I love a good underdog story, especially when they can talk to the dead.

This little Laika Studios gem has been a favorite of mine since it first graced Cartoon Network back when I was a teenager. It’s a scary-themed but not frightening film intended for younger audiences, but the story is so well done that adults can enjoy it’s feel-good message of friendship and acceptance easily. My biggest critique of this film, directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler and available on Netflix as of this week, is the seemingly shallow understanding of justified rage vs. bullying. But I’ll get into that.

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Ah, a real haunted murder mystery. Let’s get unreliable!

I really enjoyed this one, the first movie in a while that gave me a little scare (although only in the moment) and had a story that didn’t make me want to jump in a canal myself. Directed by Ivan Kavanagh, The Canal is available on Prime Video and features ghosts, demons, murder, crime, and some cool-faux historical film footage.

(Also, I like this movie poster way better than the one they have on Amazon.)

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Well, this one is just kinda sad.

When I put this movie on the list, it was a real last minute addition, and I wasn’t super intrigued by it. It wasn’t until later that I realized it starred Liam Neeson, of all people, and Christina Ricci (The Addam’s Family for LIFE). Justin Long is in it, too, but I never recognize him by name (sorry, Justin.) I thought I might be in for a real treat with two actors who have graced the horror genre before, and Liam Neeson, but I didn’t find this move nearly as scary as I found it full of desperation and confused hope.

Directed by Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo and available on Hulu, I would recommend giving After.Life a chance if you’re into slow-moving think pieces on life and death and if you don’t mind seeing poor Ricci a bunch.

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