Once October hits, it’s spooky season. The time has come for chilly days, sweet treats, warm drinks, and best of all – the scary movies. Nothing sets the mood for October and Halloween quite like a good scary movie. Whether you’re watching some classic horror from the 50s or you’re watching the latest Tim Burton film, there are plenty of fun options to watch to celebrate the season. Even though it’s always fun to watch scary movies with friends, not everyone really enjoys the spooks. For those that want to be included but don’t want to have nightmares for a week, here are some options for good spooky films.
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Beetlejuice (1988)
Warner Bros. Pictures
A classic film with a stacked cast including a young Winona Ryder, as well as Michael Keaton as the titular character, this story brings to life the strange and unusual by following the ghosts of a young married couple who haunt their home. Winona Ryder as Lidia moves in with her family and things continue to get more bizarre from there as the audience is allowed to see some behind the scenes into the grim afterlife and some of the more monstrous things in the beyond. This movie has talented actors bringing a wide range of fascinating characters to life, especially the eccentric and sinister Beetlejuice, who will definitely leave audience members unsettled and spooked but has a droll charm that takes the edge off.
Coraline (2009)
Focus Features
While this movie is technically a kids film, it can be incredibly unnerving. It centers around Coraline, who was forced to move to a new town with her parents, into a weird house that has other renters above and below them. She’s incredibly unhappy and feels invisible to her parents. Then she finds a small door in the wall that leads to a seemingly perfect version of her world, heralded by her Other Mother, who has buttons for eyes. As the Other Mother tempts Coraline to stay in her world forever, things grow increasingly intense and frightening. Even still, the movie has an incredible claymation design that makes things feel simultaneously whimsical yet mildly haunting. The storyline is incredible and is definitely worth the watch.
Creep (2014)
The OrchardNetflix
Fans of found footage horror will enjoy this film called Creep, which follows Aaron up into the mountains after answering a craigslist ad for a videographer. Aaron is filming for a man called Josef, who claims that he is dying of cancer and wants to leave a video behind for his unborn son. As the two of them spend a lot of time and bond together, Aaron begins to notice the holes and inconsistencies in Josef’s stories. Creep is a fun movie that explores themes of relationships and honesty, but is also great for those not into average horror movies. This film has a perpetual air of anticipation; it makes the audience expect a lot of different things and makes them feel unnerved before swinging in a different direction. It challenges expectations while satisfying the itch for something spooky and off-putting.
47 Meters Down (2017)
Though most people wouldn’t really consider shark movies a Halloween watch, they’re perfect for when you need a bit of a thrill but don’t want to deal with slashers and monsters. Shark films are pretty straight forward and can only have so many twists and turns – but they can still provide scares for an audience. 47 Meters Down fits right into this category. The acting is a little hokey, but the shark is plenty fearsome, and these two qualities balance each other out for a spine-chilling experience that won’t give you aquaphobia. The movie centers around two sisters on vacation trying to get away from the stresses they’ve been dealing with, and decide to try something new by cage diving with sharks. They’re plenty safe inside the cage and have some scuba gear on to breathe underwater, but all hell breaks loose when the rigging fails and their cage is dropped to the ocean floor. As they try to conserve air and find a way back up, the sisters are met with large sharks that hinder them at every step and devour any divers that come to rescue them. It’s entertaining and frightening in all the best ways.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Warner Bros.
This movie is also a classic, and has an incredibly fun cast. The movie revolves around Seymour, who spends his days working in a flower shop and sheepishly doting on his coworker, Audrey, who he can’t get the nerve to actually ask on a date. He finds a strange plant with a bulbous top that opens wide into a mouth, and not only does it like to eat meat, but it can talk as well. Seymour tries to care for the strange plant and is pressured by it to feed it what it truly craves– human meat and blood. Though the plot sounds mildly terrifying, and the movie does have some spooky moments, the scare factor is relieved a bit by the fact that the entire movie is a musical. The songs play well into the story and add a lighter element to it, keeping it from being too frightening.
The Boy (2016)
This movie is a wild ride, and viewers were left stunned by the twist at the end. The story follows Greta, who is escaping an abusive relationship and has taken a job as a full-time nanny for a young boy in England. When she arrives and meets the old couple whose boy she’ll be caring for, she’s confused and unsettled by the fact that he’s actually a doll named Brahms. The couple and their deliveryman all treat Brahms as a real child, and the couple insist on a set of rules he has to be followed. Then the couple goes on a trip and leaves their son with Greta. At first she ignores the rules that Brahms apparently likes, but then strange things start to happen around the house and the doll seems able to move and act on its own. This movie is a good watch for those not super into scary movies, as The Boy is just a spooky and chilling story for most of it until a climactic point towards the end (and even with the wild twist, still not too scary).
