It's almost Halloween... so let's talk about movies!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

And no, I don't mean Christmas. I'm talking about the best holiday ever where we get to dress up, scare kids, and eat an insane amount of tooth-rotting candy.

HALLOWEEN!

My favorite holiday. October is the one month where I can watch scary movie after scary movie and nobody gives me grief about it. I also use this time to make my kids costumes and open their eyes to the best horror movies ever made.

I have a list of movies that I watch every year and it mostly consists of John Carpenter and Vincent Price. Toss some Boris Karloff in there and I'm a happy girl. I will post a list of some of the best films for this wonderfully dark season soon, but tonight, I want to talk about a film I found on Netflix that was so lovely and quiet I just had to tell y'all about it. I haven't done this kind of blog in a while and I'm a bit rusty, so bear with me.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House.  (2016) Horror/Thriller

I will tell you now that if you like gore and jumps and loud scares, this movie is not for you. If you are a fan of Shirley Jackson and The Haunting, the sixties movie version of her famous book, then you will appreciate this film.

The lead is Ruth Wilson from Saving Mr. Banks. She plays a live-in nurse who is hired to take care of an elderly author and, as in most ghost stories, the house is haunted. Because why wouldn't it be, right? Those of you who have read my past movie blogs know that I don't like to give too much away. I prefer to get you interested enough for you to go and watch it on your own and form your own opinion. But I will say that this movie is unassuming and has an ending that I expected but was still surprised by, if that makes sense. It wasn't how it ended, necessarily, but how that ending came about.

The film and the dialogue are very quiet. It really does walk the same path as The Haunting in that most of the soundtrack is monologue-ing from our lead. I know it sounds boring but for those of us who believe in the power of words, it adds to the eerie setting and draws you into their world. It's soft, quiet, and forces you to lean in, straining to listen and invest. The spoken word really makes this story a thing of haunting beauty.

The story in and of itself is intriguing - though I might be a bit biased since I am a writer. The elderly writer, played by Paula Prentiss, plays quite a large role in the story while not playing too big of one on screen, adding to the unexpected end.

That's all I'll say. No spoilers here. If you like old black and white films that push story over CGI (no bashing - I love both) then you need to go and watch this. Make sure the kids are asleep or you won't be able to hear it. I learned that the hard way, lol. As for me, I am off to watch Monster Squad with my little ones before I have to get some more typing in. October is also the best time to write horror. Go figure. Maybe it's all the pumpkin spice... whenever I taste it I have the urge to murder people because it's so gross. 

Look for the next blog with my list of awesome horror films and also for the ending to The Jackson series. Until then, keep it scary!





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