Halloween is the time of year when watching scary movies is a must. From Scream and The Exorcist to Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Friday the 13th, 'tis the season to turn off the lights and turn on classic horror films.
But most of the scary movies we love don't take place on or near Halloween. Friday the 13th is a summer camp movie; The Texas Chain Saw Massacre happens in August, and Scream occurs during the school year, but not specifically in October.
However, there are some great scary movies that take place during the spooky season that are worth adding to your perennial watchlist.
1. Halloween (1978)
The G.O.A.T. of Halloween movies is the aptly named Halloween. It's been so popular that 12 sequels, reboots or re-quels have been made over the last nearly 50 years. And the original movie holds up not only as a perfect Halloween movie, but a well-crafted film that has stood the test of time.
The movie started as a for-hire job for boyfriend/girlfriend John Carpenter and Debra Hill, who were tasked with writing a movie set on Halloween night in a small town. What they created was a legendary villain in Michael Myers, who would continue stalking Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) for decades, while also defining the horror genre for just as long. While they didn't start out in the original film as brother and sister, it was soon defined that they are biologically linked.
Halloween is considered one of the best horror movies because it:
- Chooses suspense more than gore
- Has a villain with no motive or agenda, just the embodiment of evil
- Takes place in a peaceful suburban neighborhood
- Makes Halloween part of the story and film's identity
2. Hocus Pocus (1993)
Right before the three Sanderson witches meet their demise in the 1700s, they recite a spell. 300 years later, Max (Omri Katz), a clueless teenager, brings them back to life on Halloween. Now, he, along with Dani (Thora Birch), his sister, and Allison (Vinessa Shaw), his school crush, must find a way to stop them before they suck the essence from children to remain alive and young forever.
This PG family film was a favorite for many Millennials, so much so that they made a sequel in 2022 just so they can wax nostalgic with like-minded fans and show their kids -- I should know, I went to a watch party when it came out with fellow Gen-Xers and Millennials.
Its connection to Halloween is appropriate, as the witches get to move around Salem in their wardrobes, receiving compliments for their commitment to playing the famed Sanderson Sisters from inebriated parents too drunk to realize the threat to their children. If Max, Dani and Allison can stop the witches from getting their essence before sunrise, then they will save the town, but not before the Sanderson sisters can sing, dance and put several people under their own spell.
The movie is both fun and frightening enough for kids but enjoyable for grown-ups as well, showing how to craft a four-quadrant film with a holiday theme.
3. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Trick 'r Treat is a compilation of five stories interwoven over the course of Halloween night. Each story offers an unexpected dark turn, whether it's a high school principal who happens to be a serial killer, a college virgin eager to meet the right guy who finds herself in the woods with vampires and werewolves, or a woman who discovers what happens when she blows out the jack-o'-lantern before midnight.
Trick 'r Treat embraces many traditions of Halloween, such as trick-or-treating, costumes, parties, kids roaming the neighborhood, and haunted stories. It even introduces a frightening villain in one of the stories: a mysterious child with a burlap sack as a mask.
The anthology format also gives the movie a chance to focus on different types of horror, like comedy, monsters and slashers, playing into the tropes and expectations of each subgenre. Because there are overlapping stories, it allows characters in one to pop into another. By its nature, Trick 'r Treat lends itself to enjoying multiple viewings so you can look for clues and other characters in the interwoven tales.
4. Hell House LLC (2015)
Using documentary-style filmmaking, Hell House LLC follows a film crew eager to investigate what happened five years ago when 15 people mysteriously died on Halloween night in a haunted house. The scene is the abandoned Abaddon Hotel, where the haunted attraction was set up. The goal is to piece together, through interviews, found footage and photographs, what really happened. The documentary crew starts noticing some strange and disturbing occurrences, but they refuse to leave -- does anyone make rational choices in horror movies?
Haunted attractions and Halloween go hand-in-hand, and Hell House LLC leans on this tradition by asking what would happen if the house was actually haunted. The way it's shot gives the movie a sense of realism similar to what The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity have done, which makes the scares more effective. The fact that the deaths occurred on Halloween makes it a great choice if you're looking to see how an indie film pulled off telling this chilling story.
5. Late Night with the Devil (2023)
On Halloween night, 1977, a talk show host whose ratings are slipping to the point that cancellation is imminent brings in a series of guests that unknowingly unleash evil into late night.
Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) is the host of Night Owl, a late-night talk show competing with Johnny Carson. To raise ratings during sweeps, he builds a Halloween special featuring a medium, a skeptical magician offering $100,000 to anyone who proves their magic is real, a parapsychologist and Lily (Ingrid Torelli), the only survivor of a cult the parapsychologist has worked with. Oh, and Lily is believed to be possessed by a demon.
Halloween isn't prominent in the movie -- although several members of the studio audience are dressed in costumes -- it relies on the spookiness of the season and uses the late-night talk show format only to slowly turn it into a horror show. Jack desperately tries to keep the show going even as things start spiraling out of control and Lily's demonic possession is on full display.
Halloween is a Holiday
Why aren't there more movies about Halloween? Is it because scary movies get thrown in with the spirit of the season? With the tropes of Halloween, there is plenty of room for screenwriters to write films that use the holiday as the backdrop of a story.
Look no further than E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which has a good portion of the movie taking place on Halloween. The concept of using costumes and the haunting nature of the time of year can be used in everything from comedies to slashers, so don't forget about Halloween the next time you write a spec script. It might be the perfect backdrop for your story, no matter the genre.