What to Watch This Halloween: Horror Films and Spooky Stories To Get You Through Quarantine Night

For Those Looking For Digital Horror - Come Play (Theaters)

Come Play is a modern Babadook, with fantastic sounds, a creepy modern creature, and palatable tension.  For more information, check out our review!

For Those Feeling The Lockdown - Host (Shudder)

The quintessential quarantine movie (and probably the best horror movie this year), Host dials in the scares with a clever use of technology, references to the current predicament, and enough jump scares to keep you from dropping out of this zoom meeting.  For more information, check out our review!

For Some Mind Games - Black Box (Amazon)

Black Box takes you on a technological deep dive with strong characters led by the amazing Mamoudou Athie, an intriguing story, and a mental mystery that will keep you guessing.  For more information, check out our review!

For a New Classical Classic - Nocturne (Amazon)

Nocturne's fantastic music, story, and characters create a slowly building symphony of suspense, obsession, and madness.  It also has probably my favorite movie poster released this year!  For more information, check out our review!

For Those Wanting To Get Outside - Creep (Netflix)

Creep was one of the earlier found footage horror films and did it so incredibly well, fueled by Mark Duplass's intense, unpredictable, and wholly personable performance.

For the Kids - Addams Family (Hulu)

The Addams Family is a nostalgic animated feature that captures the style and characters of the main show.  For more information, check out our review!

For Nostalgic Kids - It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (AppleTV+)

The Halloween classic is now only on Apple TV+, so if you still have your free year remaining, now is a great time to take advantage of it.  A mainstay in my own childhood, this is a classic Halloween film that can be enjoyed against and again!

For Those Looking For A Different Type of Horror - Cats (HBO)

Yes, this movie was universally panned.  Yes, it is a strange film.  But it is also catchy and has enough in there that I'm sure you'll be singing through the fever dream that is this film.

What to Watch This Weekend: Halloween Horror (Possessor, The Cleansing Hour, Blumhouse Movies, Do Not Reply), Once Upon a River, Charm City Kings, Ghostwriter, The Tax Collector

For Horror Fans Looking For A Change of Face - Possessor (Theaters)

Possessor will take control of you and not let go, as it pulls you into this violent, near future story with great acting, realistic effects, and a brutal story.  For more information, check out our review!

For Horror Fans Ridding Themselves of Inner Demons - The Cleansing Hour (Shudder)

The Cleansing Hour will possess your eyeballs with its entertaining social media exorcism premise, fantastic special effects, and spirited, spiritual performances.  For more information, check out our review!

For Horror Fans Looking for a Virtual Trip - Black Box (Amazon)

Black Box takes you on a technological deep dive with strong characters led by the amazing Mamoudou Athie, an intriguing story, and a mental mystery that will keep you guessing.  For more information, check out our review!

For Horror Fans Obsessed With Social Media - Do Not Reply (Digital)

The unsettlingly perfect sets, convincing acting, and brutal and tense scenarios make Do Not Reply one movie you should swipe right on.  For more information, check out our review!  

For Horror Fans Keeping a Secret - The Lie (Amazon)

The Lie is a suspenseful deception film with stellar acting, a simple setup, and a meaningful ending that elevates the entire experience.  For more information, check out our review!

For Adventure Seekers - Once Upon a River (Virtual Cinema)

Once Upon A River is a beautiful coming of age film with wonderful cinematography and sound, a nuanced strong female lead, and a story with great pace and flow.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Thrill Seekers - Charm City Kings (HBO Max)

Charm City Kings has a commitment to authenticity that should be applauded, as well as fantastic performances from an all black cast, telling a story that has humor, emotion, and important lessons.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Kids - Ghostwriter Season 2 (Apple TV+)

Ghostwriter Season 2 continues the story of this wonderfully diverse, entertaining, and educational show with adventures that literally make stories come alive.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Ruthless Family Members - The Tax Collector (Redbox and Digital)

The Tax Collector has some intense characters--headlined by a transofmred Shia LaBeouf--in this ruthless story about family and power.  For more information, check out our review!

Black Box Review: A Well Acted Mind Trip

Release date: October 6, 2020
Running time: 101 minutes
Starring: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa, and Troy James 
Directed By: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. 

Welcome to the Blumhouse is a seasonal horror event by Amazon and Blumhouse that is releasing four horror movies during October in two waves.  Black Box is part of the first wave of movies, and chronicles a father who lost his wife and memory in a horrible car accident.  Nolan (Athie), after growing frustrated with his predicament and lack of progress, undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.

Black Box starts off with bits and pieces and leaves much of the story up to mystery.  But that is by design as we slowly learn about Nolan, his family, and his predicament.  The film is completely made by Mamoudou Athie, whose strong performance carries this film.  He has to deal with a lot of very difficult emotions as he tries to discover more about himself and does so convincingly.  He also shows flashes of what made him so enjoyable to see in Uncorked earlier this year, showing a softer, relatable persona.  And newcomer Amanda Christine as his daughter Ava is a breath of fresh air.  Her character is so much fun to see and her looks are so filled with innocence and love that it instantly causes you to connect with these characters.  It is also fun to see her in her "parent" role, since she has to take on a lot of responsibility in the household. 

Black Box has an interesting use of technology that is relatively simple but looks convincing enough.  Thankfully the film didn't go all out and try to use unnecessary effects to push it to ridiculousness.  And my favorite part is that there is a character that moves in a very interesting way that was fully done with acting and not CG.  That type of character could, and likely would, have been done using computer effects, but thanks to director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, we have a believable and unsettling sequence.  And the story of Black Box builds like any great mystery, slowly revealing more and more as Nolan delves deeper and deeper into the black box.  The film has plenty of reveals which cause Nolan and his family to deal with changing scenarios and the resultant strong emotions.  And the film handles all of these changes and experiences with a deliberate pace.  It never felt like it was throwing too much at you, but also always felt like you were finding out more to the mystery.  And the movie should be applauded for its all black cast in roles of prominence and depiction of a strong familial unit.  Overall, Black Box is an enjoyable mystery that is interesting and never feels overwhelming.  

Black Box takes you on a technological deep dive with strong characters led by the amazing Mamoudou Athie, an intriguing story, and a mental mystery that will keep you guessing.  

Watch it.

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Black Box is available to stream on Amazon Prime starting October 6, 2020.

News: Amazon Prime Video and Blumhouse Launch "Welcome to the Blumhouse" Featuring Eight New Thriller Films

Amazon Prime Video announced today “Welcome to the Blumhouse”, a program of eight unsettling, genre movies produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios. Each film presents a distinctive vision and unique perspective on common themes centered around family and love as redemptive or destructive forces. This slate marks the first ever program of Amazon Original movies on Prime Video that are thematically connected. The films showcase exciting up-and-coming talent, alongside established actors in exceptional and shocking new roles. “Welcome to the Blumhouse” will launch in October, timed for the Halloween season, on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories worldwide. 

Amazon Prime Video will launch the initial slate of four films as double features starting with The Lie directed by acclaimed writer/director Veena Sud (The Killing, 7 Seconds) and Black Box directed by up-and-coming writer/director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. (Born with It), both premiering on October 6. Launching the following week on October 13 is Evil Eye, from talented young directors Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani (A Day’s Work, Jinn) and executive produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico, White Tiger), and Nocturne written and directed by filmmaker Zu Quirke (Zugzwang, Ghosting) making her feature film debut. The latter four films will launch in 2021. 

The Lie is written and directed by Veena Sud, and stars Mireille Enos (The Killing), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education) and Joey King (The Kissing Booth 2, The Act). When their teenaged daughter confesses to impulsively killing her best friend, two desperate parents attempt to cover up the horrific crime, leading them into a complicated web of lies and deception. Produced by Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Christopher Tricarico, and Jason Blum.  Executive produced by Howard Green, Kim Hodgert, Jeanette Volturno, Couper Samuelson and Aaron Barnett.

Directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. (Born With It) and script by Osei-Kuffour Jr. and Stephen Herman, Black Box stars Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World 3, The Circle), Phylicia Rashad (Creed), Amanda Christine (Colony), Tosin Morohunfola (The Chi, The 24th), Charmaine Bingwa (Trees of Peace, Little Sista), and Troy James (The Flash, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark). After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Jay Ellis, Aaron Bergman, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Mynette Louie and William Marks.

Based off the award-winning, best-selling Audible Original production from writer Madhuri Shekar, Evil Eye is directed by Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, and stars Sarita Choudhury (Mississippi Masala, Lady in the Water), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Omar Maskati (Unbelievable), and Bernard White (Silicon Valley). A seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced her daughter’s new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Guy Stodel, Anjula Acharia, Emilia Lapenta and Kate Navin.

Nocturne is written and directed by Zu Quirke in her breakout feature debut. Starring Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The Handmaid’s Tale, Player’s Table), Madison Iseman (Jumanji: The Next Level, Annabelle Comes Home), Jacques Colimon (The Society) and Ivan Shaw (Insecure, Casual). Inside the halls of an elite arts academy, a timid music student begins to outshine her more accomplished and outgoing twin sister when she discovers a mysterious notebook belonging to a recently deceased classmate. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Matthew Myers and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly.