Until a couple of years ago I hated horror movies, they terrified me and I didn’t want anything to do with them. Believe it or not the first horror movie I had ever watched to its entirety was the first Paranormal Activity. Ever since I watched that movie, I have been enticed by the horror movie genre and want to watch more and more. And while I am still not completely over my fear, and some gore still makes me squeeze my eyes to distract myself from the body on the screen, I love them all, and I love to make fun of the cheesy ones that make no sense. Since it is my favorite time of the year, spooky season and fall, I figured I would compile some of my favorite horror movies to help you with your Halloween binge session.
- Carrie- Any version of the movie
Carrie is the perfect starter horror movie in my opinion. It is scary enough where you will get freaked out a little bit, but it is predictable enough where you can see the ending coming. Carrie is the story about a teenage girl and her very religious mother. It takes you through high school and the struggles of fitting in, especially when you find out you have supernatural powers.
2. Gerald’s Game
This Netflix original will keep you on your toes and keep you guessing what will happen next. It’s about a woman and her husband who try to save their failing marriage by going to a cabin together. But the story really takes a twist when she is handcuffed to her bed, and her husband is dead. The movie itself can be confusing as you travel through her hallucinations with her, but overall, it has all the makings of a great horror movie, jump scares and all.
3. IT – 1990 and 2017
I am sure all of you have heard of IT, who hasn’t? It has been on the news with the remake of the 1990 classic. Now I have never been a fan of clowns, I hate them and a movie about a killer clown wasn’t on my list of movies I had to see. I started out with the 1990 IT, and I recommend starting out with the original. Honestly I was surprised at how not scary it was, so when it came to the new one I was confident that it wasn’t going to be bad at all. Boy was I wrong, clowns and I do not mix. But with all that aside, the acting and the effects of the movie were amazing and I do recommend it if you are looking for a disturbing horror movie.
4. The Halloween franchise
Of course, I had to include Halloween with the new and hopefully final chapter of the Halloween franchise. Michael Myers is a horror icon, and a slasher icon. The masked figure is out on Halloween, ready to kill. In 1978, Halloween night for 4 teens is really where the rivalry between Jamie Lee Curtis’ character Laurie Strode and the masked killer began.
5. Hush
I found this movie with a friend on a late night Netflix binge fest. We had never heard of it and had no idea what it was about, but we both wanted to see it. If you like more of a psychological thriller rather than a gore film this is one for you. I could barely get to the end, it was awful but it was well made. I couldn’t tear myself away from the screen. The movie is about a deaf woman living alone, when a killer comes into her home with the intention of killing her.
6. Hocus Pocus
I know this is not a horror movie, but this is my favorite movie to watch on Halloween, so I couldn’t not include it. This movie is funny and dark and gets you in the Halloween spirit by lacing witches from the Salem Witch era to modern day 1993. It has become a tradition on my own Halloween night, which involves staying in with an overpriced bag of candy and popcorn with movies.
These are not all of my favorite Halloween movies, not by far. I know that I haven’t covered a lot of them like the Saw franchise, or the Conjuring, and the list could keep going. I personally love horror movies now and could watch them all the time but Halloween is an excuse to stay in and watch them all night. So enjoy the binge watching of horror movies and your spooky season. Happy Halloween!