We have arrived at that time of the year! So put on your coziest pajamas, switch off the lamps and light the candles - it's scary movie time.
A teenage girl barfing out the devil and crab crawling down the stairs is the perfect antidote for the sickly sweet pumpkin spice everything everywhere all at once high you've been on this past month.
It's time to stop romping through the leaves and come back down to earth where it naturally smells like dirt, worms, decomposing leaves and if you're lucky, the odd time, laundry and McDonalds.
The official transition from the joyous, hand holding, cider scented month of October, to the serial killer musk of November - is known as Halloween.
And these are the movies to transition with.
Table of Contents
Barbarian
87% liked this movie
Barbarian uses humour, gore, satire and jump scares to create a small budget horror film that's absolutely made for watching Halloween night. I'm not a horror movie aficionado but I said out loud, "Why would she ... ????" at least once every minute.
I think that means it's good. Plus Justin Long is in it. I mean, it's ridiculous, but being ridiculous is a classic Halloween movie move.
Knock at the Cabin
62% liked this movie (not a universally high rating, but I did like it)
Based on a book that won the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award, M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin is an apocalyptic psychological horror film.
We Have a Ghost
76% liked this movie
This is the one to watch if you're actually afraid of scary movies. It's just silly. Cute, entertaining and easily enjoyed without needing to leave the lights on for a week after watching it.
Bird box
83% liked this movie
I somehow shunned Bird Box when it came out in 2018. I finally tried to watch it again this year and was STUNNED I had actually started this movie and then stopped it 1 minute into it thinking I didn't like it. I liked it immensely. If you haven't seen it, THIS is the movie I recommend you watch this Halloween.
It isn't a typical Halloween movie but it's incredibly suspenseful. In fact it was so suspenseful, I checked my Apple watch to see how much my heart rate was increasing while watching it. A lot. It was increasing by a lot.
The Menu
78% liked this movie
Set entirely in an exclusive restaurant only accessible by boat, The Menu will entertain the shit out of you. That's all you need to know.
(last year's classic picks follow)
The Exorcist
87% liked this movie
There is no scarier movie. There just isn't. I haven't watched it since I was 12 in my parent's basement. I only saw the version that was aired on television so it wasn't even the full scary version. I will never be the same again. We all knew it was going to be on the list, so I figured I'd get it out of the way right off the top.
Rosemary's Baby
86% liked this movie
A movie about a scary baby made by director Roman Polanski; a man who was charged with drugging and raping a 13 year old. Watch it or don't. But it's a scary movie classic and sometimes you have to separate the art from the artist.
Carrie
89% liked this movie
Girl gets tormented. Girl gets revenge. Any movie that ends with us feeling better about our lives because "Hey, you know what? At least no one has poured pigs blood on me this year." is a good choice.
Scream
86% liked this movie
The first in the classic, campy, horror movies franchise.
Ghostbusters
86% liked this movie
Who you gonna call? Your favourite Canadian friend to thank them, because without Canadians Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd and Rick Moranis, is there even a Ghostbusters?
Practical Magic
90% liked this movie
Yes Virginia, there is a Halloween Rom Com movie starring Sandra Bullock.
Us
74% liked this movie
A perfectly respectable family gets terrorized by their doppelgängers.
The Witch
78% liked this movie
The Witch is a period piece taking place in 1630s New England.
Don't Breathe
91% liked this movie
Three thieves break into the home of a blind man after hearing he has $300,000 cash in the house. They figure it'll be an easy job. They're wrong.
Donnie Darko
92% liked this movie
The psychological thriller that cemented Jake Gyllenhaal as a talent, not just a Jake Gyllenhaal face.
Get Out
89% liked this movie
My first try of this film I turned it off. Not because it was too scary, but because I just didn't like it. I gave it a second shot. I changed my mind. It's a brilliant look at systemic racism.
Host
83% liked this movie
Host is THE movie made for this moment in time. A movie about the isolation of Covid 19, shot entirely in isolation, about a ZOOM call. The actors shot alone, did their own special effects and shooting with instructions from director Rob Savage.
Contagion
87% liked this movie
Contagion. The similarities to the current pandemic are eerie both in the unpredictable nature of the virus and how it came to be. Even more eerie, is the fact that this predictive movie was made a decade before Covid hit.
Which will you be watching tonight? And how will you be setting yourself up for it? Candles? Popcorn? Blanket? BB Gun?
Josephine Dubois
I have a few new ones to try out here! Thanks! I tried the Exorcist when I was like 12, by myself. I slept with a nightlight on, rosary in my nightgown pocket and a Bible under my pillow for months and I'm not even Catholic! I'm more of a Silence of the Lambs fan - nothing like a good old fashioned serial killer. If you haven't seen it, Mr. Brooks is a good serial killer movie with Kevin Costner as the lead. But if you haven't seen it and you want a real life scary movie/show, the Netflix docuseries Don't F*** with Cats truly freaked me out. Seriously scary stuff there - and I'm a huge fan of crime shows. But that was just wacky.
Lauren from Winnipeg
Silence of the Lambs. Totally agree. Such a good movie. I also think this genre is scarier than the typical slasher or monster type.
Cynthia
Here are my scary movies: "Young Frankenstein", "Dracula Dead and Loving It", "Ghostbusters 1 and 2". I also like "Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween." But I'd have to say our favorite movie around this time of year is "Blackbeard's Ghost" a campy Disney film starring Peter Ustinov as Blackbeard's ghost. I guess I don't do SCARY, scary. I do ha ha scary. I prefer to laugh in the face of scary. Or at in this case. There's enough scary things in this world as it is, but not enough laughter.
jacqueline
Dr. Sleep is my favorite... but not on the list. It’s a sequel to the Shining but more compelling and horrific. Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Zahn McClarnon, Kyleigh Curran and every cast member delivers fascinating character portrayals and explains what was behind the Shining. It’s smart and so well done it’s a classic that won’t wear out for me and I’ll be watching it again and again. The only one on this list that has worn well enough for me to watch again is Practical Magic (but Alice Hoffman’s book series is even better).
Allison
Must watch movies for me are Halloween, Children of the Corn and Fright Night (all the originals)! Happy Halloween everyone!
Linda J Howes-Smyth
Scary movies scare me so I don't watch too many. Certain scenes stick with me and this pandemic hasn't helped any in that department. The Skeleton Key and Frailty are good ones for all out creepiness.
Emily
"Heredity", starring one of my all-time favorite actors, Toni Collette, is quite scary. I enjoy a build-up and subtlety in a horror film, so my favorites include "The Amityville Horror," "The Shining," and "Cujo" (the originals, obviously) - all of which still incite a bit of fright for me! I have to say, too, "Us" and "Get Out" are great films and should be seen!
Peter
Ahhh scary movies.....I remember babysitting back in the late 60's early 70's and starting watching a movie because the girls in it were cute....I was a teenager....the hockey game had ended, had no TV guide and didn't know what it was about....hooked me in, couldn't stop watching....scared the crap out me at the time! Didn't actually know the name of the movie until years later...I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did....black and white...right place and right time to stick with me all these years! BOOO!
Dave R
I'll stick with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
You want to watch it too. I know it.
I see you shiver with antici........
Steph K
... pation.
Laurinda
...pation
Diane
I just watched the trailers of "Get Out" and "Us"...and that was enough for me! Heart pumping full of fear! Wow!
Jane
Not a Halloween movie but one of the scariest I’ve ever seen is “Wait Until Dark” with Audrey Hepburn and Alan Atkins. First time I watched it, I remember jumping out of my skin (and thankfully back in again).
Jane
Arkin (despite what my spellcheck would prefer)
Jane
ARKIN (who the heck is Alan Atkins?)
Mary W
I'm going to be trying to store all the supplies I bought for 'living-in' during the next several months - hopefully with a celebration on January 20. It should be the first day of the new beginning of having a life again. I'm told a civil war may begin at that time - so maybe I should just go watch a horror movie and die of 'scared' instead. Choices, choices.
Jack Ledger
Another great movie was "The Omen" with Gregory Peck.
Karen
Gregory Peck, huh? I only remember the terrifying kid, lol. ~ karen!
Cheverly
I'm with Karen on this one. Saw part of it at my grandparents' house one summer (couldn't watch scary/MTV/anything fun with my parents around) and that kid terrified me. Interesting to know Gregory Peck was in it.
I also enjoyed "Something Wicked This Way Comes" as a kid. Also scared the crap out of me. Those tarantulas in the bed!
TucsonPatty
I still haven’t gotten over those dogs. I’m terrified of big dogs. The kid was so cute and so fricking creepy!!
I used to read everything Steven King, and I don’t want anything to do with horror movies anymore.
While I was reading ‘Salem’s Lot, out in the dark country, I made a cross out of a nail file and an orange wood stick wrapped together with my gold chain necklace. Vampires - silver - stake through the heart - cross - gold - it got all twisted in my mind!
Must have worked - I’m here, and not a vampire!
Happy Halloween from inside my house where I am very sad to not have decorated so as to help keep the kids inside and safe. It is my most favorite day of the year, and I’m not even going to the “small super spreader party” my friends host every year. Too scary out there for me. I thought a couple of your movies looked interesting from the titles or actors - but then I remembered who I really am!
Em
Our first date was the original Friday the 13th. Apparently it's very attractive to jump out of your seat and land on the floor. Here we are 40 years later.
Cheverly
Hahaha! This is greatness! Thanks for the giggle. :)
Eileen
Yikes...no...all the horror I need is getting up each day and seeing the latest news.
BUT...many people have recommended "The Babadook" to me (and said to not watch it alone). It stars Essie Davis of "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" fame.
Rachel
The Babadook is a good one.
Stan Nowak
One that HAS to be on this list is my fave horror flick of all time: "The Changeling", 1980 Canadian film starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere, about the ghost of a boy who comes back from beyond to right a wrong done to him man years ago. I have watched it hundreds of times in the last 40 years and it still creeps me out! Best Ghost Story EVER! Honourable mention: Ghost Story, great book by Peter Straub and a great movie!
I saw The Exorcist when it first came out (I passed for 18 - but I was 13) and it scared the living HELL out of me - being the Good Catholic altar boy I was back then. Another honourable mention: though not a ghost story or a Halloween flick, but Jaws really ate at me for years! (Yes, puns intended).
Karen
Jaws also terrified me. I still have trouble swimming in anything other than a kitchen sink. ~ karen!
Christine Chapel
I saw The Exorcist when I was in my early 20"s and have never seen a movie since that has scared me as much. I was so frightened that I honestly slept with a light on for days and I love horror movies so I don't scare easily!
Debra Stewart
Thank you for the ideas!
I have on my list Don't Breathe for Halloween. Get Out, Host and Haunting of Hill House in the next month.
Jenny W
I have watched them all except for the Exorcist because, well, it's the Exorcist!!
I Would also recommend the movie HUSH for a creepy, not scary, smart little movie!
Also the Haunting of Hill House - Netflix version - is a must see!!
Margery Breit
The Haunting of Hill House-Netflix version is terrifying !
Tino
We're going to go rather old school and watch Creature from the Black Lagoon! Watched The Exorcist the other day, and got to watch Nightmare on Elm Street at the cinema last week which was a cheesy horror TREAT!!
Think we'll watch a few more over weekend too, including some more kid friendly ones with our 4 year old like Igor and ParaNorman 😁
Also, all the popcorn!!
Karen
That IS old school! ~ karen
Rb
Get Out is a brilliant movie. The best on this list for sure! I’m glad you gave it another try.
Kristin Conley
Hi Karen,
Great list! You always come up with the best stuff!!
Karen
Thanks Kristin! I really am excited to watch a couple of them this weekend. ~ karen!