Don't let yourself be scared off by these foreign horror flicks

By now, it’s customary for me to do an inventory of little-seen recent horror films to recommend to you, dear reader, for Halloween.

This year is no different but I noticed a pattern when I looked over my favorite fright flicks of the year — all of them were made overseas. You know, where we usually find quiet dramas and light comedies about human feelings and existential dilemmas. Goodness, are there no tasks we won’t ship abroad.

Even scarier? Two of them have subtitles! Fret not, for these films also promise gore and shocks. Open your horizons and check out these scary movies you can screen at home during this spooky weekend.

'Talk to Me'

Released this summer to critical fanfare and decent box office receipts, this Aussie flick follows a group of teens venturing into the world of the supernatural.

After the discovery of a ceramic arm that allows spirits to possess a person’s body, the teens become hooked by the sensation. Mia (Sophia Wilde), who has just lost her mom, decides to stay between worlds to try and reach her departed loved one. The results are, predictably, problematic.

A clear analogy for drug addiction, “Talk to Me” offers compelling drama baked into the horror, thanks to well-drawn characters. Plus, the Philippou brothers — who have a bit of a YouTube following — bring a fresh vibe to the visuals on a tight budget.

“Talk to Me” is available on all major streaming rental services.

'El Conde'

Need some political satire with your horror? Pablo Larrain — who directed the True/False Film Fest sensation “No” several years back — has made a film about Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and envisioned him as an immortal vampire.

On the surface, making a fascist leader into a literal bloodsucker is a bit too on the nose. But Larrain uses this absurd concept to explore the survival instincts required for global politics — as well as the inability of those who gain power to let go even as they advance into age. There’s a lot of layers to peel back and each of them are imagined creatively. I dare say this is the most innovative use of the vampire lore in 15 years, since we had the Swedish film “Let the Right One In” and “Twilight” hit theaters at the same time.

Larrain shoots in gorgeous black-and-white, adding a level of old-school dread to the proceedings while muting some of the horrifically graphic images. Not for the faint of heart but certainly for anyone who wants to have some high-minded chuckles with the gore, “El Conde” is smart and full of some surprises I dare not reveal here.

Not only is it the best horror film I’ve seen this year, it’s pretty high on my Top Ten list so far. You can catch it on Netflix.

'When Evil Lurks'

In agrarian Argentina, a group of farmers confront the fact one of their neighbors is possessed by a demon. A rotting, oozing demon. Filmmaker Demian Rugna’s technical work almost makes you smell what’s happening on screen.

Using a combination of religious skepticism (“The church is dead here,” one character yells in desperation) and localized myth-making, the living attempt to figure out how to rid this evil force from their lives. Unlike a lot of possession movies, there’s a great deal of trial and error that goes into this. Usually with disastrous results.

The film goes in a lot of shocking directions, including bringing children into the violence. Often, I find this a turn-off. It’s far too easy to get a shock out of harming kids.

But there’s something immediate about the film’s observation that evil seeks out the innocent because they are the most susceptible. We’ve seen that in the granddaddy of all demon possession films — “The Exorcist” — and it makes sense in the real-world context of school shootings and terrorists targeting maternity wards to enact their violence.

These are desperate times, and “When Evil Lurks” understands how the scariest things are also the most unassuming. A pet dog, a domesticated goat, a special-needs child. I cannot believe I am writing it, let alone endorsing it.

Rather than feeling exploitative, Rugna cuts to the chase and makes it clear evil is always going to win; and it’s always going to corrupt. You just need a lot of fortitude to keep fighting. Something of an open question at the end of the film is whether the characters can continue to endure what they’ve been through. Truly, a film of nightmares.

Is the world becoming desensitized to brutal film violence? I would argue the influence goes the other way. “When Evil Lurks” is streaming on Shudder after a brief theatrical run earlier this month.

James Owen is the Tribune’s film columnist. In real life, he is a lawyer and executive director of energy policy group Renew Missouri. A graduate of Drury University and the University of Kansas, he created Filmsnobs.com, where he co-hosts a podcast. He enjoyed an extended stint as an on-air film critic for KY3, the NBC affiliate in Springfield, and now regularly guests on Columbia radio station KFRU.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Don't let yourself be scared off by these foreign horror flicks