Halloween at WSC: A Recap
Spooky season is over! We had an amazing time showing and watching our favourite horror films here at WSC, from acclaimed classics to body horror fresh off the big screen. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to last week and run through what Halloween was like at the Student Cinema.
1. The Substance (2024)
Halloween week started off with a bang, and by bang I mean whatever the hell this film was. I suppose the allure behind The Substance travelled far, since this excellent body horror debut by
Coralie Fargeat raked in one of our biggest crowds this term… and left over 150 students severely repulsed and uncomfortable. Its commentary on human vanity and body standards lent itself perfectly to the gruesome practical effects that brought this film to life (and drained a little from us). 4/5
2. Suspiria (1977)
Or should I say SUSPIRIA, because this was the loudest film L3 has ever seen. The last surviving magnetic print of the film exceeded expectations: the Goblins soundtrack was booming, Argento’s striking monochrome lighting bled right out of the screen and the scares have never been better. 4.5/5
3. Candyman (1992)
Honestly, I was a little disappointed by this one. Tony Todd has some excellent stage presence as the Candyman and there were some moments of genuine fear (like the bees!), but they left too few and far between. Still a fun watch, just nothing amazing. 3.5/5
4. Coraline (2009)
The comfiest movie in our line-up, Coraline has quickly become a favourite of mine. It has everything: an endearing protagonist, a tale of childhood loneliness and how we cope with it, and a cute cat! All brought to life by stop-motion animation that still impresses, 15 years later. I also particularly loved how the film used the contrast between worlds to bring the audience into the ‘magical’ other world and then turn that world into an absolute nightmare. 5/5
5. Halloween (1976)
To me, this film should come near the very top of any ‘most important horror movies of all time’ list. It brought the slasher genre into the mainstream, it created one of the most iconic horror movie characters of all time, and it’s a phenomenal exercise in tension. Its use of slow, handheld camera movements and an eerie atmosphere ushered the horror genre out of the 60’s, and essentially set up the slasher movie rules that so many of its successors adopted as the template for the genre. It also has one of the best film soundtracks ever made. I could go on and on. 5/5
6. Longlegs (2024)
Oz Perkins is one of my favourite upcoming contemporary horror directors who hasn’t really gotten his flowers yet. His Gretel & Hansel film is still one of the prettiest movies I’ve seen and my favourite fairy tale adaptation. So, seeing Longlegs get the reception it’s been getting is really validating to me. And I’m very shocked, since this is a weird movie. Its almost-crime procedural tone, the trippy visuals, Nicolas Cage’s unnerving performance; I don’t really know what to think of it, but I do know that I really enjoy sitting through this film. 4/5
And that’s it, folks! The end of another productive spooky season. Now we can focus on the real horrors, like Reading Week ending and having to go back to class.