Fall is a time of year to get spooky. Carving pumpkins, going to haunted houses and frolicking in the leaves are on the to-do list for Fall activities, but one beloved pastime of course, is to watch movies that get you in the Halloween spirit. So here are 10 movies that will you have you feeling all the autumnal thrills this time of year brings.
This one should come as no surprise. It’s a classic. One of the first slashers and the beginning of the teen slasher franchises we all love. Nothing says Halloween quite like this movie. Halloween is one of those movies to watch in someone’s dark living room or basement, with friends, whilst eating popcorn. It’s also a great movie to watch while carving a pumpkin. As soon as you hear that iconic piano theme start to play, you know what time of year it is.
Another Halloween-themed horror movie, but pretty different from the rest. This anthology-movie is especially unique with its four disconnected stories that each come with their own twist ending you might not be expecting. While it’s more gory and possibly scary in places than a slasher from the 70’s it’s still a lot of fun to watch. Plus I think Sam is a total cutie, and I need to make that costume for myself.
Not all movies on this list are scary or gory. Halloweentown is a beloved classic for us millennials who grew up watching the Disney Channel. This movie knows how to send you into the Halloween spirit, without a scare. A fun, family movie with lots of Halloween creatures and themes, but a story centered around a family of prevailing witches who do the right thing and save the day from the forces of evil.
Hocus Pocus makes it rounds on Disney Chanel and ABC Family/Freeform every October as well. It’s become iconic since it’s release in 1993, and one of the best films to watch when you really want to get into the Halloween spirit. It has witches, a zombie, a magic spell book and a talking black cat, Binx, whom we all still mourn, honestly.
This list would not be complete without The Nightmare Before Christmas. Which is acceptable to watch at both Halloween and Christmas time, I’ve done both. This movie is a perfect family film, but kids, adults and teenagers have been known to enjoy it (especially with Jack Skellington being plastered all over Hot Topic since the emo days). With Tim Burton’s unique style of animation and Danny Elfman’s brilliant music composition this movie is unparalleled by any others, for it’s original storyline, characters, music and imagery.
You’ll find yourself singing “this is Halloween…” all month long.
One last Halloween-themed slasher on this list seemed appropriate, especially one as overlooked as Satan’s Little Helper. This film tells about a little boy who has been given a video game, by his father, called Satan’s Little Helper. He loves the game so much, he dresses up as the character for Halloween, then goes in search of Satan himself. Who he finds is a serial killer, dressed in costume, and unbeknownst to the little boy who thinks it’s all a game, they embark on a killing spree.
Gruesome. Horrifying. Absurd and a must-see for everyone who loves kinda cheesy horror films.
“They’re creepy, and they’re kooky. They’re mysterious and spooky, they’re altogether ooky, they’re the Addams Family” *finger snaps*.
Luckily both The Addams Family and Addams Family Values get reruns during the month of October. Another family-fun movie, that isn’t scary, but has tons of Gothic and spooky themes, is perfect for this time of year. Not to mention, all us little girls who grew up watching those movies, wanted to be the embodiment of Wednesday Addams with her morbid sense of humor and realistic, albeit morose outlook on life.
This movie is by far the most wholesome on the list, and the perfect Halloween movie for small children, but anyone of any age will enjoy this adorable film. The Peanuts gang have been loved for a longtime, and It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is no excpetion.
I didn’t want this list to just be about slashers and horror films, and this is the only non-truly-Halloween-themed movie on this list, but hear me out. As far as slashers go, this one is tops. It’s brilliant, it’s insightful, it’s unexpected and it’s the perfect movie to get you scared if you’re in that kind of mood.
This one seems to get overlooked on many Halloween movie lists, but its such a perfect movie for this time of year. It’s set in the fall, it has plenty of imagery of creepy forests with decrepit trees, people in Victorian clothing riding horseback while the golden brown leaves go flying behind them as they’re being pursued by a headless horseman, and you know the whole people being decapitated is pretty gruesome. And you can’t go wrong with a Johnny Depp-Tim Burton collab. It’s the perfect film to make you wanna move to New England just to see the leaves this time of year.
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