Fright flicks: What to watch this Halloween season

MANILA, Philippines — Did you hear that creaking sound? Look over your shoulder... something or someone might be creeping behind you.

If that kind of thrilling sensation fills you up, then Halloween must be a simple walk in the park.

Beyond the costumes and trick-or-treat sessions, what makes the season especially fun are the scary movies and series that pop up to deliver the frights, screams and jitters.

Philstar.com has compiled several of these projects to catch onscreen — unless they catch you first.

"In My Mother's Skin"

This Filipino film streaming on Prime Video was the only non-English language film at the Midnight Section of this year's Sundance Film Festival where it had its world premiere.

"In My Mother's Skin" is set in the Philippines at the end of World War II when a textile merchant mysteriously leaves his sickly wife Ligaya, 14-year-old Tala and young Bayani in their war-torn colonial house to barter for his family's freedom with the Japanese.

Tala seeks the help of a fairy portrayed by Jasmine Curtis-Smith who gives the young girl a magical insect to cure the dying Ligaya. The result is instant relief, but consequences of misplaced trust ensue, forcing Tala to make a distressing decision.

"The Fall of the House of Usher"

Horror film director Mike Flanagan, whose credits include "Oculus," "Hush" and "Gerald's Game," has settled quite well on Netflix where he has helmed "The Haunting" series" and the miniseries "Midnight Mass."

His latest endeavor on the platform is a miniseries inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, starring Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Carl Lumbly and Mark Hamill.

"The Devil on Trial"

The documentary "The Devil on Trial" is about the the first and only time a "demonic possession" was used as a defense in a US murder trial. The show streams on Netflix. 

"I Woke Up a Vampire"

Not everything has to be scary. Parents will want to pull up something they can watch with their little kids.

Streaming on Netflix is the series "I Woke Up a Vampire," which follows a human teenager that discovers she's half vampire and the powers that come with that make middle school even more complicated.

"Five Nights at Freddy's"

Who said Halloween is over by November? The horror movie "Five Nights at Freddy's," based on the popular video game of the same name by Scott Cawthon, hits Philippine cinemas on November 1.

"The Hunger Games" star Josh Hutcherson plays a guard who must survive being in the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.

Starring with Hutcherson are other actors with horror or thriller experience like Matthew Lillard ("Scream," "Thirteen Ghosts"), Elizabeth Lail ("You," "Countdown") and Mary Stuart Masterson ("Daniel Isn't Real," "Mad at the Moon").

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