Best Halloween movies

For some people, they love the thrill of scary movies, especially around Halloween when the weather seems to get cold and the smell of fall begins to fill the humid air. Whoever you are, you have to admit a good scary movie once in awhile, especially on Halloween when it makes it even scarier, keeps the blood flowing. Here are some classic Halloween movies, some of the scariest that cinema has to offer…

Halloween (1978) 91 Min. Featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Nick Castle

On Halloween of 1963, 6 Year Old Michael Myers murders his older sister while dressed in a clown costume. 15 years later he escapes from the sanitorium that he was locked up in since the murder. He returns to his hometown to seek revenge on the local people. Halloween is classic scary movie. A defining one for the genre due to the graphic nature and pure fright it gives off to those who watch it. It makes you you worry if you are alone on Halloween night. Michael Myers is one of those characters that could haunt your dreams for weeks to come. I’m pretty sure I stayed awake for 3 days after seeing Halloween for the first time.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) 96 Min. Featuring Judith O’Dea, Duane Jones

The classic and probably first good zombie movie, Night of the Living Dead takes place in rural America where a group of strangers become stranded in a farmhouse due to a horde of zombies that attacks them and cuts them off from the rest of the world. Not very scary but certainly entertaining, Night of the Living Dead is a great classic to watch on Halloween. It has good effects with no CGI and a Black and White movie that makes it seem like it was made way before 1968. There is plenty of internal conflict within this movie that adds to it. It shows how the world might be if there would ever be a zombie invasion that cut off humans from other humans.

Young Frankenstein (1974) 106 Min Featuring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman

One of the only comedies on this list, it’s a lighter Halloween movie, but if you are in the mood for a laugh, you definitely found the right movie. Fantastic acting by Gene Wilder who adds to the hilarity helps make this movie. Wilder plays Doctor Frankenstein who tries to create a living monster from dead tissue with the help of his trusty sidekick, Igor (Feldman). A lot of funny lines and adult humor, this one will be remembered through the ages for its older style black and white color and medieval backgrounds. It’s a movie that could help a transition from one scary movie to another by adding some comedy to the scariness of Halloween night.

The Thing (1982) 109 Mins. Featuring Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley

Some may not considered this film to be a Halloween movie, but it definitely should be due to the fantastic practical effects throughout the entire movie and the fright it places in the viewer while watching it. Kurt Russell plays R.J MacReady, a pilot on a U.S research base in Antarctica, who, along with the other researches, tries to find out what has been infecting and killing the other researchers on the base. A crazy, but highly entertaining movie, Kurt Russell plays a total BA who controls this movie. If I had to pick one hero to go into battle with, it would definitely be Kurt Russell’s MacReady in this film. A scary and enthralling sci-fi film that you can watch over and over again, watch it and you won’t be disappointed.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) 100 Min. Featuring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick

The most classic and memorable of all Halloween movies, this cult classic with a cult following is played at many theatres around the U.S during Halloween and it has been that was ever since it came out back in 1975. A newly married couple’s (Sarandon and Bostwick) car breaks down and they have no choice but to ask for help at the home of the very intriguing Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Curry). Full of laughs and songs you can sing along to, this Halloween classic will never get old. Tim Curry’s phenomenal acting along with a cameo from Meatloaf, help make this movie a popular classic that will never die down.

An American Werewolf In London (1981) 97 Min. Featuring David Naughton, Joe Belcher, Jenny Agutter

The classic of all werewolf movies and another movie with great practical effects, this one has some jump scares and may disturb you. It definitely is worth a watch though. Two college friends, Jack and David, (Naughton and Belcher) go for a trip to the English highlands but end up lost only to find themselves being stalked by a wolf-like creature that seems to know their every move. This movie is haunting and also eerie, do to the way the locals will not admit that any sort of wolf exists and how later in the film, what happens comes back to haunt both Jack and David.

Honorable Mentions: Aliens, Beetlejuice,  The Blair Witch Project, The Exorcist,Friday the 13th, Ghostbusters, Nightmare on Elm Street,The Nightmare Before Christmas, Saw, Scream