Coulrophobics beware! It’s Halloween night and Art the Clown, the cold-blooded killer, is not wearing a creepy costume just for show.

Still/Born stays grounded thanks to the intense, dedicated performance of Christie Burke as the mother who means business in keeping her baby safe no matter what forces are against her.

The solo feature directorial debut of Colin Minihan, one half of the Vicious Brothers, makes his strongest impression yet with this engaging, visually striking film, set during apocalyptic times, about a woman, Molly (a fearless Brittany Allen), who finds herself stranded in the desert after her dumbass boyfriend is killed by a zombie.

As supremely black as a comedy can be, Bob Balaban’s brilliantly subversive feature directorial debut is deranged in all the right ways.

At the start of this horror-comedy for the highest of lowbrow tastes—produced by Sean S. Cunningham, written by Dean Lorey (who went on to Arrested Development), and directed by the great comic actor Bob Balaban—geeky teen protagonist Johnny Dingle (Andrew Lowery) announces in voiceover: “This day was the beginning of the end of my life.”

Encompassing three great traditions of horror—the Christmas, home-invasion, and babysitting subgenres—Better Watch Out is a twisted and twisty mash-up of dark delights as filtered through the lens of an ’80s teen comedy.

With inspired direction, loads of nudity, and a moody score, this is pure ’80s trash cinema, and evil-kid horror, at its finest.

Like its title, so succinct, even generic, until its meaning is put into clearer focus, Caught is a stellar example of what can be accomplished with little means but a whole lot of imagination, while also reminding us that it’s often the unknown that can be the most terrifying.

Claustrophobic, and exquisitely shot by Diego García (Neon Bull, Cemetery of Splendor), The Darkness transcends the horror tropes it gets its bones from, and becomes something beautiful, fantastical, and truly unnerving.

Despite the film’s ludicrously misleading title—the killer creatures featured actually encompass a wide range from mainly toads to snakes, turtles, spiders, gators, and beyond—the gloriously campy B-movie provides a darn good creepy-crawly time.

Perhaps best known for its infamous shish-kebab murder scene, this underappreciated slasher film has much more to offer, with a whole slew of show-stopping death setpieces and a stellar supporting cast, including Glenn Ford as Virginia’s doctor.

Twenty-four hours of gags, hazing rituals, and demonic possessions ensue in this genuine treat of a slasher film—no surprise coming from William Fruet, the director responsible for The House by the Lake, Spasms, and Funeral Home.

Expertly constructed and strongly acted—the two sadistic villains are truly skin-crawling and their prey authentic and sympathetic—Damien Power’s feature debut is at times excruciatingly cruel, yet always positively stunning.

This jam-packed, handsome, highly literate film satisfies as a gothic murder mystery and an inside look into the lively world of the music halls so popular at the time, while also offering its fair share of bloodletting.

Audacious, inventive (featuring some spectacular practical effects), sometimes hilarious and jaw-droppingly disgusting, and always totally bonkers, the film has more on its mind than pure gross-out—though it succeeds in that too. In any case, we promise you have never seen anything like it…

Rough and raw (visually as well as thematically), the ultra-tense film is painfully cruel yet purely satisfying, and, with the introduction of some revelations about Bernard’s father, it also serves as an intriguing exploration of three generations of violence.

Phobia is the strongest Hindi horror outing in ages, anchored by a fiery performance by Apte, who absolutely rivets the screen.