Happy spooky season ladies and gents. In lieu of literally any new movies being released for essentially the rest of 2020, I have decided to do some themed lists. I've done the best baseball movies and best Valentine's movies before and now I'll do fall/Halloween movies. This is not your typical Halloween movie list because that would just have all the same movies as always on it - Halloween, Friday the 13th, Hocus Pocus, etc. (disclaimer: I don't like Hocus Pocus at all. It's not good. Just nostalgic. I realize that is controversial take.) This list will be comprised of movies that get me in a spooky mood or fall feeling. I'm not a fan of supernatural horror or paranormal stuff so don't expect to see any Paranormal Activity or The Conjuring on here, those just aren't my style. Most horror movies in general are really just bad movies, but I did put a few on this list that are actually very well made films if you're in the mood for a something a little more frightening. I have broken the list up into three categories - horror comedy, scary, and classics. Without further ado, here's the list of movies you should check out this fall:
HORROR COMEDY
- What We Do in the Shadows (rent on Amazon Prime)
Our first horror comedy movie, What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary that follows four vampire roommates that live in the suburbs of a New Zealand town. The movie was written, directed, and stars Jermaine Clement and one of my favorite people in the movie business, Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit). The vampires all possess supernatural powers and they attack a human named Nick and turn him into a vampire while also befriending a human named Stu. It is absolutely hilarious and there are so many clips I wanted to post in here - a run in with a group of werewolves, the vampires flat meeting, and the cops showing up to the house to give safety tips, but ultimately I went with Stu teaching them about all the technology they missed out on in their century long lives. Every line uttered is complete genius and the movie's popularity led to a spin off tv series on FX. Can we talk about the Kiwi accents on all these New Zealand actors? Perfection.
- Shaun of the Dead (rent on Amazon Prime)
From one of my favorite directors, Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead is our next horror comedy movie, that is much more comedy than horror. It stars Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible, Hot Fuzz) and his good buddy Nick Frost. Zombies are always good during spooky season and the movie is genuinely very funny. It's a perfect tribute to comedy and horror wrapped all in one. Every other zombie movie is missing one thing: a scene where the characters beat a zombie with pool sticks to the beat of "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Shaun of the Dead delivers.
- Ready or Not (rent on Amazon Prime or HBO)
Ready or Not is a horror comedy movie from 2019 starring up and coming actress Samara Weaving. She plays a newlywed bride named Grace who has just married into the famous Le Domas family. The Le Domas's owe their wealth and status to their success in the board game industry, and as per their strange tradition, Grace must particiapte in a game of hide and seek on her wedding night. The game turns deadly as the Le Domas's hunt Grace to sacrifice her and keep their good fortune, and there are some decent laughs along the way as members of the family struggle to operate their outdated weaponry. It also takes place in a huge Clue type mansion which just screams fall to me.
SCARY
- Midsommar (free with Amazon Prime)
Yes, I am aware the title of the movie is MidSOMMAR, and this is a FALL movie list, but this is without a doubt the freakiest movie on my list. Director Ari Aster followed up his hit horror movie Hereditary with this folk horror film. Midsommar stars Florence Pugh (Little Women, Black Widow) and follows a group of college friends that travel to Sweden for a special festival that only occurs every 90 years. Upon arrival they find that all is not what it seems and they are in the midst of a strange cult. It is shocking, unsettling, and anxiety inducing. One of the most impressive things about Midsommar is that nearly every scene takes place in the daylight. It's not easy to pull off horror in the sunlight but, by George, they did. This is one legitimately scary movie that I enjoy because it is well made and grounded in reality. I clipped in the trailer and got chills just watching it again.
- IT (rent on Amazon Prime)
IT is the best film adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 novel, trumping the 1990 miniseries. Bill Skarsgard is pretty dang terrifying as Pennywise and all of the child actors that play the members of the Losers Club are pretty solid. Overall, IT's not the greatest film, and I wouldn't bother with Chapter 2, but this will give you a good scare, especially if clowns aren't your thing. Scary clown in Derry, Maine plus Stephen King = good fall/Halloween movie. Sure there is a moral to the story about bullies and overcoming fears, but the real lesson to be learned here is that no child should ever have a lengthy conversation with a clown in the storm drain.
IT should have gone down like this:
Pennywise: "Hi Georgie do you want to come down into this sewer and get your boat?"
Georgie: "No."
*Credits roll*
- Us (rent on Amazon Prime or HBO)
Jordan Peele has found his absolute niche in making horror movies. He has directed two movies in his career so far in Get Out and Us and they are both great horror movies. Us came out in 2019 and is the second film from Peele, starring Lupita Nyong'o, (Star Wars, Black Panther) Winston Duke, and Elisabeth Moss. Nyong'o plays Adelaide, who as a young girl, encounters her doppelganger in a house of mirrors (scary). As an adult she is continuously haunted by this memory and while on vacation with her family, they encounter the rest of the doppelgangers and fear comes with them. There are twists and turns along the way and definitely a deeper meaning you can take away from Us. I think Us is scarier than Get Out and I like it more so it gets the nod on the list here. Somewhere I have read that statistically speaking there is a slim chance we have a doppelganger roaming around out there. I certainly hope I never meet mine.
CLASSICS
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (rent on Amazon Prime)
I don't have to explain this one to you because come on, its E freakin' T! What's more perfect than E.T. even going trick or treating and eating Reese's Pieces? It's also, ya know, one of the greatest films ever made. Director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams are master class. As a kid, seeing E.T. for the first time, I didn't appreciate it like I do now. In fact it scared me because I thought an alien might land in the woods behind my house. And the scene where the scientists are operating on E.T. and Elliot in the tents in their hazmat suits was horrifying to me. But now I see E.T. as the wholesome, heartfelt, and magical work that it is and if you're searching for some nostalgia this Halloween, this is the place to find it. E.T. is such a big time fall boy he throws on a flannel shirt and downs some beers. What a great trip to Earth.
- Ghostbusters (rent on Amazon Prime)
A Halloween classic that needs no explanation. You can't be afraid of no ghosts during spooky season! Ghostbusters brought us some of the most iconic movie ghosts of all time. Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man are still Halloween stars 40 years later. Like E.T., I didn't appreciate this comedic masterpiece when I was a kid, but anytime Bill Murray pops up on my tv is a good time. The chemistry between Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis (RIP) is phenomenal and it was such a cultural phenomenon. Imagine how many kids in the 1980s went trick or treating dressed as Ghostbusters. You know a movie is a classic when you see the title and immediately start singing the theme song. Ray Parker Jr.'s Ghostbusters song went to #1 on the charts, and if you have never watched the remix of it on Youtube called "Bustin" stop reading this and go watch it now. I watch it at least once every day in October.
- Casper (rent of Amazon Prime)
As a kid, Casper is the perfect Halloween movie because the ghosts are kinda scary. As an adult, Casper is the perfect Halloween movie because of Casper's horribly depressing backstory. Releasing in 1995, the year of my birth, it is the perfect classic, nostalgia inducing movie that will take you down memory lane because it is sooo 1990s. And it made every teenage girl wish that they could have a cute ghost boyfriend that would cook them breakfast.
BONUS
- Harry Potter (rent on Amazon Prime)
It's time we stop talking about the Harry Potter series as being a Christmas classic and start putting it where it belongs - in the Halloween lineup. Tell me one movie in the whole series where either Harry, Ron, or Hermione aren't wearing a flannel shirt of some kind. I know there is a key Halloween scene in at least 3 of the movies off the top of my head. Sirius comes back on Halloween in Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry's name gets pulled out of the Goblet of Fire on Halloween in book 4. And of course in the Sorcerer's Stone (Philosopher's Stone if someone happens to be reading from Europe) the trio defeat the troll that has entered the girls bathroom in the midst of a fantastic looking Halloween feast at Hogwarts. HP is a perfect series to watch during Halloween and I think I will. It's been a while since I've made a trip to Hogwarts. Kinda want a butterbeer right now.
- Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (Netflix)
- Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (Prime)
- Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (Prime)
My final movies to watch during fall/Halloween are the most nostalgic of all for me. I was a HUGE Scooby-Doo kid. Scooby never scared me because I always knew that in the end, Mystery Inc. would unmask some guy with a name like Old Man Winkles who had been parading around as some kind of villain. But these three movies right here, scared the LIVING CRAP OUT OF ME because the monsters were REAL. You can't drop a bomb on a little kid like that! I may never go to Louisiana because either zombies, freaky cat ladies, or a headless horseman could come out of the swamp at any minute. And don't even think about taking me to Salem. Witch's Ghost turned me off of going anywhere near Massachusetts until I was 21 years old. No thank you. Not even for a Scooby Snack.
There you have it. The definitive best list of movies to watch during fall/Halloween. No need to read anything else. ;) There's something for everyone whether you're feeling nostalgic, want to be scared, or have a good laugh. And all of them can be rented for no more than $4 on Amazon. The fall months are without a doubt my favorite time of the year and with nothing out in theaters right now, there's no better time to snuggle up in your favorite sweatshirt, eat some potato soup, and throw on a great movie.
- BH
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