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grittyreadsfic · 4 years ago

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Hi :)!!! I’m sending this through submission because halfway through writing this via ask I got stressed about the character count and splitting this into multiple asks is not something I have the energy for today.

I’m not in the middle of reading any fics right now (very out of character for me), but a few of my favorite fics this year have been… *sweats and rifles through my ao3 bookmark list because this is really hard to just pick a few*. "body’s in trouble" [Nolan Patrick & Nicklas Backstrom, Nolan Patrick/Travis Konecny] by cloudsandpassingevents, “(break something old) to build something new” [Danny Briere/Claude Giroux] by Lake(beyond_belief), “i might (even know what to say)” [Danny Briere/Claude Giroux] by callabang, “you know you’re a terrible sight but you’ll be just fine” [Jake Guentzel & Knowing Himself, Jake Guentzel & His Brothers, Jake Guentzel/Jared McCann] by heartequals(savvygambols), “little spoon” [Quinn Hughes/Thatcher Demko] by mundanememory, “Your Will In My Hand” [Sidney Crosby/Evegni Malkin/Anna Kasterova] by Sparcck, “Closed Fracture” [Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin] by lightgetsin, “Lean on Me” [Mitch Marner & Matt Martin, Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews] by sheyrenawyrsabane, and “Morning to Wake You” [Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin] by oflights.

Oops, that was definitely more than a few. I know for a fact that you’ve read some of those (like “little spoon” for example!!), but I figured I’d send some of my favorites.

A lot of these are sort of centered on the process of growing up, along being able to acknowledge who you are and be comfortable with it, just because *shrugs* it’s sort of where I’m at right now. I’m 1000% sure you’ve read most of these, but I’m going to tell you why I love them anyways.

This might be recency bias, but “body’s in trouble” actually took me out, literally mowed over me emotionally. I basically had to write an essay when I commented on it, but if I’m going to try to summarize (which I’m guessing isn’t necessary because it seems like the sort of thing you’d have already read), I LOVED how human the characters were and how genuine their struggles felt. Like, Nolan was trying to figure out how to let himself be happy, and *pained screaming* it was such a raw moment when he started to change his thinking on that and I think the author did such a clear job of getting you into his head and mindset and walking you through it so the moment also felt intensely personal as a reader.

“Morning to Wake You” is also just so incredible!?!?!?!! I feel like it’s a characterization of Sid that’s somehow simultaneously really consistent with how he’s usually portrayed in fic and also really different. I think one of my favorite things about the fic is that I loved all the relationships in it, not just the main pairing. I absolutely loved the friendship between Colby and Sid, the way Mario was clearly someone with whom Sid felt same and at home but also like an adult, and the little moment between Sid and Tanger. In a fic about growing up and growing into yourself, I thought the development and investment in making those relationships so rich really enhanced the fic because Sid (from the way I read it) was really learning not just how to let himself be human for himself but also let other people witness it. I’m not doing a very good job of articulating why something about this fic feels so unique, but it’s one of my absolute favorites. If guess if I’m trying to summarize, the grey area and realness of the uncertainty combined with the process of figuring out how to grow into yourself but let that growth take root in one’s life really makes this just absolutely wonderful.

“(break something old) to build something new” makes me unhinged every single time I read, albeit for completely different reasons than “body’s in trouble” or “Morning to Wake You”. I can’t put a finger on what makes me love this fic so much, but I guess in some ways it’s a later in life, less fraught but just as significant story of learning to make space in your life for the things that make you happy/feel like you’re home. It’s not an examination of the question of allowing yourself happiness in the same was that “body’s in trouble” is, but it’s a story that just makes you feel good. I think every reader likes vicariously through characters in fic, so I think this is what I read when I’m craving that comfort of belonging, home, and family. Danny has a good thing, and it’s a story of him realizing that and then actualizing it. By putting Danny both at a time when he’s so established and secure in his life yet still at a crossroads, it makes him think about what he has and what he wants. It takes him longer for him to be able to articulate what it is he wants than it does for the reader, but that’s the journey (that sort of makes it feel like it’s drawn out–it’s not, it’s more of a Danny just has to think about it before he figure it out). I also love the way the author wrote the supporting characters on this one!!!! I think it just really adds dimension to the story and is the first thing that really cultivates this atmosphere of family that’s woven through the fic, right there for when Danny finally sees it. (In regards to supporting characters, I’m so overly invested in the storyline between Cameron Briere and his bio lab partner in which he finds his first non-hockey friend.)

Anyways, I hope you’re having a great day/morning/evening!!!! I really enjoy reading your fic recs and I also really enjoyed spewing out an.. oops… eight paragraph ask :)

okay HELLO i tried to format this in the way the made the differentiation between the post submitted by @kingdom-of-the-shades and my response clear but uhhhhhh if i didn’t do a good job lmk and i’ll edit the post. i also tried to hyperlink all the fics you mentioned for ease of finding for anyone interested!

i do see a common theme in these fics based off what i’ve read the and descriptions of the rest (i’ve read half of them though i did immediately read the callabang fic when i went to grab the link because it was very much my shit and i love ao3 user callabang’s writing)

also you really called my out about body’s in trouble because i literally waws scrolling through the hockey rpf tag like the sunday paper and fully had to tweet about the tags because it was very much my kind of fic. absolutely back what you’re saying about it, because i agree completely. feeling very feral about the scene were nolan takes nicke fishing because it’s such a full circle moment (nolan putting what nicke’s taught him into practice AND using it to help nicke when he’s going through it? fucking......GOD)

i haven’t read the other two you called out specifically but you making a compelling argument for both of them (probably gonna read that danny/claude fic sooner rather than later because i absolutely ADORE fics where the supporting characters add to the fic)

#personally i would love it if i regularly got messages like this in my inbox this is so lovely #thank you so much for taking the time to share all this with me!#recs for gritty #fic rec #submission

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homesteadchronicles · 6 years ago

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Title: What a Fine Wish (Beyond the Gates of Glory) Series: Radiata Stories/Valkyrie Profile Characters: Mikey & Lenneth Valkyrie Chapter: 2/3 Word Count: 1,932

Summary: Mikey’s unexpected encounter with the evidently divine could both change his opinion of the supernatural and present him with a proposal he cannot refuse.

Author’s Notes: As of late, I have drowned myself in the fanmade support conversations in @unassumingvenusaur’s project for Fire Emblem: Fates/Awakening. Throughout my most recent readings, I realized how well that series would work with my favorite game of all time, Radiata Stories. Having support conversations between the countless characters in this game could add an additional layer of depth to each person and their relationship with their fellow teammates. That being said, I devised a handful of potential supports between my favorite characters in Radiata Stories and decided to turn this one into a full-fledged story!

Click “Keep Reading” to read the piece in full! If you would like to read the original piece on AO3, click here!

Two weeks lost following that fateful encounter, and still Mikey spent every waking moment dwelling on wishes, on ways out of this world, on green eyes before golden gates.

Fan decried him as crazed. The Distortion Corridor could dement any mind. Mikey’s, she claimed, had already succumbed to the allure of fairytales - why not indulge in one more fantasy? One with a beautiful woman, no less.

Galvados believed him. Or at least, he led Mikey to assume so. “I saw something, too,” Galvados said, dragging Mikey in too close to bloodied fangs that reeked of a rancid flesh and bloodied meat. Mikey disregarded his odor for the sake of a fellow seer. “I see little man make conversation with big wall, cackle like crazy person! Me scared for sure!” Mikey squirmed out of Galvados’ grasp, seeking to escape the false comfort of his so-called friend. The sound of raucous laughter drowned out his muttered obscenities.

At least Jack humored him. Honest as ever, Jack denied any possibility of belief in Mikey’s incessant claims. Still, in his compassion - or was it pity? - he had agreed to accompany Mikey on one last trip to the Distortion Corridor. Should they find no sign of this spectre, then Mikey would speak no more of her.

“And if we do find some sign of her,” Mikey had asked, “what then?”

Jack had not even bothered entertaining the notion. “Then pigs will fly.”

Mikey stood there agape as Jack sauntered past without a second glance. “But...but Journey Pigs do fly!”

With the power of the Journey Pig, Jack and Mikey departed on a private adventure through the depths of the Dragon Lair Cave and into the incoherent halls of the Distortion Corridor. Or rather, they would have, had Mikey remembered what path he had taken to meet his mysterious friend. Ten thousand stairwells spanned the interior of the Distortion Corridor. Mikey needed one. He could recall none.

Six hours of forgotten trails, attempted escape routes and inquiries of “are we there yet?” from his partner-in-crime led Mikey to the base of his destination at long last. He had never felt so relieved to climb a set of stairs in his life. Jack, however, lacked the same enthusiasm.

Their ascension up the staircase proved less difficult than they recalled. In mere minutes, they had approached the apex. As their end neared, however, Jack’s outcries only increased in quantity.

Mikey, however, had enough of his whining. “I’m telling you, Jack, she was real!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jack heaved a sigh of relief as he reached the top step. To Mikey’s chagrin, the room bore no magnificent gateway, nor did it conceal a woman within. Still, Jack scanned the room with mild interest all the same. “Hurry up and show me your ghosty girlfriend so we can get out of here.”

“She’s not a ghost!”

“So she is your girlfriend!”

“No, she’s--”

“--right behind you.”

Both boys shrieked as an unforeseen presence made itself known behind them. Jack lurched backwards as MIkey flipped forwards. The head-on collision sent them both struggling to catch themselves. Mikey and Jack stumbled, fumbling about to reclaim their footing, only to fall on the floor atop of one another in a heap of flailing limbs.

At the foot of this mortal heap stood the objective of their investigation, her innocent smile hidden beneath an impish grin. “Boo?”

“What the hell!?” Jack attempted to cower away from her form. Mikey’s overturned torso, however, prevented any escape. Jack squirmed out from underneath his friend’s confinement. “Where did she come from?”

Face still planted firmly in the floor, Mikey grunted. “I told you she was real.”

The stranger arched an eyebrow. “I have always been here. In my eyes, you two are the intruders.” Her hand wavered dangerously close to the hilt of her sword.

“Have not!” Jack’s childish claim came with an accusatory finger pointed in her direction. “Where were you yesterday, huh?”

“Here, only…” The word evaded her. She tapped a calloused fingertip to her lips in thought. “...obscured, I suppose you could say.” She knelt down beside Mikey, who now clambered to his knees. “You see, I am always here - but not all know it.”

“...I don’t get it.”

The stranger sighed. “I suppose it is better to show you.”

With one arm around his waist, the woman hoisted a startled Mikey off of the ground and propped him back up into a standing position. Mikey could scarcely comprehend her strength. Not so much as a bead of sweat marred her unblemished skin. He knew then - they were in the presence of no ordinary swordswoman.

“Think of it like this: someone stands before you.” She yanked Mikey’s arm until he stood face-to-face with Jack. Mikey wondered whether this woman understood the concept of personal space, for he could feel the heat of Jack’s breath from this distance. She paid no heed to their discomfort. “With glasses, you could make out every detail of their figure.”

The proximity between he and Mikey stirred Jack to squirming, but he made no motion to run. Every detail indeed, Mikey thought. If only I were Ridley.

“Now, take the glasses off.”

Jack glanced at the stranger. She beckoned him with a wave of her hand, as if he were an actor who had forgotten his cue. With great reluctance, Jack raised his hands to his head and removed a pair of imaginary glasses. Mikey stifled a laugh.

“Perfect,” the woman assured him. Neither of the men seemed so certain. “Now you might see a shadow, a mirage of truth, but you cannot see the person before you as they truly are. And yet, are they still there?”

“Well, yeah.” Jack shrugged. “You just need to put the glasses back on.”

“Exactly.” She pressed her hands together, apparently pleased with an obvious answer. “Without the proper tool, one cannot see what exists right before their very eyes! It is no different with the two of you.”

With the lesson supposedly complete, Jack leaned back on his heels. One foot tapped impatiently against the ground as he processed the information - a habit Jack had never been able to kick. Unfortunately, now it kicked Mikey - quite literally. By the crease in Jack’s brow, Mikey could tell his fearless leader might need some private tutoring to understand this lesson. “So, what? I can see you because I remembered my contacts this morning.”

Mikey groaned. If the woman shared his disgust, she showed no hint of it. “Nothing so literal, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, come on!” Jack lurched forward, arms outstretched. “Then what kinda tool are you talking about - Mikey?”

Emerald eyes fell on Mikey for but a moment. “No, although he possesses it the same as you. This time, you two came alone - and with a wish.”

“A wish, huh?” Jack’s sudden outburst surrendered to his immediate amusement. “I wish I could get the hell out of here.”

Triumph shone from every pore of the woman’s visage. Non-humans knew that look from when a predator believed it had cornered its prey after a chase. But humans? They knew a tamer form - that wicked grin when one’s enemy in chess makes one wrong move. In moments, checkmate would come. “That is one wish I can grant.”

“At least someone’s useful around here!” Mikey did not miss the glare Jack sent in his direction. “So, what - you’re some sort of genie?”

Mikey rolled his eyes. Either great minds think alike, or this lady really ought to learn her urban legends.

The woman hummed, amused by their mundane understanding. “Not quite. Allow me to introduce myself.” She swept past the both of them, stationed before the back wall of the chamber. With one fluid motion, she removed the feathered helm from atop her head, letting her platinum locks spill out like liquified silver against her armor. One open palm pressed against the heart of her breastplate. “I am named Lenneth, selector of souls and guardian to the gates of Valhalla.”

Lenneth gestured towards the wall behind her with a broad swing of her arm. The insignia emblazoned deep within the stone burned with a fiery radiance. The flames expanded outwards until they had consumed the wall whole. When the wall crumbled beneath the magic’s might, two golden gates manifested to take the place of its fallen concealer.

Jack’s jaw could have unhinged itself, had it hung any lower. “Far out!” His arms spun in tight circles, an inexplicable but expected product of his excitement. Mikey had seen the same reaction many a time - when stagediving at Donkey’s first live concert, when hunting for Blood Orcs in their homeland, and when standing at the foundation of the Gold Dragon Castle. “So what’s Valhalla, anyways?”

“Heaven...” The word was but a whisper on Mikey’s lips.

Jack recoiled, all revelry lost to this revelation. “Woat, what!?” He flipped his head back and forth between his friend and their heavenly host. “You’re an angel?”

MIkey grasped at Jack’s arm. “No - a valkyrie.”

The glow of the golden gates did little to outshine the radiance of Lenneth’s smile. “So, you have heard the stories.”

“Heard them? I’ve memorized them! I even some of wrote my own!” Mikey tugged Jack closer, his grip on the other’s arm secure. “According to legend, the valkyries select souls they deem worthy of glory and crown them as heroes of the afterlife!”

“Oh, I get it now…” Jack nodded, but his face showed no sign of comprehension. As usual, MIkey doubted he understood. “She thinks we’re heroes!” Doubts confirmed. “That means you’re gonna give us all those fancy robes and thrones and stuff, right?”

“Is that your wish?” The chill of Lenneth’s question pierced through the warmth of Valhalla’s light.

Ever oblivious, Jack paid no mind to her derision. “I mean, that sounds pretty sweet to me. Besides the dying and all.”

“I have heard death is not as unpleasant as it sounds.”

Jack scoffed. “Oh, yeah? From who?”

“From your friends, of course.” Lenneth spoke with such assurance that Mikey wondered whether Fan and Galvados had visited her on their own time. What other friends of theirs would she know? “Your family. Your loved ones.” For a moment, her confidence faltered. Lenneth cast a wary glance towards the gates. “Or should I say ‘your lost ones’?”

Mikey took a step towards the gates, unable to retract his gaze from their grandeur. “Yesterday, you said I had friends waiting for me. I thought you meant Jack or Fan or...well, I guess Galvados counts. Kinda.” He could already hear Galvados getting a kick out of that one. At last, he pried his eyes from Valhalla to study Lenneth instead. “Who were you talking about?”

Lenneth did not retreat from his stare. Mikey had assumed he would find answers somewhere in her irises. Instead, she seemed to dig deeper into his identity than he had allowed her to. He had always been an avid reader, but it was she who read him like a book. “Someone waits for you in Valhalla.” Her eyelids sagged with the weight of compassion and sorrow. “Someone more precious to you than all the other souls combined…”

Mikey need not ask for clarification. “Lord Nogueira…”

Lenneth nodded.

“But...that’s impossible!” Mikey sputtered. “The Algandars--”

“--let him come home with me, once and for all,” Lenneth interrupted. She held a hand up to halt further questioning. Mikey obeyed, intent on understanding. “Light Elves always elude Valhalla, transferring their spirits from one vessel to another. Honestly, they’re no better than the dragons. Each of them grow more and more troubled as time progresses.” She huffed - a childish sight, ill-fitting for her regal demeanor. “But Algandars allows any soul to achieve the rest it deserves at long last.”

“He’s…” Mikey struggled to speak the truth. Dead. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “...at peace, then?”

“He is.”

Mikey could have broken down, if he had not seen that same peace evident in the valkyrie herself. Deep down, he had always hoped that Nogueira had gone only for a time. One day, he would return and they would all feast together, share their fondest memories, and when the rest of the forest slept, Nogueira would recount his favorite stories one by one to make up for lost time.

Lenneth’s confession came as a bitter truth that Mikey could not swallow. Deep down, he understood that his dreams were but infantile imaginations. Even still, they let him hope. They allowed him to dream. Without his fantasies, what had he left to cling to?

Lenneth reared him back to reality, away from his momentary nightmares. “Fear not, little one. Your Nogueira is at peace - more than he ever had been in your metropolis.” She extended her hand towards him. “Would you like to see him? He misses you.”

That same gravitational tug gripped Mikey’s hand, leading it towards Lenneth without instruction. His digits brushed against Lenneth’s fingertips.

Jack smacked his hand away. “Mikey! You can’t seriously be considering this chick’s offer?”

“Why not?”

“She’s crazy!”

“So are you, and I followed you halfway around the world.”

“That’s different!” Jack gripped Mikey’s shoulder. The intensity of his grasp sent shockwaves shooting through Mikey’s vein. He did not intend to surrender his friend. “She’s trying to kill you!”

Mikey glanced back at the angel then. The spell broken, the pieces of the puzzle connected in his mind.

Lenneth appeared unperturbed. “I do not deny his claims. Is it not obvious? To reunite with Nogueira in heaven, you must sacrifice your soul.” Her expression lightened then, an unsettling enthusiasm creeping onto her face despite the morbidity of her words. “But you needn’t worry - I’ve done this countless times! It is painless, really. Well, for but a moment. Only a pinch, really.”

Jack grimaced. “Yeesh, lady. You must really have it out for us. You don’t know a thing about us, and you already want us dead!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Jack Russell.” Lenneth advanced. One step forward, one more chess piece in place. “I know all about you. You and Mikey.” She gestured towards the two of them with a low sweep of her hand.

Jack chuckled, but it quivered as it came out. “Heh, guess my name gets around even in other worlds, huh?” Even his quips lacked their punch. Mikey recognized that tone - she had unhinged him.

“It has.” Lenneth folded her hands across her chest. “Your mother has told me much of your accomplishments.”

“...Mom?” The word concealed a stifled sob. One sentence stole the breath from inside him. Jack’s eyes widened, his body slackening, lifeless in an instant. ““Wait, I don’t get it. Mom wasn’t a war hero!”

“Does she need to be? We welcome all the heroic in Valhalla.” Lenneth saluted, one hand pressed to her head, the other resting on her sword. “You need not slay dragons to be a hero, Jack Russell. Your mother braved death and disease with unparalleled resolve and grace. That dignity gave rise to a strength no sword could rival. She rest nows, at peace in glory - without infirmity.”

Mikey had known Jack for many moons now. He had discovered countless secrets, seen unpredictable sides to him. If there was one thing Mikey had yet to see Jack be, it was speechless.

Until now.

For a moment, Mikey believed Jack might break. He braced for the impact of the fall, to shoulder the weight of his broken commander. Instead, only his lips broke - into a grin. “I’m happy for her. She deserves it.”

“She would be even happier if she could see her son now.” Lenneth outstretched her hand towards Jack.

“Thanks…” Jack said, wiping an unshed tear from his eyes.

For a moment, Mikey feared he might agree to go with her. The world could afford to lose the protector of the Forest Metropolis. But the defender of the Golden Dragon? Not a chance.

“...but no. You must not know my Mom at all.”

Lenneth recoiled, hand struck by his accusation. Even an angel could not disguise her surprise.

“I don’t know much about Mom, but if she’s anything like Adele, then she’d give me the scolding of a lifetime if I bailed out early just to see her. I still have promises to keep here! I’d let her down if I left them all unfinished.” Jack raised his eyes to the sky, searching for someone who would not be staring back. “Besides, she’s got Dad to keep her company for now.”

Lenneth settled back into position. Her composure restored, she cleared her throat with renewed vigor. “An honest answer.” Instead, she turned towards Mikey. “And you, little one? What is it you wish?”

Mikey considered his answer. On one hand, he knew what he wanted to do. On the other hand, he knew what he needed to do. What was his wish? I just wish that what I want and what I need were one and the same...

“I wish…” Mikey hesitated. Sweat clung to his shaking hands. Fire licked the inside of his throat. He could not back down. Not now. “...to see Lord Nogueira.”

Jack slumped backwards in defeat. His eyes pleaded in silent protest, but his body made no motion to stop him.

“Excellent.” Lenneth reached for his arm. “Then just take my hand and--”

“--when I’m finished keeping my promise to him here. On Tottaus.” Before Lenneth could make contact, Mikey snatched his hand from her grasp. “Jack made a promise to Ridley, and I made one to Lord Nogueira. A long time ago, I told him I would always defend the forest from outsiders. If I went to him now, I would leave all of my friends, my family, without anyone to protect them. I don’t want to disappoint Lord Nogueira. So I’m staying - until I’m a hero he can be proud of! When that time comes, you can come claim me and bring me back to him.” Mikey’s lips split with unbridled determination. “That is my wish.”

Lenneth assessed his answer. She considered the stipulations, chewing on its possibilities before finding she liked what she had tasted. At last, she retreated from his side, but her pleasure knew no ebb.

“What a fine wish it is.”

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news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog · 7 years ago

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15 fantastic horror films on Netflix that you probably haven't seen (2017 edition)

Smell that air? Feel that brisk breeze? Wearing a jacket? That's right, dummy. It's October.

And since it's October, you want to watch horror movies, don't you? You know Netflix has a ton of random-ass horror movies just leaking out of its pores, but you've already seen the great notable ones like The Babadook and It Follows. You want something new, something fresh, something that you can expect to be at least decent.

Well, friend, I am here.

Just like I did last year, I scoured the bottom of the Netflix bucket to see if there were any horror movies worth my time. Worth your time. And among all that dreck, that refuse, that detritus, there exists some very good horror movies. Whether independent, foreign, or just not recognized, these movies succeed in providing the best of scares that this season demands. And I have found them for you.

You're welcome.

SEE ALSO: 17 Halloween costumes that people need to stop wearing

Again, these are not last year's picks, many of which have sadly stopped streaming on the dominant platform.

This is a fresh batch of horror for you to descend upon. These movies are varied and verifiably good or great or fantastic.

Without further ado, here is what the fruit of my labor hath wrought for your hungry, depraved soul:

1. The Void

Image: D Films

The Void speaks to almost every aspect of the horror movies I most love. It has a limited cast, a small setting, disgusting physical effects, and an escalating amount of weirdness that evolves into all-out horror.

After stumbling upon some strange ritual, two drug addicts flee to a very rural hospital for safety. What they find are some harried doctors, interpersonal drama between a hospital worker and a cop, and a surrounding circle of cloaked, cultish figures. Grotesque tragedy ensues.

This movie definitely wants to nod to old school favorites like The Thing, with its mix of creature design and super-visceral visuals. But it also embodies a great deal of hallowed mythos ripped straight from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Eldritch ghastliness awaits those who want to catch a glimpse into The Void.

2. Under the Shadow

Image: netflix

So, can we talk about the Iran-Iraq War?

This harrowing conflict, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, cost the world about a half a million lives, and is the setting for this take on the haunted house movie. Set in Iran's capital Tehran, a mother is left alone with her daughter as her husband is called to go fight on the front lines against Iraq. Just a few years after the Iranian Revolution was squashed by religious leaders, the main character has to hide her liberal tendencies and her anxieties about the modern world from everyone around her, including her daughter. It doesn't help that her apartment tower is in the crosshairs of daily bombings. And it certainly doesn't help when a goddam djinn decides to haunt the hell out of them.

This great movie gives not only a sense of the panic that existed in this volatile time, but also shows the despair of a broken family, and the fear of what else may tear them apart.

It's not exactly a terrifying movie in a horror sense, but it's a terrifying movie in a real life sense. I love it.

3. The Devil's Candy

Image: IFC Midnight

If you like horror movies, there's a probable chance that you've listened to metal, right?

Sure, this doesn't apply to everyone, but if you're looking for a movie that wants to tepidly explore what happens when a family of metal heads buys a demonic house, The Devil's Candy is the movie for you.

Admittedly, this isn't the most satisfying of movies, but it has some interesting things to explore. It's never campy or dumb in the way that another movie landing on the intersection of metal and the devil would be. The great performances, the weird places it goes, and the tone it sets is well worth your time.

4. Starry Eyes

Image: Dark sky films

At the beginning of Starry Eyes, I thought I knew where it was going.

You've got a desperate young ingénue, wanting to make her mark in Hollywood, and an audition that promises all that and more. But boy, for every turn I thought this movie was going to take, it took the opposite. From a brief description, Starry Eyes could so easily be seen as a voyeuristic view of a woman's slide into depravity, but the end result is so much better and weirder than that.

In the end, it's difficult to determine whether this ambitious starlet's journey takes her to a place that is ultimately more powerful, or ultimately more horrifying.

5. I am the Pretty Things that Lives in the House

Image: Netflix

A young traveling nurse moves in with an elderly charge in an old rural house, and, wouldn't you know it, creepy things start happening.

The thing you most need to know about I am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House is that it's VERY, VERY slow. This doesn't bother me. I love this.

The second thing you need to know about this long-titled movie is that it ends on an unresolved note. Again, I'm not bothered by this. I enjoy the journey, not the destination.

In the end, this movie does a fantastic job of making a dreary scene all the more unhinged with the occasional creak and the sporadic death. If you kinda love SLOW horror movies (and I do), this is your jam.

6. Abbatoir

Image: momentum pictures

Admittedly, this is probably the weakest film on this list, but don't strike it from your queue just yet.

OK. So. You've got a woman whose sister just died a grizzly death at the hands of an apologetic murderer. And, upon returning to the scene of the crime a few days later, she finds that the actual room where the murder happened is just, kinda, gone.

Determined, she searches for any answers to this mystery. And the answer is not at all what she, or you, will think it is. Abattoir gets strange after the first third, SUPER strange after the second third, and downright WTF with the last third.

Again, this will not be at the top of anyone's lists. Still, it was kinda fun to see the whole thing unspool.

7. A Dark Song

Image: IFC Midnight

A Dark Song will stand as my favorite new discovery on this list.

In very rural England, a very private woman rents a very big house in which to hold a very mysterious occult ritual for six months. A Dark Song follows that story.

Tiny cast, limited setting, and a lot of quietude before the increasing horror begins ratcheting up to a frenzy? Chef's kiss. A Dark Song has many layers that gradually unfurl and the route that it takes to get to its ultimate form is a silently terrifying one.

This movie is subdued, bizarre, and I ultimately think it adds a deep wrinkle into what we think of as compassion. It surveys humanity trying to wrestle with the unknown and the consequences of what happens when we brush up against it, and what happens when we ask something from it. Those answers are hard to ask and even harder to receive the answers.

This movie questions the fact of reality, the supposition of need, and the dire warning of repercussions. Loved it.

8. The Den

Image: ifc midnight

The Den represents a growing sub-genre of horror movies, one that brings the worst cyber security anxieties to life.

A normal student, studying online communities, is thrust into an escalating situation of horror when someone hacks her computer camera, records her in a compromising act, and sends it to her administrators.

The ensuing blackmail transforms into a heightening nightmare of intrigue and violence. It maybe leans a little too heavily on the voyeurism theme, but all in all, it makes for a pretty solid horror movie.

Don't forget to tape over your laptop camera.

9. Tales of Halloween

Image: Epic pictures

First and foremost, this is a goofy-ass movie.

It's an anthology of 10 different interwoven stories, directed by 10 different directors, based around Halloween in a sleepy town, a la Trick 'r Treat. That sort of mass collection definitely invites some unevenness in the whole product, but if there's one thing you can count on, it's having a good time.

Tales of Halloween's stories range from silly to violent to scary to deadass dumb. But all along the way, the tone revels in celebrating this spooky holiday in the weirdest way possible.

If you like horror movies, you're going to have fun with this one.

10. The Presence (Die Präesanz)

Image: Netflix

Just to get it out of the way, The Presence is a found-footage haunted house movie.

I am well aware that that particular sub-genre is rife with subpar trash not worth the hard drive space on which they're stored. But something about this German film, where an enthusiastic ghost hunter takes his initially-excited girlfriend and a douchebag friend to a spoooooooky castle, represents the best of what this sub-genre can do. It's true that the actual plotting of this movie might follow a somewhat predictable path. But the forked way it takes to get there will leave you haunted and nervous of what will come next.

Before the 500th Paranormal Activity sequel ruins what found footage horror can do for you, watch The Presence. It just might renew your faith.

11. The Bar

Image: netflix

When eight people find themselves trapped in a bar by their own fear, after seeing a man die just beyond the only exit, anything can happen.

That's the promise and mostly the execution of the Spanish film The Bar. What starts as an ensemble cast bewildered by the events taking place mere feet away from them, turns into an all-out paranoia bonanza as tempers flare, suspicions rage, and violence begets violence.

It's mostly really good. Things get weird and the pacing takes the appropriate long time before you know might actually be unfolding. Only in the final act does the movie get unhinged, and not in a good way. The murky ethics and confusing narrative, that make the film's beginning so fun, gets stripped down into a bit of a disappointing climax. Still, The Bar is a ride you'll probably want to take.

12. Clown

Image: dimension films

Before writer/director Jon Watts made the very well received blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming, he made an extremely creepy movie named Clown.

Check this premise: A realtor finds a clown suit in a house he's selling and performs at his son's birthday party to everyone's delight, only after it's all over, he discovers he can't remove the suit. Tell me that's not creepy. I dare you.

What follows is a subdued story of real horror, where the main character learns what has happened to him, what will happen to him, and what he slowly begins to want to do to others.

Though it has a few moments of goofiness, this is a real gut punch of a horror movie. And the way Watts shoot the movie, in a quiet, cold, largely music-less fashion, makes the whole thing so much more compelling.

13. XX

Image: magnet releasing

As that picture up there hints, XX is an anthology film of four short films by four women writer/directors. And it is totally worth your time.

As with Tales of Halloween, an collection like this leads to some inconsistency. Two of these shorts are great, and two of them are just pretty good. The law of averages says that you should probably watch this movie, right? Here, I'll sweeten the deal.

The first short, titled "The Box" written and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic based off a story by Jack Ketchum, is full stop one of the most haunting and terrifying horror stories I've seen in many years. And it does it all with no violence and basically no gore. It just plants a question in the watcher's head and lets it fester, lets it take root, until all you're left with is this veritable redwood stretching out of your head and screaming into the void.

The final story is a fantastic, and brutal, culmination. And the things that come between it also deserve to be seen. So go do that.

14. Dig Two Graves

Image: area 23a

And here we have what is probably the least scary movie on this list, but I still maintain that you should watch it.

Dig Two Graves is a ghost story, a revenge story, and a making-deals-with-the-devil story all wrapped in one lovingly shot film. When a small town girl promises to jump off a ledge into a quarry with her brother, reneges on the deal, and watches her brother sink without coming up, things all around her take a big turn. Slowly, but surely, she begins the (maybe metaphorical) process of selling her soul, while her troubled grandfather tries to steer her towards an ethical ideal that remains super blurry.

And all you can do is watch as the moral compass of this movie waxes and wanes and hope to not get swallowed by the fire.

15. Raw

Image: Focus world

Raw is one of the absolute best movies of 2017, horror or otherwise (technically released overseas in 2016, but only made it stateside this year).

It follows an awkward girl, raised strictly vegetarian, as she enters her first year in veterinary school. As part of the really rough hazing process, she is forced to eat meat. That small bit gives her a taste for so much more.

Raw unspools in crazy ways that you really never see coming. It's a story about self-discovery, family drama, and the limits of self control. It's a weird, hallucinatory film that constantly makes you think that the main character is dreaming, but no, it's all really happening. Such. A. Good. Movie.

I'm sure I didn't get all of Netflix's hidden horror gems on this list. I'm only one man and I only have so many hours in a day. But if you're a horror fan, I'm certain you're going to find something on this list to creep you out this October.

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