To get to Z (and numbers), we are steaming along with just Part Onefor now before we return for the sequels for each letter. So don’t worry if you are wondering where Part Two to Letter R is. It is on its way soon enough! For now, let’s have a horrific wander through horror films starting with the letter S.

The Sadness (2001)

A virus has escaped into the public realm in Taiwan, and it is turning its inhabitants into sadistic psychopaths with no method of murder or assault the same. It is a sprint for the exits off the island before it is too late, with couple Jim and Kat stuck on opposite ends. Do they save themselves or try and get to the other before escaping?

You don’t get many films like The Sadness; in fact, it could easily be said that you have never seen a film like it that actively wants you to turn away from the screen as you are watching it. As nihilistic as a mainstream film can get, The Sadness isn’t as much a zombie film as it is a virus gone mental film ala 28 Days Later. There is a ruthlessness to The Sadness from director Rob Jabbaz that just causes involuntary shudders to your core. There are no positives in this world; the more you are in it, the colder you feel.

This is almost certainly not a horror for everyone due to the level of sexual violence that takes place. It’s a pandemic film that will live unwittingly long in the memory, but wow, its unhinged nature is riveting.

Saint Maud (2019)

Katie, a nurse, has converted to become a devout Roman Catholic and is currently working in palliative care when she starts to care for former dancer and rather unfortunately for Mauds religious vibes, hedonistic Amanda. Knowing Amanda fears death, Maud foolishly believes that God has joined them together so she can save poor Amanda’s soul.

One day, Rose Glass woke up and decided she would present one hell of a debut feature film with Saint Maud. While this is one of the modern slow-burn films that goes bonkers in the last act, the work done in the previous two acts causes you to be blown away by what happens in the finale. It’s crucial to the film’s success that we are affected by what Morfydd Clark’s Maud is going through and the inner demons bouncing around in her mind.

Glass has given us a lot to think about in Saint Maud, a mixture of regret for one’s past, loneliness, and spiritual crisis. It is all mixed in there to leave us with a fantastic blend of psychological horror that leaves you with plenty to think about.

Sam and Mattie Make a Zombie Movie (2021)

Two best friends, Sam and Mattie, love horror and fun, and, best of all, their community adores them. So when the two lads with Down Syndrome decide to make a zombie horror film, everyone is all in on the idea.

Part documentary, this is a perfect love letter to horror and friendship. With all the savage horror on this list, sometimes it’s just good to have some wholesome sweetness added to proceedings to make it all worthwhile. Other than seeing that bond between the two on screen, what really pulls at the old heartstrings is how happy everyone is to help out. It will soften even the hardest and iciest of hearts.

Oh, and that other part? It’s actually Spring Break Zombie Massacre in all its wonderful, delightful glory. Their film is a blast and one you, too, would love to make with your best friend. Sam and Mattie are our heroes, and they are the easiest, must-watch a, feel-good time you will ever encounter.

Sam Was Here (2016)

Driving around the desert in search of his next door-to-door sale, Sam is having no luck in the Mojave Desert, yet on the radio, it sounds like they are talking about him. Sounds crazy, that can’t be, so off he continues. But, once he finally finds people, they are, for some reason, out to get him for something he has no idea about.

Sometimes, when browsing around to see what is out there, a poster grabs you, and then the synopsis digs its claws in just enough to keep you interested. Yet, the film isn’t always what you hoped it would be. That isn’t the case with Christophe Deroo’s Sam Was Here. We have been given a sharp, desolate nightmare of a film that will have you spewing theories left, right, and centre. What are those red lights? Who is Eddy? Another debut feature that just knocks you out with its atmosphere.

A must watch for those that love films that are overly open to interpretation.

Satan’s Little Helper (2004)

Dougie is a bit thick, an idiot child who plays a video game called Satan’s Helper. When he accidentally meets a serial killer in a Satan match, this naïve little twit thinks that because he did it in a game, he should help out this stranger WHO IS CLEARLY KILLING PEOPLE. What a dumbass.

Listen, this is a cheap-looking film. It isn’t going to win any cinematographer awards, but it is a delightfully entertaining Halloween-themed romp. If there is a serious bone in this film’s body, it should be quickly removed so that only daft fun can be had. It has that slightly twisted sense of humour that you just connect with while having just enough horror in there to disturb you a bit.

Is it a great film? No, but with its tongue firmly wedged in its cheek, its terribly dark charm carries it through to the credits.

Savage Harvest (1981)

A farming family in Nairobi is living that good old life due to their wealth, even during times of drought. When suddenly, a starving pride of lions make contact and sees the family and its workers as a solid way of feeding that hunger issue they have been having. Estranged husband and game hunter Casey tries to make it back before the family is eaten alive.

No, this isn’t the prequel to Roar; this is a very underrated trap in one location with Tom Skerritt becoming the hero audiences probably thought he would be in Alien. The real star of Savage Harvest, though, is the lions themselves. How on Earth the trainers got them to do what they did is a miracle. (How exactly does someone get a lion to come out of a chimney? I mean, I assume it is a tunnel behind the wall with the exit at the chimney breast, but who knows!?) Some of the stunts are harrowing, especially the finale, as the family tries to escape their expensive prison.

Editors Patrick Kennedy and Scott K. Wallace are the behind-the-scenes heroes of this film; the sheer effort to get the edits required and cut between what I can only imagine are dummies, trainers or stunt performers and the real cast themselves. At times, you are wondering how much the actual cast is in the room or set piece with the lions. The questions of how are almost as interesting as the film itself, if I am honest. However, there is still a lot to love about this film; it teeters on being more of a thriller than a horror film, but I think there is enough here to count it.

Saw (2004)

Two men wake up cuffed to walls on opposite sides of an abandoned bathroom. With only a tape from the serial killer mastermind Jigsaw (a really happy-go-lucky chap) to guide them, they realise they must play his cryptic game to get out alive.

Depending on who you talk to, the Saw series is either great or ends up being watchable as a film instead of a clip show of the deaths right after the first film. While certainly not the first,  it also leans into that non-linear narrative approach that countless films far worse written tried to copy to limited success.

It’s the concept, more than anything, that wins over audiences with Saw. Having a killer who doesn’t theoretically kill you is such a good premise. Making these morally ambiguous characters fight their way to living is one way to have us lean in and be invested in your film. That said, for a film that has spanned so many sequels, it really struggled with casting, and although people love them in this, a few actors here are aping it up to a distracting degree.

Still, Saw is a great film to watch with a first timer, just for that ending alone!

Saw VI (2009)

When you are dying of cancer in the US, who do you blame? The insurance company who failed to help you pay for your treatment because they are some of the worst people on the planet. Jigsaw’s wrath knows bounds, and he is after the blood of those who wronged him. Even considering his current circumstances, he proves that people will always get punished for their moral wrongs.

Yes, for those who don’t know, you are reading the title and year right. Those dastardly Saw films plagued our Octobers every year. You might also wonder why none of the other franchise films are on this list. Well, dear reader, that is because the rest, despite their funky twists and turns and wonderfully gory deaths, were not worth a damn. It took them until the sixth entry to be interesting.

This is the first time in an age that instead of just being about the deaths and the boring twists of Jigsaw and his accomplices, there is an actual story being told. Saw VI decided to talk about American healthcare; as you can imagine, it held nothing back. You are actively engaged with the main story about a man paying for the sins of his company’s immoral attitude to life.

It asks us who is to blame in all of this: the company or the people like Erickson who make a living. Entertaining and questioning? Who knew this franchise had it in them?

Scanners (1981)

Scanning involves using psychic powers to control the minds of those with weaker minds. Seeing the danger, a scientist decides to fight fire with fire and train someone else with advanced telepathic abilities to stop this scanner from raging mayhem throughout the world.

There is a fair chance that you have only seen one or two clips from Scanners. They are doozies, for sure, but there is so much more in David Cronenberg’s film to love. The effects are really the star of the movie, which is filled with intense staring. It was always going to be difficult to keep the audience’s attention.

What has always hurt Cronenberg’s films is that we never get enough time in the world he has created to appreciate its intricacies. In that regard, Scanners is no different. With a finale that feels a touch rushed, you are left, possibly purposely so, wanting more.

Michael Ironside is on to form here, and as is proven with any film he was in during the 80s, if you need a villain with an edge, you hire him or Kurtwood Smith; maybe it’s a balding thing, I dunno. Stephen Vale does good work as the lead, with him making us believe he could challenge Ironsides Revok when they telepathically battle. Come for the explosions, but stay for the story and, importantly, those glorious practical effects.

Scare Me (2020)

Like most of us who have those great horror ideas in our heads, hobbyist writer Fred wants to write his great werewolf story, but like most, he is struggling. By chance, out in the woods, he meets author Fanny, who is making boundless strides in her career so far. When the light goes out in the cabins, they meet up and try to out scare the other with their stories.

A love letter to the horror writers out there in the world: you fall for how endlessly charming Scare Me is, and who doesn’t love people getting really into the scary stories they are telling? For the most part, the writing is on a top-notch level, not just with the actual stories themselves but with the characters. We can see Fanny’s frustration; she isn’t respected despite being a best-selling author. With Fred, his insecurities as a writer haunt him, so when that insecurity is put out into the open, it strikes you.

Scare Me falls foul of being a bit too indulgent for its own good as co-lead/director/writer Josh Ruben allows the middle of Scare Me to get a little flabby when this should be the leanest of lean films. Regardless, the two performances make the film, with Ruben’s and Aya Cash’s chemistry bouncing off the walls.

Shining in that third act, Scare Me hits all the right chords for horror fans.

Scream (1996)

The year prior, Sidney’s mother was brutally murdered, and Sidney (who is still, for some unknown reason, living in the same house as the murder) has become a target for some strangely voiced masked killer. As those around her begin to drop like flies, Sidney needs to work out who is behind the killings and, more importantly, survive.

For those of a certain age or who are new to the horror genre, it cannot be overstated how important Scream was to the genre in the 90s. The genre was in a bit of a lull, and like he always did, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson came around to save the day with a unique horror film that sparked a whole new level of interest back into the genre, jumpstarting it with a new wave of hits.

Everything about Scream works, even today. Its self-referential comedy tickles, but when the scares need to start, they are as brutal as you could imagine, terrifically so. Importantly, though, it’s clever. Craven and Williamson knew that the main audience would be people who have seen plenty of horror films, so they actively kept us on our toes with twists and lines (the three rules of surviving a horror film is the prime example of this).

You can’t help but grin the whole way through Scream. It’s an utter ride and one you likely won’t forget as a first-time viewer. Teen horrors will never be the same again.

Scream 2 (1997)

In college, things should be new and exciting. The chances to have new friends where no one knows you, the chance for love and romance. Bit of partying, great fun. Oh, and some learning. For Sidney, though, she just cannot escape some old masked and knife friends, no matter how hard she tries.

The only sequel added to the list, for really, it’s the only one worth your time. Scream 3 is okay, but it just gets too wrapped up in itself with its own smugness. The laughs and clever moments are all still there in Scream 2, and for a film like this, that is all you want. You want to be surprised and kept entertained, and this film does that in spades.

Again, we are presented with an opening that most films would easily use as their finale. Craven delivers a who’s who of 90s young stars to watch try to survive their freshman year. This is an easily enjoyable double bill with the original if ever there was one. Watch the rest of the franchise, sure. Just know it never exceeds these two.

Sea Fever (2019)

Being on the West Coast of Ireland can be trying enough of an experience, but to be marooned out at sea on a trawler? Well, that is just nightmare-inducing. When a parasite makes its way into the water supply, the company on the small trawler have to try and get to land as soon as possible.

A great little Irish B-movie, Sea Fever takes advantage of its one-location setting and gives us a harrowing and unpredictable jaunt out in the Atlantic Ocean. This is the type of film that ratchets up the tension and suspense to an aching level and, after the pandemic, is all the more relevant. Holding Sea Fever up is the stronger than expected cast for such a low key film, they are excellent.

Neasa Hardiman gives us an incredibly effective claustrophobic horror (goodness knows, she should have far more features under her belt, so producers sharpen up!). Hardiman see’s humans for what they could be at their worst and with Sea Fever we get to see that horror on screen.

To check out our previous letters have a click below! Come back for the letter T, tomorrow.

Horror films to watch: Letter A

Horror films to watch: Letter B

Horror films to watch: Letter B (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter C

Horror films to watch: Letter D

Horror films to watch: Letter E

Horror films to watch: Letter F

Horror films to watch: Letter G

Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 1

Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 2

Horror films to watch: Letter H: Part 3

Horror films to watch: Letter I; Part 1

Horror films to watch: Letter I – Part 2

Horror films to watch; Letter J

Horror films to watch; Letter K

Horror films to watch: Letter L

Horror films to watch: Letter M

Horror films to watch: Letter M (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter M (part 3)

Horror films to watch: Letter N

Horror films to watch: Letter N (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter O

Horror films to watch: Letter P (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter P (Part 2)

Horror films to watch: Letter Q

Horror films to watch: Letter R (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter S (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter T (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter U

Horror films to watch: Letter V (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter W (Part 1)

Horror films to watch: Letter X

Horror films to watch: Letter Y

Horror films to watch: Letter Z

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