October is here and we need a (brief) break from all the Trump, Harris, Biden, War, Immigration, Terrorist, etc. that we are inundated with non-stop in the news cycles. Since we are entering the month of October I want to start this month with one of my favorite things, a ranking of the top 5 greatest B-grade best Halloween Horror films to watch with your family this October. Number one being the Biden/Harris Administration (i’m joking, kind of) ok I promised no politics. Obviously, this list is subjective and you may disagree with these more than with my political views.
B-Grade Best Halloween Horror Films
#5-Thanksgiving
This is a slasher film from the horror master Eli Roth that depicts a crazed madman in a John Carver mask killing the local townspeople. Without ruining too much of the movie, the madman’s motive is connected to the trampling death of a woman inside the local Rightmart (Wal-mart) the prior year. While I was initially skeptical of this movie since the corny name Thanksgiving gave me of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter vibes it was surprisingly an effective film. The gore was enough but not over the top.
If you read a synopsis of the film you might think some of the scenes would be over the top with gore, but the director Eli Roth knows how to cut away at the right points to not completely gross out the viewer. If you’re looking for a Saw or Hostel type film this could come close but is not quite as graphic as those. Being into the storyline more than actual gore, I appreciated this approach. It is also horror-comedy in that there are plenty of laughs mixed in with the screams. If you’re missing Halloween and looking for something scary as Thanksgiving approaches maybe try checking this one out later in the Halloween season.
#4 –Trick r Treat
The movie that has turned into a modern-day horror classic: Trick r Treat. While it did not receive a widespread release upon its debut it has become a cult classic. I am a sucker for anything that is an anthology but too many times most of the stories end up being of poor quality with only one main gem. In this, however, all of the stories are well crafted, well directed, and well acted. We have the principal who ends up being a serial killer, a Halloween school bus massacre with undead ghosts, and your typical Hallowen B-grade horny attractive twenty-year-olds who happen to be werewolves going to a Halloween party in the woods.
All of the stories intertwine with each other and are brought together by Sam, a trick-or-treating demon wearing orange footie pajamas. He takes retribution on anyone who breaks a Halloween tradition such as not giving out candy to trick-or-treaters or extinguishing a jack-o-lantern too early. Not too gore-filled by any means but just expertly crafted Halloween stories that have something for everyone. This film has become a Halloween mainstay as AMC shows it nearly every night during the month of October.
#3- Satan’s Little Helper
This is a real cult classic and an American black comedy Slasher from 2004. It stars the queen of B-grade horror, Katheryn Winnick, and holds a surprising (or not so surprising since it’s on my list) Rotten Tomatoes rating of eighty-three percent. This movie stands out because it is completely different from anything you may have seen before. Similar to how when Saw first came out, there was almost nothing like it before. Of course, in Saw’s case afterward, the genre became oversaturated with over-the-top torture porn films like Hostel and others.
Satan’s Little Helper puts the comedy at the front and center of the film as nine-year-old Dougie unknowingly helps Satan go on a killing spree around town. This is B-grade done right and shows that even when a movie is low-budget, it can still be done well. The characters are well-developed, the storyline flows, and the jokes hit right. A very impressive offering of black comedy from Joe Lieberman that uniquely puts the comedy at the forefront of the film.
Many other black comedies keep the comedy portion more subdued and subtle. It could be a good family film for everyone to watch when you’re looking for a holiday film since the killings are not over the top even if there are many.
#2- Would You Rather
I know in the prior review I was kind of denigrating torture porn but would you rather is not as over the top and the premise is rather genius. It is a take on the classic dinner game would you rather but in this case it is decisions between two equally gut-wrenching tasks.
The film centers around a young woman named Iris who needs money for her brother’s Leukemia treatment. She is invited to a dinner party with other guests who have their own various problems and are offered a similar deal of copious amounts of money if they were to win. Of course, she does not know the true nature of the game she is going to.
The tasks start rather trivial such as offering her, a vegetarian, $10,000.00 to eat meat or another guy a recovering alcoholic $50,000.00 to down a decanter of scotch. However, the tasks quickly turn far more sinister such as “Would you rather be submerged underwater for two minutes or pick a card.” These cards have their own horrible tasks on them.
While this is a film that could simply rely on the torture porn premise it is based on, it is not exceptionally gruesome and relies more on character development to push the story. This makes it a much more enjoyable watch than if it were to just simply rely on the actors doing the most gruesome task possible with no regard to plot or development.
I would not necessarily say this is better than Satan’s Little Helper and they easily could have been switched it just depends on what type of mood you are in. If your looking for something more comedic go with that film but if your looking for something more gruesome but not over the top this is one of the better ones in the torture porn genre.
#1-Halloween
The film that started it all was the original 1978 John Carpenter’s Halloween. It does not get much more iconic than this film. This might not only be the best B-Grade Halloween horror film, it might be the best Halloween horror film period. You might be wondering how is this B-grade, it’s one of the most famous films in horror film history. When it came out, it was a much different story; there really weren’t any films that had been done like this before. You can argue that it was not the first slasher film in history and give that title to Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Black Christmas, but this film popularized the genre.
Similar to how the Blair Witch Project wasn’t the first found footage film but it popularized that genre. All of the later slasher films such as Friday the 13th and more took their inspiration from the original Halloween.
So, this film was B-grade at the time, with a budget of $300,000. Nick Castle, who played Michael Myers in the film, was cast in a complete accident because he happened to walk in on the set as they were filming, and his friend from USC, John Carpenter, told him to wear this mask and I’ll pay you $25 a day. It doesn’t get much more B-level than that. Jaime Lee Curtis who went on to future fame was essentially a complete unknown and not nearly the first choice to play her iconic role in this film.
Compared to what we see in later slasher movies, the killing scenes in Halloween are shockingly tame. I think this is what makes the film so great. It does not rely on blood and gore for its scares. It creates an atmosphere of fear and foreboding that keeps the audience on edge through a mix of cinematography and music. From the opening sequence of the eerie music playing over the jack-o’-lantern against a black backdrop until the end when Michael takes six shots and disappears the audience is in suspense.
It is John Carpenter’s ability to create violence without inundating us with violence that makes the film work so well. He does such a great job of creating tension that the actual killing is often secondary to the tension that he masterfully built previously. Just think about if you’re walking down a dark street at night alone, it’s not Jigsaw from Saw that will mess with your thoughts but Michael Myers.
These five are some of my favorite B-grade horror movies that will be worth your time watching this Halloween. Or if you watch and think I wasted your time with it you can complain below. If you like this column we will do another one later in the month on five more iconic horror films to add to your watch list.
If you like movie content you might also enjoy Thomas Mets’ article on Robert Downey Jr playing Doctor Doom here.
