TOP MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM TWO HORROR LOVING SISTERS

My sister, Emmalee and I did not get along growing up. With a nearly six year age difference we fought like cats and dogs over everything you could imagine. Who got to use the family computer first, who’s turn it was with the remote, who owned what Barbie, who was going to get to ride shot gun (okay we still argue over that one). Our mother would tell us “if you can’t get along, don’t talk to each other at all!”, a sentiment we took very seriously for many sparsely worded years.  But somewhere among the acne and turbulence of her high school and my college years (with the Rent soundtrack playing in the background) we found common ground.

When we take the occasional break from driving around in circles singing along to the Wicked soundtrack, trying to nail that E flat in Defying Gravity, one of our favourite hobbies is watching scary movies together. When I say this is a favourite hobby of ours, I mean we research in advance any time we know we’ll be in the same postal code; and it still takes us an hour of watching trailers and reading reviews to make a decision. This is no joke. Now after years of painstaking research, we present to you our top picks to give you a seasonal case of the willies! And if you need a little something to set the mood while you’re getting your snacks ready, Emmalee (who is coincidentally also our resident Spotify DJ) has just the playlist for you here.

Ginger Snaps

Two sisters, after a werewolf attack tempt to conceal ones transition from angsty teen to blood thirsty killing machine. Sounds like how I remember high school! This movie spawned two sequels, if you want to watch a series go full Canadiana with the third going back to a settlers colony in the 1800’s, look no further! And Black Orphan fans, get ready for a baby Tatiana Maslany in the second movie, as well as a bunch of other recognizable faces from Canadian film.

Tusk

This movie is just absolutely twisted. I think our exact words after seeing this were “what did we just watch?!”. Directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), not only is this probably the weirdest movie you’ll see all year it also has a strange backstory. It started with this article being brought to Smith and producer Scott Mosier’s weekly podcast for discussion and quickly turned into a riff off in which they imagined a backstory to explain the request (listen to the entire thing here). Needless to say listeners thought it was a great idea, and movie magic was made. This is actually part one of a three part Canadian horror series also featuring Yoga Hosers (a spin off released earlier this year), and the forthcoming Moose Jaws. If nothing else watch this for, Johnny Depp making the most ludicrous cameo as a Quebecois detective who spews – what I can only assume – American’s must think are very “Canadian” phrases in the thickest accent you’ve ever heard (and that’s saying a lot).

Unfriended

We were definitely skeptical about this one and watched it more in a moment of defeat when we couldn’t find anything better – but wow did this one surprise us! What really added to the suspense of this is that we watched it on a mac, and the whole movie is seen via a computer screen (also a mac). The interface between movie and real life was actually so seamless we literally sat watching with an alert on the screen for a minute before we realized it was real.

Silent House

This movie is a major mind bend! This whole thing is shot in one continuous take, following our main character the whole time as she’s terrorized by an intruder in her old family home. Only in the final scene do we finally change perspectives and see who the culprit is – and it’s a twist you won’t see coming. Watch this for a solid hour and a half of Elizabeth Olsen, (the younger sister to the Olsen twins of 90’s fame) being a total powerhouse.

Sleepaway Camp

We had to get at least one 80’s slasher in here! This movie encapsulates the best and worst of the genre, the dialogue, the effects, the drama – its cheesey in the best way! We hope you like dolphin shorts and men’s crop tops (was this really a thing?) because you’ll be seeing a lot of them over the next 84 minutes. This movie also features a twist ending with the most meme worthy freeze frame you might ever see. We answered skype and facetime calls making “the face” from this movie for a solid year after seeing for the first time.