#social distancing streaming list
Halloween Watchlist
Social Distancing: The Shining (Movie) - #34
Synopsis: The film’s central character is Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the isolated historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Wintering over with Jack are his wife, Wendy Torrance (Shelly Duvall), and young son, Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd). Danny is gifted with “the shining”, psychic abilities that enable him to see into the hotel’s horrific past. The hotel cook, Dick Hallorann (Crothers), also has this ability and is able to communicate with Danny telepathically. The hotel had a previous winter caretaker who went insane and killed his family and himself. After a winter storm leaves the Torrances snowbound, Jack’s sanity deteriorates due to the influence of the supernatural forces that inhabit the hotel, placing his wife and son in danger.
My Take: Can’t have a Halloween watchlist without at least one Stephen King movie on it. This is one of the few movies which I found was better than the book. Though the Overlook Hotel seems somewhat cozy upon our initial introduction to the property, it doesn’t take long before the audiences realize that the Torrances need to get the hell out of dodge. Not only should the thought of just the three of them being confined to a 142 room hotel for the winter (6-months), been enough to have them decline the “opportunity” for employment, but when it was learned the previous winter caretaker went nuts and cut up his family before dying himself that should’ve been all that was needed for them to get far, far away. But Jack was out of work, had alcohol problems and as a result couldn’t find employment anywhere else. He was weak in mind and soul, in need of a job to support his family which of course was the perfect storm for the evil that reside in that Overlook Hotel. Jack Nicholson is fantastic as Jack Torrance, who eventually comes unhinged under the pressure of his own self-doubt and spirits haunting the hotel. Shelly Duvall conveys her terror and shock at Jack’s transformation well, and Danny Lloyd was excellent as the child who struggled with not only his shine and intimately understanding the horror of his father’s slow mental deterioration. The story terrifying and will have many sleeping with the lights on after watching. This is another great movie, that epitomizes horror.
Halloween Watchlist
Social Distancing: The Conjuring Movie Series (Movies) - #33
Synopsis: The films present a dramatization of the supposed real-life cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent yet controversial cases of haunting. The main series follows their attempts to assist people who find themselves possessed by demonic spirits, while the spin-off films focus on the origins of some of the entities the Warrens have encountered.
My Take: This series is not the scariest out there, but it definitely brings its creepy moments and loads of suspense. It does a great job at setting the mood with houses that are centuries old, with peeling paint and nefarious looking furniture that was left behind by the previously disappeared owners. Or convents or orphanages is the middle of some dark forest or abandoned pasture which will cause even the most staunch skeptic to run in the other direction. Lol. Lastly this series does a good job at tying each sequel or prequel together with the glue being Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga). They relationship is warm, relatable and interesting. Additionally, they’re a formidable foe to the demons and spirits to who are attempting to destroy those whom they’re trying to help.
My favorite movies out of the series in order of favorability: The Conjuring, Annabelle Creation, The Nun, and The Conjuring 2. The stories of the first two movies listed are really good, with Annabelle Creation being heartbreaking considering what happens to some of the characters in this. The Nun did an excellent job at establishing that ominous and spine-chilling mood. While The Conjuring 2 was just creepy and weird. This is a great movie series and a scary way to spend your Halloween night!
Halloween Watchlist
Social Distancing: The Exorcist (Series) - #31
Synopsis: Angela Rance believes something is very wrong in her home. Plagued by increasingly frightening nightmares, she isn’t the only one in her family suffering: her husband Henry is slowly losing his mind, while their older daughter spends all of her time locked in her room and the younger one believes she hears strange noises coming from inside the walls. Desperate, she turns to Father Tomas Ortega – the progressive leader of their suburban Chicago parish – setting him on a collision course with old school Vatican soldier Father Marcus Brennan, as all their fates become entangled in a battle against an ancient force of evil.
My Take: This show picks up decades after the events of the 1973 classic horror film – The Exorcist. If you’re looking for true horror, this show is it. The eerie and the terrifying breaks the scales in this one. The horror not only lies in the fact that after all these years, Reagan MacNeil/Angela Nance (Geena Davis) (and now her husband and children) are being haunted and terrorized by the demon that possessed her years earlier, but that Father Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) and his mentor, Father Keane (Ben Daniels) have to contend with their own past misjudgments and mistakes which may either make them vulnerable to possession or undermine their attempts to help Angela and her family.
The acting in this series is fantastic, and the chemistry between the actors is wonderful and most notably between Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels. All of their interactions popped. This show does a great job at capturing the essence of what old school horror used to be – spine-chilling. You’ll need to have nerves of steel IMO to watch this at night and in the dark. I always watched the episodes during the day. Or if at night with the lights on. The show only has two seasons, (20) episodes. With the first season extending the storyline of Reagan MacNeil from the movie, while the second season explores various demons who are haunting other poor souls. Again, great series that is the epitome of scary.
Halloween Watchlist
Social Distancing: Dracula (Series) - #30
Synopsis: In an update of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel, Dracula travels to London, pretending to be an American entrepreneur with an interest in bringing modern science to Victorian England. The guise conceals the vampire’s much darker plans for revenge against those who ruined his life centuries earlier. His plan hits a snag when he meets and falls deeply in love with a woman who appears to be the reincarnation of his dead wife. Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays the title role in this provocative drama.
My Take: Just like zombies, vampires are old and tired. However, this series explored an interesting angle on Stoker’s creation. You have the love story, which seems to be a fundamental element of a vampire story, between Dracula (Jonathan Rhys Meyer) and Mina (Jessica De Gouw). But for those who haven’t read Bram Stoker’s novel, that story was anything but a love story. In fact, there was no romance in the novel for Dracula. He was pure evil, but modernist and beyond have made him into this romantic figure who was driven just as much by love than his blood lust, but I digress. There is the love story, which has its appeal. However, what’s most intriguing about this series is Dracula’s relationships with others. He develops an explosive liaison with Lady Jane Weatherby (Victoria Smurfit) who is his nemesis being that she’s a vampire hunter, but their chemistry is fire way more so than what he has with Mina. Additionally, he has a strange alliance with Abraham Van Helsing (Thomas Kretschman), who is also his nemesis, but their common goal of taking down the Order of the Dragon, helps forge their partnership. My favorite relationship is between Dracula and Renfield (Nonzo Anozie). He, Nonzo Anozie, is great in this. I loved the character of Renfield.
He is extremely important to Dracula, not only because he handles his business, being that he’s an attorney, but that he is his friend. What’s also intriguing about this series is the fact that Dracula was seeking revenge in a way that wasn’t just about violently taking people down. He was doing it strategically with business, by introducing innovation (the energy of electricity) to London society as well as having a black man, which was unheard of, as his attorney. The acting in this was good from almost everyone. Jonathan Rhys Meyers captured Dracula’s intensity well, but at times was laughably over the top with his petulance and rage. Katie McGrath was unfortunately the weak spot in this. Her acting was abysmmal, but she’s never been the greatest actress anyway. Everyone else played their roles well, with just the right amount of nuance and believability.
There are many fascinating layers to this series. It’s too bad it only got one season, so most were barely explored. But it still kind of worked for the show. The series finale closed out well, leaving few open ends. So if they’d been given another season, many relationships would’ve dramatically shifted, which may have diminished the appeal of the show. The series only has 10 episodes. So this is one you can binge watch over a weekend.
Social Distancing: Challenger: The Final Flight (Docu-Series) - #29
Synopsis: When the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986, it was the most shocking event in the history of American spaceflight. The deaths of seven astronauts, including the first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe, were watched live on television by millions of viewers. However, what was more shocking was that the cause of the disaster might never be uncovered.
My Take: Many of us were either babies/children or not even born when the Challenger disaster happened, but I think many can recall hearing something about this at least at one point in their life. This series takes an interesting look behind the scenes of the Challenger disaster. I enjoyed learning about the other astronauts on the flight. It seems like when I read or saw discussions about the topic it focused mainly on the teacher – Christa McAuliffe, who was on the flight. It was good to hear about the lives of the others who died in the tragedy. Also, it was interesting learning how NASA worked to improve the racial and gender diversity of the space program, how the decision to send a teacher up in space came about and what the astronaut training process entailed. What was sad and disturbing about this series was of course the untimely deaths of (8) individuals who were on the doomed shuttle, but the fact that those who knew of the deadly risk, under the circumstances, and thus could’ve and should’ve stopped the flight, didn’t, due to the monetary loss that would be suffered. The series highlights what we continue to see in our society, no matter the risk or how much tragedy comes from putting money over lives, sadly, for many, money will always take precedence over lives. This is a good educational series, especially for who’ve always had and interest in the space program and who are not familiar with all that happened with the Challenger disaster.
