Your Halloween binge sorted: From found footage to nightmare children’s TV and slow-burn creature features

OCTOBER 31 — It is that time of the year again when horror hounds, casual moviegoers, and genre purists alike flock to screens big and small looking for their annual spooky season fix. 

As someone who lives for genre cinema, navigating the relentless wave of Halloween horror releases has always been a double-edged sword, which is to say that for every genuine, game changing surprise that leaves you buzzing, there’s also usually an uninspired chore of a film waiting to drag you down.

After wading through the countless horror flicks on offer during the past couple of weeks or so, let’s look at three distinctly different Halloween offerings hitting our home screens and streaming platforms, from a music themed entry in a long running found-footage franchise to an unhinged indie horror triumph, and a quiet, atmospheric creature feature that sneaks up on you when you least expect it.

V/H/S/Mixtape

I have always looked forward to every new installment in the ongoing V/H/S anthology franchise. There is an inherent, pulp cinema joy in watching a fresh batch of genre directors unleash dirty, low budget found-footage short films, year after year. 

But nine films into the series, we finally hit a genuine dud in the bunch with V/H/S/Mixtape.

On paper, handing the reins over to a music-themed concept sounded like an inspired move. The talent pool attached here is undeniably impressive, featuring musical visionaries like Flying Lotus, shock-rock icons GWAR, Tobias Forge (frontman of Swedish doom/stoner icons Ghost), and Hip-Hop royalty RZA (of the Wu-Tang Clan). 

Even the non-musician filmmakers involved, like David Moreau (of MadS fame), are tasked with crafting music-centric nightmares.

I have always looked forward to every new installment in the ongoing V/H/S anthology franchise. — Picture via Instagram

Unfortunately, the final result is a monumental chore to sit through. What should have been a raucous, rollicking splatter fest instead devolves into a sluggish, repetitive collection of half-baked ideas that lack excitement, genuine scares, or visual bite. 

The sole saving grace of the entire package is RZA’s segment, Death Tone, which brings a welcome splash of stylized energy. 

Yet, that doesn’t say much about its actual quality. If you placed Death Tone into literally any of the previous eight V/H/S entries, it would easily rank as one of the weaker tracks on the tape.

Buddy

If V/H/S/Mixtape represents the fatigue of a franchise running out of steam, Buddy is the exact opposite. It is a film that is absolutely outstanding, fiercely energetic, and refreshingly original in both form and content.

The film cleverly presents itself as a bright, cheesy 90s children’s TV show a la Barney & Friends, complete with colourful set designs, cheerful kids, and annoyingly persistent earworm songs. 

But beneath the saccharine, nostalgic surface, director Casper Kelly slowly pulls the rug out from under you. 

As the young kids who are part of the show (and, of course, we as the viewers) gradually realise there is a menacing, deeply unhinged, and murderous side to the titular unicorn mascot, the sugar rush turns into absolute terror.

Where Buddy truly shines is how delightfully fresh its narrative trajectories become. Rather than settling for a simple “killer mascot” slasher trope, the film throws in surreal elements inspired by creepypasta Backrooms lore and blends them with a slight dash of David Cronenberg’s Videodrome. 

The result is a psychotic, media-bending nightmare that keeps you constantly on your toes. 

A complete blast to watch from start to finish, the film tops off its inventive narrative with a generous serving of gnarly, stomach churning practical gore effects that will leave genre fans grinning from ear to ear.

The Cycle

If you walk into The Cycle completely cold, without watching a single trailer or reading a synopsis, as I was fortunate enough to do, this Shudder original will sneak up and thoroughly impress you with its storytelling finesse, technical confidence, and patient execution.

Directed by Jordan Downey, the film kicks off like a gritty, grounded police procedural following an investigation into what looked like a series of murders in a desolate rural township. 

From there, the narrative ventures into territory that might feel somewhat familiar at first glance to seasoned horror fans. 

You can probably guess the slow-burn twist well before the third act arrives, but that predictability never detracts from the experience. 

Instead, the film expands and invents fascinating new lore surrounding the ancient creature at the heart of the story, elevating simple monster movie tropes into an atmospheric, mythic nightmare.

If you caught Downey’s brilliantly crafted, low budget medieval creature feature The Head Hunter back in 2018, you will know exactly what to expect stylistically. 

He excels at framing sparse, atmospheric landscapes with incredible visual discipline and letting silence do the heavy lifting. 

Paired with stellar creature design and tight sound engineering, The Cycle easily stands out as one of the finest genre entries of the year, and a perfect, slow-burn caper for your Halloween watchlist.