Halloween is right around the corner and if you’re a horror fan like me then the arrival of the spookiest season of the year must be making your little heart jump with joy. I look forward to the month of October every year because it is the perfect time to binge all the best horror movie classics. Whether its channel surfing, downloading movies on my computer or going to the movie theaters, spooky season is in full effect as soon as October 1st hits. Now, of course, there are the new horror movies that come out every October (which I also love) but is it truly Halloween season if you’re not watching the classics? Within the category of classics, there are subgenres that touch upon almost every type of horror film made. These subgenres include slasher films, supernatural, thriller, zombie, found footage, psychological and many more. I will be touching upon just a few of those categories, but trust that these movies are must-watch classics. In no particular order, here are the Top 10 Horror movie classics to binge all spooky season long.
Classic Slasher Films:
1. Halloween– Halloween, directed and written by John Carpenter, tells the fictional story of an escaped murderer by the name of Michael Myers that “returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again” (Ahmetkozan).
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street– A Nightmare on Elm Street, directed and written by Wes Craven, shows the “monstrous spirit of a slain child murderer seeks revenge by invading the dreams of teenagers whose parents were responsible for his untimely death.”
3. Friday the 13th– Friday the 13th, directed and written by Sean S Cunningham, is a slasher film based in the heart of summer camp where “a group of camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown” killer (Mac).
Psychological Horror Films:
4. The Shining– The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by Stephen King (novel), was created based on some events lived by Stephen King that inspired the novel and movie. The plot: “A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future” (N/A).
5. The Silence of the Lambs– The Silence of The Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Thomas Harris (novel) and Ted Tally (screenplay), is about “A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims” (Helltopay27).
Supernatural Horror Films:
6. The Exorcist– The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, is a movie that had everyone jumping out of their seats. The plot is about “a teenage girl that gets possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter” (paulricahrd).
7. The Ring– The Ring, directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger, is about “A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it” (Chisholm).
More Recent Classics:
8. The Conjuring– The Conjuring, directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes, is inspired by a true story: “paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse” (Chisolm).
9. Sinister– Sinister, written and directed by Scott Derickson, is about “a washed-up true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt who finds a box of super 8 home movies that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose work dates back to the 1960s” (Gasmakproductionbooks).
10. Black Swan– Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Andres Heinz is a movie about “A committed dancer that struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” (Orent).
Now that I’ve listed the top 10 Horror film classics to watch you’re all set for this year’s spooky season! If I have to choose my all-time favorite from this list, it would definitely have to be A Nightmare on Elm Street. The plot, costume design, makeup, etc. are all incredible and along with the fear in this film, there is also humor. I hope this list gets you excited for Halloween and I’m excited to see this year’s new horror movie releases all month long.