As Halloween edges closer, there’s nothing better than wrapping yourself in a blanket, grabbing some snacks and spending the night watching movies. There are hundreds of amazing movies to binge throughout the Halloween season, but here are just a few that are guaranteed to boost your spooky spirits.
- Scream (1996)
Wes Craven’s cult classic, Scream, transformed the horror genre and paved the way for modern filmmakers. The movie has a typical horror storyline: a masked killer tormenting high schoolers, but from the shocking opening sequence to calling out cliché horror tropes, it rewrote the rules of horror.
Fun Fact: The original title was “Scary Movie”, which would later be the title of the parody/satire film that came out in 2000. The satirical film pokes fun at teenage horror movies like Scream.
The film is available on Paramount+.
- Hocus Pocus (1993)
Salem witches from the 1600s are brought into the modern world in this Disney classic. Whether it’s the nostalgia, the iconic trio, or the amazing story, it’s been a fan favorite for almost 30 years and earned itself a sequel, which premiered on Disney+ last month.
Fun Fact: The role of Max Dennison was offered to Leonardo DiCaprio, as were many other male lead roles in the 1990s. He turned it down to star in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, for which he received his first Oscar nomination.
The film and its sequel are available on Disney+.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Any Tim Burton film can be considered a Halloween movie if you look closely enough. However, The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect choice for those who can’t decide whether Halloween or Christmas is their favorite holiday. This stop-motion animation musical fantasy follows Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, as he discovers Christmas Town.
Fun Fact: Jack Skellington is #22 on Empire Magazine’s “The 50 Best Animated Movie Characters”.
The film is available on Disney+.
- Psycho (1960)
With the iconic shower scene, the incredible score, and the clever twist, it’s clear why Psycho has been considered a masterpiece for over 60 years. Like Wes Craven with Scream, Alfred Hitchcock also broke a few rules in the horror genre in Psycho, notably by beating strict film censorship rules.
Fun Fact: Director, Alfred Hitchcock, used chocolate syrup as blood because the traditional fake blood used for films appeared gray in this black-and-white movie.
The film is available on Peacock.
- Frankenstein (1931)
Frankenstein is just one of the many movies part of the Universal Classic Monsters series, which were made from the 1930s to the 1950s. Other iconic movies from this series include Dracula, The Mummy, and Creature From the Black Lagoon. These movies are cult classics among horror fans and are considered to be the origin of monster movies.
Fun Fact: The quote “It’s alive! It’s alive!” from the film is ranked #50 on the American Film Institute’s “The 100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time”.
The film (and several other Universal Classic Monsters films) are available for free on Tubi.
Honorable Mentions: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966), Scared Shrekless (2010), Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Toy Story of Terror (2010)
References
Zigler, B. (2021, May 28). Rejected movie titles for 25 popular films. Stacker. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://stacker.com/stories/13013/rejected-movie-titles-25-popular-films
Green, W. (2022, February 21). The 50 best animated movie characters. Empire. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/50-greatest-animated-characters-2/
Flynn, F. (2019, October 31). Why Leonardo DiCaprio turned down a role in ‘Hocus pocus’. Entertainment.ie. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://entertainment.ie/movies/movie-news/why-leonardo-dicaprio-turned-down-hocus-pocus-427686/
Bfi. (2017, October 25). 10 things you (probably) never knew about the shower scene in Psycho. BFI. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/psycho-shower-scene-alfred-hitchcock
AFI. (n.d.). AFI’s 100 Years…100 movie quotes. American Film Institute. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movie-quotes/