It’s November, and you know what that means…time to think of all of the things we are thankful for. As someone who loves horror movies, I am always thankful for good streaming options, and my go-to platform is Shudder.
While most streaming platforms are skimpy on horror outside of October, Shudder is an AMC-owned streaming service that specializes in horror, thrillers and sci-fi year-round. Seriously, you won’t find a better selection of scary movies and series, especially at Shudder’s very reasonable subscription rates.
If you pay month-to-month, a Shudder subscription costs $5.99 per month. If you want to save money in the long run, you can pay for a full year at $56.99, which breaks down to $4.75 per month.
Shudder offers well-known horror movies (Halloween, Hellraiser), Shudder Exclusives (Haunt, Revenge) and series (Creepshow, NOS4A2). Just as with any other streaming service, some of the offerings are great, and others are not, but there are always sure to be plenty of options available.
Thanksgiving is a day off work for most of us and what better way is there to spend a day off than watching horror movies? But, it is only one day after all, and you don’t want to waste it on movies or series that turn out to be turkeys. See what I did there?
Never fear, we at 1428 Elm have narrowed the list down, and are happy to offer you this short list of movies to watch for Thanksgiving.
5. Incident in a Ghostland
Why it’s appropriate for Thanksgiving: Like all of the other films on this list, Incident in a Ghostland features a story about a family; in this case, a mother and her two daughters. And what screams Thanksgiving louder than family getting back together after an extended period of time?
Pauline, along with her teen daughters Beth and Vera, have inherited a creepy old house and travel to check it out. The house is kind of secluded, so there is no one close by to help the family when a very large, mentally challenged man and a terrifying woman arrive in a candy truck and proceed to terrorize them, assaulting Vera before Pauline stabs them both.
Sixteen years later, Beth is a mega-successful horror writer who has just written a book based on her family’s experience in the creepy house (where her mother and sister still live). Vera, who continues to mentally re-live the trauma she suffered, makes a hysterical phone call to Beth pleading with her to come home.
When Beth arrives back at the house, things start to get weird, and to say much more about the plot would spoil it for you. Suffice it to say, there are some horrifying twists and turns as Pauline, Beth and Vera’s story continues.
This movie has creepy dolls, terrifying villains and sympathetic characters. It also has a high level of graphic violence and gore, so be prepared going into it.
4. The Devil’s Rejects
Nothing goes better with a turkey dinner than a sweet, heart-warming family film. Well, that’s not really this story, though the Firefly family members are tight.
And it’s true to say they would kill for each other; or for any reason at all, really. Several months after the events that took place in House of 1000 Corpses, the Firefly family members are just minding their own business in their home, when Sheriff Wydell and a passel of state troopers mount an attack. In the midst of the gun battle, one family member is killed, and Mama Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook) is apprehended, but Otis (Bill Moseley) and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) escape.
They arrange to meet up with everyone’s favorite homicidal clown, Captain Spaulding (the incomparable Sid Haig), and soon a happy family reunion occurs at a cheap motel. Of course, there are innocent victims to be tortured along the way, and the Firefly family has to hit the road again.
Next stop: a brothel run by Spaulding’s old pal Charlie (Ken Foree). It seems like a pretty good place to hide out until Wydell shows up to threaten Charlie, and then the action kicks up into high gear.
Now, I am not personally a fan of Rob Zombie’s films. I enjoy horror, and gore doesn’t bother me, but I have trouble with scenes involving innocent people being graphically tortured. And I don’t find the Firefly family to be at all sympathetic, so I can’t root for them. That said, Haig and Moseley are fantastic in their roles, and I absolutely loved all of the secondary characters. Foree, E.G. Daily, Priscilla Barnes, Geoffrey Lewis and Lew Temple in particular were enjoyable to watch, and I did find them to be worth rooting for.
If you are looking for a brutal, bloody film that doesn’t take any personal investment on your part, The Devil’s Rejects will be just what you need before dealing with your own family at the dinner table.
3. Haunt
Why is a Halloween-related film perfect for Thanksgiving viewing? Well, as we horror lovers know, it’s hard to let go of what we consider to be the start of the holiday season. Why not extend it a bit by watching a fun, bloody film set at a Halloween haunted attraction?
Haunt is a Shudder Exclusive, and was produced by Eli Roth, so there’s some pretty good pedigree at work here. Its world premiere was at the 2019 Popcorn Frights Film Festival, followed by a screening at FrightFest.
A group of attractive college-aged friends decide to visit a haunted attraction out in the middle of nowhere on Halloween night (clearly they never watched The Houses October Built). Upon entering the attraction, they are required to surrender their cell phones and sign a waiver.
Of course, the group members are almost immediately separated, and before things pick up, they encounter typical, corny jump scares generated by the haunt. The fun ends when one of them is actually slashed with a razor blade, and now it sinks it that they this is no ordinary haunt.
As our friends try to find a way out, they begin to encounter the masked figures operating the attraction, and I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that not all of them make it out alive.
Haunt is fun, intense and gory, and the actors are much better than what you typically see in this type of film. Before jumping full on into the Christmas season, get a little nostalgic for Halloween and give it a watch.
2. The Hills Have Eyes
One of the most dysfunctional (and inbred) families in horror movie history originated in this 1977 flick, written and directed by the late, great Wes Craven. It was his follow-up to his directorial debut The Last House on the Left and was loosely based on the legend of the Sawney Bean family.
Though Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) was offered a role, he turned it down. Michael Berryman and Dee Wallace did accept roles, and it seemed to help their careers since The Hills Have Eyes is now considered a legendary film in the horror genre.
It’s a simple enough setup: a family is traveling in Nevada via travel trailer, and become stranded in the desert when they have a vehicle mishap. Making things worse, a cannibalistic group of people starts stalking them.
This is a gritty, dark film, and some of it is so brutal that it’s hard to watch; in particular, there is a harrowing rape scene and a character is burned alive. But, it keeps you riveted to the screen, and afterward, you feel as if you have run a marathon.
The Hills Have Eyes was included as part of the Dinners of Death Marathon in last Thanksgiving’s The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, and I highly recommend watching that version. Joe Bob is always entertaining, and you get some fun facts, plus a visit from Michael Berryman.
1.Stake Land
Sometimes the family you end up with are not those related by blood, and that is at the heart of Stake Land. The main characters in this vampire/Western set during the “Vampire Apocalypse” are family by both choice and necessity, and you really love them and want them all to make it to the end of the film alive and well.
After his parents are slaughtered by a group of vampires, young Martin is found and basically adopted by a man we come to know as Mister. As Martin and Mister trek up north to settle in New Eden, they are joined by Sister (a nun), a former marine named Willie, and a young pregnant woman named Belle.
Stake Land is action-packed and bloody, but it also has a lot of heart; the relationships formed by the characters are strong and it hurts when something happens to them. The actors are all well-cast, including Connor Paolo (Martin), Kelly McGillis (Sister), Danielle Harris as Belle, and Nick Damici as Mister.
Damici co-wrote Stake Land with Jim Mickle, and the two also wrote what is, in my opinion, the best After Dark / 8 Films to Die For entry, Mulberry Street. You most likely remember Danielle Harris from Halloween 4 and Halloween 5, where she played Jamie Lloyd.
Stake Land is the warmest film on this list, so watch it with your family while you are digesting your Thanksgiving dinner. Happy Turkey Day, all!
Are you a subscriber who is thankful for Shudder? Let us know your Shudder faves in the comments section.