As the leaves in the mountains start to turn beautiful oranges and yellows and the air grows a little crisper, it's time to make a cup of cider and put on a good scary movie—or a super cheesy one. This October, I will be watching 31 horror movies, including rewatching some old favorites and discovering new frights. We are getting close to the end of the month!

The Phantom of Regular Size, dir. Shinya Tsukamoto (1986)

Tsukamoto is more famous for his film Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), and this short film served as a test for it. The special effects are amazing for being such a low-budget movie. While the story is kinda hard to follow, the style and practical uses of things like stop motion make up for it. It's available on YouTube and is worth checking out if you can handle a bit of techno gore.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown, dir. Charles B. Pierce (1976)

I watched a video essay about this film before watching it, which did spoil aspects of it but left me eager to watch it. It's put in the same category as films like Peeping Tom, Black Christmas, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. These early slasher films paved the way for 80s horror but unlike those, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is based on real events instead of just inspired by them. It includes a voice-over that makes it seem like a documentary. It was innovative for its time and I enjoyed it; I would rank it in my top five for this month.

Psycho, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

This was obviously a rewatch; I read the original Robert Bolch book back in high school and then watched the film shortly after. It was also featured in my first-ever film class that senior year. Anthony Perkins, who plays Norman Bates, has since become one of my favorite actors. It's basically mandatory for me to watch this every October. I recently got both the first film and the three sequels on 4K, which is a necessary upgrade for fans of the series.

An American Werewolf In London, dir. John Landis (1981)

This was another rewatch; I picked up the Blu-ray at a recent convention and decided it would be the perfect movie to watch while working on my Halloween costume. The following weekend I would be handing out candy during the downtown trick-or-treating event and I wanted to bring back my Jack Goodman outfit. As I was taking a razor blade, dollar store makeup, and fake blood to the jacket, I watched my character reappear as a ghost to torment his best friend following a werewolf attack. I also enjoy rewatching the movies or shows my costumes are from before I wear them again.

Scream, dir. Wes Craven (1996)

This was one I actually hadn't seen before minus a few scenes shown in a horror class I took, so I knew the big twist ending. We screened it for our Halloween Friday Flix and I got to sit in the theatre and watch the movie while running our bar. I do think it's slightly overrated but it wasn't the worst thing I've watched this month; it sorta falls right down the middle.