Horror Film Diary Week 1

I’m hoping at some point to start making tik-toks about horror movies since I watch a lot and used to write about horror for a site when I was younger but I haven’t got round to filming yet .

I thought it would be fun if i had a little video diary on here just talking about my thoughts on what I watched each week.

I watch pretty much any horror film regardless of quality and year of release so hopefully these will be pretty diverse.

I will try my best to be vague as possible but for certain releases I will have to put mild spoiler warnings.

My letterboxd is linked on my profile if you are interested :)

The Conjuring (2013), The Conjuring 2(2016) & The Conjuring : The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

My partner and I watched the mainline Conjuring films to prep for the new Conjuring coming out in September.

I think I had seen only the first one when I was a teen so the second and third instalments were brand new to me.

These films are fun watches but nothing to write home about, the second one was my favourite out of the 3 and The Devil made me do it was definitely the weakest.

The concept of utilising the Warren’s cases as a basis for the franchise is very smart but for some reason there is a refusal to use their strongest and most famous cases in the mainline franchise. We get an Annabelle spin off but we don’t SEE the Warrens work the Annabelle case and we see glimpses of Amityville but no Amityville film ? This to me is why the second was the most successful it’s a recognisable case which demonstrates the strength of the concept while the third is a weak case that doesn’t translate well to film. 

I am *hoping* we get a stronger case in Last Rites, but with the trend in religious horror we may get more literal possession like The Devil Made Me Do It and less fun creatures, which would be a shame. 

Insidious 1- 4(2010,2013,2015,2018)

Again this was prep for the sixth instalment coming in August.

This films are not great to begin with, but like most of the Waniverse are fun enough to be watchable. That being said there is a SHARP decline in quality in the 3rd film. 

It’s like the series has an identity crisis when it loses the lambert family and also has to do time skips to bring back the in universe character that knows about the astral plane. I know i have another 2 to watch, and I hear they are an improvement on 3, but my hopes are not high. 

Presence (2025) *Spoilers* (If you don’t read and are planning on seeing this blind I do want to TW this film for SA) 

The marketing for this film was all over the place. 

Firstly, it is barely a horror and more of a family drama with a supernatural gimmick.

The POV element was cool , it was giving Hitchcock but not as stylish and the fact all of the shots were done in one take is very impressive.

The writing of this was messy. There were plots that led no where and a horrible incel monologue and SA which was horrible to watch and our hand was held with the twist which honestly just makes it feel like the writers think we are dumb. 

I maintain that if you have a SA scene in your movie on screen then that is some freak shit and I don’t Fuck with you xoxo SEXUAL VIOLENCE IS NOT TO BE USED AS A HORROR MOVIE GOTCHA. 

Companion (2025) * Spoilers* (If you don’t read please go watch this movie )

This was the Secret Horror Screening this month at Cineworld and i am so STOKED about it.

As a girly who write a third of her Dissertation on the use of sex and robotics in literature this was EVERYTHING to me.

The film was so funny and it did its research!! We got both hetero and queer couples utilising robots which is so good to see. We got AI sentience , we got a DV revenge story AND my favourite trope (shout out Jeanette Winterson) Queer bots forsaking their programming for love.

Peeping Tom (1960)

Now this is how you do POV in horror!

Such a classic, I LOVE LOVE LOVE psychosexual horror and I am so glad Michael Powell got his flowers for this. 

The camera as a phallic allegory, the challenging of 1960s British sexual repression *Chef’s Kiss*

Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971)

Love the story of this and the fx were cool and goopy!

Unfortunately there is an explicit grape scene that was of the time but still unneeded and  uncomfortable. 

The nods to Witchfinder General were very cool and i am glad they pushed for 18th century instead of victorian it definitely feels way more effective for the story.

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2018)

This was fun enough. It definitely follows many of the predictable class commentary that is everywhere at the moment. 

It did have some funny moments and was poking fun at a lot of GenZ trends which will make this age badly.

Ultimately it was a laugh and funny if for nothing else, for Pete Davidson declaring his fuckability with his whole pussy while looking like the chicken little duck. 

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey & Winnie the Pooh : Blood and Honey 2 

Like 4  Poohniverse films are being released this year so we decided to watch these in preparation.  

I don’t think I need to explain how truly bad the first film is after it winning 5 razzies but… its BAD.

The second film was fun and made fun of itself which made it far more enjoyable than the first.