Every October, we all love watching the Halloween movies they premiere on ABC Family to get us in the Halloween mood before the actual day. But they always seem to miss the most important movies: ones that get us feeling really scared! Here are the top five movies that will get you having those pre-halloween scares.
5. Beetlejuice (1988)
Today, when we watch movies that were made in the 80’s, we tend to laugh at the makeup, costumes and effects they used compared to what is used in movies now. Beetlejuice tells the story of the Maitland couple (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin), who die in a car accident and become ghosts who still live in their home. In order to keep their home, they seek the help from another dead spirit, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), to scare a family from moving in. However, they help the Maitlands were seeking becomes dangerous. Although it has the cheesy makeup and special effects, Beetlejuice gives us a different meaning of ghosts. We do not get scared by white sheets, but by bad makeup worn by Michael Keaton.
4. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Halloween cannot only have scary characters of zombies, vampires and ghosts, but also bloody, scarred or beaten up characters as well. Edward Scissorhands (Scissorhands played by Johnny Depp) is about an invented human named Edward who has scissors as hands. One day, he is discovered by a woman living in the community next to the dark mansion he lives in and goes to live with her and her family. Throughout the film, Edward finds many advantages and disadvantages with his razor sharp scissorhands. This film allows us to be scared of other characters than just ones we see in pictures or at Halloween stores.
3. The Witches (1990)
We always see witches as wearing pointy hats, flying on broomsticks and having cackling laughs. In The Witches (starring Anjelica Hudson), a boy discovers a meeting of many witches while on vacation with his grandmother. As he listens to the meeting, he discovers that the witches to be balled with deformed facial features along with their plan to turn all children into mice. Although this film does not give us the classic witches of Halloween, The Witches gives us that stronger fear of witches with the use of stage makeup on the witch characters.
2. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Some Halloween scares can involve blood and torture along with scary characters. The Silence of the Lambs (starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins) tells the story of a FBI trainee (Foster) investigating the kidnap of a senator’s daughter by the psycho serial killer Buffalo Bill. In order to learn more about Buffalo Bill’s crazy side, she enlists the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins); a psychologist imprisoned for acts of murder and cannibalism. Although the idea of humans eating other humans scare us in general, the film gives us a good scare based on the psychological perspective of Buffalo Bill and Hannibal Lecter.
1. The Shining (1980)
Just like The Silence of the Lambs, The Shining (starring Jack Nicholson), gives us the creeps on the psychological side of things. The film tells the story a writer of Jack Torrance (Nicholson) and his family who are the caretakers of an isolated hotel in Colorado. As Jack continues to have more writer’s block along with hearing his son’s psychic thoughts, he turns into a maniac affecting his wife and son. Although the film has some of the cheesy effects of the 80’s, it gives us the chills along with a psychotic perspective instead of just a halloween character one.
So, if you want to feel the actual creeps of Halloween that are not shown on ABC Family, then these movies are for you. Once you watch one of these movies, you will be ready for any surprises coming your way this Halloween!