With the kickoff of the “spooky season”, it is now a great time to start watching Halloween-themed movies. Whether you are deciding to stay in with roommates this Halloween or need some spooky movies to watch, continue to read this article to find out some of the best movies to get you in the Halloween mood.
Family Friendly
Now even though most college students won’t be around their family during Halloween, sometimes you can’t help but enjoy the classics the majority of people watched growing up.
Halloweentown movies
What if you found out that your family came from a long line of witches and that all the typical fantasy monsters were real? While the film does partially take place in the mortal realm, its main focus is on the realm called Halloweentown. However, Halloweentown is only accessible on Halloween and can only be reached with magic. The first movie on the series takes not only the watcher but also the Cromwell-Piper family through the history of Halloweentown and how all three children are in reality witches. In Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge, the second installment of the franchise, it appears that there’s an angry warlock who has stolen a magical spell book so he can turn everyone in the human world into whatever they’re wearing on Halloween. In the third movie, entitled Halloweentown High, the watcher gets to see how different Halloweentown residents experience the mortal realm. They get to experience a different world because Marine Piper, the eldest of the siblings from the first movie, decides to organize a student exchange program between the mortal school she works at and Halloweentown High. The first students able to participate in the program are a witch, a warlock, a troll, and an ogre. The fourth and final movie, Return to Halloweentown, follows Marine Piper arriving at Halloweentown University. The teachers at the school have been waiting for her because there is a prophecy about it. Whether you wish to take one Halloweentown movie per day or binge-watch it in a day, the Halloweentown series are the perfect addition to your Halloween-inspired watch list.
Monster House
As a child, I found this movie horrifying, yet I still watched it anytime it came on. Going back and watching it, I understand how five-year-old children could have easily ranked this one of the scariest movies they’ve seen. Taking into account that it came out in 2006, it should be obvious that the animation style is not that great and the storyline is extremely weird. However, I still would consider it a family-friendly movie and a classic spooky-like movie to watch.
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
If you’re in college and you haven’t seen this movie at least once, I feel sorry for you because you are missing out. Tim Burton’s movies have always been iconic. As Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp), is rehearsing his vows in a spooky forest, he accidentally awakes Emily aka The Corpse Bride (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter). Emily thinks that Victor is now married to her. When in reality, Victor’s wedding is coming up with Victoria (voiced by Emily Watson), he has to find a way out of the so-called marriage. This movie is a classic Tim Burton film with themes of unrequited love (Emily to Victor), self-confidence (more so a struggle to Victor), and having anxiety about living up to your family name (Victor and Victoria).
Horror Comedy
Do you want to watch a comedy film, but still have it centered around Halloween? Or maybe you want a Halloween-centered film but make it comedic? Look no further than these movies!
Scary Movie Films
Even though there are several Scary Movies, nothing is better than the original. These movies all take some of the most popular Halloween and/or horror movies and turn them into comedy. Within the first movie, there are references to Scream, Friday the 13th, The Blair Witch Project, and other iconic movies that came out before the year 2000.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Even though it originally came out in 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is perfect for musical theater lovers. Even though it is a musical, this movie can still be categorized under the “horror comedy” genre. It was a film that was way ahead of its time. It celebrated the things that make people different, rather than having to hide that part of themselves away from the world.
Slasher Films
Maybe you’re into the horror films that wavier on the more blood and gore side of things. The majority of those “iconic slasher films” are franchises, but you should have at least one of the movies added to your watchlist.
Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise
Nightmare on Elm Street was the first true slasher film I ever watched and possibly a reason I love watching horror films. Due to the first movie being produced in 1984, it’s no surprise they have the typical “80s horror film” vibe. None of the victims decide to run away from the killer and decide to adventure further towards death. Freddy Krueger, the killer of the franchise, makes his victims see him in their nightmares and then eventually kills them in the nightmare they’re in. Then, that leads to their real-life death. So… probably not the most realistic slasher film but an iconic one nonetheless.
Saw Franchise
Although the Saw movies seemed to be just another gore-filled movie, it turned out to be something completely different. The Saw franchise focuses on a serial killer who likes to torture victims but lets them have a way out of the traps set if they can figure it out. However, only a few actually make it out alive.
Scream Franchise
The Scream movies are probably my favorite slasher films. It may be because Sidney Prescott was my gay awakening, but these movies are top-tier slasher films, in my opinion. Scream took a different approach than most slashers that were coming out around then. All the Scream movies could actually happen in real life, making it more creepy than typical slashers. The main friend groups in the franchise all have at least: one killer, one “final girl”, one “red herring” character, and one person in the group that tries to solve who the killer is and maybe right or wrong. Although the first through fourth Scream films were more geared toward millennials, the fifth and sixth movies are geared toward Generation Z. That is probably the reason this franchise is still up and running. No matter what generation you are, you can find yourself within one or more characters.
Ending note
Hopefully, you were able to find something to add to your “Halloween watchlist” or rediscovered an old favorite of yours that you want to rewatch. Even if these are more watched during Halloween, don’t forget you are able to watch these whenever you want to.