It’s Halloween season and that means every streaming channel will be running some amazing (and some terrible) horror movies over the next month. While we plan on posting a few articles about our favorite horror movies this month on A tHome Daily, I thought we could make the list a little harder by focusing on movies ‘about’ Halloween. So, check out this list of the top 5 Halloween-themed movies.
Halloween
Let’s first be clear that we’re talking about the original 1978 horror, slasher classic, rather than any of the sequels or remakes. That first Halloween movie was no joke. Remember that it predates Friday the 13th and virtually every other slasher horror flick that we have all come to know over the years. The original stands out as a no-frills, no special effects flick with a mostly little-known cast and low budget. But, it is a masterclass in scaring people senseless with a mix of good old jump scares with a constant build-up of tension and terror. And, that music score! John Carpenter not only directed but also created that amazing and utterly recognizable Halloween soundtrack. It has to be right up there with the original Jaws theme as the most memorable movie themes of all time.
Halloween helped created an entire genre of horror films that has thrived for the past 4 plus decades. But, sometimes you have to go back to the original and just recognize how amazing it was and still is. No list of great horror movies, let alone Halloween-themed movies would be complete without the original.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Just to show that not every Halloween movie has to be a horror classic, we bring you The Nightmare Before Christmas. Is it a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? It’s really both, but we’ll put it here in its very well-deserved spot on this list. Tim Burton’s classic of stop-motion animation. It stands up as one of Burton’s best, easily straddling themes that are heartwarming with those that are downright spooky. It features some enduring characters, like the hero, Jack Skellington, who only wants to bring some Christmas spirit to Halloween Town. At times funny and terrifying, it’s a truly unique blend of Halloween themes that still resonate for both grown-ups and kids alike.
Donnie Darko
This one falls under the category of ‘WTF’ movies as well. This offbeat, indy film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, follows an unstable teenager named Donnie Darko, as a strange figure in a rabbit costume (Frank) who manipulates the young man into committing various crimes as he awaits the end of the world in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. The movie deals with time travel, teen angst, and just general craziness.
The movie is as much psychological black comedy as anything else. The tie to Halloween? The story takes place in October, with a predicted end of the world coming on Halloween. It’s an oddball movie, but a huge cult favorite for many people.
The Blair Witch Project
Didn’t know this horror classic was based around Halloween? Well, I didn’t either until I started researching for this article. But, the film crew that disappears to kick off the plot of the film, was out in those haunted woods in October 1994, so we can officially call this one a Halloween-themed movie.
Another highly influential movie, Blair Witch kicked off the genre of ‘found footage’ movies, where the story is told largely through discovering an old video recording of some terrible event. Then typically the new events may also be shown through a home movie-style approach. It had the benefit of being pretty inexpensive to shoot and was also very trendy for a few years. But, all the others drew from the original, so check out the movie that started the spooky trend.
The Crow
This 1994 film is an absolute classic, that also brought real tragedy to the cast and crew. The movie, which deals with the murder and return from the death of a young musician, played by Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee). Lee was tragically killed during filming, but the filmmakers were able to complete the movie with the use of rewrites and special effects.
The plot revolves around the murder of young musician Eric Draven and his fiance on the eve of Halloween. One year later, Draven rises from the dead to exact his vengeance on the murderers. Mix in some action, martial arts, and dark magic and you get a film that inspired a TV series
