Beyond Chucky: Scary Alternatives to Halloween TV

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The Halloween approach is bringing a stream of horror to television and broadcast, and this year the offerings have a classic appeal: reboots. Syfy and “Chucky” in the US, “Day of the Dead” on Syfy and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” on Amazon Prime Video. But if the familiar tastes of these series – and the frenzy or melodrama that come with them – don’t appeal to you, here are a few new or upcoming series that are scary with a twist.

This is Mike Flanagan’s third horror miniseries for Netflix. “The Hill House Haunted” (based on the novel by Shirley Jackson) and “The Haunting of Bly Manor” (adapted from “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James). “The Midnight Rite” puts the same emphasis on the cold, foreboding atmosphere as in previous shows, but seems to take advantage of its lack of affiliation with any particular literary source. (Stephen King has a general vibe.) It feels looser, weirder and more human, especially in the first episodes.

Most of the praise for this goes to the stars, Zach Gilford and Hamish Linklater. Gilford plays the native of a small, isolated coastal island who returns home after a period in jail for killing someone while driving drunk; Linklater also plays a temporary replacement for the island’s aging priest.

Gilford perfectly captures the guilt and resentment of his prodigal son—a performance far better than the show needs—and Linklater, for childlike flamboyance, is hilarious as the well-meaning priest who wreaks havoc on the island. Flanagan’s mix of Christian and vampire lore and imagery is brilliant, but the later chapters are a bit heavy on the preaching and philosophical narrative. Patience is rewarded with a long cleansing with blood and fire.

Streaming service Topic will premiere this French mini-series on October 28 in the extreme crime-thriller category, which accounts for a relatively high percentage of Northern European TVs. The tunnels under Paris and his mother (Nathalie Baye), a retired detective, set out to find him in a story involving dirty cops, darknet thrill seekers, mass graves and a chase through very congested areas. Not for the claustrophobic.

While the show can be brutal and tense at times, the really scary thing about it is that French film superstar Baye (10 Cesar nominations, four victories) seems to be having a blast as the domineering, foul Catherine. mouthed, relentless ex-cop. An onscreen avatar of talent and indifference since the early 1970s, Baye looks perfect at home using a tattoo pen against a reluctant suspect or pissing off her daughter’s ex just because she wanted to. Baye also takes the trouble to put on a full-blown performance, which is not uncommon in the genre, as the case’s startling revelations give Catherine some perspective on her mistakes as a mother and a police colleague. As a bonus, the show reunites Baye with her co-star Sergi López in “A Pornographic Affair” (1999); The grumpy exes in “Nox” may be the same characters twenty years later.

US psychological crime drama it stops just below the supernatural but specializes in horror and weird vibes. Destroyed cop Harry Ambrose, played by Bill Pullman for four seasons, is filled with feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy—he is, at least in his own mind, the true sinner of the title—so naturally, he stumbled upon the season—long cases involving secret societies or cults or Nietzschean psychopathic killers. We know he will solve them because he is a stubborn and talented detective. But it is not certain that on any given day, he will be able to get himself out of bed.

With the new season kicking off this week, the unexpected romance that Harry found in Season 3 has sprouted, which is great news because his partner, painter Sonya Barzel, is played by the wonderful Jessica Hecht. His ability to convey both bitterness and warmth in the same line sheds new light on Pullman’s Harry, who sometimes looks like a collection of tics, grimaces, and awkward silences – now we see him through Sonya’s eyes, and if he can, let’s put up with it, we can too. The season opens with the new couple on vacation on a picturesque New England island where the now retired Harry stumbles upon a missing persons case that may include racial animosities from the fishing fleet and grumbling, bare moon worshipers.

This animated ghost stories anthology is a Japanese analogue of comic book-inspired American series like “Creepshow”. Its ninth season was recently added by anime streaming service Crunchyroll, but catching up won’t be a hassle: Episodes are four minutes long.

Rough, somewhat primitive two-dimensional animation, like animated paper cutouts, pays homage to kamishibai-style street storytelling and entertainment using illustrated wooden boards. The stories are based on the usual variety of Japanese folk tales and urban legends; The latest batch features cautionary tales about the dangers of visiting your new husband’s unusually tall family or being born in the (non-existent) Year of the Cat.

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