Halloween is looming and we’ve all got our costumes picked out (I’m going to be Heisenberg!), but prepping for the big day includes throwing on some great horror and dimming the lights. Here’s our Top 13 Films to Watch With the Lights Off on Halloween in honor of the release of the Halloween catalog from Anchor Bay, which includes such titles as the Halloween box set, Lords of Salem, Evil Dead, Nothing Left to Fear, Let Me In, the 30th anniversary Silent Night, Deadly Night, and Scream 4 as well as some other beauties.
Here’s where we would normally list the honorable mentions, but they could honestly go on all day. Films to watch with the lights off on Halloween? There must be hundreds of good choices. Thankfully, we’ve really whittled that number down for you. We’ve got a solid 13 here with some great honorable mentions to flesh the whole thing out.
To gain inclusion on this list, the only requirement was the movie has to be downright f’n scary. If it’s set during Halloween, even better. But the most important thing was: If you put this movie on and turn down the lights, is your first natural reaction to hug a pillow close to you and curl up your toes? These are no joke movies, Dreadies. These are the real deal chilling.
The Crow kicks off our honorable mentions. Certainly not a true horror movie at all, but how we love it (“It can’t rain all the time…”) and its Halloween setting. The beloved Halloween-themed indie Satan’s Little Helper certainly deserves mention here as well. And, although they aren’t necessarily Halloween-themed, we must mention Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Demons as two movies that would make hair stand up on arms as lights go off in living rooms. Other great Halloween-flavored fare includes The Karate Kid, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. and The Nightmare Before Christmas (or is that a Christmas movie?). Anyway, all these movies are great to throw on, dim the lights, and enjoy.
Great movies make for a great Halloween, and those honorable mentions would do you well. But please, read on and discover the Top 13 Films to Watch With the Lights Off on Halloween.
The Exorcist
If you have the balls to dim the lights during the Halloween season and throw on The Exorcist, you are truly a hardcore horror fan. Of course we all know it was directed by William Friedkin and adapted from William Peter Blatty’s legendary novel. But here’s a little known fact: The Exorcist, when adjusted for inflation, is still the highest grossing R-rated film of all time. As far as the power of the movie, it can’t be understated. If there is any movie that can get you into the Halloween spirit, The Exorcist is it. It is pure evil! Demons, desecrations, and deviancy, oh my! The Exorcist is a film that will not only kick off Halloween in the best possible way, it’ll still be haunting you when you carve the turkey a month later!
House of 1000 Corpses
Rob Zombie’s initial foray into the cinematic horror genre was a long awaited film indeed. After the insane trailer hit theaters, featuring a closing scene with Bill Moseley pulling back a skin mask and saying, “…the boogeyman is real…and you found him,” it would be years before it hit theaters. Finished after a 28-day shoot in 2000, The House of 1000 Corpses didn’t actually hit theaters until being bought back by Zombie from Universal Studios and then resold to Lionsgate and released in 2003. It fits so perfectly on this list with a Halloween setting, incredibly charismatic characters, and a no-holds-barred filmmaking attack. It’s a fantastic movie to cuddle up with your sweetheart and enjoy during this Halloween season.
May
Speaking of cuddling up with your sweetheart, no movie gets me more soft-hearted than Lucky McKee’s legendary May. May Dove Canady is one of my all-time favorite horror characters. She’s so beautifully broken. May is a perfect look at a damaged soul. One who is trying to do everything right but ends up unintentionally hurting so many. Angela Bettis is off-the-charts amazing in this one, a role that would solidify her as a genre mainstay. Also set during Halloween, May is the date movie to enjoy with your deepest, darkest soulmate…the one you can’t take home to mommy! This Halloween turn down the lights, and let the magic that is May take you away.
Trick ‘r Treat
A damn near perfect tribute to the pagan holiday of Halloween, Trick ‘r Treat not only features some of the genre’s favorite performers, it gave birth to a cute little horror icon and then damn near scared us all out of our seats! The cast is highlighted by Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, and Anna Paquin, but the movie is most notably remembered for one freakish looking little pint-sized scamp called Sam. And as cute and innocent as he looks, Sam is one dastardly motherfucker! Trick ‘r Treat is a truly wonderful anthology film of the best ilk, the kind that doubles back on itself and makes all the stories contained within the anthology weave one large picture. And Trick ‘r Treat indeed does that! In fact, I’m feeling Halloweeny right now. I might just go and pay Sam a visit myself.
Alien
Okay, so you want to get dark and brooding and full of ambiance this Halloween? Then look no further than Ridley Scott’s epic that did so much more than just kick off a franchise. Alien single-handedly breathed life into an alien race that was previously unknown (with much thanks to the artwork of H.R. Giger). The atmosphere of Alien is nearly unmatched in film. Sigourney Weaver is at the top of her game as Ridley, and the suspense generated by this unforgettable movie is more than perfect to enhance your Halloween viewing experience. Throw this one into your movie player, and then sit back and wait for your skin to crawl because, oh baby, your skin is gonna crawl! Remember, in space no one can hear you scream.
Pet Sematary
Another beauty set during the Halloween season, Pet Sematary is one of the most underrated horror films of all time! Completely quotable – “Now I wanna play wishyeeeew!” – Pet Sematary is one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations ever. Now, imagine you’re on your couch. It’s a comfy Halloween weekend. You dim the lights and throw on Pet Sematary. Suddenly, your cat appears out of nowhere and curls up on your lap. But he doesn’t feel just right. Something is…off…about him. This gets you looking around and considering the tagline of the movie…“Sometimes dead is better.” If the alternative is what we see in Pet Sematary, then yes, dead is better.
Session 9
When you talk about putting in a movie and turning the lights down, aliens and slashers and people arising from the dead in the Micmac Burial Grounds are all great. But a true haunting might be the most frightening in-the-dark experience. The problem is, it’s hard to generate a quality haunted house (asylum) film. Fortunately, with Session 9 you get all the skin-crawling, fingernail-chewing, teeth-gnashing frights that you can possibly handle. Session 9 is one of the most frightening hauntings captured on film in years. Danvers State Mental Hospital (an actual facility in Massachusetts) made for an incredible setting for one of the most memorable hauntings in a long, long time. And one that will no doubt spruce up your Halloween holiday celebration!
The Thing
So, if hauntings aren’t your thing, maybe we can scare you with claustrophobia and a potential civilization-ending apocalypse. If we can’t scare you with the lights off while an unknown alien presence infects your camp, creating ungodly creatures while everyone becomes insanely unsettled and on edge as there is no way to figure who are the good men and who are the monsters, then how the hell can we scare you?. Such a fantastic staple of the horror genre, The Thing is among the greatest work of John Carpenter and perhaps the best genre performance of Kurt Russell. You’ve got a cramped, frightening environment, some incredible monsters, and the world potentially coming to an end. The Thing is indeed one to watch with plenty of illumination.
Ginger Snaps
Oh, Ms. Isabelle, you had us at Ginger Snaps. One of the most memorable Halloween-themed movies ever, Ginger Snaps is a classic. We all love to watch Ginger Fitzgerald snap and bite! It’s easy to see what makes this movie so attractive. Teenage angst, rebelling against the establishment, and…oh yeah…huge brutal werewolf action. Ginger Snaps never really fell into stride with some of the mondo werewolf staples of the horror genre like The Howling or An American Werewolf in London, but Ginger Snaps has effects that are at least as good as any film on that list.
Donnie Darko (1990)
Let’s dig into another movie set around the Halloween season, and that includes the one and only dastardly duo to be found in Donnie Darko. Part horror, part sci-fi/mystery/drama, Donnie Darko never seems to take itself too overly seriously, and we get a story that leaves us begging for more. Slammed in the face by a giant meteor, or whatever smashed into Donnie’s house, what we come to find out is that Donnie Darko is indeed mysterious, if nothing else. Starring Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Duval, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wylie, Donnie Darko may be the most star-studded entry on this list, but it also has to go down as one of the creepiest. Shut the lights out and watch this one, and I dare you to give me the play-by-play afterwards.
When a Stranger Calls
Moving down through this list, it became harder and harder to find films that were actually really scary. When a Stranger Calls never had any trouble in this department. “Have you checked the children?” and the police response after tracing the infamous phone calls, “They’re coming from inside the house!” are two of the more memorable moments within the horror genre. Add to that Tony Beckley, who played the killer Curt Duncan while diagnosed as terminally ill. Yep, he was tasked with navigating this part while staring death in the face. He was the image of creepy in this role, and it’s hard to pinpoint another actor who has played crazy better than Beckley. A killer finale wraps this one up very nicely.
Evil Dead (1980)
When trapped out in the woods, your resources are limited, and sometimes all you can do is hold on to the cabin floor and pray for the best. Evil Dead is a film that brings five poor, unsuspecting souls out to the middle of the forest and plans for them to have the worst weekend possible. Aside from the demonic possession itself, viewers are treated to an arboreal sexual assault as well as all kind of nastiness that culminates in a finale that has become legendary. No, it may not be perfect, but Evil Dead holds a place amongst many horror fans as one of the most beloved horror movies ever.
Halloween (1977)
And of course, what else would be at the end of this list? The be-all and end-all of Halloween movies, Halloween. Detailing the arrival (or is that the return?) of the Boogeyman to the sleepy town of Haddonfield, Halloween shocks all those who watch and realize that this simple concept – psycho kills sister, psycho leaves hometown for an extended vacation in a mental ward, psycho returns home to exact revenge on those who wronged him – is a perfect example of how things could go so horribly wrong so quickly on any holiday, but Halloween in particular. Starring a young and yet unleashed Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween took its William Shatner mask and dove into the fabric of American cinema forever! And thank you for doing so.
Happy Halloween, all! Be sure to add your picks below!
