Halloween House Party: Around the World By Halloween
Since I watch horror year-round, I use spooky season as an opportunity to fill in the blank spots on my scary movie bingo card. Over the past few years, I’ve been gradually working through long-running series, checking out unseen movies from my favourite directors, and exploring horror films from around the world.
This year, I thought it could be fun to share the challenge with the fine readers of Divination Hollow.
Here are the rules (this is all arbitrary and there is no prize, so feel free to adapt to your own needs as you see fit):
1. Between the Autumn Equinox and Halloween night, try to watch 10 horror movies, each from a different country (that can include your home country).
a. Short films count, as do TV movies and standalone episodes of horror anthology series (e.g. Masters of Horror, Cabinet of Curiosities, etc.)
b. If you’re not a big movie person, you may substitute books, short fiction, comics, or any other horror media.
2. Give yourself a bonus point if you’re able to work in a silent film, an animated film, and/or a found footage film (1 point for each).
3. Give yourself an extra 1/2 point for every different type of creature you encounter in your viewing journey.
4. Give yourself another 1/2 point for every cinematic decade you delve into.
5. The points system means nothing (but I’ll be curious to learn everyone’s score at the end of the month!).
If you need some inspiration, here are my picks for this year (share yours in the comments!).
Madison’s 2025 Watch List
Japan: Kwaidan (1964, dir. Masaki Kobayashi)
A three-hour anthology-style adaptation of the works of Lafcadio Hearn, a Greek/Irish journalist who settled in Japan and produced several collections of supernatural tales drawn from local folklore.
Korea: Thirst (2009, dir. Park Chan-wook)
A vampire movie by the director of Oldboy and The Handmaiden.
Hong Kong: A Chinese Ghost Story (1987, dir. Tony Ching Siu-Tung)
My local indie theatre is doing a Hong Kong cinema retrospective featuring this supernatural romance, inspired by the 16th century classic Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (I just finished reading the Penguin edition of the book, strongly recommend).
Indonesia: Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion (2022, dir. Joko Anwar)
Joko Anwar is a modern master of horror, responsible for supernatural chillers like Impetigore, last year’s Grave Torture, and my personal favourite, 2017’s Satan’s Slaves (a remake of the 1980 Indonesian classic Satan’s Slave, which is also super creepy). I’ve been meaning to watch this sequel for some time.
India: Sister Midnight (2024, dir. Karan Kandhari)
My friend recommended this recent film, which I’m told is a black comedy with a touch of vampirism.
Sweden: Haxan (1922, dir. Benjamin Christensen)
A classic I’ve shamefully never watched in its entirety, known for pairing shocking occult imagery with a scathing satire of witch trials.
France: The Vourdalak (2023, dir. Adrien Beau)
I’ve heard rave reviews for this period piece based on a Tolstoy story.
Britain: Brides of Dracula (1960, dir. Terence Fischer)
Hammer Horror mainstay Terence Fischer deserves to be named among the greatest horror directors of all-time, helming the studio’s takes on the classic monsters and Sherlock Holmes, as well as the superlative occult thriller The Devil Rides Out. His best works pair strong scripts and fine performances with shocking violence and a level of onscreen gore that was extreme for the time.
Brides of Dracula is his second entry in Hammer’s Dracula series; while Christopher Lee sat this one out, frequent collaborator Peter Cushing stars as Van Helsing.
United States: Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014, dir. Spike Lee)
Spike Lee’s remake of Bill Gunn’s arthouse vampire film Ganja & Hess, a landmark in Black American horror. Very intrigued to see how Lee’s take compares to the original’s visually striking fever dream style.
Canada: Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004, dir. Brett Sullivan)
A coming-age-tale about two deeply maladjusted sisters struck by lycanthropy, the first Ginger Snaps is one of the most unique and well-written werewolf movies in recent memory. I’ll be interested to see if this sequel retains the same level of character development and pitch-black wit.
I’ll be giving sporadic updates on my progress on Bluesky (@mmcsw13.bsky.social) and Twitter/X (@MMcSw13). Feel free to follow along and tell me how you’re making out!
By Madison McSweeney
Twitter: @MMcSw13
Instagram: madison.mcsweeney13
