My new book, SLEEPERS IN THE SNOW, will be hitting the shelves from October 8th. By then the leaves will be falling, the mists will be rolling in from the moors, the woolly sweaters will be out of storage again and trust me, by then you’ll be in the mood for parkin, mulled wine, and ghost stories.
And while we’re waiting, here’s a list of six great horror movies to get us all into the mood:
A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (2003): This masterpiece of Korean horror relies on visual poetry and a glacial, ominous build-up to a genuinely brilliant twist.
ONIBABA (b/w, 1964): A woman and her daughter-in-law live in a desolate field of susuki grass, which grows taller than their home. They eke a meagre living from murdering passing samurai and selling their effects to buy food, dumping the bodies in a well hidden in the grass. The deep unease of the storyline is highlighted by the claustrophobic, cage-like effect of the long grass, and its continuous, ghostly whispering.
DARK WATER (2002): The original Nakata movie: far superior to the lukewarm American remake, it combines mundane details to create a tapestry of suburban unease, in which the rain becomes a vehicle for the most unsettling of ghost stories.
THE BABADOOK (2014): A beautifully rendered story of the troubled relationship between a mother and child, in which the monster serves as a metaphor for trauma, grief and depression.
THE ORPHANAGE (2007): A young woman, Laura, fulfils her dream of taking over the orphanage in which she was raised as a child. She moves in with her husband and their adopted son, hoping to take in other children. But when her son vanishes without trace in the wake of ghostly happenings, and Laura attempts to process her grief, she begins to understand the place’s secret history. Poetic, and superbly haunting.
LES DIABOLIQUES (b/w, 1955): The brilliant French original (ignore the pointless US remake) features the abusive headmaster of a French boarding-school, who becomes the victim of a murder plot planned by his wife and his mistress. A closed environment, an undertone of religious guilt, a gradual escalation of dread and a Christie-like twist at the end all contribute to the film’s reputation as a classic.
