Movie Marathon: Classis movies to watch for Halloween

There’s no better way to prepare for Halloween than to curl up on the couch for a horror movie marathon with some popcorn, some pumpkin beer and someone nice to put your arm around. If you’re planning for a movie night, keep in mind that there are hundreds of great horror flicks, but only a few that really embody the spirit of Halloween. The following films are classics, and you’ve probably seen or at least heard of them, but it’s kind of like an ABC Family marathon at Christmas time – there are some movies you just have to watch every year.


1. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993, D: Henry Selick)

Pumpkin king Jack Skellington gets an accidental taste of Christmas and tries to bring the cheerful holiday to his home, Halloween Town. Obviously, in a land of ghoulish creatures, rotting-off limbs and sinister characters, this does not work out as planned. It’s a fun mix of festivity and vaguely disturbing (though oddly beautiful) visuals and if you haven’t seen it yet, put it on your watch list.


2.  Halloween (1973, D: John Carpenter)

Come on, people, it’s in the title. You can’t skip this one. It’s one of the most classic slasher films ever made. Unfortunately for Jamie Lee Curtis and her pals, a serial killer escapes the psych ward and begins happily slicing up teenagers once again. There’s a lot of suspense, a lot of screaming and a lot of gore – prime fare for any horror fan.

3. Hocus Pocus (1993, D: Kenny Ortega)

Three witches rise to power again in Salem after several hundred years of being dead, and the shenanigans that follow are worthy of any Halloween movie marathon. In turns hilarious, cute and frankly strange, the storyline follows the exploits of the witches and of the kids (and their immortal cat) who try to stop the tricky ladies. The best part of the movie is probably the sarcastic witches themselves coming to terms with technology. It’s hard to keep from rooting for them, even if they do seem pretty intent on stealing the souls of children.


4. Night of the Living Dead (1968, D: George Romero)

It might be a little out of date, but the living dead are still horrifying in this film. And you really can’t beat the plot: zombies rise because of energy released from a fallen satellite. Apparently, whatever energy satellites give off causes the recently animated dead to hunger for the flesh of the living, but common sense aside, watching a group of scared people hide in a farmhouse from their deceased (and evil) counterparts is still quite disturbing.  

5. The Shining (1980, D: Stanley Kubrick)

Dead twin girls haunt the hallway of an empty hotel. Blood rushes out in angry rivers from the elevators. Pretty naked women turn into rotting, grave-heady hags in your arms. What’s not to love about this bone-chilling classic? Again, this is one you’ve probably seen already, but it’s worth watching again. Jack Nicholson’s descent into madness at the Overlook Hotel is enough to frighten anyone out of their wits, and there aren’t too many movies that use suspense quite as well as this one does.