If you’re like me, the whole month of October is pretty much Halloween.  I love the holiday and start celebrating it on October 1st by beginning to watch mass amounts of scary movies.  So, in order to help you plan  your Halloween viewing parties, here is a list of my top 5 Horror Blu Ray/DVD releases of 2009.  I’ll even include Netflix links so you can easily add them to your list.

The Geekcouch Top 5 required viewing for Halloween 2009

These are my top 5 horror flicks released on DVD or Blu Ray in 2009

1) Trick ‘r Treat (Review, Netflix, Amazon)

Bumping Creepshow out of the “Best Horror Anthology Movie” spot, Trick ‘r Treat will be traditional Halloween viewing for many years to come.

2) Drag Me to Hell (Review, Netflix, Amazon)

Sam Raimi + Horror genre = bliss.  This isn’t necessarily a frightfest, but blend Evil Dead II with Army of Darkness humor and you pretty much know what you’re expecting.

3) Let the Right One In (Review, Netflix, Amazon)

A beautiful and creepy take on the Vampire genre.  One of the best Vampire movies ever.  Gorgeous cinematography and an interesting take on adolescent love . . . with Vampires.

4) The Children (Review, Netflix, Amazon)

Creepy and unsettling.  One of the few horror movies to actually creep me out for days.  Plus, can be a great method of Birth Control!

5) Splinter (Review, Netflix, Amazon)

A lower budget monster movie shows that CGI isn’t a necessity.  Great monster effects and a thrilling monster flick.

Honorable Mentions

In no particular order, I highly recommend these films for some Halloween viewing also

• Grace (Review, Netflix, Amazon)
  A slow burn, but really satisfying film about a mother and blood craving newborn.

• The Midnight Meat Train (Review, Netflix, Amazon)
  A photographer stalks a serial killer in the subways.  Vinnie Jones is terrifying and the story dark and creepy.  Digital blood a small annoyance, though.

• Repo! The Genetic Opera (Review, Netflix, Amazon)
  If you don’t like musicals avoid this.  However, it’s nice seeing a gothic opera with an interesting story and gore.

• The Hills Run Red (Review, Netflix, Amazon)
  Great acting, iconic masked killer, story a bit generic.  But lots of fun.

• [REC] (Review, Netflix, Amazon)
  Don’t waste your time with the shitty Quarantine remake.  Watch this instead.

• Alien Raiders (Review, Netflix, Amazon)
  Low budget, fun flick.  Practical make up and alien effects make this a winner.

• Laid to Rest (Review, Netflix, Amazon)
  Chrome Skull is an interesting killer, GREAT gore effects.  Somewhat generic story and some bad acting, but a fun flick.

Alien Raiders

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Directed By: Ben Rock

Starring: Carlos Bernard, Mathew St. Patrick

Plot Synopsis:

It’s the end of yet another night at Hastings Supermarket, an idyllic family grocery store in Buck Lake, Arizona. But the normal monotony of rounding up shopping carts and settling out the cash drawers is broken at 11:07pm, just before closing when a group of masked and armed-to-the-teeth militants invades the store, immediately killing several of the employees and shoppers and holding the rest hostage.

Though the hostage-takers at first appear to be robbers or terrorists, they reveal themselves to be a cadre of rogue scientists that has discovered and tracked an alien infestation to this store on this night, and they are determined to find out which of the survivors are extraterrestrials and end the invasion at any cost. (Trailer Addict)

Review:

So, the award for the lamest title of a good movie goes to … Alien Raiders.  I mean, seriously, this is where studio intervention is a bad thing.  Originally titled Supermarket (I know, not much of a better title), Alien Raiders is a movie that is way better than the title suggests.  When I first heard of this movie, I was thinking it would be a low-grade Sci Fi Channel original crap-fest.  But, then I started hearing some good things and decided to check it out.  Alien Raiders has no right to be as good as it is.  It’s a blast.

The plot is basically Dog Day Afternoon crossed with John Carpenter’s The Thing.  Nothing groundbreaking or terribly original here, but for a genre picture that’s never a big deal.  What’s awesome about Alien Raiders is the use of practical make-up effects and only a slight use of CGI when needed.  I wish more movies used this technique.  In a CGI addicted Hollywood, it’s nice to see a proper combo of effects.  This is how it’s done, people.

Released straight to DVD on Warner Bros’ Raw Feed label, Alien Raiders is easily the best Raw Feed release.  The acting is top notch with 24’s Carlos Bernard showing us he deserves to be in more flicks.  He’s so good here I think we’ll be seeing him in more movies (here’s hoping people actually see this movie).  The acting across the board is not  your standard B level acting.  It’s all solid.  The cast is made up of mostly TV actors (Rockmond Dunbar from Prison Break, Mathew St. Patrick from Six Feet Under) and they are all bringing their A game.

So, for a fun Sci-Fi/Horror romp give Alien Raiders a chance.  Here’s hoping Warner Brothers doesn’t get involved with re-naming movies too much in the future.  I think with a name like Supermarket the beginning of the movie would be a bit more suspenseful.  And although the ending is a bit contrived (I figured it out with 20 minutes to go) this is a fun little movie that is hopefully a springboard for the director Ben Rock and the main cast.  Alien Raiders totally deserves your attention.  Spread the word!

Rated R for bloody violence, disturbing images and language.