Need a few pointers on which Halloween-themed movies are worth rewatching year after year? Here are our favorites, ranging from spooky and haunting classics to family-friendly nostalgia bombs.
13. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Mortimer and Elaine get married on Halloween. Before leaving for their honeymoon, they must go home and tell their parents. While Elaine is gone, Mortimer rushes home to his beloved aunts, where he finds a corpse hidden in the window seat. Alarmed, he warns the aunties—but there was no need because they already knew. This screwball comedy is as funny today as it was 78 years ago! Get your Halloween groove on with this timeless masterpiece and enjoy Cary Grant progressively losing his beans over the course of 118 minutes.
12. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
During a storm, in the middle of nowhere, Brad and Janet have a flat tire (because of course they do). But wait! What’s over there? While waiting for the storm to wear off, Dr. Frank-N-Furter will host the young couple (alongside many others) in his extravagant mansion. Spooky, latex-y, musical, and catchy, this cult classic gives out a very prominent Halloween vibe. How could we not include it in the list? Some things just never go out of fashion. Let’s do the time warp, again.
11. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
It’s Halloween in Wells Harbor, Maine. Rynn is celebrating her thirteenth birthday, alone, because she says her father is out for work. She does not know when he will be back. There are secrets lingering in the house and Rynn is willing to keep them all. But at what cost? A fairly underrated classic, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane will creep you out like an old door opening in the dark.
10. Halloween (1978)
Michael Myers killed his sister when he was a six-year-old child, and he did so on Halloween night. Now, fifteen years later, he’s being escorted from his sanitarium to a hearing that’ll determine his fate for life. However, along the way, something goes wrong and he escapes custody. Has he repented? Is he searching for redemption? Definitely not. Back in Illinois, where everything started, he soon will find the perfect victim—or, at least, that’s what he thinks.
9. The Amityville Horror (1979)
A couple of weeks after Halloween, the Lutz family moves into their new home. Soon enough, weird things start happening. Their charming mansion was the site of a mass killing as well as the former home of a Satanist. They must have had a great real estate agent. Nonetheless, The Amityville Horror is a post-Halloween story that retains all the creepy vibes of the season, with a hint of sadness for things that end. If you’re in for a scare, this is one of the best movies to watch. Plus, what even is Halloween without a haunted mansion?
8. Once Bitten (1985)
The Countess has a beauty secret that keeps her young. Unfortunately for Mark, that secret is drinking the blood of male virgins. After their first encounter, it does not take long for him to show the first symptoms. If what you’re looking for is some contagious 1980s Halloween-themed pizzazz, then this evergreen supernatural comedy was made for you. It stars a 23-year-old Jim Carrey morphing into a vampire. Need I say more?
7. Lady in White (1988)
Lady in White is a supernatural mystery that starts with Frankie pranked into being locked in the cloakroom of her school. Then, in pure Halloween fashion, he witnesses the apparition of a young girl’s ghost. From that point on, things only get worse. Helped by her and her mother, he must investigate who murdered the girl (and ten others). If you have a taste for small town vibes and prefer eerie over gory, then Lady in White should be a top pick amongst your Halloween movies to watch.
6. The Addams Family (1991)
After a fallout that lasted 25 years, Fester returns to the family home. There, his brother Gomez welcomes him with an open heart—but, unfortunately, his brother isn’t the same anymore. An evergreen black comedy starring one of the most quintessential Halloween families, The Addams Family is still funny, provocative, and wholesome to this day. This classic can be enjoyed by kids and grownups alike, and it’s better served with complimentary snacks.
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Jack Skellington is Halloweentown’s Pumpkin King, but he wants more. Tired of the same routine year after year, he starts wandering the woods—only to find several portals marked with various festivities. Completely dazzled by the Christmas spirit, he decides to start celebrating Christmas over Halloween in his bleak hometown. What could go wrong? Oh, plenty! And what could go wrong does go wrong. Many of us in our twenties and thirties grew up with this masterpiece of holiday cinema, and if we loved it, it’s likely because we’re all a bit quirky in our own ways. But if you’ve never seen it, give it a watch! You might just find that you love it far more than you expected.
4. Hocus Pocus (1993)
While exploring an abandoned house in Salem, Max, Dani, and Allison accidentally set free a coven of witches who are evil and determined to become immortal. In this cult classic story, the witches Winifred, Sarah, and Mary desire to steal the youth of the town’s children. And as we watch from our couches, we can’t help but start to feel like kids all over again. Hocus Pocus is to Halloween what Home Alone is to Christmas—a cinematic tradition all its own, making it a must-watch every year.
3. Casper (1995)
Not all ghosts are ill-intentioned. In the case of Casper, he’s merely the ghost of a young boy who has to share his existence with three chaotic ghost uncles, each determined to show off to visitors and lay claim to their home. The haunted mansion calls for a ghost specialist, James Harvey, who moves in to live there and make contact with these ghosts—and, of course, he’s a single father to daughter Kat, who reluctantly moves in with him. Guaranteed to make you cry, Casper is a cult classic about friendship, with just the right amount of 90s character tropes.
2. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
It’s 1799 in Sleepy Hollow. It’s foggy and unwelcoming, but it’s home. Then something changes—people start being mysteriously decapitated. So, police constable Ichabod Crane is sent there to investigate. Will he crack the case? His urban gumption dramatically clashes with the conservative and superstitious ways of the villagers, and he’ll soon have to blend in because the case is not as usual as it first seems. Sleepy Hollow is a Tim Burton film, but it’s the creepiest one in his filmography to this day. If you want the creeps, this won’t let you down.
1. Donnie Darko (2001)
In Donnie Darko, Donnie is told by a giant, weird, scary-looking rabbit-man named Frank that the world will end in 28 days—on Halloween. Is the threat real? Or is Donnie schizophrenic? Or is it something else altogether? This loopy nightmare will keep you glued to the screen, so prepare to be immersed in a world of time travel, hallucinations, and adolescent anger. And it’s all Halloween flavored, of course!
