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We’ve put together a master list of the very best scary(ish) movies to watch this Halloween
It's spooky season, so curl up with one of these classics. Whether you like suspense, gore, horror, comedy or family-friendly fare, there is plenty here to love.
Halloween (1978)
Dir: John Carpenter | Compass International Pictures
The undeniable king of the slasher genre, John Carpenter’s original “Halloween” leaves audiences in the grip of legendary antagonist Michael Myers as he returns to his hometown of Haddonfield on Halloween night after escaping from a nearby sanitarium.
Setting his sights on Laurie Strode played by Jamie Lee Curtis and her high school friends, Myers picks them off one by one as they babysit kids around the neighbourhood.
A series with so many instalments, nothing beats the original for its cutting soundtrack and incredibly quiet scares.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Dir: Kenny Ortega | Walt Disney Studios
If your looking for a family friendly alternative, then nothing is better than the cult classic Hocus Pocus. After a teenager lights a cursed candle in an abandoned mill house, a trio evil witches are brought back to life to continue their plan to steal the lives of all of the children to give them eternal life and beauty.
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy play the Sanderson Sisters, the Three Stooges-esque coven who find themselves transported to the modern world after they are hanged in Salem over 300 years prior. It is up to new kid Max, his little sister Dani and his crush Allison to put a stop to the witches plans.
After lacklustre reviews and box office reception at the time, Hocus Pocus flourished on the home media market soon becoming an iconic cult classic.
It Follows (2014)
Dir: David Robert Mitchell | RADiUS-TWC
This very original and modern take on the supernatural horror genre received critical acclaim upon its release, making $23 million out of a minuscule $2 million budget.
After a date university student Jay has sex with her boyfriend, however afterwards her boyfriend explains to her that he is being followed by an entity that only he can see and sex passes the entity onto someone else. If that person is killed, the entity then stalks the previous person who passes it on. This creates a series of creepy events, where the entity disguises itself as loved ones, both alive and dead to get to its target.
Not relying on jump scares, It Follows puts a deep sense of dread into every scene with its sleepy small town vibe.
Sinister (2013)
Dir: Scott Derrickson | Momentum Pictures
Recently named as the “scientifically scariest movie ever” and produced by the then up-and-coming studio Blumhouse, Sinister follows the story of a true crime writer moving his family into a house that saw the murder of a whole family to investigate for a new book.
Ellison Oswalt, a true crime writer is investigating the murder of a family and disappearance of their young daughter. After finding a series of 8mm footage in the attic with depictions of different families being murdered in various ways, Ellison starts to experience supernatural events all surrounding a pagan deity named Bughdull.
With plenty of dread and only a few cheap jump scares, Sinister remains one of the decades best horror films.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Dir: Henry Selick | Walt Disney Studios
How do you make a film that’ll work on Halloween and Christmas? Well Tim Burton found a way in this epic stop-motion dark and twisted musical adventure.
The dark-fantasy world of Halloween Town is filled with monsters and beings associated with the holiday, and also home to Jack Skellington, lovingly known as the “Pumpkin King” by its residents. Halloween has just passed and plans begin for the next years celebrations. Disillusioned by the same routine every year, Jack discovers a gateway to Christmas Town. He soon becomes infatuated with Christmas and organises a hostile takeover of the holiday.
The iconic stop-motion animation is best known for it’s stunning visual design along with its musical scores arranged by Danny Elfman.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Dir: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez | Artisan Entertainment
A true pioneer in the horror movie space, The Blair Witch Project revived the found-footage technique for a new generation of horror movies to use in its wake.
Film students Heather, Mike and Josh set out into a forest in Maryland to produce a documentary about the fabled Blair Witch. After performing some really creepy interviews with local townsfolk and traveling to Coffin Rock, a site of a ritualistic murder, the group start experiencing supernatural events and their mental state starts to unravel.
The magic of The Blair Witch Project is in the unseen, and that’s the most unsettling part of all.
IT (2017)
Dir: Andy Muschietti | Warner Bros. Pictures
What’s scarier than a demented clown? Well IT makes a good case for it in the latest adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel.
Still haunted after the disappearance of his brother (who is killed by a clown named Pennywise hiding in a storm drain), Bill and his friends set off the next summer to search for his brothers missing body down at the marshlands. However, with the help of new kid Ben and bullied girl Bev, they uncover the mystery of missing children by the clown and how the town attempts to cover it up.
IT delivered King’s story with bombastic flare with plenty of horrific moments.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Dir: Jim Sharman | 20th Century Studios
Could it really be Halloween without the best (and only) musical comedy horror of all time? A love letter to sci-fi and horror B-Movies, the movie acted as a career springboard for leads Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon.
With their car breaking down, a newly engaged couple stumbles upon an old castle with outlandish people holding the Annual Transylvanian Convention. The couple are soon swept into the world of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a mad scientist and alien transvestite who aims to create the perfect man.
With catchy songs and one of the most iconic dance sequences of all time, Rocky Horror’s kitsch style is truly unforgettable.
Us (2019)
Dir: Jordan Peele | Universal Pictures
After his directorial debut with the groundbreaking genre bending “Get Out” in 2017, Jordan Peele aimed for full on horror with his follow up.
Encountering a doppelgänger of herself in a House of Mirrors as a child, now-adult Adelaide is heading to vacation in the same place with her family. However, that evening a family all dressed in red appears in the driveway of their holiday home and are an exact replica of the family.
It’s an incredibly deep film full of subversive themes, but the tension does not let up even after the credits role.
Scream (1996)
Dir: Wes Craven | Dimension Films
Even though numerous sequels have watered down the formula, Wes Craven’s original Scream was a groundbreaking piece of cinema history that satirised the clichés of the horror movie genre.
A high school student is murdered at her home by a masked intruder after one of cinema’s most iconic phone calls, fellow student Sidney Prescott also receives a threatening phone call. The film becomes a twisted tale of whodunit, involving boyfriends, police officers and a news reporter.
Self-aware of horror conventions, Scream flipped the genre on its head with this clever playful horror comedy.
