Monthly Media Recap - October 2025

Here we are, HALLOWEEN! 

 

Earlier in the week it was looking like I was going to get rained out today but things are looking good for a dry, blustery autumn night! In case you're looking for something to watch (or not watch), here's what I took in this month. 

Linked titles will take you to trailers. 

 

  

Gatchaman Progress

Episodes watched this month: 0, had to cram in as much spooky as possible! 

Currently up to: 62

  

Streaming 

 

Over the Garden Wall (Hulu)

I started watching this when it originally aired and for some reason, never finished it. It's such a weird and wonderful show. It's fun and cozy but there's also an almost ever-present dread lurking. Perfect for Halloween time viewing. Rock facts! 

 

Movies

 

Weapons (2025, HBO Max)

So, so, so good! It's a modern movie but was giving very 70s witchcraft vibes. Love the way they told it by jumping around to different characters perspectives. I need a sequel that shows the community reaction/news coverage after the movie ends. Totally did not recognize young Han Solo as the porn stache cop.

 

Rating: 8/10 

 

  

V/H/S Halloween (2025, Shudder)

This is my favorite VHS yet! It's Halloween-centric, fun, creepy, and a bit more gory than I remember previous installments being. It may be stretching the found footage premise but I don't really mind because I was thoroughly entertained. I didn't feel there was one bad segment but there were definitely two that were better for me ("Fun Size" & "Home Haunt").

 

Rating: 8/10 

 

Final Destination 5 (2011, HBO Max)

I didn't like any of the main characters in this one. I wish I had caught this in theaters for the 3D, I bet the opening incident looked great. It's the basically the same plot as the previous ones but the deaths are satisfying, some of them even comedic in their brutality. Excellent effects that will make you cringe in the best way.

 

Rating: 6.5/10

 

Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025, HBO Max)

I guess this is the horror movie that breaks the curse of Bloodlines guaranteeing a terrible movie. This one gets a little squirrely with how Death cleans up mistakes and will keep you guessing as to how/when the kills come. The ending isn't quite as satisfying as it should be. But it does check all the boxes: fantastic opening disaster, ridiculously intricate, brutal kills, and Tony Todd ad-libbing his final screen role (RIP).

 

Rating: 7/10

 

 

Cobweb (2023, Prime)

Somewhat reminded me of Babadook where the horror is more mental/trauma related and then it kind of switches gears towards the end. There's great performances all around and you really feel bad for the kid having these terrible parents. Good suspense as the mystery unravels and a few moments of genuine creepiness.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

 

3 Dead Trick or Treaters (2016)

This low budget anthology has a paperboy finding the graves of the titular characters, each one having a hand written horror story pinned to it that make up the different stories. The makers definitely have an eye for Halloween and the vibes are strong throughout. It's also a "silent" movie in that there is no spoken dialog, which makes for an interesting watch. This one just misses the mark for me. I wouldn't watch it again but I like what they were going for.

 

Rating: 5/10 

 

 

Spree (2020, Hulu)

Joe Keery is a joy to watch as an unhinged wannabe social media star that will literally kill to get followers. A damn fun critique on modern influencers looking for their 15 minutes. The crazy gets ramped up with each passenger pickup until the wheels finally fall off.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

*Trick R Treat (2007, Fathom Events)

Absolutely thrilled to finally see this in a theater! Despite this being maybe only my fifth time watching it, I feel like I've seen it countless times. Every scene familiar, every character like a...well, I wouldn't want most of them as friends but you get what I'm saying. Still holding out hope that we'll get a sequel someday with as prevalent as Sam has become at Halloween time, he deserves more.

 

Rating: 9/10, basically impossible for me to objectively rate due to my love

 

 

Haunt Season (2024, Prime, Pluto TV)

I'm a sucker for a horror movie set in an amusement park or haunted house. Most of them aren't great and I was nicely surprised with this one. It manages to rise above by actually developing the characters and even though some of them aren't the best actors, they feel like real people instead of a future body count.

 

Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

R.L. Stine's Pumpkinhead (2025, Tubi)

I don't know why but I was hoping for more than a Goosebumps flick. Not that it's a bad thing but mentally I was ready for something else. The scarecrow creature is definitely the star for me. It's fairly family friendly and I can see it becoming a gateway horror for the younger crowd much like the show was.

 

Rating: 5/10

 

Tron: Ares (2025)

Saved for last because I didn't want to disrupt the horror flow. I'm a pretty big Tron fan and went into this with the hope I'd at least get a extended length music video with some cool visuals. Maybe setting a low bar helped, but I actually liked it quite a bit. Jared Leto is perfectly fine as an emotionless artificially created person, it's when he starts to develop a personality that he gets creepier somehow.

 

The soundtrack left me kind of meh the couple times I listened to it before seeing the movie but it hit harder in the theater so I'll likely give it another listen or two to see if it vibes.

 

If you're a fan of the franchise, there's plenty of callbacks that will make you smile. It may not be the sequel with the characters most of us wanted but it's a decent side-quel and I'll take any new Tron I can get. If you need me, I'll be over here..burning...doing my new Tron dance.

 

Rating: 7/10, maybe really a 6 as a movie with 1* inflation for franchise love 

 

This Month

New: 10   Rewatch: 1

Year to Date

New: 71   Rewatch: 9