Halloween Horror Watches for the Cultures
A list of “Woke” movies and shows to help you stay up all night for the Halloween season.
The title says it all, let’s dig into some horror films from various cultures that you can enjoy all year around, but especially during the Halloween season. Leggo!
The Blackening (2025)
Black/African American/ African Diaspora
The Blackening (2022)
A comedy horror about a group of friends from college that meet up in a cabin for Juneteenth weekend. There’s a bunch of different black cultural references that are hilariously thrown in, while they are trying to escape a masked killer. Brush up on your Spades skills before watching this.
Tales From the Hood (1995)
Another blend of horror and comedy but with more social issues commentary. There’s takes on police brutality, child abuse, and gang violence. Some of the parts are actually really haunting and the ending is both terrifying and funny (which is crazy to say).
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
A Louisiana southern gothic film about a well-off black family’s internal demons and battles all from the perspective of a young child named Eve (played by Jurnee Smollett). This is a phenomenal cast with many household names including Megan Good, Lynn Whitefield, Diahann Carroll, and Samuel L. Jackson. There’s family drama, there’s psychological drama, and there’s voodoo. Not technically a horror film, but absolutely a story that will haunt you well after the credits roll.
Indigenous
Apocolypto (2006)
Also not a horror movie, but also scary as Hell. Directed by Mel Gibson, this story is about a young indigenous man taken captive by the Mayans. The movie takes you on a crazy ride of non stop action as he tries to get back to his family. There’s graphic scenes of sacrifices and animal attacks that will make your turn away as if you were watching a horror movie. An excellent and horrifying story to say the least.
Slash/Back (2022)
A film about four young girls who enjoy horror and aliens films finding themselves literally in the middle of one. They soon realize that recent disappearances are connected to an alien that has infiltrated their home. These girls are way more equipped and ready to handle an alien invasion than I ever could be.
Prey (2022)
A surprising and awesome switch up in the Predator franchise. Prey is about a Comanche woman who fights to protect her tribe from a Predator that lands on earth in 1719.
20th Century Studios
Hispanic/Spanish-Speaking
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Pretty much a fantasy classic by Guillermo del Toro, this is technically not a horror but there's certainly many scary elements in it. There’s monsters and there’s 1940’s war politics, and there’s a little girl in the midst of all of it trying to survive.
Tequila Gang
REC (2007)
The original version of Quarantine (and the better version IMO), a television reporter and others are locked inside of an apartment building in the middle of a zombie outbreak. A great combo of “found footage” and zombie horror genres, and one of my favorite films. There are quite a few Spanish sequels to this film that you can check out as well if you enjoy this one.
When Evil Lurks (2023)
I’ve watched this movie once, and never watched it again. It is one of the darkest and most disturbing films I’ve ever seen. The story revolves around a demonic infestation in a village. The imagery is gross and very surreal. I know this is at the top of many horror fanatic's lists; I’m not saying that I didn’t like the movie but I am in no rush to watch it again because I enjoy sleeping at night.
Asian
Ring/Ringu (1998)
In modern times, Ringu and the American remake The Ring may not seem as scary since VHS tapes and house phones are ancient relics now. Still, this movie is classic and brought a lot of Asian horror films to the forefront in America. Also, I still believe that the film is simply terrifying. What if it was updated into a tiktok video or Snapchat? That would probably get the younger generation’s attention.
Ringu (1998)
I Saw the Devil (2010)
This movie is a crazy ride! A serial kills an innocent pregnant woman one night, and her fiance hunts down the serial killer for revenge. The craziest part is that the fiance is a secret agent who uses his skills to torture the serial killer over and over again instead of simply ending his life. That’s a special kind of crazy.
Train to Busan (2016)
One of the best zombie horror films ever made. Heavy on both the scares and the emotions. I hold back tears every time I watch this film. If you enjoy films such as Dawn of the Dead or World War Z, you have to check this out.
LGBTQ+
I Saw The TV Glow (2024)
I Saw the TV Glow is such an underrated gem that hits on nostalgia from the 90s. It’s about two friends bonding over a late night tv show reminiscent of shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Are You Afraid of the Dark. Some of the villain characters are creepy but this film is more psychological with deeper elements about identity.
Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
The trilogy does not include Fear Street: Prom Queen as an FYI. This story revolves around a group of friends trying to combat a killer that has been torturing their town for hundreds of years. At the center of the friend group is a lesbian couple, also dealing with their own battles.
Interview with the Vampire (preferably the show) (1994 & TV Series)
You can go with the movie or the series for Interview with the Vampire, but I absolutely prefer the series. Lestat and Louie were always romantic in the Anne Rice books, but the 90s movie doesn’t explicitly show it. The series doesn’t hold back at all, and shows their toxic, yet loving relationship from the very beginning.
The 90’s movie with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt is still a classic, but the series is a masterpiece.
Interview with the Vampire digs deep into questions about morality and companionship through the complex lives of gothic vampires.
