The best spooky Halloween movie you’ve never heard of 👻 🎃
The best spooky Halloween movie you’ve never heard of 👻 🎃
Plus my top 7 (mostly unknown) picks for spooky films 📽️
When I was younger, I became obsessed with abandoned buildings. Honestly, I still am. All you have to do is look at my most recent photos to get a sense of how obsessed I am with the unknown.
They say you never forget your first love and for me, that was none other than Danvers Insane Asylum in Danvers, MA. I was 12. One of the many Kirkbride buildings, Danvers, was designed to keep patients safe, secure, and well cared for. The "bat-wing" style was meant to make the most use of sunlight and to allow the best air circulation. The architecture itself was designed to be as healing as the staff inside of it.
Eventually, Danvers became just like the rest of the asylums of the time—a well-intentioned snake pit that spawned horrifying practices that could be described as abusive at best and horrifying instruments of torture at worst.
The deinstitutionalization process began in the 60s, and by the mid-80s most of the wings had been shut down, with all patients moved out by 1989. Old equipment, patient files, family photos, and magazine clippings all remained. Even former lobotomy setups lay waiting for their next operation. Did you know the pre-frontal lobotomy was perfected at Danvers? Sorry, but if that information was going to be floating around in my head, it needed to be in yours too.
As the ruins were left to decay, urban explorers captured somber remembrance of what the building had been and what these lives had endured. I was obsessed with sites like Opacity (RIP) that captured these moments. Now, I just scroll Instagram for the best photos of decaying buildings.
This is where Session 9 director/writer Brad Anderson really shines. He takes an already captivating story that’s just waiting to be told and transforms it into one of the creepiest, most historically compelling movies I’ve ever seen. The best part? It’s filmed at the actual asylum. Also, the story really is super creepy. I still get freaked out thinking about it.
Filmed on location and released in 2001, the film follows contractors Gordon, Phil, Mike, Hank, and Jeff, as they’re hired to eliminate asbestos so the city can turn the building into town offices. Each character has their own set of troubles, the two most prevalent being that Gordon has a new baby and his marriage is falling apart, while Hank stole Phil’s girlfriend and likes to remind him every chance he gets. So yeah, there’s a bit of tension. Oh, and they’ve agreed to do this 2-3 week job in a week’s time, so there’s added pressure there. It’s kind of the perfect storm for a major breakdown.
It doesn’t take long for things to get kind of terrifying.
While poking around in the basement, one of the contractors uncovers a former patient’s therapy session audio tapes and becomes obsessed with listening to them. The patient, Mary Hobbes, has multiple personalities and is at Danvers for having killed her entire family when she was 14. The thing is, she doesn’t remember. Her way of coping is through these personalities, and slowly we’re introduced to each one: The Princess (representing innocence); Billy (representing protection); and eventually Simon, who delivers the best closing line of the movie (but I won’t spoil it for you).
I have to tell you, this right here is the clincher for me. Hearing Mary walk her doctor through the details of this horrific night, switching with ease between personalities, complete with transformative changes in her voice, is one of the eeriest parts of this film, and it parallels perfectly with the rising tensions between the crew.
To be honest, this is a film that’s hard to describe in the detail it deserves, because while there’s not a lot of shocking plot twists and turns, it’s the use of the tools it does have—an abandoned insane asylum, a bunch of hair-raising therapy tapes, a whole lot of mounting tension—that it uses so incredibly well.
Session 9 is one of those rare films that doesn’t focus on gore or cheap scare-tactics to engage the viewer and keep them on the edge of their seat. Instead, it uses psychological tactics to get inside your head and seriously CREEP YOU OUT. It really gets in your psyche and under your skin, and refuses to leave. I don’t know about you, but that’s my kind of Halloween movie.
A version of this piece was originally published by me for Substream in 2017
7 Scary Movies to Creep You Out This Halloween
If you’ve already seen Session 9 or are just looking for a few more suggestions, check out these relative unknowns. In no particular order:
Boo (2005) —Was this movie actually good or did I just think it was a cute title and liked the filming location? Who knows. But I have fond memories of it.
The Unbinding — Ghosts. Mythical things. Spirit boxes. Oh, and it’s all real, as in, it’s a documentary not a fictionalized account of events. I loved this.
The Barbarian—my newer pick because it surprised me at every turn.
Hellier —From our friends that made The Unbinding comes Hellier. Technically it’s a TV show but, you can binge it and pretend it’s two movies in one. It’s weird and the second season isn’t as good as the first, but it’s a wild ride and even if you roll your eyes at this kind of stuff, you’ll probably love it. Because I really, really did. So much so that I even joined their Patreon.
The Haunting of Hill House (1999 movie) Once again, not sure if I just loved this because it coincided with my obsession with Catherine Zeta Jones or I was fascinated by the Vincent Price stuff but, I loved this. I still have nightmares about one specific scene
The Gift (2015) — Not a Halloween movie per se but, very creepy and doesn’t get enough love. Jason Bateman. Watch it.
The Black Phone —I know, this one isn’t super unknown but I feel like not enough people have seen it. Spooky!
Thanks for reading! I have something special planned for Halloween, so if you liked this, be sure to subscribe and check back in then. Have a great week!
Immediately adding Session 9 to my watch list🤩 Also there’s just something about abandoned buildings, especially ones where things have been left in place. It’s like entering the backrooms, or a liminal space that is both fascinating and slightly creepy😂
I was desperate to see The Black Phone when it was in theatres! It looks sooo spooky!