The Her Campus girls collaborated to bring you a list of our favorite horror movies to get you ready for the spooky season. I asked a few of our writers to tell me what their favorite Halloween movies were and why. Hopefully, you can find something that sparks your interest and have a Halloween movie marathon!
“I love this movie. Queen of the Damned is about a vampire who grows tired of his everlasting life and decides to make his life more interesting by deciding to become a rock star and telling the whole world he is a vampire. His music awakens the queen of the vampires Aaliyah and let me tell you: it gets wild. Also, my favorite part of the movie is undoubtedly the soundtrack. It is full of Nu Metal and rock like Korn, Marilyn Manson, Chester Bennington and my personal favorite: Deftones. Definitely check it out if you it sounds like your brand.”
— Lexus Jacobs
The Paranormal Activity Series (2007-2015)
“I love them all because they leave me on the edge of my seat and make me so scared to be in my house alone. They terrify me because I believe in ghosts, haunted houses, possessions and evil spirits. I am always thinking about what is out there.
HONORABLE MENTION: The Curse of La Llorona. I am terrified of this movie because I grew up hearing this legend so much that it made me terrified of leaving my house. I was always scared of leaving at night when it came to be going out as a kid, because I felt like she was always watching me. It also made me fearful of rivers and lakes.”
— Laura Restrepo
Suspiria (2018)
“It’s set during the Cold War in Berlin, the cinematography and acting is incredible, and it’s about dancers who are actually witches. Iconic. It’s the new version though, there’s an old one from the 70s or 80s too.”
— Madison Broussard
Hocus Pocus (1993)
“One of my favorite Halloween movies of all time is Hocus Pocus by Kenny Ortega. It’s hilarious and has a classic plot for the whole family. I started watching it with my sisters a couple of years ago on TV, and now I watch it every Halloween! I love that Hocus Pocus is about witches, zombies and a talking cat that’s trying to outsmart said witches. The movie showed me that the impossible is possible, no matter who does or doesn’t believe you. (And that witches can be on a whole other level of kooky.) Even though I know the story line, I sometimes get excited or spooked on some parts of the movie; that’s how much I get into it. A few months ago, I even bought my own Hocus Pocus DVD with some money I saved up.”
— Viviana Gutierrez
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
“My favorite Halloween movie has always been “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
I love this movie because I’ve watched it every year around Halloween time since I was little! My mom loves this movie and always had the most adorable Jack Skellington trinkets. The movie is about Jack Skellington or the pumpkin king of Halloweentown who ends up leaving his home for a change of scenery and going to Christmastown. If you haven’t already seen it already, I highly recommended it for this spooky season!”
— Arkadyia Mills
Creep (2014)
“It is a psychological horror about a cameraman who is hired to come and film a man who says he is dying of cancer and wants to leave a gift for his unborn son, who he will never get to meet. As the story goes on, you begin to see that his story quickly unravels revealing a much sinister intention. The story is shot on a hand cam, so it has a very raw aspect to it and the two actors in the movie are brilliant. The movie combines elements of shock and subtle horror that really makes it a terrifyingly brilliant movie.”
— Grayson Porter