Vampires, Zombies, Murderers: 8 Horror Shows To Catch On Halloween

1. School Tales: The Series (on Netflix) 

This anthology from Thailand — based on a 2017 film of the same name — features eight terror stories set in schools, where the kids spend more time dabbling in the supernatural than studying. (What the what?! These are teachable moments for parents.) The quality of the stories varies but the episodes that rock include one about a (very annoying) student bent on exposing the ingredients at a popular canteen stall, and another, about an influencer who’ll stop at nothing to be drop-dead gorgeous (dead being the operative word).

FOR UNDER S$20: I’m in the mood for spicy Thai food, so I’m going for the Holy Basil Stir-fried Rice set (S$10.40), and a Mango Salad (S$8.90) from Thai You Up. If you use foodpanda pick-up and self-collect your order, you can get discounts of up to 50% (from Oct 17-31).

2. 30 Coins (on HBO Go) 

This eight-part Spanish import pits a troubled small-town priest (Eduard Fernandez) against a doomsday cult set on acquiring the eponymous relic — the bribe Judas Iscariot received to betray Jesus — and turning it into a WMD far “more powerful than the very Ark of the Covenant!” (Holy smokes, Raiders of the Lost Ark reference!) Mirror portals, arachnid monsters, demonic possessions, Holy Water-doused bullets. What’s not to like? Binge-watch this before Season 2 arrives — or before Hollywood remakes it (blasphemy!).

FOR UNDER S$20: Let’s keep things light, shall we? I’m munching on Pringles original potato chips (S$4.80), Asahi Super Dry Beer (S$5.85), Hoegaarden White Can Beer (S$5.50), and Seaweed Rice Cracker  (S$3.70). This should cover me for a few hours. From pandamart and delivered in 30 minutes.

3. Midnight Mass (on Netflix)

From Mike Flanagan — Netflix’s resident master of horror behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and the current The Midnight Club — this seven-part limited series deserved more Emmy love than the one measly nod it received for Sound Editing (c’mon!). A stirring fable that mixes vampire lore, religious fanaticism, and Catholic doctrines, Midnight Mass asks: what happens if a man of the cloth is also, er, a surrogate for the prince of darkness? Very cheem. And very scary.

FOR UNDER S$20:  Order two boxes of Magnum minis (S$19.90) — Almond and Intense — from The Ice Cream Store (from foodpanda shops) to calm the nerves and ponder on the afterlife. Now that will keep you up all night.

4. Three…Extremes (on Disney+)

Here’s another anthology — from 18 years ago! Three Asian auteurs — Fruit Chan (Made in Hong Kong), Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy), and Takashi Miike (Audition) — each serves up a diabolically twisty and twisted nugget that truly lives up to the title. Of the three, Chan’s Dumplings, starring Bai Ling and Miriam Yeung, with its queasy take on cannibalism and consumerism, still packs a punch. Park’s Cut, featuring Lee Byung-Hun, is a macabre tale of fan worship gone awry, while Miike’s Box remains a mesmerisingly indecipherable dream (nightmare?).

FOR UNDER S$20: Let’s just skip the food (you don’t want to know what the dumplings are made of), and get drinks instead. Because I love Park Chan-Wook, I’m ordering from LOTTE drinks (delivered in an hour from foodpanda shops) Milkis Soda — Original and Strawberry (S$6) — Chilsung Cider Soda Lemon-Lime (S$6.20); and Korean Raisin Tea (S$1.70). If you need snacks, you can always shop at pandamart…

5. SOZ: Soldiers or Zombies (on Amazon Prime Video) 

No Halloween watch-list is complete without zombies. SOZ: Soldiers or Zombies is what happens when Narcos and The Walking Dead decide to settle down and swap DNA. A drug kingpin (Rambo: The Last Blood’s Sergio Peris-Mencheta) breaks out of prison in Mexico but ends up being pursued by a squad of undead soldiers (blame the Americans!). Who do you root for? Who cares? Just sit back and enjoy the mayhem. Why SOZ isn’t a bigger show is a mystery.

FOR UNDER S$20: All the flesh-munching is going to put you off meat. Then you should stick with something vegetarian (and healthy), like the Avocado Livin’ set S$15 — with vegan avocado poke, pomegranate, Japanese cucumber, wakame seaweed, carrot, cherry tomatoes, honey pineapple, sweet corn, pickled beetroot and garnishes fried shallot  —  and Dashi Broth (S$2.50), from Poke Theory. If you want more options, look out for the ‘Green Label’ tile on foodpanda, which features sustainable restaurants, including ones that offer vegan/vegetarian options.

6. Incantation (on Netflix)

This Taiwanese found-footage shriek-fest is a huge hit in its native market and is up for 10 — 10! — Golden Horse Awards next month, including Best Narrative Feature. So why is this story — about a woman trying to protect her child from a demon she offended eons ago — such a big deal? Is it creepy? Yes. Does it have heft? Yes. Is the shaky camera work puke-inducing? Yes, but only if this is your first rodeo. Everything boils down to the finale: Do you believe in chain letters? Well, this movie is one epic chain letter. Why do you think we’re recommending this?

7. Folklore (on HBO Go)

Here’s horror closer to home. Executive produced by Eric Khoo, this anthology series is based on the superstitions and myths from each director’s country (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand). Too busy to watch all 12 episodes? Try these quick picks: Toyol (Season 1), by Ho Yuhang; Tatami (Season 1) by Takumi Saitoh; The Day The Wind Blew (Season 2), directed by Seiko Matsuda (yes, that Seiko Matsuda); Broker of Death (Season 2), by Sittisiri Mongkolsiri; and The Excursion (Season 2), by Nicole Midori Woodford.

FOR UNDER S$20: Let’s go for some mouth-watering Indonesian flavours: Ayam Penyet (S$8.50),  Chicken satay( S$7.50) and Soda Gembira (S$2.20), from Ayam Penyet President. Use foodpanda pick-up to order ahead of time and skip the queues when self-collecting in as fast as 10 minutes.

8. Heinous: An Asian True Crime Podcast (on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, meListen)

Rest your eyes and listen to a podcast instead. True-crime for Halloween? Why not? Stanley Kubrick once called The Shining a hopeful movie because it implies that there’s life after death. Heinous, which revisits infamous murder cases across Asia, is a stark reminder that what’s truly horrifying isn’t some long-haired, poorly-manicured banshee (unless they’re out for revenge, then good luck to you) but man — or woman — and the unspeakable evil acts they are capable of committing.   

FOR UNDER S$20: Munch on some Asian flavours while tuning in — even if it’s at an ungodly hour since pandamart delivers 24/7. How about a packet of Calbee Original prawn crackers (S$2.10), a Gilco Pocky Strawberry Weekly value pack (S$5.05); Nissin Cup noodles — Korean Army Stew, Fish Head Curry Flavour — (S$1.48 each); and four bottles of Bundaberg Light Ginger Beer (S$7.50)?