Halloween is coming up on Monday, but most of the partying will be this weekend. Things can get crazy out there, so for anyone who’d rather stay at home, settle in, and watch something great, here are nine creepy, unsettling, and or just strange web series to help you get in the Halloween spirit.
“EverymanHybrid” is the best example of a prank gone wrong. The first few episodes of this series make it seem like it’s a fitness channel hosted by three college-aged guys, one that features a very obvious creature set up for clickbait. However things really start rolling when it turns out that said creature has been real the whole time. The best thing about this series? Its interaction with its fans. The series uses social media and works with its fanbase, making the viewers just as important in telling the story as the creators themselves.
If you’re into the found footage genre, or aren’t too satisfied with this year’s adaption of The Blair Witch Project, “No Through Road” is the series for you. The premise of this series is that its videos are released footage from the camera of one of four teenagers who were found dead in a car nearby an abandoned farm. The shocking ending of the first episode leaves you feeling unsettled, and yet wanting to know more of what happened to these kids.
Another found footage webseries, “Just Acquaintances” follows the acquaintance of two brothers who went missing after a series of break-ins at their home. Receiving a package with some memory cards and a camera, the series shows footage of the few months before the brothers went missing, starting with their visit to a graveyard. It’s a little slow, as most found footage films are, but once you get to the third episode things start picking up.
As one of the longest running horror web series out there (it began in 2001), “The Hunted” describes itself as “Buffy meets Cops.” Focusing on a group of vampire slayers, this group comes together to fight off the rest of the vampires in their world. Their biggest problem is that the usual methods of killing vampires — stakes and burning — don’t work as well as they used to. Blending comedy, horror, and pretty decent special effects, this series is one to look into.
“Paranormal Activity” fans rejoice; if you’ve been disappointed in the last few movies then “Anomalies” has your back. The premise of this web series is that two roommates, Steven and Brendan, begin documenting the paranormal occurrences in their home. It doesn’t take long for this series to grab your attention, and by the end of episode one you’re left wondering what the hell is happening in these guys’ homes.
Surreal and just really freaking weird, “meatsleep’s” premise is a strange one. The creators behind the channel are a group of eleven people who live in eight different countries around the world. The videos and what they’re about (if they’re about anything) are based on the roll of a dice, so who films it, makes the audio, and edits the final product is all by chance, resulting in some of the weirdest stuff you’ll find on the internet.
Another web series in the found footage genre is the “The West Records.” The plot seems somewhat familiar as it follows Henry, an employee at an army surplus store, who receives a few items from a naval base including “a bunch of redacted documents, letters, old audio cassettes, office supplies” and a hard drive with a bunch of messed up files. Henry decides to repair the files only to find lost footage of a case involving the unaccounted disappearances of 3,000 people on the naval base.
Following an unnamed protagonist, “My Dad’s Tapes” is set after the death of the main character’s estranged father. After inheriting the old man’s collection of home movies, the protagonist decides to watch the videos as a sort of final goodbye. He learns his father didn’t exactly hang out with the best kind of people or do the best things. While it is a found footage show, and some of the videos don’t have a point to watching them all the way through, the series still leaves you uncomfortable and wanting more. Not to mention the gore factor is pretty out there compared to the other webseries on this list.
Lastly, for those wanting something a bit less scary, “Oscar’s Hotel for Fantastical Creatures” is a great alternative. Made by famous Youtuber KickThePj, “Oscar’s Hotel” focuses on Oliver, who agrees to take care of his uncle’s hotel even though it’s filled with fantastical creatures. This show is the full package: cool costuming, awesome acting, and guest appearances from some of the most well-known Youtube stars. The fact the show’s won numerous awards at this year’s Streamy’s is not too shabby either.
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