Horror Movie Survival Guide Selects
Julia Marchese and Teri Gamble, hosts of the hit Horror Movie Survival Guide podcast, have been in training to be Final Girls for over 300 episodes now, so they know a thing or two about horror. Come with us now, as they delve into the ARROW archives to Select their favourite films.
(not all films are available in all territories)
JULIA'S PICKS
The Deeper You Dig
“After seeing this film, I have become a devoted follower of The Adams Family. Their films are totally original, visually stunning, incredibly well shot and acted - and made entirely by one family. To have a family working together to make art as beautiful and creative as this gives me such pure hope for independent filmmaking. Watch this film and be amazed!”
Season of the Witch
“I love all of George A. Romero's work, and always try to champion some of his more underrated 1970's films, including this one (which also goes under the titles Hungry Wives & Jack's Wife), which deserves another look in our modern day. Romero's films always seem slightly prescient, and this film with its themes of how society treats middle-aged women veiled through witchcraft feels like it could have been released today. Don't skip this one!”
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
“One of the most stylish films ever made, this movie has given inspiration to countless filmmakers and artists since its release in 1920, and for good reason! The imagery is dreamlike and unsettling, but also so incredibly stunning and unlike any other movie. Totally unique, this film will work its way under your skin - and into your nightmares.”
The Hills Have Eyes
“Wes Craven went HAM in the 1970s and The Hills Have Eyes is no exception. Not for the faint of heart, this film is guaranteed to upset, offend and disgust you - and I say that with so much love. If you haven't seen it and you're a horror hound, you're in for a tasty treat - and if you have seen it, you know what delightful horrors await you! Let the fun begin!”
The Crazies
“Romero knocks it out of the park again with The Crazies, focusing on a town quarantined by the military because of a virus that causes insanity in its victims. Romero takes the medical profession, the military and the government down in one fell swoop in this sharply pointed film that shines the light so brilliantly on these relevant societal topics. The Maestro always does it right.”
Blood Feast
“It should surprise no one that I remember watching this movie with my family a lot as a small child - this is why you see the successful gorehound you see before you today! Herschell Gordon Lewis's scenery-chomping style makes this one a blast, with lots of Egyptian Feasts for everyone!”
Ringu
“J-Horror in the early 2000s was no joke, and this is one of the films that set the landslide in motion! The ability to take a seemingly innocuous object, like a VHS tape, and turn it into a sight that strikes fear into its viewers is no mean feat, but Ringu takes this item and makes an absolute feast of it. Tense and spooky throughout, this one is sure to make you jump!”
Things to Come
“I just discovered this film through Arrow, I'd never heard of it and was so glad I took a chance on it! A 1970s biting look at the future, this film hits a little too close to home in some of its predictions of where society is headed. Cool costumes, a unique premise and a lot of sex and violence gives this film a plus in my book!”
Blind Beast
“We covered this film on our podcast and we were absolutely gobsmacked by it. This film goes so incredibly hard, looks completely different than any film I had seen before and really take the viewer into some far-out places. Be prepared for trippy visuals, deep questions about the meaning of art, mom fights and a BDSM rabbit hole. This one is crazy, man, crazy!”
Horrors of Malformed Men
“Talk about triptastic! This movie is a staccato acid trip of a film with lots of surprises in store! Haunting visuals and legends abound in this film - check it out!”
TERI'S PICKS
The Deeper You Dig
“Another film my co-host Julia and I agree on. We are huge fans of the Adams Filmmaking Family. This film is exquisitely crafted & takes you on a journey through time and space. Folk horror at its finest - easily one of my favorite films of the last five years.”
Season of the Witch
“Julia and I agree on this one as well!!! This film is fierce and forever timely like so many of Romero's seminal works. It really captures the essence of what it means to grow older in a society that values the young. Criminally underseen - I constantly recommend this film.”
Two Witches
“One two witches kneel before you...that's what I said now. Witchcraft and their depictions in cinema through the years is a passion of mine. Compelling performances coupled with the theme of hereditary curses is everything!”
The Stylist
“As beautiful as it is brutal this film is gory in all the right ways. This killer has Ed Gein madness with a Single White Female obsession. Beware of the friends you make at the beauty salon... Filmmaker Jill "Sixx" Gevargizian creates looks to die for!”
Vampyres
“The allure of beautiful lovers with insatiable lust for one another for eternity is always gonna pique my interest. This beautiful and erotic tale, written by Diana Daubeney & directed by Jose Ramon Larraz, does not disappoint.”
Puppet Master
“I am a sucker for monster POV! The giddiness I felt watching the world from these tiny little monsters' perspective is unparalleled. Inventive character design and whimsy abound! If you want to enjoy a fun night of laughs and gory kills this flick is for you!”
Children of the Corn
“Kids running amok - giving me Lord of the Flies realness - in this classic 80's horror film! When a messiah-like figure is left unchecked you end up with a town on the brink of collapse. I am obsessed with films that examine religious zealotry & cults.”
The Italian Connection
“Action, groovy soundtrack & some of the most entertaining car chases in cinema! This film is one of the templates and the true grandfather of films like the Fast & Furious franchise. Style, heart & action!”
The Devil's Rain
“A cult classic for a reason! The quintessential Satanic Panic film! Campy and scenery-chewing performances from screen legends Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino & William Shatner. Featuring our favorite unrecognizable cameo from a very young John Travolta as Danny.”
The Bird with Crystal Plumage
“One of the OG Giallo flicks. This film is pretty much perfect. It takes you on meandering chases, offers up sumptuous cinematography and one of my favorite villain reveals!”
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The Deeper You Dig
2019 • United States • Directed by John Adams and Toby Poser
Themes of family, loss and survival intersect on the thin line that separates the living from the dead in 'The Deeper You Dig', the latest feature written, directed by and starring filmmaking family the Adams Family ('Knuckle Jack', 'R...
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Season of the Witch
1972 • United States • Directed by George A. Romero
Perhaps the most unclassifiable of filmmaker George A. Romero’s works, 1972’s Season of the Witch sees the Night of the Living Dead filmmaker returning to the realm of the supernatural for this bewitching tale of a housewife driven to an intere...
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The Crazies
1973 • United States • Directed by George A. Romero
After the experimental outings of There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero returned to rather more distinct horror territory with his 1973 infection opus The Crazies.
When a plane carry...
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Blood Feast
1963 • United States • Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
The filmography of late movie maverick Herschell Gordon Lewis brims with the mad, macabre, and just downright bizarre. But perhaps the most unhinged of all his directorial efforts, and certainly the most influential, must surely be his or...
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Ringu
1998 • Japan • Directed by Hideo Nakata
In 1998, director Hideo Nakata (Dark Water) unleashed a chilling tale of technological terror on unsuspecting audiences, which redefined the horror genre, launched the J-horror boom in the West and introduced a generation of moviegoers to a creepy, dark-ha...
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Things to Come
1976 • United States • Directed by Derek Todd
A future dystopia dream-epic shot in San Antonio, THINGS TO COME finds Julie leaving her marriage to investigate a mysterious sci-fi cult on behalf of frustrated women everywhere. With a soundtrack that feels like it was cribbed from A CLOCKWORK ORAN...
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Blind Beast
1969 • Japan • Directed by Yasuzô Masumura
Blind Beast is a grotesque portrait of the bizarre relationship between a blind sculptor and his captive muse, adapted from a short story from Japan’s foremost master of the macabre, Edogawa Rampo (Horrors of Malformed Men, The Black Lizard, Caterpilla...
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Horrors of Malformed Men
Medical student Hirosuke Hitomi slips out of the asylum in which he has been wrongfully confined and stealthily assumes the identity of a recently deceased nobleman with whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Hirosuke eases his way into the nobleman's household and his dead double's marital bed. B...
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Two Witches
2021 • United States • Directed by Pierre Tsigaridis
With its super-saturated colour palette, tenebrous art design and electrifying soundtrack, Two Witches presents two truly terrifying conjoined tales of witchery, paranoia and terror that hark back to the gory thrills of classic Euro horrors su...
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The Stylist
Obsession gets a makeover in The Stylist, a deliciously twisted slice of female-led psychological horror, nominated for the New Visions Award for Best Motion Picture at the 2020 Sitges International Film Festival and based on co-writer/director Jill Gevargizian’s award-winning short film of the s...
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Children of the Corn
1984 • United States • Directed by Fritz Kiersch
A young couple travelling cross-country find themselves stranded in the small town of Gatlin, where they meet a mysterious religious cult of children. With no adults in sight the terror brews as the new arrivals find the secrets of the prospering ...