Halloween time comes and we hit the usual few horror movies that satisfy every time, but then our minds go blank trying to recall other ones that might fit the season beautifully. Never fear! I have 31 choices that might jog your memory and some you may never have seen, but should. Here's my 31 choices for Halloween month. I've separated them into categories so there is something for every kind of viewer!
classic category -
Halloween (1978)
A classic babysitters are on the slasher's menu cult favorite.
Night of the Living Dead
The defining film for the zombie genre - black and white masterpiece of gore.
Sleepy Hollow
Deliciously autumnal, spooky telling of the classic headless horseman tale.
The Birds
Perhaps the most beloved Hitchcock film with a nostalgic sound, style, and creepy vibe.
The Omen
I think, overall, it was the most terrifying horror movie for me as I first saw it when I was 13. So many amazing scenes that haunted me forever.
The Shining
I think we all imagine what we'd do in a huge hotel, locked in for half the year. I'd like to think I'd paint amazing paintings and write amazing scripts, but I might end up locked in the storage room for being a naughty girl.
The Amityville Horror
As haunted house stories go, ones based on supposed urban legends become a classic.
gory category -
The Nightmare on Elm Street
I readily admit, I saw it in the 80s when it came out and never ever watched it again. It made sleep a terrifying prospect.
Jeepers Creepers
I would have said of more modern day horror films, this was near perfection in storytelling, urban legend vibes, and a great monster, but for the ending that took it into campy territory.
Trick `R Treat
This anthology wins points for happening on Halloween night - not many films think to do that. The stories are creepy and dark. The school bus one was my fave!
The Exorcist
I would feel remiss if I didn't mention this classic possesson film. I'm not a fan at all of possession films, they're just too easy and the Catholic part of it makes it seem more like playacting a faith.
Phantasm
I think this 70s cult favorite really doesn't get the credit it deserves. It's dark, almost fantasy-like, and has the best horror scoring of any horror movie I've ever seen.
The Thing
I would personally put "The Thing From Another World" instead. Kurt Russell kicked ass in this rendition, but the special effects were so cheesy, I giggled most of the time. Still, I love an isolated arctic location.
no gore category -
The Haunting (1963)
My very favorite horror film of all time. It's a ghost story like no other, just a classic mind game in an amazingly atmospheric setting.
Pay the Ghost
A newer film with Nicholas Cage, this one surprised me. It takes place on Halloween, moody, festive city celebrating, but something dark happens and it's up to a father to save his son from a ghost.
Poltergeist
It's pretty much a concensus that this horror tale is a favorite. It covers all the terror bases for most folks from dolls and trees coming to life, children going missing, and toys coming to life.
Sixth Sense
This beautifully executed tale of a boy who sees ghosts has wonderful pacing, chilling moments, and a twist ending you don't forget.
Signs
There's something so vulnerable about a family dealing with alien invasion and this one taking place in the countryside felt very real, very feasible.
monsters category -
30 Days of Night
A town in Alaska pretty much boards itself in for 30 days of winter when they have no sunlight. It is the ideal time for what I consider to be the best vampire movie ever done, as it shows them for the soulless feeders that they are.
The Howling
A classic werewolf story involving a reporter and a strange compound in the mountains.
The Descent
Gal pals spelunkers pick the wrong cave, get trapped, and there's something there with them!
Jaws
I believe the greatest action horror of all time - amazing acting, location, storytelling, scoring, scripting. Can't be beat!
humorous category -
Hocus Pocus
This lighthearted and child-friendly story takes place on Halloween night in New England - can't be more autumnal than that.
Ghostbusters
It's one of those lighthearted ghost stories that has people imitating the lines.
Shaun of the Dead
A humurous zombie story that only two British pals can tell..
Beetlejuice
It's quirky and fun and dark, but kids and adults both love it.
autumn-feeling category -
The Blair Witch Project
Trees are bare, temperatures are cold, and three college kids decide to film a documentary in famously woods haunted by a witch. Just for the lost in the woods vibe and cold, it satisfies.
Fright Night
It had some campiness to it, but this one was teenaged fun with a teenager who has a new neighbor who seems like a vampire, but no one believes him. It's a fun one!
The Village
This is like Sleepy Hollow in absorbing the most chilly, autumn, and isolated feeling of a strange village that seems like it lives in the past and in terror of what is in the forests around them, keeping the villagers isolated. It has a twist ending, but I watch it for the acting and the atmosphere. Beautifully executed. If you love autumn, this is your flick!
Salem's Lot
If you grew up in the 70s, this one gave you chills. Small town. Stranger arrives. Mystery grows. There are moments in this film, like when the boy's spirit floats outside and his brother opens the windows to see him....
The Witch
A more modern day film that stunned me beyond belief. Isolated. Bleak. A religiou family in the woods. But something evil resides. Eventually, they come to believe their own daughter may be a witch. This is a sensory smorgasbord.
I will readily admit that these are a list of more commonly found and viewed horror movies, but I like obscure stuff too, so I would put into some made-for-tv variety, lesser known stuff - (p.s. some can be find on free streaming and YouTube for free)
The Legend of Hell House
This one is based on my favorite horror author, Richard Matheson. A classic haunted house and investigators, psychics, and creepiness.
Gargoyles
This 1972-made-for-tv awesome-fest was a blast! The gargoyles are excellent, the early 70s era is campy, and the desert is mysterious.
Snowbeast
This 1970s fun fest involves Bo Swenson, Clint Walker, Yvette Mimieux, and Betty Davis. A ski resort celebration and damned if a yeti doesn't cause trouble.
Trilogy of Terror
An anthology film from the 70s, but the one we all remember is the damned Zuni Hunting Doll attacking Karen Black.
Night of the Scarecrow
This one surprised me big time! This 1995 flick is a total horrorfest. I love the small town, the angry spirit in a scarecrow body, set on revenge!
The Final Terror
This 80s horror involved a lot of noted actors/actresses. The woods, an esaped maniac, and a bunch of horny youths - this was fun!
The Beast Within
Ronnie Cox acts in this creepy 70s film when a honeymooning couple ends up broken down on a roadway, the bride gets raped by a monster in the woods. The child from that rape grows up to adolescence and the hormones makes him a killer.
The Incubus
A small town, young women getting brutally raped or killed and there is some kind of demonic monster doing it. It's a weird but strangely compelling story with a twist ending.
Whatever you watch this October, explore childhood horrors to see if they still stand the test of time or if they simply make you nostalgic.
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