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?
I stood in line for over an hour to see The Exorcist when it came out. I was 15, I had already read the book so I thought I was prepared. Boy was I WRONG!!! Slept with the light on for months.
Another great movie is "Night Of The Hunter" . From 1955. Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish. Fantastic movie. Scary as shit!
I forgot to mention Night of The Hunter is based on a true story.
I've seen every movie everyone has mentioned. My whole family are huge scary movie fanatics. I don't enjoy the Halloween or Friday the 13th series anymore and never enjoyed the Saw or Freddy Kreuger movies. Torture and 'It was all a dream' cop outs annoy me. Scary movies are subjective but here are some more suggestions: The Stand (Nicholson), a scary guy unraveling while stuck with his family in an empty haunted hotel. The recent 'It' and 'It 2'. A terrifying clown. Enough said. I love movies with a decent back story that slowly unfolds. 'The Ring' and 'The Omen' are the best examples. I love and am terrified by movies that could actually happen because humans keep polluting the water. The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn are both really creepy. Exorcist 3 is very under rated and has George C. Scott and some of the scariest scenes I've ever seen in any movie. Netflix's 'Haunting of Hillhouse' and the new' Midnight Mass' are both very good and worth watching. There's a whole slew of movies with nuns and dolls in them that are quite scary as well, if you're really serious about this. And bless you for listing 'Practical Magic' and 'Ghost busters'. They can only be described as a warm up movies
There's a little known film produced by some university students a few years back (cost the grand sum of $25,000). It did win quite a few awards. It's the Blair Witch Project. Black and white, a bit campy, but the last 10 seconds really gives a wallop. I can still see that scene in my mind's eye, it'll never go away.
I love Young Frankenstein! not scary, just good laughs.
My dad likes that one. I think I was around 13 when we all watched it. I had only recently learned the definition of rape, so having to watch a "family movie" with rape somewhat traumatized me. I hate that movie to this day and hate whenever he goes on about it. Just can't stand it. OTHER than that horribleness, the rest was a good movie. I just wish they could have figured a better way to write the story than to involve something so ugly (& then make light of it.) Anyway...
Thank goodness you have a brave puppy to guard you!!!! .......
........squirrel......
Your readers have pretty good taste in movies, Karen. . . . many worthwhile suggestions. For those who prefer more family friendly options, I recommend "Hocus Pocus" and "Beetlejuice".
Heredity and Midsommer are great. It's that slow build up scary/creepy-ness that does it for me. As for old school scary, I submit Salem's Lot (1979) and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973). Both did a number on me when I was a child..lol
I've seen 6 / 13 of your movies, but The Exorcist looks dated now. I saw this film when it came out and as a good Catholic altar boy, it scared the hell out of me... then. Today, the Linda Blair special effects just looks dated and doesn't work for me.
I agree the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" is a must-see every Halloween, and I would include "Ghost Story" and "Beetlejuice" as well but the best scary movie on my list is "The Changeling", a 1980 Canadian production starring George C. Scott. I've seen it a gajillion times and it still makes my skin crawl. Simply the Best. Ghost. Story. Ever!!
Definitely The Omen. Love it.
Blair Witch Project scared me.
And the old The Haunting with Julie Harris. She is absolutely incredible in it. A tour de force. Don't like the remake.
Favorites of mine are Descent and Pitch Black. Great Creature movies.
The Descent is excellent and Descent 2 is very good as well!
Young Frankenstein is the standard here
Young Frankenstein and Great Pumpkin! Though Practical Magic always gets me happy.
The Babadook is my favorite scary movie, and it's not even the scariest!
Baa baa Doooook DOOOOOK.
The kid screams a lot, but it's worth it. It is unusual.
P.s. You are hilarious.
Another really good one is See No Evil. It’s from 1971 with Mia Farrow. Blind girl, killer, need I say more? Terrifying. Sadly, I haven’t seen it listed anywhere to watch again.
I’ll be watching The Other from 1972. I saw it when I was maybe 10? 42 years later, I finally have the nerve to watch it again. From your list, I’ve definitely gotta give Don’t Breathe a try!
ok here is an oldie silent film, but it creeped me out - although it doesn't take much.
Nosferatu
Also all those old black & white movies that used to be on Creature Features back in the day.
OMG!! Doesn’t Nosferatu look exactly like Rudy Giuliani? Pretty.....pretty....pretty....damn scary.
Yes!! Yes he does! Very funny
I agree, this one is definitely creepy, didn't need words or excess blood either.
Rocky Horror Picture Show is a must at my house on Halloween!
Let's do the Time Warp again.
Absolutely!
A very scary movie with even scarier vampires...30 Days of Night about a small town in Alaska that goes dark for a month every year..well this year a group of insatiable vampires find it & have a field day (or should I say field night) getting their "fill" of the inhabitants. Never mind the blood..just the idea that they have 30 days of night to hunt & terrorize scares me no end..Watch it if you dare!
I still have problems watching the Exorcist... Get Out & Babadook have been on my list for awhile but I haven't gotten my nerve up to watch them...yikes
To me anything set in Alaska sounds appealing, lol. ~ karen!
About the scariest movie I'll watch is the Charlie Brown one. If I want Truly Scary...I just watch the news.
You all are a lot braver than I am......it doesn't take that much to make me jump. I live alone in a creaking house deep in wooded acreage and at night there are whispering winds through the trees, marauding animals rustling in leaves (pretty sure they're animals), an occasional firearm going off not that distant...so I like watching comedy shows and musicals. I love this lifestyle during daylight hours and I'm going to get a big dog. Really big.
Crickey!
I live on my own too. Out in the middle of no-where. In a house than creaks and cracks at night as it expands and contracts. So I hear you! Although I would love to settle down with something spooky I would need someone to watch it with. So I also tend to watch all those cosy small town series....