These films/stories below – with the theme of life just before/after death are good to show in a class of rowdy self assured (even cocky students) who seem very disengaged. However, if the class has many students (even one) with anxiety or who are easily triggered and you want a Halloween theme. Teach Death Note instead 🙂
Jacob’s Ladder is probably one of the most psychologically scary movies made in the last 30 years. I show the PG grade 10-11 students in October before Halloween. I also tie it into Remembrance Day. Preview carefully because you may not want to show all parts. In fact the R rated version is very disturbing in some parts and I wouldn’t show it to secondary students. (This is not a slasher movie or torture porn though.)
Jacob’s Ladder stars Tim Robbins as a Vietnam war vet recovering after being hospitalized back in the USA. He finds out that demons are following him through the streets. He finds some measure of protection from his chiropractor who symbolizes his guardian angel.
Wikipedia description:
Jacob’s Ladder (1990 film)
1990 film by Adrian Lyne
Jacob’s Ladder is a 1990 American psychological horror film directed by Adrian Lyne, produced by Alan Marshall, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and starring Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, and Danny Aiello. The film’s protagonist, Jacob, is a Vietnam veteran whose experiences prior to and during the war result in strange, fragmentary flashbacks and bizarre hallucinations that continue to haunt him. As his ordeal worsens, Jacob desperately attempts to figure out the truth.
Reviews:
Jacob’s Ladder – Review and summary – Roger Egbert
https://www.google.ca/url?q=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/jacobs-ladder-1990&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwjC1u2JqaTcAhVtIDQIHWiIBqYQFgg7MA8&usg=AOvVaw02ksYYw_QztxZ-iAJW6mZX
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Short story by Ambrose Bierce
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890) is a short story by the American writer and Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce.[1]Regarded as “one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature”,[2]it was originally published by The San Francisco Examiner on July 13, 1890, and was first collected in Bierce’s book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891). The story, which is set during the American Civil War, is known for its irregular time sequence and twist ending. Bierce’s abandonment of strict linear narration in favor of the internal mind of the protagonist is an early example of the stream of consciousness narrative mode.[3]
I haven’t seen it but there is also a short film version.
Other films you could pair it with are Lost Boys and Flatliners (the originals). Also whole slew of what-happens-when/after-you-die articles.