13 nights of Halloween: Amazon’s best horror movies
By Mads Lennon
10. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
- Directed by: Tim Burton
- Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Jeffrey Jones, Casper Van Dien, and Michael Gambon
The name Sleepy Hollow is probably familiar to you as the story is an old and classic legend. The 1999 gothic horror film is based on that iconic 1820 short story written by Washington Irving.
It follows Ichabod Crane (Depp) as he investigates murders supposedly being conducted by the mysterious and sinister Headless Horseman. Sleepy Hollow also won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction the year it was released.
9. Annihilation (2018)
- Directed by: Alex Garland
- Starring: Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Oscar Isaac
Based on the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer (a personal favorite of mine) Annihilation tells the story of the mysterious Shimmer. It emerged after a meteor landed in a lighthouse three years before the film’s beginning. In the books, the area is known as Area X, but the ultimate purpose of the zone is the same.
An expedition of five women is organized to be sent across the border into the Shimmer to study the area. Once they reach the area, their communication equipment falters. They find odd mutations in all the living organisms and slowly unravel the horrors faced by expeditions before theirs.