British Columbia·Video

Looking for a different scare this Halloween? Check out these 5 under-the-radar horror films

We asked On The Coast’s resident horror movie buff Matthew Lazin-Ryder to pick out some of the best of the genre that you might not have seen.

We're not scared, you're scared

A still from The Exorcist.
The Exorcist is a horror-movie classic, but its sequel was a dud. That shouldn't put you off watching The Exorcist III, though, says Matthew Lazin-Ryder. (Warner Bros)

If you're looking for a fright this Halloween, look no further.

We asked On The Coast's resident horror movie buff Matthew Lazin-Ryder to pick out some of the best of the genre that you might have missed — or deliberately avoided.

From psychological horror to grindhouse thrills, here are his picks for the best underrated horror films.

Listen to Matthew discuss his picks:

Under the Shadow

Year: 2016

You'll like it if you liked: Poltergeist, The Babadook

Available on: Netflix

"Set in Iran during the '80s, it's about a young mother, who, before the revolution, was a medical student with a promising future, but after, she is barred from university. After a bomb lands on the roof of their apartment building, its seems pretty clear that building becomes haunted by something. It's in a way a standard haunted house movie but with the twist of culture and the context of the Iranian revolution, it ends up being so much more."

Creep, Creep 2

Year: 2014, 2017

You'll like it if you liked: The Blair Witch Project, American Psycho

Available on: Netflix

It's a found-footage movie, like The Blair Witch Project. The creep in the title puts out want-ads looking for someone to come to his cottage in the forest and videotape a day in his life. What makes the movie work so well is how engaging and fun to watch Mark Duplass is. It's tense, it's nerve-wracking, but you just can't take your eyes off Mark Duplass's performance — it's a real treat."

The VVitch

Year: 2015

You'll like it if you liked: Sleepy Hollow, The Village

Available on: Netflix

"It's set in the 1630s, and focuses on a family of devout, puritan pilgrims. The scariness begins when the teenage daughter, Tomisin, takes her infant brother out for playtime. In one instant the infant disappears, taken, presumably by a witch. Or was it Tomisin herself? A lot of blame and shame laid on the teenage daughter, and suspicion grows that she's a witch, because, of course, pubescent teenage girls are the most at risk of temptation from the devil. The climax of this movie is an utter heart-pounding mind-bender. It also includes the best performance of all time by a goat."

House of The Devil

Year: 2009

You'll like it if you liked: Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes

Available on: Google Movies

"Before the retro-horror craze of Stranger Things and IT there was House of the Devil. Shot on 16-millimetre film, the 2009 movie belongs on a video-store shelf in the same section as Rosemary's Baby and When A Stranger Calls. It's about a young babysitter who takes a last-minute job, and ends up drawn into a devilish situation."

Exorcist III

Year: 1990

You'll like it if you liked: The Exorcist but didn't like The Exorcist II

Available on: Shudder, Google Movies

"The Exorcist was a triumph, but The Exorcist II was so terrible that only a few people went to see The Exorcist III. George C. Scott plays a detective trying to solve a series of murders, but the most likely suspect was executed years earlier. Could something supernatural be at work? Well, yes! And it somehow connects to the things that happened in the first movie. Contains one of film history's greatest jump-scares."

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast