31 Nights: Smiling Woman Backrooms

With this visit to the Maganaverse, we return to the great Smiling Woman series with a crossover. (It's not the best Smiling Woman film, nor even close to Magana's best, but the creepy garage setting becomes even creepier when the iconic yellow dress is amidst yellow walls.)

Smiling Woman Backrooms (2026)

Starring: Sofia Ayerdi

Director: Alex Magana

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Closet

This is a really strong film until the last few moments; it really would benefit from being a few seconds shorter. The featured actors--even the two young child actors--do fabulous jobs, and I wish I could give them credit, but only the director gets listed on this one. (The credits also list AI tools... maybe those weren't real actors? If so, I am very impressed with how far AI has come.)

The Closet (2026)

Starring: Anonymous Actors

Director: Jiya Kapur

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Tuneful Tuesday: Hellraiser

Motorhead's "Hellraiser" was used in the 1992 film Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, so of course there had to be a tie-in music video.

And what a glorious video it is. It has many highlights but none so spectacular as Lemmy (Motorhead's lead singer and bass guitarist) playing cards with the demonic lord Pinhead!

Motorhead: Hellraiser (1992)

Starring: Motorhead and Doug Bradley 

Director: Anthony Hickox

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Surveyor

Some land just isn't suitable to be built on. Or so is the message *I* get from this film. It's moody and creepy from beginning to end, but, I confess to not fully "getting it." Maybe someone out there smarter than I am can enlighten me?

The Surveyor (2026)

Starring: Chloe Breen, Michael Pare, Simon Martin, and Jacob Sidom

Director: Ryan Robert Minford

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Within the Walls

Spooky from beginning to end... today's nugget will definitely stir the Halloween Spirit within you!

Within the Walls (2022)

Starring: Danny Fleet, Stevie Vermeil, and Noah Greenleaf

Director: Jonathan Burnett

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Sala Saturday

 Richard Sala was more than just an illustrator; he was a one-of-a-kind comic book creator. You can read reviews and see more samples of his art (and even a few of his comics) at the Shades of Gray blog.

31 Nights of Halloween: The Sister

Last week, we featured a chiller where the plot and horror revolved around A.I.-generated material; this continues the grand tradition of horror films using the latest tech trends as delivery vehicles for terror.

Tonight's film, however, takes thing one step further: The special effects and creature effects were all generated using A.I.... and I think the filmmakers did a fine job. (It helps that the story is well-paced and creepy.)

The Sister (2026)

Starring: Georgia Gattuso

Director: Luigi Parisi

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Backrooms

Deserted parking garages, late at night, can be supremely creepy... especially if you're an inhabitant of the Maganaverse!

Backrooms (2026)

Starring: Sarah Short

Director: Alex Magana

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

This is another of Magana's films that have a very simple setting, a tiny cast, and twists that you won't see coming. It's also spine-chilling!

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31 Nights of Halloween: Seek

Let tonight's film serve as a cautionary tale: When on a road trip, be very careful as to where you make pit stops during the 31 Nights of Halloween!

Seek (2020)

Starring: Allisyn Snyder, Clare Grant, and Steve Agee

Director: Aaron Morgan

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Tuneful Tuesdays: Nightmare on My Street

This is a video that was ressurcted from the dead. The owners of the Nightmare on Elm Street series sued the record label that released Will "Fresh Prince" Smith and Jazzy Jeff's parody/tribute song "Nightmare on My Street", and as part of the settlement all copies of the music video were to be destroyed. However, Jazzy Jeff hung onto at least one copy and in 29018, he uploaded it to YouTube. Which is why we get to watch it during this year's 31 Nights of Halloween!

Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff: Nightmare on My Street (1988)

Starring: Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff, and Thomas C. Adams

Director: Scott Kalvert

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Pizza Delivery

Tonight's terror morsel was brought to us by a husband-and-wife team, who, bored one night, decided to make a horror film. It turned out better than many more thoroughly organized, planned shoots. 

Pizza Delivery (2026)

Starring: Taylor Skeens

Director: Taylor Skeens

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

(And "Pizza Delivery" gets extra points for having the main character watching a Betty Boop cartoon at the beginning. Betty's a favorite over at the Shades of Gray blog and many of her early cartoons have a horror edge to them.  You can watch and read reviews of some of them here!)

31 Nights of Halloween: Mora

 

This is one of the scariest films (if not THE scariest) we'll be featuring during this year's 31 Nights of Halloween festival. It's also making me rethink the heavy use of AI that we've recently been doing for illustrations over at the NUELOW Games blog and for most of our recent releases.

Mora (2024)
Starring: Tim Torre, Jamie Taylor Ballesta, and Valeska Miller
Director: Sam Evenson

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Sala Saturday

 Every Saturday this month, we'll be posting artwork by the late, great Richard Sala who could often be whimsical and macabre in the same illustration.