Joel McHale recommends total darkness and no company for Session 9, a horror film about an asbestos-removal crew working inside an abandoned psychiatric hospital. Asked for a personal favorite, he says, “Watch it alone with the lights off.”
McHale calls himself a horror “snob.” He’s also admitted that exorcism stories have cost him sleep. His other pick for a heavy watch is Frailty (2002).
Released in 2001, Session 9 was filmed inside the real Danvers State Hospital. It earned $378,176 at the U.S. box office against a $1.5 million budget before finding a cult audience on DVD. McHale had already named it a favorite in a December 2014 interview, saying, “Session Nine was one of my favorites.”
His other recommendation is Frailty, which Bill Paxton directed and starred in alongside Matthew McConaughey. Paxton plays a father who believes the people he’s killing are demons; McConaughey plays his grown son. The film reached U.S. theaters on April 12, 2002, following a November 2001 festival premiere.
McHale’s horror tastes also include Hereditary. In December 2023, he called it “One of the best horror movies ever made in my book.”
