Your orange and black decorations are up, you have fake spider webs on every surface, and you’ve been binging on candy since 12:01 a.m. on October first. It’s Halloween! One of the best parts of celebrating this spooky holiday are all the fun and scary movies. Here are 15 movies to help make your Halloween perfect.
Halloweentown (1998)
Rated: TV-GTrigger Warnings: NoneSpooky factor: 1/5
Halloweentown is a movie a lot of us grew up with, and it’s a must-have throwback. It follows Marnie Cromwell and her siblings as they discover their supernatural powers and work to save the people of Halloweentown from a mysterious force.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Rated: PGTrigger Warnings: NoneSpooky Factor: 1/5
It is finally October, which means we have a reasonable excuse to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas every day until New Years. It’s a Halloween and Christmas tradition to watch Jack Skellington from Halloween Town as he tries to make his own Christmas.
The Addams Family (1991)
Rated: PG-13Trigger Warnings: Mentions of violenceSpooky Factor: 1/5
Every Halloween needs the wit of Wednesday Addams, the love between Gomez and Morticia, Thing and Cousin Itt and the creepy and kooky adventures of the entire Addams family. (Snap snap)
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Rated: PGTrigger Warnings: Children in danger, violenceSpooky Factor: 2/5
Hocus Pocus is a movie woven into the thread of Halloween itself, and the holiday wouldn’t be complete without the Sanderson Sisters from Salem 300 years ago seeking eternal youth in the Salem of 1993 and the virgin who lit the black flame candle.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Gore, violence, body horrorSpooky Factor: 3/5
Bloodshed, demons, decapitation, Christina Ricci! Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow has everything to satisfy your Halloween needs.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Rated: UnratedTrigger Warnings: Blood, violence, body horrorSpooky Factor: 3/5
Ginger Snaps is the classic tale of a high school girl on the cusp of womanhood who is bitten by a werewolf and she and her sister work to find a cure. But boys, parents, and a hunger for destruction keep getting in the way.
Creepshow II (1987)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Blood, violence, body horrorSpooky Factor: 3/5
The Creepshow movies are collections of short horror-comedies based on stories by Stephen King with screenplays written by George A. Romero. What’s not to Love? Creepshow II is featured because it has a much better creep factor than Creepshow I.
Scream (1996)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Lots of blood and violenceSpooky Factor: 3/5
In Wes Craven’s slasher film, Sidney Prescott, played by scream queen Neve Campbell, tries to escape from a masked serial killer and save her friends.
The Evil Dead (1981)
Rated: NC-17Trigger Warnings: Lots of gore, violence, body horror, rapeSpooky Factor: 4/5
A horror classic and perfect addition to your Halloween movie binge. Bruce Campbell plays Ash Williams who takes on his friends in an isolated cabin when they become demonic zombies.
The Omen (1976)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Blood, violence, suicideSpooky Factor: 4/5
A beautiful couple and their beautiful child Damien live happily until a series of deaths make Damien’s family suspect he is the antichrist.
Halloween (1978)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Blood, violence, children in dangerSpooky Factor: 4/5
Escaped mental patient Michael Myers returns to his hometown of Haddonfield to wreak murderous havoc on Halloween.
Trick R’ Treat (2007)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Gore, violence, body horror, children in dangerSpooky Factor: 4/5
An anthology film tying together four horror stories on Halloween night and features Sam, a masked trickster who visits when anyone breaks a Halloween tradition.
Poltergeist (1982)
Rated: PG (I would rate it PG-13)Trigger Warnings: Children in danger, body horror, loud, flashing lightsSpooky Factor: 5/5
That creepy call of “they’re here” will give you chills on Halloween night when you watch the Freeling family try to save themselves from a sinister force within their home.
V/H/S (2012)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Gore, violence, body horror, loud, flashing lightsSpooky Factor: 5/5
A found-footage horror anthology film created to creep you to the core. The first film of the series features five scary stories found on VHS tapes in an attempted robbery.
The Conjuring (2013)
Rated: RTrigger Warnings: Children in danger, blood, violence, suicide, very loudSpooky Factor: 5/5
The Perron family are attacked by a demonic force in their new home and when the horror becomes unbearable they hire real life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farminga. Guaranteed jumps and chills.