Category Archives: Paranormal

31 Days of Horror: Weapons (2025; R; 128 mins.)

Posted on October 30, 2025 | Leave a comment

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this movie, but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. A great blend of horror, mystery, the supernatural, comedy, psychology…all backed up by fabulous acting, great storytelling, and tension throughout.

When an entire classroom of children–except for one child and the teacher–disappear one night at the same time, the town is quick to point fingers at the young teacher, calling her a witch. However, the teacher is just as confused and lost, trying to figure out where her beloved students went. As she begins to investigate, we learn a bit more before changing to another townperson’s perspective of events, with some overlap before the story continues on. Bit by bit, as this form of storytelling continues, we learn more details, yet it’s two steps forward, one step back, when what affected the missing children spreads out to others too. In the end, it’s a race against time and circumstances and otherly powers…who will figure out the answers and who will be too late?

Top Scare: Dream

Heartbeats: 3 3/4 out of 5

Gore Factor: 4 1/4 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up due to gore, language

Leave a comment

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, mystery, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Supernatural, Thriller

Tagged , , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: Host (2020; NR; 57 mins.)

Posted on October 28, 2025 | 3 comments

I was looking for a short horror/supernatural movie, and stumbled upon this Lockdown-era gem. Set in the online Zoom world we’ve all come to know so well, this surprisingly tense and creepy movie really got my heart rate going once the stage had been set.

When Haley hires a medium and gets five of her friends to join her for an online seance, the friends are mostly skeptical, ready to play drinking games and laugh it off. But when one friend goofs off and accidently invites an evil spirit into the group–one which can access each of their homes–and they lose contact with the medium, they can only watch as one by one each must battle to stay alive. Will anyone survive the literal meeting from hell? Will they be able to send the spirit back to where it came from? Or will the timer on Zoom–and their lives–run out first?

Top Scare: End of Movie

Heartbeats: 3 3/4 out of 5

Gore Factor: 2 3/4 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up

3 Comments

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Netflix, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: V/H/S (2012; R; 116 mins.)

Posted on October 22, 2025 | 4 comments

As a fan of found-footage horror movies, I’ve wanted to watch this one for quite some time. My head is still spinning and I’m researching how to scrub my eyeballs as I type.

In this very shaky, under-lit gore-fest designed to appeal to young men, a group of this target audience who smashes, bashes, and harrasses while filming themselves to make money agrees to search an abandoned house in search of a VHS tape for a supposedly big payoff. Once they arrive, they split up after seeing that the home has various stashes of tapes: while some search here or there, one stays in a kind of media room to watch tapes to see if it’s the one they’re looking for. What follows are fifteen to twenty-minute mini stories which have all been taped over bits of other content on various VHS tapes. Each story features young folks, mostly men, behaving very badly (think misogyny to the nth degree, depravity, drugs, questionable sexual escapades, etc.) and paranormal happenings (with extreme blood/body parts and excessive nudity).

As the mini stories continue, we also are seeing things occur in the house around the group of guys. Of course, they are recording, and so it’s all caught on tape as well. When these occurrences begin to ramp up, so do the scares. Eventually, the mini stories, current timeline, and a past event connect via the VHS tapes, with a nicely done finale full of tension and fear. The question for viewers is: do you want to wade through the rest to get there?

Top Scare: On a video

Heartbeats: 3 1/2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 5 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 3/4 out of 5

Recommended for: 17 or 18 and up, due to excessive gore, cussing, nudity, sex, and drugs

4 Comments

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Supernatural

Tagged , , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: Presence (2024; R; 84 mins.)

Posted on October 12, 2025 | Leave a comment

I enjoy slow-building, psychologically-bent paranormal tales, especially if they pick up speed and end with a big bang. This movie was defitinely slow-building, but in the end was not only paranormal lite, but the big bang lasted mere seconds. Such a disappointment.

When the Payne family moves to a new home for a fresh start after teenager Chloe’s friend dies, we slowly see the family’s life play out (the entire movie takes place inside the home from the ghost’s POV): mother Rebekah is a shady business woman and pushy mom; dad Chris is heartfelt and trying to be a good parent; older brother Tyler is a cocky athlete; and Chloe is distant, until she starts secretly hooking up with Tyler’s friend Ryan when no one else is at home. The presence residing in Chloe’s room soon reaches out to her before making itself known to the whole family. While the Paynes grapple with how to handle the “ghost” situation, we learn more about all these people, plus their motivations, intentions, things done in their pasts, and more, leading to a final thirty-second showdown and a ho-hum ending. This story had promise, but didn’t follow through with scares enough to be called a horror movie.

Top Scare: None

Heartbeats: 1/2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 1/2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up

Leave a comment

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Ghosts, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Thriller

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023; TV-MA; 12 Episodes)

Posted on October 6, 2025 | Leave a comment

Sometimes I’m looking for something completely different in my 31 Days of Horror, and boy, did I find it! My grown daughter introduced me to this adult animated series from the “horror manga maestro” Junji Ito, featuring some of his most bizarre tales. Bizarre, creepy, odd, disturbing…the list goes on.

For example, in “Hanging Balloon,” a beloved young idol is found hanging outside a building. Suicide? Murder? The fans and world are grieving, especially her boyfriend. When a local school girl hears rumors of the idol’s head floating in the sky as an apparition, she doesn’t believe it. But when the boyfriend, whom she knows, calls her and says yes, it’s true, come see, she does. There she witnesses the boyfriend climb a tree to be closer to the apparition, only to have a dangling rope with a noose on the end capture/kill him. Soon, the entire town is full of balloons floating with dangling nooses, each with the face of a townsperson it is meant to capture. The school girl hides, along with her friends and family, but how long can they hold out? Will they make it? Will she?

Besides creepy death balloons, other tales involve ice cream trucks, ancient burial sites, mold, tombstones, and many more topics, each turned into the twisted and macabre. In some, animated gore abounds. So if you are looking for something to watch in short bursts, while expanding your horror horizons, consider this unusual–but beautifully illlustrated–series from a master.

Top Scare: Different for each Episode

Heartbeats: Varies

Gore Factor: 3/5+

Scare Factor: Varies

Recommended for 16 and up

Leave a comment

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Ghosts, Halloween, haunting, horror, Netflix, Paranormal, Reviews, Streaming, Television

Tagged , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: Blood Red Sky (2021; TV-MA; 121 mins.)

Posted on October 28, 2024 | Leave a comment

If you’re willing to invest over two hours on a paranormal-ish movie set 90% on an airplane, this might be one to give a try. I’m not saying it’s a fantastic horror movie, but it’s also not the worst you could choose, either.

Nadja and her son Elias are traveling on a transatlantic flight to New York so Nadja can receive medical treatment for an unspecified blood disorder. In the airport, Elias meets Farid, a kind fellow passenger who also likes science, and they strike up a bit of a friendship. As the flight gets underway, though, it is soon hijacked by terrorists, including a psychopath who is only too willing to kill anyone in their way, and the copilot, who redirects their flight to crash land in Europe (the hijackers have plans to escape by skydiving).

In a panic, Elias tries to take off and hide in a cargo hold, and when Nadja runs after him, she is shot and left bleeding on the floor. Farid and other passengers try to help both Elias and others who have been hurt already, while most of the terrorists are in the cargo hold trying to put the bomb together. This is where we flash back to an event in Nadja’s past, when Elias was just a baby, which caused her blood disorder, and also where we discover how her husband died. As the story moves back to the present, we see Nadja in a new light, and realize she is stronger than she seems, and might be able to save Elias and the plane full of people from crashing after all. But time is working against her, and she will need help from both Elias and Farid in order to be able to finally put an end to this terror once and for all.

  • Top Scare: Psychopath
  • Heartbeats: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 4 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 3 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 16 and up

Leave a comment

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Vampires

Tagged , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: Abandoned (2022; PG-13; 102 mins.)

Posted on October 23, 2024 | 2 comments

For this National Horror Movie Day, I was ready for a ghost-ridden, haunted house-type movie, and happened upon this one. After some recent gore-laden films, spooky/eerie happenings in a remote farmhouse sounded like the right amount of creepy. However, I should have abandoned Abandoned after the first 20 minutes, and I’ll share why so you can choose a better scary show for yourself.

When Alex and Sara, along with infant son Liam, find a great deal (always with the great deal…red flag, people!) on a big farmhouse and barn, they decide to ignore the fact that a murder involving a baby occurred there in the past (the movie itself is set in an undetermined era…perhaps the ’70s or perhaps not). Alex is a farm animal vet who is working to get a new practice off the ground by driving around to find people with farms (weird), while Sara, a teacher in the past, stays home with Liam. Now, you can tell right away things are a bit off: the lighting is kind of muted, Sara always wears the same white dress and Liam only a diaper/cover, a neighbor walks on into the house but Sara doesn’t see it as too odd, the couple is quiet and don’t talk much, items seem to move from room to room (or do they?), and other unusual things. And Liam cries ALL THE TIME. Yes, this is actually part of the movie. Out of the over one hundred minutes of Abandoned, Liam cries probably 20%-25% of it!

Now, we also learn the family who lived in this house before were more than creepy. A father kept his daughter prisoner there, got her pregnant, and shot the baby when it was born. These spirits are still in the house, and they have different goals for Sara. As Sara seems to slowly lose more and more of her mind, she puts Liam in greater and greater danger. But it’s not just the spirits who are after Sara. See, the whole movie is also a big ol’ metaphor for the postpartum depression Sara’s suffering from. So, the question is, will Alex see what is happening to his wife and be able to save her and Liam before it’s too late? Will the mystery of the neighbor be solved? Will the spirits leave them alone and move on? Will Liam EVER STOP CRYING?? You could watch the movie to find out. But, truthfully, I’d pass and save your time (and ears) for better pursuits.

  • Top Scare: In Bedroom
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 13 and up

2 Comments

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, baby, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: The Deliverance (2024; R; 112 mins.)

Posted on October 16, 2024 | Leave a comment

Based on a true case out of Gary, Indiana, with demonic posession witnessed by police officers, doctors, and a social worker, this is the story of Latoya Ammons (Ebony in this version) and her three children who all experienced strange and violent incidents in their home which escalated over time. I was very much looking forward to this movie, after reading so much about the true story. But-despite some amazing acting from Day, Close, and a couple others-this version initially showed promise, dragged quite a bit in the middle, then rallied in the end for an overall so-so experience.

When very rough-around-the-edges Ebony (Andra Day) and her three children move to a new home with her mother Alberta (Glenn Close), who is fighting cancer and has recently “found Jesus,” all is not rainbows and roses. Ebony has a drinking problem and is a harsh mother and daughter, money is more than tight, and weird noises keep coming from the basement. When the youngest boy, Andre, starts talking to seemingly no one and wandering the house at night in a trance, Ebony angrily tells him to stop. Meanwhile, a social worker (Mo’Nique) stops in regularly to check on the kids, asking where all their bruises are coming from, and another unknown woman is often sitting in her car at the curb watching the house from the street.

As more and more odd and then violent occurrences take place in the house and then at school to the children, other social workers become involved, as well as the woman in the car. But no one seems to believe Ebony when she says she is not hurting her kids, and the kids don’t have memories of what has been happening. With the demon taking greater posession over time, Ebony must figure out a way to help both herself and her kids if she is to keep her family together, keep them all safe, and rid them all of this demon before it’s too late.

  • Top Scare: Hospital
  • Heartbeats: 1 1/2 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 16 and up

Leave a comment

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Exorcism, Halloween, Hell, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, Satan, scary movies, Streaming, Supernatural

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: We Have a Ghost (2023; PG-13; 126 mins.)

Posted on October 14, 2024 | 1 comment

Billed as a supernatural horror comedy, I thought this would be a fun addition to my 31 Days of Horror. And it was, though I’d say it was more drama than horror, a heartfelt story with fun thrown in and great acting from Jahi Di’Allo Winston as Kevin and David Harbour as Ernest the Ghost, along with Jennifer Coolidge and a for-once-not-annoying appearance by Tig Notaro.

When the Presley family-Frank, Melanie, and teens Fulton and Kevin-discovers a great deal on an enormous old house (does this ever bode well?), they snatch it up and move on in. But when Kevin explores the attic, he’s soon “scared by” a bowling shirt-wearing, middle-aged ghost with a comb over named Ernest (at least, that’s the name on the shirt). Except Kevin laughs instead of screams, leaving Ernest befuddled. The two soon begin to communicate (though Ernest can’t talk), and Kevin tries to help him figure out why he’s stuck in the house and who he really is. But big brother Fulton soon uncovers Kevin’s secret friend, and his video of Ernest goes viral (a montage of various social media reactions is hilarious and incredibly on point). When Frank, who has a history of bad business decisions, decides to try to cash in on the notoriety, it draws the attention of not only the world, but a government paranormal scientist (Notaro) as well.

As Kevin and his neighbor Joy work to help Ernest find his answers, and seemingly the entire world works against them, shenanigans ensue in which Ernest gets to have fun being a classic ghost, doing classic ghost antics. But will they be able to solve the mystery before the government catches Ernest to study him? Will Ernest ever find out who he really is and why he’s stuck here as a ghost? And most of all, will Ernest ever find the lasting peace he wants, or is he doomed to walk through walls for eternity?

  • Top Scare: First Contact
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 1/2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 12 or 13 and up

1 Comment

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Comedy, Entertainment, Halloween, haunting, horror, Horror Movie, Humor, Movies, mystery, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Teenagers, Thriller

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

31 Days of Horror: Caddo Lake (2024; PG-13; 99 mins.)

Posted on October 11, 2024 | 3 comments

With a name like M. Night Shyamalan attached to this MAX movie, I was eager to dive into the creepy Caddo Lake of Texas for some thrills and chills. With gorgeous cinematography and a mind-bending plot twist, it ended up being a slow-building southern mystery more than the horror feature it could have been, but I still enjoyed it for its eerie vibe.

A community living around and commuting via Caddo Lake is dealing with a drought, making it harder to get around by boat. When a teenager who is fighting with her mother and stepfather boats to a friend’s house to spend the night, her 8-year-old stepsister goes missing. As the town looks for her, the teenager joins in, experiencing odd things on parts of the lake. Meanwhile, a man whose mother had a seizure years earlier while driving them and ended up submerged in the lake (he survived but she didn’t), is still trying to figure out why she had her seizure after six years without any. His girlfriend is about to move away, but puts that off while they spend some time together and he explores parts of the lake where he works after odd things begin happening to him there.

As the two who are experiencing the odd occurrences in the lake explore further, the lake works against them in an unusual manner, making it harder for them to each solve their mysteries and move on with their lives. In the end, though, their stories pull together in a way that is both satisfying and haunting.

  • Top Scare: None
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 1 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 13 and up

3 Comments

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, Horror Movie, M. Night Shyamalan, Movies, mystery, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Television, Thriller

Tagged , , , , , , , ,