Wondering what to watch this weekend? This week, we have a timeless hair-raising movie, a spooky experience that tugs at your deepest fears and MI6 puffer fish. Plus: a non-creepy Halloween classic.
Monster Inside: America’s Most Extreme Haunted House - Hulu
Picked by Keara O’Driscoll
Let's be real, sometimes people like to be a little scared. There is a whole business behind our deepest fears. Using some people's worst nightmares as inspiration for others' favorite movies or theme parks. Especially during this time of the year, haunted houses are all the rage. However, McKamey Manor is not your average haunted house. In this “immersive horror experience,” participants voluntarily allow themselves to be essentially tortured physically and psychologically throughout the attraction. All guests must sign a waver to enter and admissions cost just a can of food for founder Russ McKamey’s dog. Hulu breaks down the logistics of this house of horrors with interviews describing the uniquely disturbing experience.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/vYexezLbQDE?feature=shared[youtube]
Throwback Picks:
The Exorcist (1973) - Max
Picked by Lawrence Banton
With Halloween just days away, I figured I'd close out my spooky selections with an OG flick and one that was truly a trendsetter in the realm of religious horror. In my opinion, The Exorcist (1973) paved the way for films like Carrie, The Conjuring, and Annabel as it followed a young teen who was possessed by a demon. It takes a lot to shake me when it comes to horror and as many times as I've watched this film and know what to expect, there is still something… unsettling about it. I watched with the lights on – for your information – and I'm not afraid to admit it! To me, this genre of religious horror hits in a different way compared to "scary" movies about knife-wielding, masked serial killers mainly because of its use of spirituality.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU2eYAO31Cc[youtube]
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Apple+
Picked by Senior Editor Dina Ross
The world is a scary place right now, and this TV classic is the Halloween pick for anyone who just needs something nice to watch. Every year, right as rain, we watch as Charlie Brown and the gang go searching for the Great Pumpkin, the legendary being that hands out toys each Hallow's Eve. Join me on this happy little adventure amid this season's sea of spookiness.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3gcnUYZEAY[youtube]
Spy in the Ocean: A Nature Miniseries - PBS
Picked by Newsletter Writer Graison Dangor
I feel a little bad that humans are bothering other animals with robot fakes of their species. But the spy robots show us some amazing things, like when hundreds of crabs gather around Spy Crab to protect it from a stingray. So if spying helps us see animals as more than biological robots, then annoying them is worth it. Also, sometimes the spy robots are cute in an awkward way, like the Spy Puffer which looks like a high-tech bath toy.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE-8FNyeZx8&list=PLvxs_j5q540bdPfHEZXOD6O5C1NntHdid&index=1p[youtube]