Just like Christmas is associated with Mariah Carey’s hit song, and Valentine’s Day is associated with chocolate, Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without its horror movies. Ok, sure, there are the fantastic costumes and the candy, but to really set the mood, there’s nothing better than a few movie nights with the greats: the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, or Scream. With less than two weeks until Halloween, turn off the lights, lock the doors, and settle in with the best of Halloween movies.
Let’s start with the classics, of course: in Halloween (1977), Michael Meyers is institutionalised after killing his brothers and sisters as a child. When he grows up, he runs away and starts stalking young people celebrating Halloween. The film has become a huge franchise, with 13 films in total, the last of which has just been released. So, if you’re planning a massive movie marathon, the Halloween movies with Jamie Lee Curtis, the Scream Queen herself, are a perfect choice!
In the comedy Hocus Pocus (1993), which received a sequel this year, three witches return 300 years after they were hanged for witchcraft in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts. In order to preserve their immortality, they must take the life of a child, and the three children who accidentally resurrected them will do anything to prevent the witches from returning Salem to the way it was when they first lived. In this horror comedy, you can expect witchcraft, black cats and, of course, lots of laughs.
Recently, the Scream franchise has swollen to five films, and any of them are actually a lot of fun, but the first one from 1996 is a true Halloween classic. The Ghostface killer, who reappears in later films, makes his first appearance in this film, killing teenagers in a small town. A girl and her friends set out to find him, but of course, not everyone survives.
Another cult classic of the teen horror era, 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer ushered in a whole new era of slasher films. A year after covering up a hit-and-run accident in which they killed a man and dumped his body, four friends find themselves confronted by a hook-wielding stalker.