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Happy October, gang! With the Halloween season now officially underway, we have an incredible day of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to enjoy. Arrow Video has put together three stunning special edition sets for Children of the Corn, Don’t Torture A Duckling, and The Suspicious Death of A Minor, but we also have several other modern cult titles debuting as well, including Popcorn, 976-evil, and The Hidden.

For all you Charles Lee Ray enthusiasts out there, Cult of Chucky and the Chucky: Complete 7-Movie Collection both come home on Tuesday, and Scream Factory is also releasing the recent indie horror thriller Jackals on Blu-ray.

Other notable home entertainment titles bowing on October 3rd include American Horror Story: Roanoke, A Ghost Story, Haunters: The Art of the Scare, Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut, iZombie: The Complete Third Season, and Vampyr: Special Edition.

Of all the legendary early horror films Carl Theodor Dreyer’s vampire nightmare was once the most difficult to appreciate — until Criterion’s restoration of a mostly intact, un-mutilated full cut. Dreyer creates his fantasy according to his own rules — this pallid, claustrophobic horror is closer to Ordet than it is Dracula or Nosferatu.

Vampyr

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 437

1932 / Color / 1:19 Movietone Ap. / 73 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 39.95

Starring: Julian West (Baron Nicolas De Gunzberg), Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Sybille Schmitz, Jan Hieronimko, Henriette Gérard.

Cinematography: Rudolph Maté

Art Direction: Hermann Warm

Film Editor: Tonka Taldy

Original Music: Wolfgang Zeller

Written by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Christen Jul from In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu

Produced by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Julian West

Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr is a tough row to hoe for horror fans, many of whom just...

Special Mention: Un chien andalou

Directed by Luis Buñuel

Written by Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel

France, 1929

Genre: Experimental Short

The dream – or nightmare – has been a staple of horror cinema for decades. In 1929, Luis Bunuel joined forces with Salvador Dali to create Un chien andalou, an experimental and unforgettable 17-minute surrealist masterpiece. Buñuel famously said that he and Dalí wrote the film by telling one another their dreams. The film went on to influence the horror genre immensely. After all, even as manipulative as the “dream” device is, it’s still a proven way to jolt an audience. Just ask Wes Craven, who understood this bit of cinematic psychology when he dreamt of the central force behind A Nightmare on Elm Street, a film intended to be an exploration of surreal horror. David Lynch is contemporary cinema’s most devoted student of Un chien andalou – the severed ear at...

Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time for one reason: the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. Enjoy!

Special Mention:

Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking dance routines and unique vocals have influenced generations of musicians, dancers, and entertainers. He was one of entertainment’s greatest icons, and like most gifted individuals, he was always pushing boundaries, reinventing himself, and testing his limits. One of his biggest accomplishments was Thriller, a 14-minute...

Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.

As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.

****

50: Thundercrack!

Directed by Curt McDowell

Written by George Kuchar

1975, USA

Thunderstruck! is by far the most obscure film you will find on this list. It is without a doubt one of the true landmarks of Underground cinema. With a screenplay by veteran underground film maker George Kuchar (story and characters by Mark Ellinger) and directed Curt McDowell (than student of Kuchar),

Thundercrack! is a work of a crazed genius.