Halloween Special - Part 2: Five Obscure Horror Films You Should Have Seen

In the second part of our Halloween festivities, we're going to ensure you're all clued up on the best places to go for creepiness.

As such, here is our guide to five little-known horror films that film geeks such as yourselves should know all about. Hit the jump and test yourself:


1) Audition

I have an ambition: to show Audition to a naive person who has never heard of it; to tell them it is a sweet, if a little surreal, romantic comedy. It is, of course, until about halfway through. A widowed TV executive is convinced by a friend to use a fake casting session to scout for a new bride. Enter Asami, a shy, young, respectful girl who seems the perfect choice. The couple date and develop a relationship, all is well; until Takashi Miike begins to cackle and you realise you've been drawn in by one of the most harrowing and twisted slasher flicks every made. Genius.


2) The Plague Of The Zombies/The Reptile

I put these two as one as they were filmed back to back with the same sets and cast.

The Reptile is a little cheesy, and, yes, the villain is essentially a giant lizard, but this is still a film oozing with atmosphere, though not as much as The Plague Of The Zombies. Take a look at that graveyard dream sequence, filmed in broad daylight, and tell me that any amount of CGI fluff can top it.


3) Ils

The most terrifying part of this French-language film is that it's a dramatisation of fact. Chilling as the house invasion is, it's far scarier to realise that the true details of the case are scarier than any fiction. The American remake is not a patch on this and there is no way I'm blowing the identity of the killers for you.


4) The Devil Rides Out

More Hammer goodness. Most people remember this as one of the few occasions where Christopher Lee plays the good guy, but there's more to it than that. Despite some ropey monsters and old-time effects, the film still has an impact that will keep even the most hardened Michael Bay fan interested.


5) [Rec]

Just when you thought that "found footage" films were garbage, we have a film that manages to convince you that the characters actually have reasons not to put the camera down and scares the bloody hell out of you as well. The final scene of [Rec] is as scary as anything in Paranormal Activity, but holds your interest in between jump scares; a very impressive achievement indeed.


If [Rec] and Audition interest you, along with hilarious discussion of other horror films, then head on over to long-time friends of the blog, Lee and Darren's Black Dog Podcast and listen to their Five Weeks of Horror specials... If you dare....