Five of the best horror films included in Huluween's Very, Very Scary collection

Huluween is in full swing on Hulu right now, and the number of horror movies available to stream can be overwhelming. Hulu has conveniently broken its Huluween horror choices into categories of Scary, Very Scary, and Very, Very Scary, which is helpful.

Today, we are going to take a look at the Very, Very Scary selection, which consists of 22 films. Now, I have not personally seen EVERY film on this list, but I am going to recommend my top five favorites.

Note that these are not necessarily in order of preference and that I realize not everyone will agree with me on my selections. But if you are looking for something new to watch, hopefully, this list will help!

Recommended selections from Hulu’s Very, Very Scary Collection:

• Barbarian – This is one of those oddball movies that not everyone is going to love. But for those of us who love bonkers horror films, it fits the bill perfectly, especially if you go into it blind. If you need something to compare it to, I would put it in the same sub-category as Malignant and the tragically under-appreciated Run Sweetheart Run.

Tess (Georgina Campbell) is interviewing for a job outside of Detroit and books a rental house, which she arrives at after dark. When she gets there, she discovers that the place has apparently been double-booked, and Keith (Bill Skarsgard) has already checked in.

After the two go back and forth for a while, Tess starts to feel comfortable with his presence, so they agree to share the place. Keith sleeps on the couch, leaving Tess the bedroom. The next morning, Tess finally views the place in the daylight and is horrified to see that it’s in a derelict area. Worse, her interviewer warns her that her temporary digs are not safe.

When she arrives back at her rental, a crazy homeless man yells at her to leave, and in her haste to get inside, she ends up in the basement, where she finds a strange room containing a yucky mattress, a bucket…and a bloody handprint. Yikes.

The story gets stranger and bloodier from there, though there is an abrupt scene change that may throw you off. Said change includes a great performance by Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers) as AJ, and that’s all I am going to say. Pop some popcorn, turn out the lights, and snuggle up on the couch with your blankie to enjoy the unexpected twists and turns in Barbarian.

• Skinamarink – I recommend this one fully expecting that at least 75% of the people who watch it are going to absolutely hate it and think it’s “boring.” If you want to give it a shot, I strongly suggest watching it in full darkness while wearing headphones and with the subtitles turned on. The dialogue is very, very spare, but what there is of it is often extremely quiet and easy to miss. Take it from me: some of that quiet dialogue is bone-chilling.

Described as “experimental,” Skinamarink’s storyline involves two children alone in their house at night. They are not filmed head-on; instead, we see shots of Legos, children’s toys, furniture, the television, etc., while the very sparse dialogue gives us a bare-bones indication of what’s happening.

When the children awake in the middle of the night, they discover that their father is gone, as are the windows and doors. Basically, there is no escape from the eerie events that begin to go on around them as they try to calm themselves by watching cartoons.

Viewers who like this film describe it as being about childhood trauma, a subject matter that can make people feel uncomfortable. In my opinion, it’s an intense, slow burn that works its way under your skin.

• Smile – With Smile 2 poised to release this month, it’s the perfect time to watch the original. Sosie Bacon stars as Rose, a therapist who works in a psychiatric ward. Her patient, Laura, tells Rose that she recently saw her college professor kill himself and has been stalked by a terrifying entity ever since. It appears in the form of strangers who smile creepily at her.

As Laura begins to suffer a psychotic breakdown, panicking and screaming, Rose tries to help calm her, but Laura suddenly stops and smiles before cutting her own throat.

Now Rose is experiencing trauma and starts to encounter people just as Laura did: smiling at her eerily, sometimes telling her that she is going to die. Desperate, Rose reaches out to her ex-boyfriend Joel for help (he’s a cop), and the two begin to discover how deep this whole thing goes.

With great special effects and a keep ‘em guessing storyline, Smile is a good, creepy Halloween watch.

• The First Omen—Filmmakers have gotten better about reviving older horror movie franchises lately, relying somewhat on nostalgia and trying harder to pay homage to the first film in any given series. The First Omen is a great example of that trend.

Set shortly before the events of 1976’s The Omen, the plot involves American Margaret, who is a novice nun. She travels to Rome to move into a convent/orphanage, where another novitiate named Luz befriends her. Luz convinces Margaret to go out dancing and drinking one evening, which results in Margaret passing out, waking up in her bed at the convent with no memory of the night before.

When Margaret is found to be pregnant, everyone seems to think it is a holy miracle, but once she starts digging into the facts, Margaret starts to discover some sinister secrets.

There are so many great little details in The First Omen, many of which call back to the original film (one of my own early horror loves). There is an orphan at the convent named Carlita with whom Margaret feels a strange kinship, Father Gabriel from The Omen makes an appearance – there is even a scene where one of the nuns publicly hangs herself, much like Damien’s nanny in the first movie. The First Omen should fully satisfy fans who like religious horror.

• The Sixth Sense is a nearly perfect film, and it’s always a good time to rewatch the movie that put M. Night Shyamalan on the cinematic map. Driven by a truly amazing kid actor performance by Haley Joel Osment and one of Bruce Willis’s best acting performances, it’s a goose-bump-inducing film all around.

Little Cole is a strange, quiet child. His very presence lets us know right away that something is not right in his life. He’s very serious, and appears to be afraid – with good reason, as it turns out. When child psychologist Malcolm Crow shows up in Cole’s life, the traumatized boy begins to open up about the terrifying secret he has been harboring for his entire life: he sees dead people.

Every note in this tense, emotional film is true, and there is not a weak acting performance in the whole thing. Toni Collette, as Cole’s worried mom, is so vulnerable and real, Olivia Williams is great as Malcolm’s grieving wife, and Donnie Wahlberg’s performance as Vincent is absolutely *a chef’s kiss.

Although the huge twist that few audience members caught is now universally known, The Sixth Sense remains one of the best and most carefully crafted horror films of all time in my opinion.