10 Movies to Watch This Spooky Season

Ten Strange, Atmospheric Horror Films

The Gothmother is tired of seeing the same horror staples recommended every October, so she offers ten stranger, more atmospheric alternatives. Her list promises witches, vampires, haunted wilderness, religious trauma—and a supernatural reindeer. These films may be unsettling, surreal, or simply odd rather than conventional “teen-in-a-cabin” horror.

1. November (2017) A black-and-white folk tale set in a 19th-century Estonian village, where pagan beliefs, Christianity, ghosts, werewolves, and everyday survival all coexist. The Gothmother praises its eerie storybook look and its mix of melancholy, romance, grotesque humor, and people treating deals with the devil as ordinary business. The villagers even build uncanny creatures from whatever they can find—“IKEA is far from that.”

2. Messiah of Evil (1972) A woman searches a coastal California town for her missing father and finds a place that feels wrong long before anything is explained. Unsettling supermarket and movie-theater scenes make familiar public spaces feel unsafe. The Gothmother jokes that a supermarket should be comforting because “I buy cheese here.”

3. The Reflecting Skin (1990) In sunny 1950s rural Idaho, an eight-year-old boy believes his neighbor is a vampire while his older brother, played by a young Viggo Mortensen, grows close to her. The film’s beautiful, almost artificial colors make its darker undertones more disturbing. The Gothmother recommends it to viewers who like “standing in a field contemplating death.”

4. The Appointment (1981) After a family argument, a father begins having frightening dreams that suggest something terrible is coming. The film turns ordinary things—a hallway, a clock, a car ride—into sources of dread. Its very British emotional restraint gets a laugh: the characters face incomprehensible evil with the energy of someone whose train is five minutes late.

5. Eyes of Fire (1983) An 18th-century preacher tries to establish a community in a wilderness that seems actively hostile. The Gothmother highlights the practical effects and the film’s distinctive fear of being trapped outdoors, where there’s nowhere to run and the landscape itself feels dangerous.

6. The White Reindeer (1952) A young woman in Finnish Lapland seeks help to win her husband’s attention, but a miscast spell turns her into a were-reindeer who lures men into the woods. The Gothmother is delighted by the premise and the film’s beautiful, ancient-feeling look. Its short runtime, she insists, leaves no excuse not to watch it.

7. Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) Maya Deren’s brief experimental film follows a woman through a repeated, dreamlike sequence that may be a nightmare, another reality, or sleep paralysis. The Gothmother finds the ending deeply creepy and says both the scored and silent versions are frightening. She rates it 10/10 while admitting she wouldn’t watch it again.

8. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) A strange Czechoslovak blend of fairy tale, horror, and coming-of-age story that the Gothmother says is better experienced than explained. Its pastoral beauty hides something disturbing, like an antique doll that seems to turn its head. She also warns that the film includes uncomfortable themes involving adolescence and predatory behavior.

9. Dark Waters (1993) After her father’s death, a young woman goes to a remote island monastery and discovers rituals, catacombs, unsettling religious imagery, and cosmic horror. The Gothmother warns that the story is deliberately confusing, but calls it one of the list’s most purely Gothic choices: candles, an ancient building, religious trauma, and an entity beneath the floor.

10. The Juniper Tree (1990) This dark fairy tale, set in medieval Iceland, stars a young Björk. After their mother is executed for witchcraft, sisters Margit and Katla seek refuge with an elderly man and his son; one sister’s apparent magical abilities complicate the accusations. The black-and-white cinematography and volcanic landscape give the film a stark, almost prehistoric atmosphere.

Closing

The video closes with a request for viewers to suggest forgotten Eastern European horror, odd TV movies, Gothic melodramas, and folklore films. The Gothmother also mentions Patreon and Super Thanks support, then signs off by urging viewers to “go see something strange.”

Personality featured: The Gothmother (host) Notable figures mentioned: Rainer Sarnet, Viggo Mortensen, Edward Woodward, Maya Deren, Erik Blomberg, and Björk