Errementari is a retelling of one of the oldest folk tales in the world. “The Smith and the Devil” is the tale of a blacksmith who makes a deal with the devil. Whatever the deal is, the blacksmith uses his new power to trap the devil and torment him until the deal is broken and the smith regains control of his own life. It could be any number of wishes and even a genie or Death itself, but the arc of the story remains the same.
Stephanie is a horror film about isolation and fear from the perspective of a young child. Stephanie is living on her own. We see her try to do the best she can to survive. She cooks with the few ingredients left in her house—some frozen and canned fruits and vegetables—that aren’t rotting. Aside from isolation, there are signs that something is wrong. The occasional news report talks about containment procedures and an outbreak. The girl hears strange noises at all hours of the night. Objects move on their own, the doors and windows open even if they’re locked, and any light source is likely to go out with no explanation. Oh, and there’s the fact that her brother is dead in the bedroom next to her and she’s convinced he can move.
Unsane is a horror film about mental health care. Yes, we’re toying with problematic subject matter here for the horror genre. Somehow, director Steven Soderbergh and writers Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer craft a horror film that doesn’t vilify mental health patients, largely because the main characters in the film are patients at a mental hospital who really don’t belong in that kind of facility. Yes, that itself is a cinematic trope, but it’s handled in a way that at least explains through believable circumstances how the setup happens.
Every year for the last 29 years, The Simpsons have released a Halloween special. Why not 30 for the show’s 30th season? The standalone series began with the Christmas episode that aired in 1989, so it began too late for Halloween. Since then, however, The Simpsons have provided an anthology horror special for the season each year.
