This is not your conventional Halloween movie list. You won’t find any Nightmare on Elm Street or Chucky here. I have recently gotten into the wonderful French Horror movie genre and taken my view of the afterworld to a whole new level. But don’t get me wrong, I could never turn my back the good old American slashers! Here is my  list for a grueling Hallows Eve…

1. Martyrs (2008). This French horror film by Pascal Laugier will leave you with a creepy itch underneath your skin. Recommended to me by a local horror movie enthusiast, Martyrs is one of thee most disturbing movies I have seen in a long, long time. It took me a few weeks to get my hands on a copy because it was always out in the store, so I would go on the hunt for it now! It is the story of a young girl who was tortured and tormented for years by a mysterious party. She is forever haunted by her viscious experiences and makes it her mission to return the favor to her captors, only leading her best friend to suffer the same fate that she had escaped from. If you want to see and interesting yet violent movie this not one you want to miss!

2. The Orphanage (2007) A Spanish movie produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, this suspenseful, scary, and paranormal movie will keep you guessing all the way till the last line. A kind family restores their gigantic old world home to its original state, an Orphanage for handicapped children. Before they can open their doors for business  the caretakers adopted son starts talking to imaginary friends. Little did the family know these imaginary friends had actually been occupying the house longer than anyone could imagine and they want a new addition to their group… an emotional ride through a scary tale, do not pass up this movie!

3. High Tension (2003) Yet another brilliant French Horror film by Alexandre Aja, High Tension is a bloody, gory, and twisted movie. It is about two French college girls who go home on break to visit family. A carefree vacation turns into a slaughter as someone starts to pick off the girls family one by one. These scenes will have your stomach turning as they push the boundaries of horror. A surprise ending will have you tense in your seat! If you want a twisted bloodbath, you got one here!

4. Devil’s Rejects (2005) The second installment following Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses, Mr. Zombie really gains his balance as a horror film director. Much better than House of 1000 Corpses, this movie shows what happens to the original gang of backwoods murderers as they flee from the authority and continue their bloody rampage. This is a crass, good old, dirty slasher. You won’t find much class or thought in this movie, but you will see a lot of badassery!

5. Mothman Prophecies (2002) An older suspense movie that never disappoints, Mothman Prophecies is haunting to the very end. Richard Gere plays a reporter mysteriously drawn to a small town experiencing numerous bizzare, unexplainable events including psychic visions and sightings of ghostly beings. He stumbles onto the haunting story of the “Mothman” as he begins to connect all the dots to discover the underlying tragedy the town is about to experience.