We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we love. Promise.
Cozy and/or spooky season means it's time to make a list of the best Halloween movies to get you in the mood. Everyone’s mood is different, of course. Some of us prefer Halloween movies that are sweeter than candy. Others seek the scares. But we all love this time of year; the orange leaves on the trees, the pumpkin carving opportunities, and chilly weekends spent on the sofa, lining up film marathons.
Even if you don't have your costumes or your house parties sorted yet, you can at least sort out the movie you're keen on seeing before the big day is here. Here, we've rounded up some of the best spooky movies to get you in the mood—from The Craft to Hocus Pocus, to more modern Halloween films like The Haunted Mansion on Disney+.
What's it about? Twin brothers return from Chicago to their Southern rural home town to open in juke joint in 1932. Little do they know, a vampire is planning to gatecrash.
Who's in it? Michael B. Jordan (in duel roles), Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O’Connell, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li
What's it about? A teenage goth in the 80s accidentally reanimates a corpse and not-so-accidentally falls in love with him.
Who's in it? Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Carla Gugino
What's it about? A young aspiring author marries an aristocrat and moves to his country manor in Victorian era England. Wouldn’t you know it, the house seems haunted... and something is up with the young woman’s new sister-in-law.
Who's in it? Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessican Chastain, Charlie Hunnam
What's it about? The brooding, angst-ridden vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac recounts his life story to a reporter in the present day. His tale starts in New Orleans, where he first met (and was turned by) the flamboyant vampire Lestat de Lioncourt and added a tempestuous young girl named Claudia to their coven.
Who's in it? Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater, Antonio Banderas
What's it about? Lydia Deetz is *still* haunted by Beetlejuice, over 30 years after the original Beetlejuice, and when she returns to Winter River with her teenage daughter after a family tragedy, her life is turned upside down once again.
Who's in it? Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux
What's it about? When Frida is invited to a private island by billionaire Slater King, it initially feels like paradise. But when strange things start to unfold around her, she's determined to uncover the truth—and is horrified by what she discovers.
Who's in it? Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Adria Arjona
What's it about? An adult film star is about to make it in 1980s Hollywood, only for a mass murderer on the loose in Los Angeles to threaten her big break.
Who's in it? Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins
What's it about? The third film in the A Quiet Place franchise rewinds back to the beginning of the alien invasion and introduces us to a new set of characters, who must stay as quiet as possible in order to survive.
Who's in it? Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff
What it's about? An evil, shape-shifting clown named Pennywise torments seven helpless children who must overcome their own fears to battle the murderous threat.
Who's in it? Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis and Jeremy Ray Taylor .
What's it about? When Adelaide Wilson and her family are attacked by strange people dressed in red, they're even more freaked out to discover the intruders look exactly like them. Directed by Jordan Peele.
Who's in it? Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker
What's it about? When Dr. Louis Creed and his family's pet cat had an accident, they bury it at a cemetery nearby, only for this to unleash a curse that haunts the family in worse ways than they could imagine.
Who's in it? Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jeté Laurence and Hugo Lavoie .
What's it about? Six people find themselves trapped in a series of deadly escape rooms; the only way to escape is to find a way out.
Who's in it? Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Thomas Cocquerel and Holland Roden.
What's it about? From director Nia DaCosta. A neighborhood in Chicago has been terrorized by a ghost story for decades, and when an artist begins to explore the parable, his own sanity begins to unravel, while a deathly wave of violence is unleashed.
Who's in it? Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo .
What's it about? When a group of twentysomethings get stranded in the middle of nowhere in a mansion, the hurricane is the least of their worries. A party game goes very wrong when a dead body turns up on the grounds, and they must unmask who's the killer among them.
Who's in it? Pete Davidson, Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha'la Herrold, Rachel Sennott and Chase Sui Wonders.
What's it about? Dr. Rose Cotter is left traumatized after seeing a traumatic patient incident, and so must confront her troubling past in order to explain the frightening occurrences she keeps experiencing.
Who's in it? Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weiger and Caitlin Stasey.
What's it about? When an auntie decides to buy an AI best friend for her 8-year-old niece, none of them could expect her overprotective nature could turn deadly.
Who's in it? Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Amie Donald and Jenna Davis.
What it's about? When a woman and her son start to believe their home is haunted, they enlist an eclectic crew of spiritual experts to help get rid of the unwelcome ghouls.
Who's in it? LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto.
What it's about? Yep, almost 30 years (!) after the original, Disney+ resurrected the Hocus Pocus franchise for a second film. In it, the Sanderson sisters are brought back to modern day Salem yet again, this time by three young women, who have to stop the child-hungry witches from causing chaos. You love to see it.
Who's in it? Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy all made a return!
What it's about? With Anne Hathaway as the grand high witch, this remake follows much of the same plot, with a boy on holiday with his grandparent encountering a group of plotting witches in his hotel.
Who's in it? Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci, narrated by Chris Rock.
What it's about? The original inspiration for Netflix's Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega, The Addams Family tells the story of Gomez and Morticia Addams and their children , who are the target of a con artist's plot to steal their money.
Who's in it? Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Raul Julia and Christina Ricci.
What it's about? A sequel to the original film, the Addams family must now save Uncle Fester from a gold-digging wife who has some casual tendencies for killing rich men in a bid to inherit their fortunes.
Who's in it? Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Raul Julia, Amanda Buckman, Joan Cusack and Christina Ricci.
What it's about? Three witches, the Sanderson sisters, are accidentally resurrected 300 years after their last reign by a boy called Max on Halloween night. With the help of a magical cat, the teenagers must protect their village of Salem and stop the witches from becoming immortal.
Who's in it? Of course it's Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Omri Katz.
What it's about? When three men lose their jobs as scientists, they set up a ghostbusting establishment (called Ghostbusters, of course) to fight off the scary ghouls living in New York City.
Who's in it? Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis.
What it's about? Anyone sensing a reboot theme, here? Over 30 years after the original film came out, a female led adaptation was released. This time around, three paranormal enthusiasts are keen to capture ghosts, only to discover someone is attempting to summon ghosts in a bid to cause an apocalypse. Wowza.
Who's in it? Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Zach Woods.
What it's about? Name a classic Halloween movie—we'll go first... When Brad and Janet's car breaks down, they're left stranded in a storm, and take shelter in an eccentric castle belonging to the even more eccentric Frank-N-Furter.
Who's in it? Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Janet Weiss, Barry Bostwick, Brad Majors and Richard O'Brien.
What it's about? When Carrigan Crittenden hires a paranormal expert to exorcise the ghosts from her huge house, the last thing she expects is for one of them to be her daughter's best friend: Casper, the friendly ghost.
Who's in it? Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle, Chauncey Leopardi.
What it's about? Two sisters live in a small town with their aunts and face prejudice for being witches—encouraged only by a curse which prevents them from ever finding true love.
Who's in it? Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest and Goran Visnjic.
What it's about? An adaptation of Roald Dahl's book of the same name, a young boy is on a family holiday with his grandma when he stumbles across a group of witches, who are planning to turn children into mice.
Who's in it? Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher and Rowan Atkinson
What it's about? Two determined twins try to trick their evil aunt out of a magic moonstone in a bid to save their family home, while also freeing their nice aunt Sophia who is trapped in a mirror.
Who's in it? The Olsen twins. Need we say more?
What it's about? When a new student falls in with a trio of outsiders at high school, the four of them begin practicing witchcraft to conjure spells and curses against those who have wronged them.
Who's in it? Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, and Skeet Ulrich
What it's about? Yep, it's another remake. Three teenage students are keen to complete their coven of witches with a fourth recruit, but when they befriend another wannabe witch, they suddenly become dangerously powerful.
Who's in it? Cailee Spaeny, Zoey Luna, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, David Duchovny
What it's about? Yep, this really is a Toy Story scary movie. Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie are on a road trip with the rest of the gang when they end up at a motel and Mr. Potato Head goes missing.
Who's in it? Voiced by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and Carl Weathers.
What it's about? Goosebumps author R. L. Stine (yep, he plays himself in the film) is shocked to discover the demons in his books are actually real, and his daughter Hannah and Zach must work together to try to make things right.
Who's in it? Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee and Amy Ryan
What it's about? The first film in the Hotel Transylvania follows Count Dracula and his daughter Mavis, who run a posh holiday resort for monsters. When a human enters the facility, Dracula must try to stop Mavis from falling in love with him.
Who's in it? Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Fran Drescher.
What it's about? A stop motion animated comedy horror film about Norman Babcock. Using his ability to talk to the supernatural, he must attempt to save his ill-fated town that is currently stuck under a deadly curse.
Who's in it? Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Tucker Albrizzi and Casey Affleck.
What it's about? If there's one thing Tim Burton does well, it's Halloween. Lead character Victor revives his dead dog Sparky after he had a car accident, only now he looks like a monster and is terrifying to the neighbors.
Who's in it? Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau and Charlie Tahan.
What it's about? Why are buttons for eyes so creepy? When a girl finds a secret door in her family's new home, she discovers sinister secrets.
Who's in it? Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David and Ian McShane.
What it's about? Deceased couple Adam and Barbara are unsuccessful in scaring away a family that has moved into their old home and so seek the help of bio-exorcist Betelgeuse.
Who's in it? Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe and Maurice Page.
What it's about? Four scary stories in one? Oh, go on then. On the night of Halloween, the lives of five people are brought together in interspersing and terrifying situations.
Who's in it? Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes and Quinn Lord .
70 Horror Movies That Are Based on True Stories
Found: Your Halloween Party Playlist With 100+ Songs
Warning: These Are the Scariest Movies of All Time
'The Conjuring: Last Rites' Ending, Explained
64 Scary Good Ghost Movies to Make You a Believer
Eek! The 68 Scariest TV Shows to Stream Right Now
80 Movie Villains for Scaredy-Cats & Horror Freaks
Okay, Seriously, ‘The Conjuring’ Is a True Story
FYI, These Are the Best Supernatural TV Shows Rn
31 Christmas Horror Movies to Ruin Your Holidays
These M. Night Shyamalan Movies Are So Unhinged
Source: Entertainment
0 Comments