When I saw TokyoTreat had a Halloween box, I didn’t hesitate to request one. October is one of my favorite months because of the shift to autumn, at least when the weather behaves, and the spooky season. It’s the first month since March when I feel better. Heat makes me feel terrible. So to celebrate, I decided to spend the month watching horror films.

TokyoTreat, if you aren’t aware, is a subscription service that brings boxes of Japanese treats to your door. Most of these treats aren’t readily available here in the States. If you also don’t know, Japan has amazing KitKat flavors. Each month, you get a different one in your TokyoTreat box. Now, while TokyoTreat sent me their Halloween box in exchange for reviewing their goodies, my tastebuds are my own. I don’t drink cola or soda pop, for example. I avoid energy drinks. So this box’s cola and energy-drink bubble gum get a solid thumbs down from me. I also eat healthy for the most part, so treat boxes offer a change of pace. Snacking while watching a horror film is quite indulgent for me. Japanese snack servings are smaller than the standard US size. This makes Japanese junk food a bit better for you, as long as you don’t eat the entire box at once. I worked through the box faster than I normally would because I had a bit more of a deadline. If you buy the box, you can stretch the goodies over the month if you wanted.

What’s in the box?

Each TokyoTreat box contains a glossy, full-color booklet that discusses each of the goodies along with other tidbits from Japanese pop-culture, such as spooky anime suggestions. The booklet explains allergy information for each item.

The highlight of these boxes are usually the KitKats. Sweet Potato KitKats may be a little strange for some, but where I grew up sweet potato pie was a common feature. These KitKats reminded me of that pie, but the candy bars lacked the stronger cinnamon I expected. They are good and light, but they remind me too much of a weaker, store-bakery sweet potato pie.

It’s interesting how close many items in this box got to my childhood’s homegrown flavors. The salt and sesame oil potato chips nailed the flavor of a local company’s potato chips: light with just a slight saltiness. The box’s Black Thunder Cookie Bar also tapped into a chocolate-cookie bar I used to eat in my childhood. It has a slightly chalky texture balanced by smoother chocolate. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the US version of the bar. I hadn’t seen it in stores in decades.

I was pleased to see the Palinky Mentaiko Corn Snacks. For whatever reason, Frito Lay and other companies moved away from the baked, airy triangle meshes of these style of snacks. The Poppables brand aren’t quite the same as these. The Palinky have the added flavor of pollock roe, keeping the flavor light. It’s easy to devour the entire bag without realizing it.

I was surprised to see Pokemon-branded snacks in the box. This cake, along with the mini Halloween cookies have a slight sweetness that goes well with coffee or tea. Tea, these cookies, and a good horror film make for a pleasant experience! This box included a package of instant yakisoba noodles instead of ramen. The package provides a good base for a meal. I added a variety of vegetables to it, and it made a good dinner. You could also add eggs or some other meat if you wanted.

I didn’t care for everything in the box. Beyond the cola and the gum, I’m not a fan of gummies nor jelly beans. Combining the two into a Halloween snack didn’t jive with me. The box included “Teeny Tiny Monster Chocolates”. The flavors were a bit too light for me, to the point where they all tasted the same instead of as 5 separate flavors. This might be because they sat together in a tiny package.

Overall, I enjoyed breaking my no-snacking habit while I began my horror movie month. Thank you, TokyoTreat. Now let’s get into my movie suggestions.

My 2023 Horror Film Watch List

I have a habit of watching the classic Universal monster movies most Octobers: Frankenstein with Boris Karloff, Dracula with Bella Lugosi, and all the others. This year, I decided to watch some different films, many I had never seen before.

Audition

I enjoy Japanese horror’s slow burn. Audition may be too slow in its buildup for many people, but the payoff at the end of the film wouldn’t have worked without that slow momentum. It had been years since I watched this film, so this will be close to a first watch.

Thirst

This Korean film takes a different angle on vampires. A Catholic Priest volunteers as a human test subject for a virus. The experiment turns him into a vampire. The plot follows the breakdown of his resistance to his vampiric urges along with a romance with the wife of his childhood friend. This film has a slow-burn approach too. Not as slow as Audition, but the slow reveal and building of the characters’ urges keeps the story less predictable than most vampire films I’ve seen.

Castlevania

Castlevania broke the trend of bad video game to film adaptions. I consider this anime, but the art style sits between old-school anime and old-school American animation. The snark and action are great, and as an old Castlevania fan, I’m pleased the series is good.

When I wrote this article, I hadn’t yet watched these films:

Black Sunday aka The Mask of Satan

I have seen other films by Mario Bava, however, and I expect a fun ride. Italian horror has interesting cinematography and atmosphere. And cheesiness. I look forward to this one! Few films can top the charm with a touch of camp in these older films.

Evil Dead Rise

This movie has me worried. I enjoy the original Evil Dead trilogy, using the word trilogy loosely. I’m a fan of Sam Raimi’s work. His remake of the original Evil Dead was decent for a modern horror film. Admittedly, modern horror doesn’t hold up well in my view, but the remake was decent nonetheless. However, as series progress, the quality of their stories tend to degrade.

The Pope’s Exorcist

This is another that has me feeling meh. The original Exorcist remains one of my favorite films, and the one I compare exorcism movies against. Few stack up. However, I like Russell Crowe’s performances, which is the main reason I added it to my watch list for the month.

El Conde

I don’t often add films to my list without some consideration, but when I saw the Netflix preview of this modern black-and-white film, I dropped it in. As you might tell, I prefer older films over modern films, so when a modern film tries to channel the feel of the older black-and-white horror films I give it a shot. For me, color films lack the atmosphere of black-and-white horror.

Game Over Hindi

When Netflix’s algorithm suggested an Indian horror film, I pounced. I’m always on the hunt for a new take on old themes. That’s why I enjoy Japanese and Korean horror and other horror films from outside the US. Most American horror films are too predictable, which prevents them from achieving the creepiness I enjoy. Jump scares are boring. In this story, a gamer and game designer gets a tattoo. However, her tattoo artist accidentally used ink mixed with the ashes of a dead woman. The ink was intended for someone else’s memorial tattoo. As you can guess, things won’t go well.

Have Any Horror Suggestions?

Thanks again to TokyoTreat for providing the snacks for my horror-movie watching. Their snack boxes are a fun way of treating yourself to a monthly surprise (unless you look through their website, but where’s the fun in that?). I only wish they offered way to purchase a single box instead of subscribing, but subscriptions allow them to keep their prices reasonable.

I will watch several more horror films throughout the month based on my whims. If you have a suggestion, please leave it in the comments!