I have always turned to horror in times of stress—when I’m heartbroken, angry, depressed, and so on. I’ve always said that horror movies are perspective films. When your life sucks, horror movies show you that things could always be worse. They present our deepest fears, our unmanageable grief, and things we could never imagine. And in nearly all of them, there is someone who emerges victorious despite all of the hell they’ve spent the last 90 minutes going through.

Some of my favorite movies to turn to when things get bad are movies like Cabin in the Woods, The Cottage, Black Sheep (yes, a lot of horror comedies because they remind me laughter is vital), You’re Next, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien & Aliens, Predators, Prey.