My girlfriend works in data and has started a newsletter where she takes a data approach to things she is interested in. Her first few were about concerts and her most recent one is all about Christmas Hallmark movies!
I am part of a Facebook group of (mostly retired) comedians who like to nerd out about video games, television shows, and movies.
One of them, Roxanne Celeste, put together this advent style list of horror movies to watch throughout December. Because who says we have to stop watching horror after October 31st?
Here is part of the post from Roxanne:
“Every day has a different cold, wintry horror/suspense/thriller.
There are no sequels or remakes except for one of the older films. I tried to keep a variety of decades and styles. The Christmas horrors get saved for last, and we end on a nice dessert of a couple horror-comedies. There are none of the obvious Scandinavian films on this list, because honestly, including them felt like cheating, all their movies have snow in them. I went a little off-piste in the middle because I wanted to include “Storm of the Century” really, really bad, but it’s a miniseries, so you can either watch that over three days or watch some other honorable mentions instead.
12/1 – The Thing (1982) 12/2 – The Great Silence (1968) 12/3 – Frozen (2010) 12/4 – Ravenous (1999) 12/5 – The Abominable Snowman ( 1957) 12/6 – Wind Chill (2007) 12/7 – Curtains (1983) 12/8 – Devil’s Pass (2013) 12/9 – Misery (1990) 12/10 – The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) 12/11 – Storm of the Century: Ep 1 (1999) OR Dead Snow (2009) 12/12 – Storm of the Century: Ep 2 (1999) OR The Last Winter (2006) 12/13 – Storm of the Century: Ep 3 (1999) OR Jack Frost (1997) 12/14 – The Shining (1980) 12/15 – The Invisible Man (1933) 12/16 – 30 Days of Night (2007) 12/17 – The Lodge (2019) 12/18 – Black Christmas (1974) 12/19 – Better Watch Out (2016) 12/20 – Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) 12/21 – The Curse of the Cat People (1944) 12/22 – Silent Night (2021) 12/23 – Gremlins (1984) 12/24 – Krampus (2015)
Premise: A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.
Cast: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Cameron Diaz.
What it reminds me of: Black Mirror, What Dreams May Come, Inception.
Why I like it: This movie is fun, trippy, beautiful. I absolutely love the score and the soundtrack is fantastic, including “Salisbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel and a few songs by Sigur Ros. The movie will have you guessing until the very end. It is a roller coaster ride and the perfect sci-fi, romance, psychological thriller. The movie also has some great other cast members including Michael Shannon, Johnny Galecki, and Tilda Swinton.
Premise: A chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.
Cast: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Mathew St. Patrick, Jeremy Sisto, Rachel Griffiths, James Cromwell, Justina Machado.
What it reminds me of: Rescue Me, Not Dead Yet, Parenthood.
Why I like it: I like any show that stars a dead character. Also, a show that has that character act as the other sub conscious of the cast members. That isn’t a spoiler alert, as it is the opening scene of the show.
The cast is so good, first of all. The formula of the show is great: Each episode focuses on the funeral of someone random, while character development furthers for the main cast.
The finale of this show is my favorite finale to any show ever. And it went on to inspire some other favorite finales.
Premise: From virtually nothing to virtual reality, Cunk comically tells the story of our greatest inventions such as the wheel, the Mona Lisa, and nuclear power. Along the way, she asks experts hard-hitting questions about humanity’s progress, as well as standing near impressive old ruins or inside museums.
Cast: Diane MorgN
What it reminds me of: Extras, Life’s Too Short, The Office
Premise: To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.
Cast: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Mary McDonnell, Carly Lumbly, Henry Thomas, Samantha Sloyan, T’Nia Miller, Raul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Sauriya Sapkota, Mark Hamill, Matt Biedel, Kyleigh Curran, Katie Parker, Michael Trucco, Willa Fitzgerald, Xavh Gilford.
What it reminds me of: The Midnight Club, Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Haunting of Hill House.
Why I like it: Poetic, of course. Super dark. Good jump scares. It is hard to turn it off, you just ant to binge it.
Premise: Affable hillbillies Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are mistaken for murderers by a group of preppy college students.
Where to watch: Hulu (Free), NBC News, Freeform, Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV.
Premise: A comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy man with quadriplegia and an unemployed man with a criminal record who’s hired to help him. Director
Cast: Brian Cranston, Kevin Hart, Nicole Kidman.
What it reminds me of: Me Before You, Gigi and Nate. The Intouchables is the name of the French film that this was remade from. It is also based on a true story.
Why I like it: I like movies based off of true story. I also love dramedy movies. Besides horror. dramedy is a my favorite genre. This movie is split dramedy. It is super funny, super heartfelt. The character development is really strong in this movie. It has a great eding.
Today is my friends birthday! His name is Eli. The last time we saw each other, he told me he was getting into horror movies and asked me for my top 10. We haven’t seen each other in a year or two and I just finished the list. Because how can I ever finish a list like this?
Every once in a while, I would go Into the notes app of my phone to work on it. I still don’t know if it’s done, but as a birthday present to Eli, here it is!
Oh, and I obviously couldn’t narrow it down to 10. I had to break them down by genre. Also, I added rubbers ups for most.
Also, I know people are going to disagree with me on a bunch of these!
