Best classic Halloween movies

Written by on October 12, 2020

 

Halloween is one of the best times of the year for many people, it’s a celebration of all things spooky and dark, and that’s actually super fun. The streets are filled with light, the houses are all covered up in decorations, and everyone gets a chance to wear a costume. But it’s meant to be scary, and it truly is as they say in Nightmare Before Christmas “Life’s no fun without a good scare”, and that’s exactly why there are so many great Halloween movies.

Now, we know 2020 has been a crazy year, so we could all use some of that classic Halloween feeling. Here we’ve gathered some of the best classic Halloween movies to help you get into the Halloween spirit. Now, we have to keep in mind that not all horror movies are Halloween movies, there are movies made directly for celebrating Halloween.

Now go ahead and grab some candies, wear your costume and get your pumpkin lanterns ready for a spooky evening with these movies!

-Halloween (1978)

It was a little too obvious that we had to get this movie in here right? Just by the name, you can tell already, but Halloween is one of the best Halloween movies ever made. It’s one of the most classic and well-known slasher movies. Directed by the one and only John Carpenter, it’s the embodiment of slasher films.

It follows a mental patient that escaped from a sanitarium after he murdered his teenage sister on Halloween night when he was six years old. Now fifteen years later he escaped and returned to his hometown. Once there the slashing starts, and it is a violent one. It takes place on Halloween, It’s called Halloween, and of course, it is a Halloween classic all the way.

-Donnie Darko (2001)

This time things are not as straightforward as on Halloween, actually it can be a bit confusing. Donnie Darko is definitely a cult movie that deals with a lot of different things like time travel, multiple dimensions, and a man with a giant Bunny suit. About a troubled teenager who meets Frank, a man in a bunny costume that only he can see, who tells him that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.

It may sound a bit confusing, and that’s ’cause it is really confusing, but once you watch it you’ll understand why it became such a cult movie. The plot’s very interesting and original, and the storytelling is simply incredible. Of course, it is really confusing so you actually have to watch it more than once to really get it. Which is actually great since you’ll end up wanting to watch it over and over again. And while it may not be really spooky, it does take place on Halloween so there’s that.

-The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Tim Burton’s biggest hit and one of the most popular stop-motion animated movies take place in Halloween Town. The Nightmare Before Christmas tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween, who’s shocked to find out that there’s more to life than just celebrating Halloween as he finds out about Christmas. It’s one of the best movies to watch on Halloween that can also be enjoyed at Christmas.

Not Only is The Nightmare Before Christmas an excellent film, but it’s also a visual masterpiece and a beautiful experience. The designs are some of the most iconic ever made in an animated movie. Even now almost 30 years later, you still see The Nightmare Before Christmas merchandising selling everywhere.

An entire generation grew up watching this movie, and it really brings a lot of nostalgia, it’s heartwarming, fun, dark, and even spooky. Inspired by the changing of decorations from Halloween to Christmas, one of the most incredible stories for Halloween was born. This is one you have to put on your list and make sure you don’t forget it.

-It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

You know how there are special movies that have become timeless specials when it comes to Christmas? Well, for Halloween there are many like that too, but probably none of them has faced the test of times harder than this one. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is one of the most popular specials of one of the most popular animated shows of all time.

SnoopyLinus waits the whole night for the Great Pumpkin to come, and even though all his friends keep telling him it isn’t going to happen, he stands firm. Little Linus knew and believed with all his heart that The Great Pumpkin was coming, he just had to wait. It’s as cute as any episode of Peanuts, it teaches lessons, and chances are you saw it as a kid at least one. You loved it then, and you’ll most certainly love it now, it never gets old. What’s better to get into the Halloween spirits than to watch the same movie you’ve been watching on Halloween for as long as you can remember?

-The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

In this case, we’re mainly focusing on the Ichabod part of this double-feature animated film. The Sleepy Hollow story is possibly one of the most popular Halloween tales ever made, it even includes the Headless Horseman and the pumpkin head. It’s one of the spookiest tales set around Halloween. While we were really close to going with Tim Burton’s version of Sleepy Hollow, there’s a reason we went for Disney’s take on this story.

The storytelling in this version is simply a masterpiece no matter how you look at it, Bing Crosby does the narration and he even gets to sing an incredibly spooky song about the headless horseman. It’s one of the most memorable horror animated movies, and possibly one of the best adaptations of the story. It’s been around for over 70 years too, and even with that, the animation is still top quality.

-Hocus Pocus (1993)

And of course, no Halloween movie list would be complete without adding Hocus Pocus to it. A fantasy-comedy film that’s one of the best representations of everything Halloween’s supposed to be. We follow three witches that have been accidentally resurrected when a teenage boy steals their book in Salem right on Halloween night.

It’s incredible how much of a cult movie this has become, but once you watch this movie, you’ll get it. It’s fun, it’s spooky, it’s dark, there are witches, spells, black cats, zombies, and of course, Halloween. It captures the essence of how celebrating Halloween feels, and it’s an amazing movie. You’ll have a lot of fun watching it, and it becomes an instant tradition once you start to watch it on Halloween.


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