Hulu’s Huluween section is jam-packed with great horror movies of every kind. Some of them are even broken down into categories of Scary, Very Scary and Very Very Scary. We have already hand-picked five films from the latter two categories, so now let’s take a look at the films Hulu has decided are simply “Scary.”
The films in this grouping are not necessarily gory (though The Fly is definitely – well – slimy), but still pack a pretty good horror punch.
It’s a Wonderful Knife – As you might expect from the title, this one is a horror-tinged take on that old Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life. In this version of the “I wish I was never born” trope, teenager Winnie Caruthers is living with her family in Angel Falls. It looks like the perfect little Hallmark Christmas movie town, except for the fact that a masked killer known as The Angel is on the loose.
When The Angel pops up at a teen Christmas party, Winnie manages to electrocute him (though not before her best friend is murdered), and it turns out the killer is a very well-known and influential citizen.
Cut to one year later, when Winnie is still traumatized from the prior Christmas. Feeling as if everyone except for her has moved on from the murders, and discovering that her boyfriend has been cheating on her, she wishes she was never born.
In the Angel Falls that no longer know who she is, The Angel is still on the loose, and has killed many people, including one of Winnie’s close relatives. Desperate to stop The Angel, Winnie has to convince the townspeople that she knows who the killer is.
Jane Widdop is terrific as Winnie, and Justin Long puts in one of his trademark dirtbag performances.
The Omen – This iconic 1976 religious horror film is one EVERY horror fan should watch at least once. The gore is spare, though there are a couple of gnarly kill scenes (a beheading and a skewer-by-lightning-rod).
Gregory Peck and Lee Remick star as Robert and Catherine Thorn, who live in Rome since he is an American Diplomat. Catherine gives birth, and Robert is told by the hospital Chaplain that the infant was born dead. In order to not send his wife into a mental health spiral, Robert agrees to substitute a newborn orphan, not telling Catherine the truth.
When the child, named Damien, is five years old, the Thorns are living in the UK, where Robert is an Ambassador. Strange things begin to happen: Damien’s young nanny publicly hangs herself, and new nanny Mrs. Baylock appears with a menacing dog. Catherine takes Damien to a drive-through safari park where the animals literally go crazy, and Damien becomes hysterical when taken to church.
Eventually, Father Brennan tells Robert the horrible truth: the son he has taken as his own is the child of Satan himself.
Rose Red – This 3-part miniseries was written by Stephen King as an homage to Shirley Jackson’s classic novel The Haunting of Hill House. Rose Red is a Seattle mansion that has long been thought to be haunted. Parapsychologist Joyce Reardon has invited several gifted psychics to join her at Rose Red, where she hopes to record definitive proof of paranormal activity.
We learn about Rose Red’s haunting history, mostly through the diary of Ellen Rimbauer, whose husband John built it for her as a wedding gift. There were tales of construction workers being killed while working on building the place. There were other mysterious deaths over the years, and one of the Rembauer children disappeared.
As the psychics become acquainted with the mansion, they begin to observe many ghostly events, and deaths occur as well. Rose Red sports a solid cast, including Nancy Travis (The Vanishing), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Julian Sands (Boxing Helena) and Emily Deschanel (Bones).
Scream Queens – If horror-comedy is your jam, Scream Queens is sure to delight you. Kappa Kappa Tau sorority is fully led by Chanel (Emma Roberts). So self-centered is she that her closest friends are christened Chanel #2, Chanel #3, and so on.
Unfortunately for the Chanels, the university’s Dean, Cathy Munch (Jamie Lee Curtis) wants to do away with the sorority. Complicating matters is the appearance of a serial killer clad in the Red Devil mascot uniform…and his sights are set firmly on killing the Chanels.
Roberts, along with Ariana Grande, Billie Lourd, Lea Michele and Abigail Breslin are a hoot as the most prominent Chanels, each of whom has their own distinct personality (especially funny is Lourd’s Chanel, who always wears ear muffs). Though much of the story is played for laughs, there are still plenty of gruesome murder scenes, and the tone makes it clear that this is definitely a Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story) creation.
Huluween's Scary collection shows us that simply scary can also be simply slimy
The Fly – This 1986 remake is a quintessential 80s horror movie, and it contains all of the gooey special effects you would expect from director/co-writer David Cronenberg (Rabid, The Brood).
Jeff Goldblum is Seth Brundle, a mad scientist type who is working on telepods that allow the user to teleport. He tells journalist Ronnie (Geena Davis) about his secret project, and he allows her to document as he experiments with the telepods. He has transported objects with no problems, but an attempt to teleport a live baboon went horribly wrong.
Seth makes the very bad decision to attempt to teleport himself, but doesn’t notice that a fly has snuck into the pod. The end result is that he begins to slowly morph into a giant fly-like creature. The transformation is disgusting, and includes vomit, shedding skin, copious amounts of slime and lost body parts.
The Fly does have some heart, as Ronnie finds herself torn between the man she has come to love and the revolting, murderous creature he is becoming.