(Credit: Gage Skidmore)
Mon 17 November 2025 9:30, UK
You’ll probably recognise actor and comedian Patton Oswalt first by his voice and then by his face.
Whether he immediately brings you back to your childhood watching Ratatouille – as though his voice is the eponymous vegetable stew and you’re food critic Anton Ego – where he voiced Remy the rat, to re-runs of The King of Queens, or more recently to episodes of The Goldbergs, you’re sure to have heard it somewhere. Maybe you’re actually well acquainted and have even watched his comedy show.
Either way, Oswalt is one of those actors who’s seemingly been part of everyone’s life in some respect, even if he skirts the edges of fame. Most recently, he’s guest-starred in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as a sexy Vulcan, and in the near future, he’s showrunning a Netflix show based on his comedy show, Minor Threats. He’s a busy man, and as his four favourites show, he’s someone who’s deeply invested in his craft.
Speaking to Letterboxd around Halloween, we got treated to not just his four everyday favourites but his fave horrors, too. And, as he points out, they reveal him as a true ’70s kid. All four horror favourites are legendary horrors from in and around the decade that need little introduction, given their sheer importance to the genre.
First up is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, one of the most influential horror films of all time, which is often credited as the origin of both the Slasher genre and the trope of the ‘final girl’. Next up is one of the best British horror films of all time and a pioneer of the folk horror film, The Wicker Man – the original, of course, not the terrible Nick Cage 2007 remake.
Then we’ve got two that technically fall outside the decade, John Carpenter’s The Thing and “the original” Night of the Living Dead, as Oswalt puts it. Being a ’70s kid, Oswalt would be remiss to not mention John Carpenter, given his massive influence and cult standing in both the decade and horror.
Patton Oswalt is a big fan of The Thing by John Carpenter. (Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
And clearly, Oswalt is a fan of the pioneering horror film, as Night of the Living Dead originated the modern portrayal of zombies in popular culture. The film originated an entire franchise, but for the comedian, it’s this original that sticks out in his mind: “There’s something so creepy and perfect about that movie. It still works for me.”
Compared to the utter classics of his horror favourites, Oswalt’s general favourites are far more wide-ranging and dip into the obscure. However, there are still hints of his love for the 70s. But first, we have a serious entry, which the actor claims is the “best movie of the 21st century”. A big claim considering we’re only a quarter of the way into the century, but many may agree that Children of Men is as impactful, harrowing and insightful a dystopian film as you could hope for.
Alfonso Cuaron’s 2007 masterpiece follows Clive Owen as a civil servant tasked with helping a refugee through an infertile and declining Britain of the not-so-distant future, which hasn’t seen a newborn in 18 years. We’re two years off the setting of the film, and while Britain hasn’t had such a drastic decline, the film still holds up and in many ways rings terrifying truthful in its outlook.
Then we have a little 1970s entry that Oswalt surely grew up with, The Bad News Bears. It’s an underdog story of a little league baseball team that the Ratatouille actor describes as, “A funny movie where kids curse, but it’s about all this other stuff, parenting and adulthood and regret, and it’s also hilarious.”
Then we have the most obscure entry in Oswalt’s lineup, The Wind Journeys. A “very obscure Colombian movie that is so frigging gorgeous”, it follows an accordion player, who is joined by an unlikely teenage boy, on a quest through Colombia to return his apparently cursed instrument to his master.
And last but not least, is Repo Man, a 1980s black comedy that seems to align more with what you’d expect from Oswalt’s favourite films. And, according to him, “one of the funniest films ever made.” For the uninitiated, it follows Emilio Estevez as the titular ‘Repo Man’, a young punk who is recruited to find and repossess a 1964 Chevy that may or may not be connected to aliens.
This unique list can actually be found on Letterboxd, as Oswalt admits he has an account. But unless you’ve got crazy deductive skills, you won’t be able to follow him. He doesn’t use his real name and insists it’s just for his very small group of friends. But at least we got a little insight.
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