Kaelyn Roundtree – The Witch (2015)
“It is an incredible exploration and dissection of 1600s Puritan culture. Its themes of repression, liberation, and witchcraft that accompany a layered character study of a patriarchal family that succumbs to their own humanity.” Atmospheric and a period piece, Robert Egger’s debut ranked high amongst Kaelyn’s favorites despite her indifference towards horror. For her, it presents a shocking, yet surprisingly relevant, scare that makes her not only shudder but think.
Sara Elazab – The Ring (2002)
In Sara’s perspective, The Ring is a horror classic, with a memorable premise centered on a cursed tape and a creepy figure that still provokes to this day. The Ring is up with the best in the genre as Samara’s harrowing backstory makes the novel all the more chilling. When sharing her love for this movie with the rest of The Pilot staff, Sara showed us her binder, which displayed a sticker of a cat crawling out of the television set.
Sienna Morgan – The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Halloween (or is it Christmas?) film that has defined a generation has wormed its way into the hearts of many. It holds a special place in Sienna’s heart for the nostalgia it evokes and the memories attached to it. Plus, it’s only gotten better over the years.
Karrigan Fitzpatrick – Corpse Bride (2005)
Tim Burton’s quintessential movie with, in Karrigan’s opinion, offers healthy doses of passion and the macabre. Based on an old folktale, Corpse Bride tells a touching story that tugs at the heartstrings. It’s beautiful stop-motion animation and fantastic musical numbers makes for a mesmerizing experience.
Eva – Coraline (2009)
Based on the Neil Gaiman book, the creepy tale of other worlds filled with doppelgangers that have buttons sewn into their eyes doesn’t seem to be the basis of a hit kids movie, but it’s attracted such a large following because of its quality animation and vibrant color scheme.
Vernon Demir – Goodfellas (1990)
Nothing is scarier than real life.
Victoria Kidala – It (1990)
A modern classic horror movie that Victoria loves for its humor between the cast and genuine scares. In her opinion, both the original and the sequel are good, but the first is especially enjoyable.
Noelani Alvarez – Fear Street: Part One (1994)
Sometimes, a great movie is just a fun and sleazy slasher. Staged as a typical one-by-one bloodfest, the film slowly reveals a deeper and darker underbelly stretching far back in time. Noelani adores the camp of it all, and appreciates the representation of LGBTQ characters.
Vida Greyser – Tarot (2024)
Some horror movies are so dumb that they become good, and Tarot is no exception. With its comedic elements and reliance on stereotypical tropes of clueless characters that get killed off, Vida found it to be a great watch. There were also interesting elements in the film’s use of tarot card readings, which prove to be unique.
Mr. Hajjar – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The movie that started it all, the 1974 cult hit still stands as one of horror’s finest and most influential works. It single-handedly brought tropes that would later define the slasher film into the mainstream and popularized it for modern audiences. “The film was so low-budget that it almost looks like a documentary at points, straddling the line between fiction and snuff film,” Mr. Hajjar said. “Some of the props (such as the skeleton) and some of the blood in the film are actually real because of how little money they had for special effects, which is chilling.”
