It’s that time of year, and while you’ll be seeing some more reviews from me of the spooky type, both here and on my Youtube channel (YouTube.com/macthemovieguy) I know not everyone has every service. So here’s a quick look at 10 titles available on HBO MAX with audio description.
Note: If it’s on this list, I’ve seen it. However, I may not have seen the title with audio description, but rather am recommending the title based on my thoughts when I could see the films.
1) Antlers
Now, here is one i did watch with audio description, and a review does exist on my site. What I can tell you, is that this film is effective body horror, gory, and features a wonderful performance from its main child lead. Keri Russell also stars, but the main reason to watch this film this season is if you like urban legends, stories about these Wendi go types. Definitely one for fans of monsters, gore, and great actors.
2) Breakdown
Not technically a horror film, but a selection for anyone who wants a thriller that doesn’t have monsters, gore, and jump scares. When Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan’s car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, a trucker offers to help Quinlan get to the closest town for help. When she never returns, Russell heads to the town, only to be consistently gaslit that his wife was never there, and the trucker claims to have no idea who he is. Where is his wife? This was a great thriller in the late 90’s, and while R rated, is pretty tame by todays standards.
3) Contagion
Depending on how you spent your pandemic, you might have already watched this. Calling it perfect for October is a bit of a stretch, but coming out of Covid, this thriller about a pandemic that kills quickly and gets out of control fast may trigger some recent memories that still scare you today.
4) Fatal Attraction
While again, listed more as a thriller, Glenn Close gives one hell of a scary unhinged performance in this film. And if you don’t know what happens to the rabbit, that’s always a nice surprise. This one might just cause you to stop swiping on Tinder for a while.
5) I Am Legend
Will Smith seems to be the last one alive as he struggles to survive in a world with zombie like creatures. It might not be as scary as some others, but it’s pretty full of action, and the creatures were pretty gnarly.
6) It: Chapter One
I remember the trailer for this. It was incredible. The hype behind this, because it looked so amazing, probably means you’ve seen this. part 1 is where it’s at, as these kids versus Pennyworth is the best part of the series. Maybe, if you watch it, you’ll float too. Great for people looking for jump scares, great acting, and who have a fear of clowns.
7) Little Monsters
This one is for the whole family. Howie Mandel is a monster living under Fred savage’s bed, and the two become unlikely friends as they traverse the world underneath your bed. Gotta have something on this list the whole family can watch.
8) The Conjuring
I’ll be dropping reviews shortly of the whole trilogy, but the first one is directed really well by james Wan. The audio description is lacking a bit, as it doesn’t know to describe the horror, and just uses generic terms in many cases, but the suspense and tension is build for so long before the first truly earned jump scare. Of the three in the series, this one is truly deserving of the praise, and should be a horror classic. Great if you want a haunted house, demonic possession film with jump scares that aren’t cheap, but earned.
9) The Ruins
You might not ahve heard of this, and that’s OK. It’s a better than you might expect film about a group of tourists who go somewhere cursed, and that curse might just be the end of them. It’s got horror, gore, deaths, and some inventive ways of doing that. Who is the bad guy here? You decide.
10) Where The Wild Things Are
If you never caught the live action adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s novel, October is a great time to do so with your kids. I have no idea what the audio description is like when trying to describe the various new friends Max encounters, but this is another one for the whole family.
So that’s ten. There were some on the list that I had seen but couldn’t recommend. The Ring 2 is not as good as the original, The nightmare On elm Street remake is only good because of Jackie Earle Haley’s performance, and Halloween Kills wasn’t remotely near the quality of the requel. Just to name a few.
I’ll be doing this for other services, but I got all these from the audio description project, which you can always visit:
ADP.acb.org
Happy Haunting!
