‘Shocktober’ Media Recommendations

Jay Weaver recommends more media for October:

The Horror: MANSION (Lost in Cult, 2024)

Purchasable from: Fangamer & Lost in Cult

Departing from recommending video games, here’s a recommendation for a book about video games. While this compendium does not encompass the entire breadth of my media intake and interests, it does provide a fascinating insight into the development and creative processes of some of the interactive medium’s best horror hits. The Horror: MANSION collects a series of essays, interviews, and histories from excellent writers about games such as Alisa, Fear and Hunger, Faith, Anatomy, Resident Evil and World of Horror. Words by various horror and horror-adjacent writers such as Adam Millard and Sarah Leboeuf weave an enticing narrative feel throughout the text and insights from artists such as Gareth Damien Martin (creator of Citizen Sleeper) decorate the anthology with their enthralling perspectives. If you are interested in horror, videogames, architecture – or any combination of those things – then you owe it to yourself to read and learn from The Horror: MANSION.

Tarot (Screen Gems, 2024)

Purchasable from: Most major digital and physical media purchasing platforms

Some have said that to test the range and capabilities of a good critic, you should ask them to write positively about Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. And so, here I am, unironically recommending Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen’s Tarot to you to (more or less) the same effect – I hope after reading this you believe I am a good critic. Tarot is a horror film that follows a group of students after they accidentally curse themselves using a mysterious tarot card deck. Now, a critical critic would state that the highs of the film, the only good moments to some, are the death scenes, where both directors flaunt their creative faculties in memorably visceral and punishing sequences.

I would argue that Tarot is also worth watching with friends this Halloween for the sheer absurdity of watching teenagers commit themselves to the omnipotent and trapping power of tarot cards, for the absolute source of truth that Google presents in the film, for Jacob Batalon’s confusingly engrossing performance, and oh – for that ladder scene…

Dai Dark (Q. Hayashida, 2019 ongoing)

Purchasable from: Amazon

Q. Hayashida’s phenomenal Dorohedoro ran from 2000 to 2018 and left far more than just a mark in the minds of myself and many others. Here in 2024, we’ve been fortunate enough to experience yet another of her brilliant dark fantasy stories as each volume airs. Zaha Sanko, our protagonist in Dai Dark, is a teenager whose bones can grant wishes, so (naturally) everyone in the universe wants to rip out his bones. Hayashida’s horrifying premise has created a space opera far more personal than what most science-fiction or fantasy fans may be used to, and with each new reveal and character, the series creates a few more meters of depth to sink into. Dorohedoro was an excellent piece of dark fantasy, used to explore how the depth and range of different relationships drastically shape our ipseity, while simultaneously exploring themes of classism, prejudice, existentialism, and queerness. Dai Dark’s universe is dark, funny, thorough, and idiosyncratic, while also reminiscent of all of Dorohedoro’s highs and strengths — the rough and dense artwork is just the cherry on top to complete the wonderful sensory experience of another one of Q. Hayashida’s masterpieces.

Smiling Friends’ Halloween Specials (Goblins Caught on Tape, 2022 ongoing)

Available on: All4

Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack’s Smiling Friends has always been a means to grapple with the nebulous and estranged mess of the internet in the 21st century. An attempt to brutally force it into a kind of cohesion where the dense humour, mixed media, and loudness (both in audio and extravagance) of social media on everyone’s devices all conform to the three-act structure of a 10-minute animated sitcom episode with a singular over-ruling premise.

A Silly Halloween Special (season 1, episode 4) and Erm, the Boss Finds Love? (season 2, episode 4) both impressively encapsulate all of the show’s strengths. Both episodes are incredibly satisfying punchlines, depicting eclectic individuals to comment on the strangeness of the world and the peculiarities of who we live in it with. The dynamics between each member of Smiling Friends’ core cast is the key to keeping the show grounded, as all the main characters are completely comprehensible and relatable despite the chaos of their circumstances. While most nights of ‘Shocktober’ typically leave me holding my breath from discomfort and anxiety during a horror experience, it is also nice to feel my heart rate rise from to time from ten-minutes’ accumulation of laughter and chuckling instead.