31 Nights of Halloween: Night of Halloween

 A young woman experiences a particularly haunted Halloween, as the Big Night is upon us all! (And this one has plenty of tension and terror from the very first scene!)

Night of Halloween (2024)
Starring: Jiya Kapur

Director: Jiya Kapur

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Remain Calm

Tonight's film features the famous Pauly Shore in a part where he doesn't do the exact same stoner character he seems to play in everything else I've seen him in--and he's very good! In fact, the entire cast of this little chiller are excellent, as is the script. (And, after you've watched, tell me in the comments if you agree one of the characters would have been even better if Paul Reubens had still been alive; he would have been perfect in the part!)

Remain Calm (2026)

Starring: Pauly Shore, Nick Swardson, and Doug Jones

Director: Jack Lewis

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Tuneful Tuesday: The Devil in I

 

I have no idea what's actually happening in this video from Slipknot, but it's creepy and cool and ends up being downright scary toward the end. I'm sure it will help you get in the Halloween Mood!

Slipknot: The Devil in I (2014)

Starring: Slipknot

Director: Shawn Crahan

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Sheet

There's a mysterious sheet-draped figure in the TV room... so it's gotta be a ghost, right? Well...

The Sheet (2020)

Starring: Summer Schantz and Evan Sparks

Director: Alex Bale

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

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Tuneful Tuesday: The World Is Not Enough

The band's name is Garbage, but both this video and this song are far from that. The video is supremely creepy, keeps you guessing what's coming next, and has nothing to do with the James Bond film the song was featured in. It's yet another something to get you in the mood for Halloween!

Garbage: The World is Not Enough (1999)

Starring: Shirley Manson and Clare Zerny

Director: Philipp Stolzl

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Box

I could be misremembering, but I think we've had an "unboxing" video as part of these annual film-fests for the past three years. If so, then this makes it a tradition!

The Box (2026)
Starring: Matthew Swift
Director: Alex Bale
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: What Hides in the Dark

In tonight's film, a young woman's home is haunted by a poltergeist... or is it? (This film is dripping with spookiness and mystery from beginning to end... is IS the Halloween Spirit!)

What Hides in the Dark (2022)

Starring: Kellie Rose Demmel

Directed By: Alex Williams

Rating: Nine 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: 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: "It's Not Me"

Tonight's mini-fright film is well-filmed, well-acted, and expertly paced. I do not, however, get the ending. Hopefully, one of you far-smarter viewers will be able to enlighten me in the comments!

It's Not Me (2019)

Starring: Tania Fox and Benjamin Snow

Director: Carlos Yaski

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Mime 5

The Mime is the second-best series from the twisted mind of writer/director Alex Magana, with The Smiling Woman being well ahead of the completion.. The Mime is giving the haunted yellow dress a run for its money, though...and with The Mime 5, the silent and prone to overreacting street performer has matched The Smiling Woman at her creepiest. This one is a solid 10 out of 10 stars! 

The Mime 5

Starring: Isabella Moore and Lindsey Shelton

Director: Alex Magana

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

(As much as I enjoyed The Mime 5, I am starting to think that Magana, once in a while, needs to give us a surprise ending where the victim in his story does not die in the end. He's come close to it in a couple of films, but it might be even more horrifying to leave a victim alive and suffering every now and then.

31 Nights of Halloween: Portrait of God

Dylan Clark returns to Terror Titans with a film that seems fitting for a Sunday!

Portrait of God (2022)

Starring: Sydney Brumfield

Director: Dylan Clark

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A young woman (Brumfield) is preparing a presentation on a painting titled "Portrait of God". It's a mysterious work where some claim to see God in it while others only see blackness. Despite her strong religious convictions, she is in the second group. Or is she...?

"Portrait of God" is an atmospheric film that turns downright chilling in its final moments. While I may be in two minds about the ending, I can't deny that it's good. I just wanted a little more. Nonetheless, watching this is a good use of your time during this Halloween Season.