It’s October, so bring on the scary movies. As long as there have been movies, there have been scary movies, from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Bride of Frankenstein to A Nightmare on Elm Street to X. 

A generation ago they were clustered in video stores in all-purpose “Horror” sections. There are now entire streaming services dedicated to them, like Shudder. 

But what if you want to get into the Halloween spirit but that traditional “horror” designation isn’t really for you? You just can’t stomach Jason or Freddy or Dracula traipsing into your screen?

Have no fear (or do, since that’s the whole point here. But I digress). There are plenty of movies in the other sections of the “Dick’s Picks” video store that can still scare the crap out of people. A guide to get you started:.

Comedy

The Hangover by Todd Phillips (2009)

Loss of control and circumstances are at the root of a lot of nightmares. YES, this is a funny movie: a tiger on the loose in a hotel room, a missing tooth, Mike Tyson and misplacing your friend who is supposed to be getting married. But what happens in Las Vegas sometimes scars you for life. 

Drama

Eighth Grade by Bo Burnham (2018)

Every parent’s nightmare: Watching your kid try and largely fail to make friends and fit in. Throw in social media omnipresence, awkward pool parties and acne. Stir. 

Action/Adventure

Prime Cut by Michael Ritchie (1972)

A Chicago enforcer (Lee Marvin) is sent to set a rogue Kansas City affiliate (Gene Hackman) straight. You see how sausage is made, how human traffickers shop for their prospective prostitutes at an agricultural expo and just how menacing a tractor combine can be. 

Science Fiction

2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick (1968)

NASA’s recent target practice on an asteroid brought home how dangerous space is. Contemplate how vast and weird space is. What happens if you are separated from your space ship? What if the AI in your space ship tries to kill you?

Western

Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch (1995)

Another nightmare: Moving to start a new life and new job, and it makes everything worse. Accountant William Blake (named after the nightmare-fuel painter and portrayed by Johnny Depp) is shot, hunted by bounty hunters across hostile terrain and escorted to the afterlife by a Native American named “Nobody.” (Gary Farmer).

War

The Debt by John Madden (2010)

Three Mossad agents hunt for a World War II Nazi war criminal in Cold War Berlin, with traumatic reverberations for all involved for years after. 

Documentary

Cartel Land by Matthew Heineman (2015)

Heineman embedded in Mexico among drug cartels, vigilantes, cops and bystanders. The footage, portrayals and even audio is harrowing. 

Those seven are just the tip of the gravestone obelisk.

It was tough to narrow it down. I could have thrown in Gravity in science fiction, or We Don’t Live Here Anymore in drama, or Sicario in action/adventure, or Fast Times at Ridgemont High in comedy, or Zero Dark Thirty in war, or The Great Silence in Western or The Act of Killing in documentary.

I guess I just did.

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