Appropriately for a list of the best overlooked films of October, this month’s rundown is dominated by horror movies. Studios and streamers didn’t disappoint this year, providing viewers with a diverse selection of genre content to choose from as Halloween approached. And there was something for everybody — fans of schlocky horror got Terrifier 2, director Zach Cregger made a memorable debut with the singularly subversive Barbarian, while Guillermo del Toro presented a veritable cheese platter of scary films in his Netflix anthology series Cabinet of Curiosities.
- Advertisement -
But none of those titles are in any way underrated, which gives us an opportunity to throw some light on the ones that actually are. Besides the scary stuff, this month’s list also includes a deliciously dark Australian thriller, an Irish psychological drama featuring a future star, and a Senegalese genre mashup that out-RRRs RRR. But don’t fret if you don’t like horror; there’s something for everyone, like a pathbreaking comedy that bombed so badly that its star did the worst possible thing in retaliation. He blamed the audience for having poor taste. We’re going to talk about this one first.
You can check out our lists of top films from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August and September by clicking on them.
Bros – Available to rent and purchase on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, YouTube etc in the US
- Advertisement -
The title card for Bros.
Co-written by Billy Eichner, directed by Nicholas Stoller and produced by Judd Apatow, Bros had some of the best comedic minds in the business attached. Proudly promoted as the first major studio film to feature an entirely queer cast, Bros isn’t just a solid step in the right direction for representation in Hollywood, but it’s quite easily the best romantic comedy in months. A post-pandemic shift in audience behaviour, and not homophobia, is likely the reason behind its disastrous box office performance.
The Stranger – Netflix
- Advertisement -
The title card for The Stranger.
Deliberately bleak, relentlessly dark, and yet so engaging, director Thomas M Wright’s Aussie thriller gives Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris a great platform to play off of each other. It helps that the movie itself is unique, flipping genre tropes on their head, and focusing on the most unusual aspects of a rather straightforward story about an undercover policeman trying to extract a confession from a suspected child murderer.
Saloum – Streaming on AMC+ and Shudder in the US
- Advertisement -
The title card for Saloum.
- Advertisement -
Easily among the most inventive spectacles of the year, the Senegalese film Saloum combines horror, fantasy, and action for a heady cinematic mix that will undoubtedly delight fans of all three genres. But what makes Saloum extra special is the undercurrent of genuine emotion beneath the stylised thrills.
Halloween Ends – Streaming on Peacock in the US
The title card for Halloween Ends.
You might wonder what a relatively successful mainstream horror sequel that even general audiences would be familiar with is doing on this list, but hear me out. Halloween Ends could’ve been a safe trilogy-capper that gave fans of the franchise exactly what they wanted, but director David Gordon Green delivered a movie so unexpected that it was positively begging for controversy. Knowingly kneecapped by Universal — the movie was released day-and-date on streaming — Halloween Ends has the makings of an instant cult classic, and years from now, it will be regarded as an underrated entry in the iconic horror franchise.
Speak No Evil – Streaming on AMC+ and Shudder in the US
The title card for Speak No Evil.
The best scary movie of the year, Speak No Evil unfolds like a comedy of manners for around 45 minutes before taking a left turn so severe that it shakes you to the very core. Part social satire about European culture and part claustrophobic thriller about a couple from hell, the film — helmed by the Danish director Christian Tafdrup but shot mostly in English — turns into a disturbing mind-melter in its memorable final moments.
God’s Creatures – Available to rent and purchase on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, YouTube etc in the US
The title card for God’s Creatures.
A slow-burn psychological drama of uncommon cultural specificity, directors Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmes’ film transcends its rural Irish setting and becomes something scarily universal as it goes along. Paul Mescal will probably attract awards attention for the upcoming Aftersun, but his performance as a toxic young man in this film is no less special. The real star of this movie — about a mother’s love for her son, and the moral dilemma that his actions put her in — is the great Emily Watson.
Piggy – Streaming on Hoopla in the US
The title card for Piggy.
Director Carlota Pereda’s film is brutal in more ways than one. For around half-an-hour, it plays out like a particularly distressing drama about a bullied teenage girl; for the next 30 minutes, it turns into a paranoid thriller; and it ends in a bloodbath. Along the way, it flirts with fantasy and romance. Some might feel that Piggy is overcooked, a mishmash of socially relevant themes and genre thrills, but the filmmaking is so uncompromising, and the character work so deft. Piggy is a real feast for horror fans.
