It's almost that time of year where people of all ages, from newborns to adults, dress up in an array of costumes and partake in Halloween festivities. Whether you're planning on going trick-or-treating yourself, taking the kids trick-or-treating, manning the doors and handing out candy, or simply partying, it's never too early to get into the Halloween spirit. So, without further ado, here is a list of 13 movies that are personal favourites of mine that are sure to get you feeling wickedly ghoulish and ready for this Hallow's Eve.
1. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
It would be a sin to not have Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas beginning this list. This iconic movie is not only terrific for Halloween, but it's also a great movie to watch prior to Christmas! It's pretty fantastic, and the soundtrack is rad too, definitely a must see and perfect for year round enjoyment.
2. Halloweentown (1998-2006)
Halloween just isn't the same without binge watching the Disney original "Halloweentown" series. The week before Halloween, throughout elementary and middle school, was devoted to watching Disney's nightly marathon of Halloweentown. So if you haven't had the pleasure of watching this tale, please do so.
3. Coraline (2009)
Okay, so Tim Burton is the king of spooky-scary movies and "Coraline" definitely shows just that. From the very beginning in the opening credits until the end, this movie is downright creepy as hell. Button eyes? Creepy cats? "Other" parents? Yeah...this movie is quite the eerie tale. Beware of the "other mother..."
4. Halloween (1978-2009)
What's Halloween without a classic? John Carpenter's Michael Myers series is an absolute iconic Halloween classic. With nine movies in total spanning from the original back in 1978 to the most recent remake in 2009, Halloween is a series that will be showed as a marathon on tv channels the week of Halloween and most likely throughout all of October. But, guess what, the classic series is being shown in select theaters beginning as early as October 13 until Halloween.
5. Over The Garden Wall (2014)
While technically a 10 part mini-series, when all combined "Over The Garden Wall" makes a wonderfully creepy tale. I've only recently seen this series last October, but it's definitely one that I'll continue to watch consecutively each Halloween series, it's that good...especially considering it was a series made for Cartoon Network...
6. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Yet another Tm Burton favourite, "Edward Scissorhands" pulls at the heart strings. It's not really a scary movie, but it applies as Edward is considered a monster by many as the movie goes on. Poor Edward is just misunderstood, and all he wants is acceptance and love, but is afraid he may harm anyone, especially Kim, due to his having scissors for hands.
7. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
Placed in post-apocalyptic Britain, "28 Weeks Later" is the much better sequel of "28 Days Later." This movie is your typical zombie movie where the citizens are infected by a virus in which they infect others via vicious bites. With "28 Weeks Later," we follow the lives of the children who were separated from their parents from the original movie. These children seek to find their parents and be reunited as a family again. But little do they know that that would be the most dangerous thing they could do,,,
8. Saw (2004-2010)
Consisting of seven movies in total, "Saw" is another popular film series; everyone recognizes the swirly cheeked puppet known as Jigsaw and his love for torturous 'games.' The odd thing about "Saw" is that, despite the torturous events the various characters endure, the people chosen for said torture are those who actually really deserve it. Jigsaw chooses, well, the scum of society; drug addicts, cheaters, scammers, etc. in order to, basically, purify society as a whole. But still, it's pretty freaking gory and disgusting, but overall an extremely solid series.
9. Scream (1996-2011)
Another classic iconic series is the face that everyone knows: "Scream." This slasher series, inspired by the director's love for the "Halloween" films, consists of four movies spanning from 1996 til most recently in 2011. The moral of this 'who-dun-it' story? When someone calls and asks what your favourite scary movie is, don't hang up before giving an actual answer.
10. Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Produced in 2001, this iconic monster movie is another often associated with the seasonal spirit of Halloween. Deriving from a song title from the 80's, "Jeepers Creepers" tells the tale of a demonic winged creature who uses parts of his victims as not only his meal, but also to create parts of its own body. in 2017, a third movie is said to be released.
11. Mirrors (2008)
Released in 2008, "Mirrors" made many not want to look into a mirror or any reflective surface for a while... Why is that? Well, in the movie, whatever the reflection in the mirror did ended up happening to you. This movie is a gore fest, be warned, so if you're squeamish then this is not the movie for you.
12. The Ring (2002)
Growing up, this movie freaked me out. I think the first time I saw it was late at night on my portable DVD player when I was like seven or eight, but it grew to be one of my favourite horror films till even today. The concept is quite interesting, after this insanely disturbing videotape of random clips (which are eventually explained), is played, the viewer receives a phone call with the words "Seven days..." being uttered. Seven days for what? The viewer has exactly seven days to get someone else to watch a copy of that videotape in order to continue the cycle. Fail to do so? Samara, the girl who was thrown into a well to die, will come out of the TV and kill the viewer who ended the cycle. The sequel was pretty great too and a third is said to be released sometime in 2017, definitely, can't wait to see that.
13. Friday the 13th (1980-2009)
The holiday just would not be the same without the classic slasher series "Friday the 13th" featuring hockey-masked serial killer Jason Voorhees. After having thought her son to have drowned at Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of the counselors, Mrs. Voorhees vows to make sure that camp never reopens to protect other children from meeting the same ill fate as her son. But, to everyone's surprise, Jason Voorhees is not dead and he is out for revenge.
Of course, there are many more horror films and thrillers I could throw into the mix including: "Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Conjuring," "Sinister," the "Insidious" series, "Poltergeist," "The Blair Witch Project," and many more. But, unfortunately, if I included every one that I thought needed to be on the list, this article would never end. So, to remain in the Halloween spirit, it's capped at 13. Grab your candy corn and prepare for the wonderful holiday that is Halloween~
