Halloween is fast approaching. The time of the year where most people watch a good horror movie. The following is a list I compiled of good horror movies to watch on or around Halloween.
This list is in no particular order.
1. Halloween (1978) & Halloween II (1981)
I guess you could just add all of the Halloween films and have a Michael Myers marathon, but these two films in particular are the cream of the crop. For the unfamiliar, Halloween is about a psychopath escaping from a mental institution and going on a killing spree in a small town. Halloween II picks up literally where the first one ends and continues as they both take place in the same night, making them great for back-to-back viewing.
2. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1983)
Even though this film has absolutely nothing to do with the Michael Myers plot line of the other Halloween films, it is still a damn good horror film for what it is. Season of the Witch follows a Halloween mask-making company that plans on killing millions of children on Halloween night with something hidden inside the masks.
3. Night of the Demons (1988)
I first watched this film just recently. (I know, right?) Unfortunately, I had the stale taste of the 2009 remake in my mouth. Now that I’ve actually seen it, I must say that the 1988 original is hands-down better than the remake. The movie revolves around a group of teens holding a party on Halloween night at "Hull House," an old abandoned funeral parlor. They accidently awaken something evil and chaos ensues. It’s filled with that 80’s horror movie charm that sadly the remake never captured.
4. Trick 'R Treat (2007)
Trick ‘R Treat is another horror cult classic. The movie consists of four stories interwoven throughout the film that all take place on Halloween. A high-school principal with a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin meets the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a cruel prank, and then a woman who hates Halloween has to put up with her holiday-obsessed husband. It is bloody, it is violent and it takes place on Halloween. Plus, who doesn’t like Sam?
5. Paranormal Activity 1, 2, & 3 (2007, 2010, 2011)
I know these films get a bad rap, but I love them. They don’t take place or revolve around Halloween, but are a good watch anyway. Yes, there is a PA4 and a PA5, but PA1-3 are the best of the best. PA1 follows a couple being disturbed by a demonic presence in their suburban home. PA2 is a prequel to PA1 and follows the sister of the woman in PA1. PA2 is filled more demonic fun. PA3 follows both sisters, but this time prequels back to 1988 when they were both just little girls. These films are great for anyone who can’t stand blood and guts, as they aren’t filled with any brutal violence.
6. The Monster Squad (1987)
The Monster Squad is another awesome classic. The film follows a bunch of young kids that form a monster club in their tree house, for fun. However, when Count Dracula shows up in their neighborhood, accompanied by Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Gillman, they all must fight to save Earth. This movie is great for Halloween as it showcases the classic Universal monsters.
The Monster Squad also makes my list of what I think are the best PG-13 rated horror films of all time.
7. May (2002)
May is one of those films that once you start watching it, you just can’t stop. I caught this on television randomly one time in the middle of the night, and had to stay awake to finish it. May is about a weird young woman that just wants to find the right person to fall in love with. Things finally start looking up when she starts seeing a man she has been crushing on. However, he eventually rejects her. The film climaxes on Halloween night, when May snaps and decides to make herself a friend. All she needs is some of her favorite body parts, right?
8. Saw I, II, III, IV, V, VI, & 3D (2004 through 2010)
"If it's Halloween, it must be Saw." That's the tagline they would use when advertising Saw back when they released. Every sequel to this epic franchise would be released each year, right near Halloween. The Saw series follows a killer by the name of Jigsaw. He places people (who he thinks does not deserve life anymore), into elaborate traps where they must fight to survive, or die trying. This series would be fun to marathon on Halloween, or at least the weeks leading up, with a big finale on Halloween day. Where is Saw VIII already?
9. House of 1,000 Corpses (2003)
I don’t know what to say about this film other than it is weird as shit, but that’s a good thing. Directed by Rob Zombie, House of 1,000 Corpses follows two young couples as they road trip through Texas writing a book about weird things you find driving across country. Their luck runs out as they become prisoners to a backwater family of serial killers. The story takes place on Halloween, and the characters in the film actually dress up at one point. That, along with its bizarre and sadistic tone, makes it a great viewing for Halloween.
10. Dead Alive (1992)
Dead Alive (or Braindead) is, in my opinion, the goriest horror film of all time. This film doesn’t have anything to do with Halloween, but it is a cult classic and a must watch for anyone who calls themselves a horror movie fan. What a better time to see it then around Halloween? Directed by Peter Jackson (Yes, you read that right.), the movie follows a young man whose mother is bitten by a rat monkey. She slowly changes into a zombie-like being and chaos ensues as others become infected. Trust me when I say that this is nothing like any other zombie flick you’ve ever seen before. Warning: The climax of this film is a bloodbath.
11. Murder Party (2007)
Some might consider Murder Party to be more of a comedy than a horror film, but whatever, this is my list. (I do what I want.) Murder Party takes place on Halloween night, where a man finds an invitation to, you guessed it, a Murder Party. However, upon arriving at the party, he discovers that they intend on murdering him; all for the sake of art. Chaos soon follows.
12. Scream (1996)
Scream might not have much to do with Halloween, but it’s still a fun watch for this time of year. Directed by one of the legends of Horror, Wes Craven, the film is about a masked killer offing teenagers in a small town. It is a classic who done it type of film, with enough twists to keep you guessing until the end. Humor also fills this one as characters discuss the “rules” of horror films as they try to figure out who the killer is. I did not particularly like the sequels that followed, but this one is defiantly a classic.
13. V/H/S 1 & 2 (2012, 2013)
V/H/S 1 and 2 are great movies to watch for Halloween. V/H/S is comprised of five short segments. Each one filmed in the found footage style (Paranormal Activity). The last segment actually takes place on Halloween night, but in 1998. V/H/S 2 is comprised of four more segments, ranging from the paranormal to satanic cults. This gives you nine segments in total if you watched these back-to-back. Even if you don’t like all the segments, there is enough here that you will definitely enjoy something.
I hope you all enjoyed this list as much as I did making it.
Now time to get back to writing.