It’s finally that time of the year again, Halloween is back! You might already be worrying about costumes or plans, so I’m here to take some stress off your back with a mix of my personal Halloween movie essentials; everything from animated classics to my favorite horror staples. So what are you waiting for? Turn all the lights off, sit back and enjoy these with a bag of popcorn!

Animated Halloween Essentials

• “Frankenweenie” (2012):  This movie is one of my favorites of all time! Tim Burton’s twist on the classic Frankenstein story follows a boy named Victor and his journey to reviving his dead dog. It’s comedic, unique and a great spooky addition to anyone’s Halloween list.
• “Coraline” (2009): Anyone I’ve met adores this fantasy horror movie. Coraline is a young girl who finds a passageway to another parallel world to hers where everything seems a bit too perfect. The stop motion and beautiful visuals featured in this movie make it worth a watch by itself.
• “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005): This one’s a good one if you’re looking for something funny, but still fits the Halloween theme. It centers around a supposed “Were-Rabbit” eating people in Wallace and Gromit’s towns’ vegetables, but the real “Were-Rabbit” is someone the town didn’t expect. A little bit less popular than the others, but still golden.

Horror Classics

• “It” (1990): Everybody hates killer clowns, but the original is the scariest by far. Pennywise terrorizes a group of kids after a member’s little brother gets taken and killed by him. It’s a truly terrifying movie about a common fear. A longer watch, but worth every second.
• “The Shining” (1980): As one of the highest-rated psychological horror films ever produced, it has quite a reputation. Jack Torrance is a writer and winter caretaker of a hotel, his wife and son staying along with him. The hotel seems to drive people mad, taking a toll on Jack and making his son have horrifying visions. I watch this every year during the Halloween season and it never fails to send a shiver down my spine.
• “Halloween” (1978): Slasher films are always essential to anyone’s Halloween movie list and what slasher could be better for Halloween than Halloween itself? Michael Myers escapes from a sanitarium 15 years after killing his sister, returning to his hometown and stalking a girl’s group of friends while being hunted down by his psychiatrist. This one is very gory, obviously, but a signature scary movie for the season.

My Horror Favorites

• “Get Out” (2017): Truly a cinematic masterpiece, this movie’s message about racism, stereotypes, and interracial relationships is bone-chilling. An African American man goes on a trip with his white girlfriend to meet her wealthy parents. He’s nervous about their opinion regarding the couple’s relationship but has no idea of the horrors awaiting him during the visit.
• “Don’t Breathe” (2016): A group of young thieves hopes to get some easy money by breaking into the home of a blind veteran who’s rumored to have a huge fortune, but he ends up not being the helpless old man he seems and won’t let the group off easy. The twists in this movie keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time, with some pretty gory scenes to be aware of.
• “Eyes Without a Face” (1960): Easily one of my favorites, this French film has a creepy aura that makes it perfect for Halloween night. A wealthy doctor whose daughter’s face is severely disfigured after a car accident he caused is guilty. So guilty that he and his assistant attempt to graft a new face onto her using women the duo kidnaps. The wonderful effects considering the time period, along with the signature mask the doctor’s daughter wears, leave the audience in an intrigued, uncomfortable state until the very end.