Halloween is Saturday, and the Midday Movies critics want to recommend some scary movies, but not the kind you might expect. With a contentious midterm election coming up, we are going to discuss films that tackle election fears and real-world horrors.
Horror films have always been comfort food for me, a way to escape a sometimes terrifying reality where the innocent suffer, evil is not punished, and cruelty is just part of the political agenda. Horror films let me look at the darkest parts of ourselves and emerge with insight or maybe just enjoy a little catharsis.
But if I really want to scare myself, I watch documentaries. There is nothing scarier than serial killers, climate change, political extremism, oppression, injustice… and too many things to name.
So if you want to genuinely scare yourself with the reality we currently face, than here are my recommendations for Halloween.
“13th” (Ava DuVernay, 2016)
DuVernay’s documentary is titled after the 13th Amendment, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. She explores the prison–industrial complex and the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States." The film argues that the exemption has been used to continue the practice of involuntary servitude in the form of penal labor.
“All In: The Fight for Democracy” (Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, 2020)
This documentary examines the history of voter suppression, including barriers to voting that most people may not realize threaten their basic rights as U.S. citizens, as well as current activism. The film features Stacey Abrams, then a Georgia state representative, and explores the challenges she faced in her gubernatorial race. The film is powerful, and if you love the Constitution and value the right to vote, it will also enrage you.
As usual, my partner in crime, Yazdi Pithavala of Moviewallas, goes with some lighter and more hopeful options. Here are his picks:
“Citizen Ruth” (Alexander Payne, 1997)
Pithavala: “The film, made long before the advent of social media, is prescient in describing our current world, where a single event or person gets spun out and held trial on a public social media court of opinions. And where political interest groups play a ruthless game of misinformation to gain voter support.”
“Newton” (Amit Masurkar, 2017)
Pithavala: “The film tells the story of an idealistic young Indian man who asks too many questions at his government job, and gets shipped off to work as an Election Officer in possibly the most remote part of the country: deep in the jungles of central India. Once there, he tries to run an informed and educated election for the rural and tribal communities in the area. And create a safe polling center. But is faced with apathy from the police there and the threat of attacks from rebels in the area bent on preventing fair elections."
And our host, Jade Hindmon, weighed in with her own picks to tap into current anxieties.
“The Manchurian Candidate” (Jonathan Demme, 2004)
Hindmon: "One film that raises political fears in a fictional realm is this 2004 remake with Denzel Washington. This is a political thriller about brainwashed soldiers. In the original book and film, the Chinese army did the brainwashing, but this time, “Manchurian” refers to a sinister multinational corporation trying to put a sleeper agent in the White House as president."
“Civil War” (Alex Garland, 2024)
Hindmon: "The most recent film on the list is “Civil War,” which came out a few years after the U.S. witnessed the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters. This film ponders what might happen if the divisions in our country lead to another civil war."
We hope this list of films will scare you into action, and at the very least, inspire you to go out and vote.
And here’s a scary fact to leave you with: In the previous 2022 midterm election, only 46.2% of citizens voted. In fact, since the start of this millennium, voter turnout for midterm elections has never exceeded 50%. This is true horror.
