Sunday Scaries: The Mother of All Horror

For those who don’t know, KP (my mom, short for Karen Perkins), passed away back in July. Also for those who don’t know, I inherited her love of horror movies. The entire time I was growing up, we could crawl into bed with pizza or a special home cooked meal on Sundays and watch the entirety of the weekly SyFy (or as it was known in my day, SciFi) horror movie marathon. She would feign a cough during Mortuary or pretend she heard something outside during Boo. She would carefully hand-pick horror movies from the lowest section of the shelf at Blockbuster when I was home sick. She would look at the TV Guide to see when the best horror movies would be on. She did it all, and usually, with red nail polish. 

That’s why I want to give you a list of the best SyFy originals, bottom of the barrel horror movies, and cable creepies. Are some of these also “big name” horror movies? Yes, but, they also just so happen to be ones that ran on cable a lot. Also, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll go ahead and fetch my cold cream. Without further adieu, let me present to you the best/worst movies to chase away all of your Sunday Scaries. 

Boo:  The tagline is “You Don't Have A Ghost Of A Chance,” so you know it’s quality cinema. (Peacock, Prime, and The Roku Channel)

Mortuary: Someone please find Denise Crosby a house that wasn’t built on cursed land. (Prime and Tubi)

Cabin by the Lake:  I wonder what the brain, the athlete, the basket case, and the princess would think of this. (YouTube)

Lake Placid: We miss you, Betty. (AMC+)

Bats: I remember how badly this movie bothered me as a child — not because of the content but because the title on the VHS cover is upside down to represent bats. (Starz) 

Wolf Girl: I had to Google this movie to make sure it was real. (Prime, The Roku Channel, and Tubi) 

Ginger Snaps series: Canadian Sex Ed is intense. 

• Ginger Snaps (AMC+, Peacock, The Roku Channel, Shudder and Tubi) 

• Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed  (The Roku Channel and Tubi)

• Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (The Roku Channel and Tubi) 

When Evil Calls: Evil wouldn’t get me because I immediately block numbers I don’t know. (Currently unavailable) 

Halloweens 4 & 5: Who among us didn’t watch these on AMC FearFest after school during Halloween?

• Halloween 4 (AMC+ and Shudder)

• Halloween 5 (AMC+ and Shudder)

Final Destination series: You know you still get nervous when you’re riding behind a logging truck. 

• Final Destination (HBO Max)

• Final Destination 2 (HBO Max)

• Final Destination 3 (HBO Max)

• The Final Destination (HBO Max)

• Final Destination 5 (HBO Max) 

Carrie: Never forget that my mother told me to sit really close to the TV, so I wouldn’t miss something “subtle” aka the major jump scare at the end. (AMC+)

Queen of the Damned: The longest nu metal music video I’ve ever seen. (AMC+)