Halloween is in the air so have a few scary titles on this list, old and new. I’m not sure this comes under that category. There are instances in one’s life where we’d like to run away from home for a short break, especially if one has children, but, no, we’d miss all the chaos. The always reliable Willem Dafoe as mysterious “businessman” Anniston acts on this desire in what is deemed a thriller, but it doesn’t quite reach that level, when he rents the financially and emotionally troubled Charles’s basement for a large sum of cash. Anniston is the answer to all his problems, but is he? They embark on an unusual journey, both looking for answers, with the assistance of some ancestral African masks, but I don’t think they ever quite find them. I know I didn’t. Although critics were not impressed, Willem drew me in, as he always does, but I’m still not sure what was the purpose of his character’s actions, or who he was. It’s a case of a bit of this and a bit of that.

This triptych of short stories is the work of horror and fantasy author Clive Barker. Stephen King was quoted as saying, “I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker.” High praise, indeed. Jenna is a student whose illness makes the smallest of noises overwhelm her. Her parents’ chewing sees her taking refuge in a strange B&B run by an elderly couple who may not be what they seem. Mary is approached by the psychic Simon, who claims he is communicating with her dead son Miles, and much to Mary’s surprise, it does appear to be the case. Or is it? A bookseller owes money to shady people, and to save his life, tells hitman Bennett of the “Book of Blood”, a rare tome worth a million dollars, that’s located in an abandoned town. He travels to said town where he and his driver experience inexplicable and supernatural phenomena. Although not fast-paced, this is an intense and disturbing journey.

This is a strange one, I must say. It is more mysterious than scary. It depends on where your horror threshold lies. When a young girl mysteriously disappears, a former police officer sets out to investigate and comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity. But I’m not sure what actually was going on half the time, which keeps one guessing I suppose. It held my attention, but I’m still somewhat puzzled.

“Once it was human, even as you and I! That quote is from the poster of the 1958 version of The Fly with Vincent Price. I have never forgotten the fly stuck in the spider web screaming “help me, help me” in this squeaky voice. But I’m going for the David Cronenberg’s 1986 version for this list, with Jeff Goldblum as the eccentric scientist who transforms into a man/fly hybrid after an experiment goes awry. The film is based on the short story by French-British writer George Langelaan, which was first published in 1957 in Playboy. Even though I’ve viewed The Fly many times, I always enjoy watching Jeff do his thing.

This horror thriller is certainly minimalistic when it comes to dialogue. There is very little. An exiled anxiety-ridden homebody must battle an alien who’s found its way into her home. Kaitlyn Dever is excellent as a young woman whose home is invaded by aliens. There’s no cute little ET phoning home in this one. These guys are very nasty. Stephen King is said to have written that the film is “brilliant, daring, involving, scary.” It’s certainly the latter.

Personally, this is the best of The Omen franchise. Perhaps it is because it was different from what was on offer back in 1976. There are some scenes that still have an impact. Every time I see a truck with panes of glass, The Omen springs to mind. The expectation of what you thought may happen was an unsettling aspect of the film. Robert Thorn is approached by a priest at the hospital where his wife has had a stillborn child. He suggests that they take a healthy newborn whose mother has just died in childbirth and Robert agrees without Katherine’s knowledge. On relocating to London, strange events, and the ominous warnings of a priest, lead him to believe that the child he took from that Italian hospital is evil incarnate. And indeed, all hell breaks loose for anyone who Damian takes a dislike to. Still excellent viewing.

I’m not very fond of water, be it sea, lake or river, whether I’m in it or on it, except if it’s the Manly Ferry or the Staten Island Ferry. And I did go on the Ilala which did service Lake Malawi back in the day. I’m definitely not likely to ever go under it even though I’m fascinated by ocean life, shipwrecks, David Attenborough etc. If you’re claustrophobic, The Abyss is terrifying. But it is an excellent film from James Cameron with a talented ensemble cast led by Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Bud and Lindsey are separated petroleum engineers, who still have some issues to work out. They are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL with a top-secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on Earth. Disturbing, edge of the seat viewing.

We’re still in the water, and although dangerous and scary I’m sure, swimmers of the English Channel are a courageous breed. Gertrude Ederle is definitely one of those. The daughter of a German butcher from Manhattan, Ederle trained at the Women’s Swimming Association as a competitive swimmer, becoming the youngest world record holder in swimming and won gold in the 1924 Olympics, when she decided to attempt crossing the channel. Before doing so she first swam 22 miles from Battery Park in New York to Sandy Hook, NJ, setting a record that stood for 81 years. She contracted with two newspapers and sold her story, thereby financing her quest, and achieving her dream on 6 August 1926 in 14 hours and 34 minutes. Her record stood until Florence Chadwick swam the Channel in 1950. And did you know that the first women to swim in the Olympics were Australians Fanny Durack and Wilhelmina Wylie, who competed in the 1912 Stockholm Games? We swim from birth down here, before we’ve taken a step. This is an uplifting film of determination against all odds.