Lots of great ideas and suggestions. Thank you all! I was in a real rough brain fog where I literally could not think of any movies ever made. I think I have ruined Black Christmas for him (at least for a long while) cause I told him that I legitimately thought it was one of the scariest movies ever (to me) haha
I haven't seen Widow's Bay but if he's open to series maybe The Haunting of Hill House? Or The Fall of the House of Usher if he wants something a little more funny and a little less sad
Fair, it's definitely creepy! I just figured if he liked Halloween, that was a natural precursor (but scarier imo, you're right).
Midnight Mass is a masterpiece but I probably wouldn't start with it if you aren't really familiar with his style, it's a real slow burn to start with. Hill House gets the adrenaline pumping a lot quicker
I think Poltergeist is one of the best entries into the genre. You get the familiar Spielberg vibes and never gets too crazy, but goes in places you wouldn't expect that take you out of your comfort zone. Pumpkinhead, Christine, The Others, are all good entries as well and maybe after a couple try House of the Devil to test their tolerance.
I've recommended Hill House to him for years and he's slowly coming around to it because of its consistent high praise. Usher has escaped me so I haven't been able to recommend that personally. I want to watch it (and rewatch his other shows), I just wish it wasn't only on netflix
Usher is a bit more mean spirited (which is fine because all the adults in that family are assholes), it's not my favorite Flanagan but I did like it more upon rewatch with that in mind
Usher is pretty comfortably my least favourite, some fun gross scenes but I found it mostly pretty boring
Usher is good, but i'd rank it in the middle of his other TV projects (MM > HH > Usher > Bly > Midnight Club). Midnight Mass resonates with me so much not only as a former Evangelical, but as a religious sociologist. it really exemplifies some of the foundational theory of the field (Durkheimian collectivism and religion's relationship with social strucrtures) in a unique way. if i taught a soc theory or soc of religion class, i'd make my students watch it.
I would be mad if my professor made me watch a Mike Flanagan project (I'm sorry I'm kidding I'm sorry)
gonna have to put a Flanagan warning in my syllabus/course description so Flanagan non-fans aren't blindsided/drop the class partway through, haha
Which one is the most like Oculus? As an Oculus die hard, I’d prefer to start with the one that has the most evil mirrors that eat people
maybe Hill House or Bly Manor? i've seen everything of his except his Ouija prequel and Absentia, and those two probably feel the most like Oculus tonally, albeit both ending on a slightly more optimistic note (as most of his shows do, barring Midnight Mass)
I think the Ouija prequel was okay, but I don't really remember anything about it. I really enjoyed Hush more than anything else I've seen from him, although that may be because I gravitate to slashers more so than supernatural horror.
Now to write a horror movie about someone in a horror forum who goes insane and kills all its users one by one in the style of their favorite film.