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: Halloween Party

The Big Night is almost here... and the parties are in full swing. But do you know who your guests or fellow partiers REALLY are?

Halloween Party (2024)

Starring: Destiny McKinney, Paul Bahatia, and William Carpenter

Director: Alex Magana

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Suitcase

 

Tonight's offering is equal parts scary and weird. I won't say much more, because I feel like it should be experienced cold.

The Suitcase (2023)

Starring: Darya Yaseri and Shailin Rahimi 

Director: Sana Norouzbeigi

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: "How Do I Look?"

We've all been there guys, amirite? Waiting on the date to get ready, even though we were on time...

How Do I Look (2024)

Starring: Elizabeth Watson and Tyler Stone

Director: Alex Magana

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Don't Look Back

A young man decides to walk home instead of waiting for the train. It's a choice he comes to regret in this Japanese terror morsel!

Don't Look Back (2023)

Starring: Masatoshi Ikeda and Kayo Hikita

Director: Mitsumoto  Yuasa

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Tunnel

Today's selection is another well-made film that keeps building though-out--until it completely loses its way in, literally, the final second; I can't even suggest you stop watching a few seconds earlier, because then the film has no ending, period. It's a shame all the filmmakers could come up with was an attempt at a jump scare to close out an otherwise well-made film.

Still, there's enough here to make it worthwhile viewing for the Halloween season.

Tunnel (2021)

Starring: Spence Fappiano and Sean Louis Kelly

Director: Sean Louis Kelly

Rating: Six 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: 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 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!

adsfaf

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

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: Elevator Man

Welcome to this year's 31 Nights of Halloween! Instead of splitting the action between two blogs, the terror will be focused here. We're starting off with another mysterious menace from a mainstay of these annual festivals -- Alex Magana!

It's a great little morsel to get the month started!

Elevator Man (2026)

Starring: Julia Burkholder and Kyron Cantelo

Director: Alex Magana

Rating: Six 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.