As October draws nearer, spooky season is almost upon us. Besides fun and creative costumes, over-the-top decorations and classic Halloween songs, this extremely Americanized holiday is home to some of the most diverse and rich films in the industry. So, if you haven’t already started a Halloween movie marathon of your own personal favorites, here are the best of the film industry’s frightening flicks.
The creepy classics are always good to start with. Staple horror flicks like “Halloween,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Saw,” “Friday the 13th,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Scream” would start October off with a bang, and most of these films have decent sequels, if you wish to add those to your list.
Some great Halloween family movies, including various Disney Channel classics, are just as much of an enjoyable watch. Of course we have “Halloweentown” and “Halloweentown 2,” which pretty much gave 2000s kids their childhood. Then came “Twitches” and “Twitches 2,” about royal twin witches from a different universe that are fated to save their kingdom. These films are especially good for Halloween as they actually take place on Oct. 31.
Then we have the fan-favorite family movies like “Hocus Pocus,” “Practical Magic,” the live-action “Scooby Doo,” “The Addams Family” and “Ghostbusters.” These all win a spot in the memorable Halloween movie genre as they have something for everyone in the family as well as maintaining some of that much needed spooky cheer.
There are a handful of Halloween movies that you can find online. Found on Netflix are horror films “Hush,” about a deaf woman who discovers an intruder in her home and “Oculus,” about a brother and sister who try to destroy a haunted mirror before it brings more tragedy and pain to their family. Some eerie or spooky non-horror movies on Netflix are “The Covenant,” a film about male witches who have to stop another evil witch (played by the wonderful Sebastian Stan) from destroying things that they hold dear. Another notable film is the dark comedy “Heathers,” in which the plot takes the phrase “I would kill to be popular” quite literally and finally the psychological thriller “The Gift” in which a man begins to deliver strange gifts to a couple who have just moved into town.
More recent releases that should be added to your countdown are “Hereditary” and “The Nun.” I have not seen “Hereditary” yet but I have heard only positive reviews and “The Nun” is a great movie to add if you want to watch “The Conjuring” series. “The Nun” focuses on the demon from the second film of the series and brings its origin story to the big screen.
A personal favorite of mine that I feel really gives off a Halloween vibe is “The Houses October Built.” The film is on Netflix and it’s about a group of friends who are looking for the best haunted house attraction in America, but on their way they associate with bad people and find themselves a little too involved in their mission.
Though all films in the horror genre as well as many other suspenseful or thrilling films are worthy of their own Halloween countdown, October is truly about finding your taste in spooky films.
Calista Giroux is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at calista.giroux@gmail.com.
