the movie needs to be interesting and easy to follow, otherwise, people will have a harder time enjoying it. Here are the top six movies that had stories a furry with ADHD could easily follow!
- Train to Busan -- Showing humanity at its best and at its worst amid disaster.
- It Follows -- The whole story is a metaphor.
- Scare Me -- Not all stories have to be complex and layered. This is just a story of two writers and some creeping jealousy starts to eat at them both as they share stories with one another. And it's camp!
- Night of the Living Dead -- A classic story that was a turning point for the zombie genre, and put a black man in a leading role!
- Glorious -- A story that starts as a loose thread that slowly gets woven together as you learn more and more about the character and the situations that led him there.
- Honorable Mention -- Triangle -- A clever twist on a beloved trope made famous by Groundhog Day, with a devastating payoff...
This was a hard choice to make here because I really liked a lot of them. Organizing and ranking these six was hard enough. But I did have to cut three other fantastic films.
Best Kills
I have three categories based on the kills in these movies. The best kills in horror movies are the ones that shock you, gross you out, or leave you in awe of the film's practical/digital effects. Something that may not be a straight-up stabbing or shooting. This category will share sort of what happens to the characters without being too graphic. Maybe a catchphrase or a vague description. Because some of these were... yeah...
- Anika -- Scream VI -- The Ladder Sequence
- Racist Gay Homophobe -- Death Drop Gorgeous --
The Gloryhole one. - El Desconocido -- Piggy -- Neck bites and gut wounds.
- Chris -- The Cleansing Hour -- "Don't Do Drugs, Kids." The only advice I would take from a demon.
- Max -- Grave Encounters -- A tumble down an elevator shaft.
- Honorable Mention -- Jupiter's Claim Attendees -- Nope -- They all got eaten. The effects for this mass killing were all practical.
Most Painful Death (For me.)
Characters die in movies, specifically horror movies. Even the ones you pray will escape. These are the characters I really wanted to get out alive, or whose death had a huge emotional impact on me.
- Any Major Character Death that wasn't Yon-suk -- Train To Busan -- This movie really came for the audience's heartstrings. I couldn't pick between all of the huge emotional character deaths.
- Anika -- Scream VI -- She was clinging on for her life, and I was right there like "No. NO!"
- Ben -- Night of the Living Dead -- A case of mistaken identity...
- Lacey -- Pure -- Religious and emotional trauma got the best of her... It really hurt to see her resort to her fate.
- Lisa -- Prom Night (2008 Remake) -- That prom storyline had me rooting for her! Plus, I liked her. The movie was kinda meh, but I was rooting for her!
- Honorable Mention -- Bobby -- Open 24 Hours -- This one hurt, because we were right there with Mary as she warmed up to him.
It always had to come down to these six. I was too emotionally invested...
Most Satisfying Death.
This one is for the characters you really wanted to see die, and it paid off. They got what they deserved.
- Ethan -- Scream VI -- The Tara/Kirby combo. Also "Now die a FUCKING virgin!"
- All of the passengers who locked the survivors out of the train car -- Train to Busan -- Jong-gil watched as they indirectly caused her sister's death. They had it coming.
- Wes -- Glorious -- Even though we follow him for the whole film, I feel a sense of justice when he gets offed.
- El Desconocido -- Piggy -- Sara went full beast mode on him.
- AJ -- Barbarian -- Actions have consequences, AJ.
- Honorable Mention -- All of Low Shoulder -- Jennifer's Body -- They got to reap the benefits of starting a fire in a small bar AND killing a teenage girl for Satan. Plus, Adam Brody made them easier to hate!
Best Performance
This category will cover leads and supporting cast in separate categories. Movies will only be able to be in one category or the other.
For Leads
- Amanda Seyfried -- Jennifer's Body -- One of her best performances ever!
- Duane Jones -- Night of the Living Dead -- A strong presence on-screen.
- Melissa Barrera -- Scream VI -- She saw the fans' hatred and came back with something to prove.
- Anya Taylor-Joy -- The Menu -- Feminine RAGE.
- Ryan Kwanten -- Glorious -- Making us sympathize with him til the wool was slowly pulled from our eyes.
- Honorable Mention -- Joseph Winter -- Deadstream -- Had the youtuber personality down. Really sold me on his character.
For Supporting Cast
- Gracie Gillam -- Superhost -- Delightfully deranged as Rebecca.
- Alix Angelis (Physical Actor) and Tara Karsian (Voice Actor) -- The Cleansing Hour -- They were two sides of the same character. The Demon was the center of attention for most of the film.
- Justin Long -- Barbarian -- Justin Long goes outside of his normal character range to play a dirtbag. And he does it well!
- Keke Palmer -- Nope -- Keke's performance was fantastic. I love her energy on-screen.
- Chris Redd -- Scare Me -- Chris Redd was easily one of my favorite parts of this movie. He was just so silly and honestly seemed to be enjoying himself.
- Honorable Mention: Idris Elba -- Prom Night -- What were you doing in this movie?!
Scariest
If you are looking for chilling movies, these six take the cake for the scariest films I watched this month
- Grave Encounters -- My first found footage film really made me want to never go to a psych ward ever.
- Deadstream -- Found footage is just really scary okay!
- The Cleansing Hour -- The Demon literally did all of this because they could. That sort of power was just used to tease, torture, and ultimately manipulate Max and Drew right into their hand.
- Pure -- Religious trauma, everyone. The scariest parts are the things that these girls experience at the hands of the dads and youth pastor. Emotional manipulation and belittling.
- Glorious -- Two equally not good entities meet to fill their purposes. You end the film realizing you misinterpreted who the monster was.
- Honorable Mention -- Scream VI -- Ghostface is intense and scary, and the kills are more unique. But he's no match for our final girls.
Best Scream
This category was more for fun. I went through the movies looking for my favorite screams. Screams of terror, glee, and the like.
- Gracie Gillam -- Superhost
- Samara Weaving -- Scream VI
- Joseph Winter -- Deadstream
- Ashleigh Gryzko -- Grave Encounters
- Megan Fox -- Jennifer’s Body
- Honorable mention: Ryan Kwanten -- Glorious
That's the end of it all. The points took a while to count up. I don't know if anyone will see this. But doing the counting and the watching of the movies sure was a blast! I am excited to try and do this again in October.
The Point-Based Ranking
- Scream VI
- Train to Busan
- Superhost
- Jennifer's Body
- Deadstream
- The Menu
- The Cleansing Hour
- Grave Encounters
- Night of the Living Dead
- It Follows
- Death Drop Gorgeous
- Barbarian
- Glorious
- Open 24 Hours
- Scare Me
- Pure
- Triangle
- Nope
- Piggy
- Prom Night (2008 Remake)
- Slash/Back
There you have it! This is by no means a most favorite to least favorite list. If it was there would be a few big differences. The list is just like this because that's how the points fell. This was fun.
Okay! Bye! See you next time I decide to post. ^^
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