Every Halloween, we often find ourselves looking for a perfect night. While some go out trick or treating with their family and friends, others throw costume parties and a few go to haunted houses, yet there are those who spend the night of ghouls and monsters by watching scary movies, or those which bring that holiday spirit to life, in the comfort of their homes. The following are just a few movie marathons that can provide a fantastic Halloween for those who want to relax in their house or apartment.
Theme: The Evil Dead Trilogy
Movies: The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987), Army of Darkness (1992)
When Sam Raimi made his supernatural horror film The Evil Dead in 1981, alongside friends Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell, he set the premise for what would be one of the most fun and lucrative supernatural horror and fantasy franchises in pop culture. Fueled by influences that range from H.P. Lovecraft to the Three Stooges and fantasy tales of the past, the Michigan filmmaker’s beloved franchise provides what is probably one of the best trilogies in horror cinema, which perfectly serves as a fun Halloween night for those looking to relax at home.
Poster for The Evil Dead
Kicking things off with the aforementioned 1981 hit, Raimi’s The Evil Dead has our young hero Ashley Joanna Williams, portrayed by Bruce Campbell, forced to survive a night filled with torture as his friends slowly get possessed by demons, or Deadites, after accidentally unleashing said monsters by reading the dreaded Necronomicon, a Sumerian version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Despite the film’s very low budget and simple storytelling, it’s engaging main hero, creative monsters, and special effects makes this a very fun experience for everyone.
Poster for Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn
The second entry in the franchise, and perhaps the most beloved as a whole, is 1987’s Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, a much more comedic film that cemented the trilogy’s embrace of slapstick and action. Dead by Dawn recaps the entirety of the first movie in its first thirty or so minutes in an alternate fashion and expands on it by having Ash fight more Deadites, including his own hand. Despite the picture’s love for slapstick and action, Dead by Dawn does not forget its roots and provides some great psychological, supernatural, and cabin-in-the-woods horror that, like the first film, influenced many movies to come.
Poster for Army of Darkness
The final entry in the trilogy is 1992’s Army of Darkness, a blend of action, slapstick, horror and fantasy that takes Ash to the Middle Ages to help King Arthur fight against the evil Deadites. While the film does take a sharp detour from its horror roots, it’s a hilarious action-packed fantasy flick that sees Ash growing into his heroic role while he fights against his evil self and an army of Deadites while saving a kingdom and uniting humanity.
Ash as seen in Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn
While many horror franchises fail to embrace their silliness after multiple failed entries, Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead Trilogy was one that took all of those elements which can make the horror genre hilarious and made what is probably one of the most fun, creative and engaging franchises in the genre. As mentioned previously, by mixing slapstick comedy, horror, action, fantasy, and self-awareness by its cast and crew, the trilogy managed to provide a fantastic experience that served as a great setup for the eventual expansion into comics, video games, and other forms of entertainment like the grittier 2013 remake by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez and the latest Starz series, which serves as a continuation of the original movies. In sum, The Evil Dead Trilogy is perfect for those looking to have a blast on Halloween night due to its scary thrills, hilarious jokes and fantastic action scenes. Plus, it can also serve as a new multimedia franchise to get into for those searching for a good time.
Theme: John Carpenter
Movies: Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982), They Live (1988)
Seeing as how Halloween is slowly approaching, many of us are looking to have a perfect movie night filled with entertaining horror flicks that will provide some scares and quality entertainment. Among the many filmmakers to heavily focus on the genre is John Carpenter who, with a variety of projects, helped create and move forward many of the elements that make horror pictures what they are today making part of his filmography perfect for a great Halloween Night.
Poster for Halloween
The first film in the list is the 1978 classic that expanded on the idea of the slasher genre by heavily focusing on the power of sound, music, and suspense. With a great performance by Jamie Lee Curtis and the iconic Michael Myers character, Halloween is probably one of the only movies one must always watch across the month of October at one point or another.
Poster for The Thing
One of the few remakes that takes the idea of the original, 1951’s The Thing from Another World, and expands it to its maximum potential, Carpenter’s 1982 science fiction monster flick is an apocalyptic Lovecraft-influenced film that took creature effects and showed the world their effectiveness if done properly. Led by a great performance by Kurt Russell, the picture takes the viewer on an adventure that explores a wide variety of themes and it serves as the first entry in the director’s Apocalypse Trilogy.
Poster for They Live
Released in 1988, John Carpenter’s action sci-fi horror film is a unique piece of filmmaking that features late wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper fighting an alien invasion alongside others who are aware of said attack. An entertaining movie that explores the power of the media, Carpenter’s cult classic is a great addition to anybody’s Halloween as it blends the aforementioned genres with a little bit of comedy as well.
Picture of John Carpenter
In short, John Carpenter’s filmography has a wide amount of flicks that can make a good Halloween movie night. The aforementioned pictures are just a few examples, but one could also add others like The Fog, Village of the Damned, Vampires, and the rest of the Apocalypse Trilogy. Hopefully, these suggestions will make it easier for your Halloween movie night experience.
Theme: Wes Craven
Movies: The Hills Have Eyes (1977), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Scream (1996)
While many will go out on Halloween in trick or treating walks or to house parties while some will stay at home and watch series or films that will get them into that holiday spirit. One of the many movie directors to heavily focus on the horror film genre was the late Wes Craven. While the filmmaker delivered many projects in the genre, here are just a few that will scare or discomfort you for a while.
Poster for The Hills Have Eyes
Craven’s sophomore horror effort expands on his exploration of the exploitation horror film genre as he tells a grim tale where a family seeks to survive an attack by a group of mutated cannibals. Exploring themes such as survival, morality, and politics, The Hills Have Eyes is a picture that continued to show Craven’s potential while slowly creating a film franchise made up of a few sequels and 2000s remakes.
Poster for A Nightmare on Elm Street
Perhaps Craven’s most famous picture, along with the next entry in this list, and the one that propelled him into everyone’s “Favorite Horror Director” lists, A Nightmare on Elm Street gave the world the first entry of what would be a multimedia franchise and one of its most iconic monsters with the surreal Freddy Krueger.
Poster for Scream
The last film in the list is Craven’s best attempt at satirizing the slasher sub-genre with 1996’s Scream. An idea he first explored in 1994’s New Nightmare, the first entry in another franchise he helped create takes all of the ideas set forth by slashers and mocks them while creating a thrilling, engaging, and thought-provoking story that makes one reflect about the filmmaking process.
Picture of Craven with the famous Freddy Krueger glove
As one seeks out for a great Halloween movie night, many films will arise that provide that spooky holiday spirit. With the films provided above, one will find three thrilling and scary pictures that also show the growth of the filmmaker who directed them.
Theme: Tim Burton/Johnny Depp Collaborations
Movies: Edward Scissorhands (1990), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2008)
Throughout his over 30 years of filmmaking, American film director Tim Burton has been very well known for his frequent collaborations with actor Johnny Depp and their many explorations of the gothic and horror genres. The following provides three great movies that show their growth as artists while providing some great Halloween worthy entertainment.
Poster for Edward Scissorhands
The first entry in the list is the first collaboration by the duo that would instantly become a dark fantasy classic due to its creative world, comedic elements, engaging storytelling, and themes of identity and belonging. The film also served as the last to feature the late great Vincent Price who was also a major influence to Burton.
Poster for Sleepy Hollow
Featuring fantastic cinematography by Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and a great score by Danny Elfman, Burton’s first horror film features Depp as a scientist in 1899 New York trying to disprove the case of The Headless Horseman in the village of Sleepy Hollow that seems to be haunted by the supernatural entity.
Poster for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Released in 2008, Burton’s take on the classic horror musical sees Depp starring as the title character in a gory tale filled with great performances by Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sacha Baron Cohen. It also has music by Stephen Sondheim.
Picture of Depp and Burton
In short, though one can find many projects in Burton’s filmography that provide Halloween vibes, the aforementioned collaborations with Johnny Depp not only provide said spirit, but also the filmmakers’ growth as partners in the craft while providing some gothic influences, scary thrills and gory musical entertainment.
Theme: Tim Burton Animation
Movies: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Corpse Bride (2005), Frankenweenie (2012)
As one of Hollywood’s most popular filmmakers to explore the horror and gothic genres in lighter, much more approachable ways, Tim Burton has created a career out of exploring what would be considered terrifying and weird. However, if one thing’s for sure is that his filmography provides a variety of animated projects that make for a perfect Halloween night.
Poster for The Nightmare Before Christmas
Directed by Henry Selick, this classic animated Burton production led by the voice and music of Danny Elfman provides spooky Halloween thrills, the Christmas spirit, great songs, and a fun adventure that touches on a variety of themes such as identity, love, and belonging. In addition, the movie can be single-handedly credited for the popularization of Hot Topic.
Poster for Corpse Bride
The first official Tim Burton-directed feature length animated picture, Corpse Bride sees the filmmaker joining forces with frequent collaborators Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter to deliver a fun, ghoulish, and musical tale that sees him exploring familiar gothic territory.
Poster for Frankenweenie
The latest animated tale by Burton, Frankenweenie sees him return to his roots and expand on past ideas in a story about love, family, and the connection between a young boy and his pet dog in a project that pays homage to multiple horror and gothic influences as well as many of his favorite monsters.
Picture of Burton
Despite having a wide array of films worthy of Halloween night, the three aforementioned Tim Burton stop motion-animated films provide quality entertainment, and the spooky holiday vibes with a light tone that the entire family can enjoy.
While there are a variety of movie nights one can have on Halloween, these are just a few marathons that might provide enough scares, frights, and laughs for those looking to have some laid back fun on the night of monsters and ghouls while eating a few pieces of candy or some popcorn before you start fearing any of the creatures that appear in the aforementioned flicks. So go right ahead, pick your poison and have a good ol’ spooky movie marathon.