| Cult of Mac

5 international horror films that speak the universal language of fear

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These movies don't need to speak your language to freak you out. Photo:  Lux Film
These movies don't need to speak your language to freak you out. Photo: Lux Film

The world is a big, scary place, and you can learn a lot about a culture from what its people use to scare the crap out of each other for entertainment.

Cult of Mac’s weeklong festival of horror movie recommendations wraps up today with a selection of horrifying international films. (We hope you’ve found a new favorite among our classic, monster, anthology and trope-twisting suggestions.)

Now it’s time to see what gives people in other countries the heebie-jeebies. Halloween is just beginning, after all.

5 anthology horror movies that will have you hiding behind the couch

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Stay completely still. Clarence Williams III's vision is based on movement, like a frog's. Photo: Savoy Pictures
Stay completely still. Clarence Williams III's vision is based on movement, like a frog's. Photo: Savoy Pictures

Whether you call them anthologies, omnibuses or portmanteaus, the idea is the same: These are films composed of a series of shorter plots with a “frame” connecting them (usually somebody telling the stories to an incredulous audience). This is one of my all-time favorite subgenres for its variety and wealth of content.

This is the third installment in Cult of Mac’s week-long festival of horror movies for Halloween. If you’ve already seen all of those horror classics from Monday, and Tuesday’s monster movies don’t do much for you, check out some of these anthology flicks. They contain a combined total of 28 stories, including the frames, so odds are you’ll find something to get your teeth chattering with fear.

5 monstrous horror movies that will make your Halloween blow up

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Who could forget about this guy? Photo: Toho
Who could forget about this guy? Photo: Toho

Film monsters are physical manifestations of our fears and anxieties. They represent the dangers of progress; terrifying, real-world diseases; and the darkness that lurks deep inside of the human heart. But mostly, they’re just a hell of a lot of fun.

Cult of Mac’s Halloween roundup of excellent horror movies continues with five of the greatest monster movies ever, riveting tales about inhuman beasties that are here to mess with our cities — and our minds.

(Got extra room in your horror queue? Don’t miss yesterday’s roundup of five horror classics.)

5 classic horror movies that’ll give you the creeps this Halloween

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Most things are scarier in black and white. Photo: Prana Film
Most things are scarier in black and white. Photo: Prana Film

In case the giant bags of candy on prominent display at every store that sells food didn’t tip you off, Halloween is coming up. Some people celebrate by dressing up and going to parties or scoring free sweets from their neighbors, but I prefer to spend my Spooky Night with some tiny bags of sour gummis and a selection of horror movies.

If that sounds like a solid evening to you, this will be a treat. Cult of Mac is recommending 25 movies this week, and we’ve arranged them into themed categories. Today, we’re building up your historical base with some classics.