Containing broomsticks, slashers, and ghosts with a flair for the dramatic, Halloween classics have haunted our screens for decades.
Halloween movies have a way of wrapping us in nostalgia while scaring us just enough as to keep the lights on when heading to bed. They turn a nervous tingle into a holiday tradition.
Swap out your popcorn for candy corn and get ready to take on these Halloween treats!
Halloween (1978)
An unkillable, silent, and menacing figure who stalks his victims as they try to run away in terror—Michael Myers defines the slasher genre. This film, being the first of the Halloween franchise, became the blueprint for an entire genre.
Fifteen years after murdering his older sister, Myers returns to Haddonfield, Ill., with a plan in mind. He’s back and out for blood.
The atmosphere of Halloween is chillingly minimalist. With suburban streets cloaked in darkness and autumn leaves rustling beneath the weight of silence, the movie could just as well be set in Newton. The eerie stillness builds unbearable tension, leaving the audience gripped by the sense that danger lurks just beyond the edge of every frame.
Jamie Lee Curtis stars as Laurie Strode, the original slasher “final girl” who narrowly escapes the grips of death. The cliffhanger ending leaves room for many more movies to come and leaves those watching on the edge of their seat—or the edge of their lofted twin.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Hocus Pocus is an aesthetic autumn film that launches you flying back into your childhood.
It’s set against the crisp, leaf-strewn streets of historical witch town Salem, Mass. The movie showcases autumn’s charm in massive bold letters, from pumpkin-lit porches to the eerie, candlelit interior of the Sanderson sisters’ cottage.
While many Halloween movies tread in the ballpark of horror and angst, Hocus Pocus stands out for its mix of mischief and magic, offering a perfect balance of spooky fun and immense nostalgia.
It’s the perfect film for a mellow weekend evening in the build up to Halloween, where you can’t help but wish it was socially acceptable for someone your age to trick or treat.
Halloweentown (1998)
Another pillar of ’90s October watching, Halloweentown captures the innocent magic of childhood Halloween dreams come to life.
Set in a realm where witches, goblins, and ghosts coexist peacefully, the film catapults viewers into a vibrant, pumpkin-filled town that feels both cozy and enchanted—everything that Halloween is supposed to be.
With a warm color palette, playful costumes, and a world that every ’90s child wishes were real, Halloweentown remains a comforting escape that embodies the wonder and excitement of the Halloween season.
Beetlejuice (1988)
Equal parts creepy and chaotic, Beetlejuice is what happens when Halloween crashes headfirst into a Tim Burton fever dream. Somehow, amid the madness, it just makes sense.
The film turns the afterlife into a complete zoo, where the recently deceased Maitlands, played by a young Alec Baldwin and Geena Davie, hire a “bio-exorcist” to scare away the new homeowners in their beloved house, opening the Halloween version of Pandora’s box.
Enter Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), the crude, mischievous, and endlessly quotable deterrent from beyond the afterlife. He is the kind of ghoul you’d regret summoning but can’t keep your eyes off. Every frame featuring Keaton’s wacky getup echoes Burton’s signature weirdness, establishing an ultimate Halloween cult classic.
It’s a rare Halloween movie in that it’s equal parts ghoulish and hilarious, and with such a strong following it’s a surprise that it took decades for a sequel.
Scary Movie (2000)
If Beetlejuice makes you laugh with the weird, Scary Movie makes you laugh at the “fear” itself. It’s a beyond over-the-top parody of late-’90s slashers that pokes infinite holes into the “scary” narratives of films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The film turns every horror cliche that you can think of on its head in an incredibly humorous fashion.
It’s packed with ridiculous pop-culture gags, from the now-iconic “Wazzup!” based on Budweiser commercials of the time to a ghostface killer who’s somehow more clumsy than creepy.
“But wait, there’s more.”
It’s an iconic line from the film that also serves as an underlying message from the screenwriters. They know the audience can see the jump scares from a mile away—they’re in on the joke, too.
Scary Movie serves as the perfect pick for anyone who thinks they love the thrills of horror but are too afraid to watch any “real” horror movies. Instead, they can fall off their seats in laughter at the many ways in which the film pokes fun at the franchises that leave people traumatized.
