This post was thanks to Kingdarius4lyfe. Big shout out for becoming a member over on Ko-fi! Because of this, Darius suggested that there be a horror show discussion. With films being such a big hit this year, I’ve neglected topics like video games and TV shows, so I am ecstatic to be talking about some amazing horror shows.
Last week’s post highlighted horror content that took place during summer and I mentioned Slasher’s third season. It was the only TV show mentioned and I was sad that I couldn’t think of more. Over the past week, I have had a little time to think over this and come up with a few that I think that everyone should watch. This was a little more on the difficult side because I didn’t want to talk about well-known titles such as American Horror Story, The Walking Dead, or Chucky.
Maybe you’ve heard of some (or all) of these titles, but I tried to pick ones that I haven’t heard many people talk about. Everything seemingly has its own fandom, but for these titles, I haven’t heard anything about them unless I talked about them with close friends or with family. There are a few titles on this list that may be more well-known, but I feel as though they don’t get talked about enough.
My first pick is adapted from an author that's well-known for his horror. Fall of the House of Usher is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe and it was first adapted into a movie that was released in 1960. The TV show was released in 2023 on Netflix and was modernized for today’s audience. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the film or read the short story. The show and the short story do not share many similarities simply because the show is a culmination of a few of Poe's famous stories, ranging from "A Midnight Dreary", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum", and more...
This show turned out to be one of my favorites,, quickly making its way into my top 5. Fall of the House of Usher follows the Usher family as they are in the middle of a lawsuit relating to Roderick Usher’s distribution of a not so safe pain killer. There’s friction within the family due to various reasons, but one main conflict is what children should be entitled to Roderick's money. Roderick also has a grandchild, belonging to his first son and she seems to be the light of his life. Roderick’s sister, Madeline is also very much a part of his affairs; business, personal, and more. She has no children and has no lovers. She is very much the epitome of girl boss, but there’s a mysterious reason for this.
Throughout the course of their trial, members of the Usher family begin dropping one-by-one as they are mysteriously killed off in gruesome ways. Their deaths are quite creative intertwining the way they lived their lives with that of Poe's short stories. Members of the Usher family work hard to figure out how they’re all dying off, but the viewer is also pulled into the mystery. Between the grotesque way in which they die, how they die, their history and individual stories, you will be entertained for quite some time. The show is only 8 episodes, but it is binge worthy and I definitely lost sleep trying to finish this. I loved this show so much that I binged it again the weekend after I had finished it.
If you like horror, mystery, gore, messed up family dynamics, and Edgar Allen Poe, I highly suggest watching Fall of the House of Usher.
If you’re obsessed with content featuring zombies, there’s a show called Black Summer on Netflix It has 2 seasons and is a prequel to the TV show Z Nation. It follows a group of people who come together to help one another escape the horrors of the zombie apocalypse and look for their loved ones. One thing that I like about Black Summer is that it’s simplistic in plot but engaging enough to keep my attention. The episodes aren’t dragged out in my opinion and the show isn’t filled with senseless filler to keep it going for longer than it needs to. The chase sequences are nerve wrecking, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats and the need for the characters to survive and find their loved ones is strong.
You'll spend a lot of time rooting for these characters. Need a good zombie show? I highly suggest watching Black Summer.
Into the Dark is a show on Hulu that’s episodes are about as long as movies. Each “episode” was released around a holiday, with that episode having themes catered to what that holiday is about. Some of them are hit or miss, but as a whole, it is an enjoyable series with creative takes on the celebration of holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and more. My favorite thing about this series is that viewers don’t have to worry about an unresolved episode. The best part about this format is that they don’t have to be watched in order either! There are 22 "episodes", averaging a runtime of about 87 minutes.
Fear Itself is an older TV show with only one season. It released in 2008 and was a show that I re-watched over and over again when Comcast had FearNET. I discovered many shows and movies on that program then and constantly found myself sitting in front of the TV, looking for something to watch. Fear Itself follows the same sort of format as Into the Dark in terms of being able to watch the episodes out of order and they average at about 42 minutes per episode. They also get wrapped up within one episode and typically have some sort of twist, keeping the viewer engaged. Creatures such as vampires, werewolves, zombies and more pop up so there’s something for everyone! You can watch it for free here.
Sweet Home is another TV show that was released on Netflix. It consists of 2 seasons (with the 4rd and final releasing July 19, 2024) and follows characters that are trying to survive in a post apocalyptic South Korea. This apocalypse is something that seems like its straight out of a Resident Evil franchise (if they focused heavily on BOWs). The first season follows tenants residing within an apartment building who work together to keep each other safe. They are surrounded by overpowered monsters, but also have to ensure that they're own are not infected. These monsters have their own special abilities to help them prey on their victims and they are truly horrifying. I have unfortunately only watched the first season, so I don’t have much to say on Season 2. Sweet Home is a must watch for those interested in worlds featuring monsters.
These are my recs for wonderful horror shows. I wanted to list a few honorable mentions, but maybe I'll tackle another post like this in the future. If you've seen any of these shows, let me know what you thought. If you haven't seen any, are you interested in the ones listed and what do you think about the premise?
Thank you for making it this far! I'll see you on Sunday for the poll (since they are now moved). Have a wonderful weekend!
🔪Versa
https://youtu.be/c-b2HXpbg7U?si=w5yjK0COf8EVKH3F
This was another good show, Dracula on Netflix it was one season with 3 episodes