The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
#1The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 4:01pm
It’s almost that time of year! It’s still 80 degrees in Pittsburgh, but we’re less than two weeks away from October.
So, what are your favorite movies to watch around Halloweentime?
My best friend is more of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” / “Friday the 13th" school, and I’m more of the “Psycho” / “Carnival of Souls” school. But we like the fun of the shared experience, so we’ll both make selections and do our scary-movie-thons.
What are your must-watches? What are your obscure favorites? What are your scariests? Which ones put you most in the holiday spirit, where you want to curl up under a fleece blanket with your pumpkin spice latte and UGGs and furry white hoodie and shriek while your boyfriend holds you?
Oh, and scary books or stories, too!
#2The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 4:25pm
Every year, it's 2009's Trick 'r Treat, 1993's Hocus Pocus, 2001's Session 9, 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and 1978's Halloween.
Many others, of course, but these are the mainstays. :)
#3The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 4:43pm
Yup, it's pretty damn hot in Pittsburgh still.
Halloween season means a return to my favorites and a search for new favorites. For a few years, I did 31 (or more) horror films in 31 days, but with my current job I never have time for that. But there are a few I hit every year.
Trick R Treat- the best film about Halloween ever, with the perfect blend of mythology, scares, laughs, sex, skin and quirky visuals. It's pretty close to an actual equation for "Just for fun horror film 101."
The Babadook- this is only the second year the Dook has been on my must-watch list, but it's not going anywhere. One of the most masterful recent horror films out there, even if it's more atmospheric than spooky.
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (series)- I usually watch all four films in the Caligari series this time of year, from the 1920 silent to the 1960s reimagining, to the 1980s unofficial sequel/spinoff, and finally the 2006 reboot. It's my all-time favorite public-domain story, and I've been working off and on on a musical adaptation since I first saw it in 2011.
Beetlejuice- nothing says fun quite like the spooky comedy stylings of early Tim Burton. Half the reason I want to get successful with the shows I write is so that I can acquire the stage rights to this before Tim Minchin does.
Halloween- I have always thought that "Halloween" is what Alfred Hitchcock would have made if he decided to make a true slasher film.
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#4The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 5:11pm
The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and Psycho
Who needs sleep?
#5The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 5:26pm
There is only one thing I MUST watch on and/or near Halloween...and it's not even the whole movie. But his number from The Worst Witch is my everything:
#6The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 5:41pm
I love seeing what other people watch at Halloween time. It's interesting for me, as someone who watches horror all the time, to see what people choose. But since I watch it year round I have a very select few movies that I MUST watch on or right around Halloween. They are HALLOWEEN (the best horror film ever made), HOCUS POCUS, THE WORST WITCH, TRICK 'R TREAT and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. But leading up to Halloween I watch even more horror than usual.
I love that SESSION 9 was listed here, since I think that movie scared me more than any movie had in a very VERY long time. It's been quite a while since I've seen it but maybe I'll watch it tonight after the Republican debates (insert joke about how those will be scary enough).
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#8The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 5:46pm
I always watch Hocus Pocus. It's compulsory.
Last year, 1967's black and white adaptation of In Cold Blood - filmed in the actual real-life locations, did a nice job of giving me chills.
#9The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 5:52pm
I also always manage to watch the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD at least a few times since it's always on TV in October.
#10The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 6:07pm
My best friend is like you, Jordan. She’s a total horrorhead and watches scary movies all year round. And I often let her drag me to the movies for them, even though (for me) the success rate of Hollywood horror is about 5%-10%.
Robbie, I’ve never seen “The Worst Witch,” and that clip is priceless. I’ve also never seen “Trick ‘r Treat,” but with three people mentioning it immediately, it’s going on my list for this year.
darquegk, I had no idea about these “Caligari” follow-ups. I love the original. Is it just the story that keeps you coming back to the movies, or would you say a fan of the original would enjoy the rest?
#11The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 6:14pm
TRICK 'R TREAT is the only recent Halloween-themed horror movie that matters and in so happy that it's becoming more and more popular these past couple years.
As far as THE WORST WITCH, unless you grew up with it I can't imagine it would ever make your "must-watch" list now. But for those of us who saw it every year on The Disney Channel (I bet most people don't remember that's where it was always shown) when we were kids, there really is nothing better and we all learned that Growing up...well, it isn't easy.
#12The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 7:06pm
I don't remember it being on The Disney Channel! It was HBO where I first found it. It's really pretty terrible, but oh GOD did I love it at 12. I mean...Diana Rigg being Diana Rigg?? Charlotte Rae as a good witch AND a bad witch??? And I had a huge, huge crush on Fairuza Balk. I really don't know what that was about. I do know that one of my best friends and I will just bust out the theme song randomly...the theme song rendered by British musical soubrette Bonnie Langford and written by Charles Strouse and Don Black!
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#13The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 7:18pm
Your crush was because she played Dorothy Gale!!! DUH!!!
If I were the type to create a list and sit down and watch horror movies, I would put 2004's "Hellbent" and 2007's "[Rec]" on the list.
#14The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 7:48pm
With Caligari, I would say only the first and the last are compulsory. The original is a classic, and the reboot is a fascinating love letter to the film: digital manipulation recreates the original Expressionist sets, while modern actors- including horror legend Doug Jones, perform an adaptation of the original silent screenplay heavily influenced by Tim Burton and David Lynch. The other two are mostly related in name only, though they share the recurring character of dangerous experimental psychologist Caligari.
Hocus Pocus- meh. I'm trying to think of a way to say this that makes logical sense and won't be misconstrued as offensive, but I'm just going to have to ask: is Hocus Pocus a "you have to be gay to get the appeal" thing? I think it's a Judy. And it's not that I don't love high camp- the two cinematic Addams Family movies, which are about the epitome of Halloween camp, are also on my must-see list. It's just this one particular film that leaves me cold, and I wonder if it's because it's a queer shibboleth and I'm a men-Gentile.
#15The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 7:56pm
darquegk, can I ask how old you are? I only ask because I think if you didn't "grow up" with HOCUS POCUS, much like THE WORST WITCH it's not going to have even close to the same kind of appeal it would otherwise. I was 15 when it came out and still f*cking love it. It's one of my all-time favorite movies.
#16The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 7:59pm
I'm 25. It falls in my era of movies you could grow up with, but I just didn't. I even went to a Halloween showing as a kid with my parents.
Fun story from my childhood: my father, who toured in a small-time blues band for years, used to be a huge fan of Bette Midler as a popular singer. I actually grew up hearing him sing "Millworker" around the house as a lullaby sometimes. When we went to "Hocus Pocus," all of us hated it, and I remember my dad saying, "I never felt so betrayed by anyone as I do right now by Bette Midler."
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#17The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:03pm
He sounds hot. Did The Stepford Wives and The Women push him over the edge?
#18The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:14pm
I don't get "Hocus Pocus," either, and I saw it as a teen. I also don't care for "The Shining" or "The Exorcist." Which is to say neither of them scare me. As movies otherwise, they're fine, but unexceptional.
#19The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:21pm
The Shining is one of my all-time favorite movies, but I don't watch it at Halloween.
Trick 'r Treat is a must. Also Halloween. I love The Fog, but again, it's not necessarily a Halloween film for me.
I don't watch them annually, but I love The Innocents, The Company of Wolves, and Dead of Night.
Updated On: 9/16/15 at 08:21 PM#20The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:23pm
Also The Paul Lynde Halloween Special and all the Halloween episodes of Roseanne.
Showface
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
#21The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:24pm
I'm not really into horror films, but I absolutely adore the Nightmare Before Christmas, though I suppose that isn't just a film for Halloween!
And Hocus Pocus is a favorite of mine!
#22The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:26pm
Reg, I forgot about my Roseanne Halloween episode collection that I always watch!
#23The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:28pm
Before it started airing in syndication again a few years ago, that DVD made me the most popular kid on my block come Halloween.
#24The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:46pm
The "Roseanne" Halloween episodes are amazing. Oh, and, Reg, your post reminded me of Bergman's "Hour of the Wolf," one of the most deeply unsettling movies I've seen.
#25The 2015 Halloween Movies Thread
Posted: 9/16/15 at 8:49pm
The Devil's Backbone, Julia's Eyes and The Orphanage are all great. Now that I've stated thinking about it, I think I'll be watching those three this October.
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