The air is getting colder, candy is getting more expensive and it is officially my favorite time of year: we’re six days away from Halloween! While you are preparing your probably cliched costume and carving pumpkins (do people still do that?), you also should be watching some of the best horror movies and listening to some cool horror synth jams, to properly get you in the holiday spirit.
6 Horror Movies to Watch
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
Halloween 3 gets a bad wrap from a lot of Michael Myers fans … simply because it has nothing to do with him or the overall mythology. I was one of those critics for many years but, upon rewatch, it’s a very solid movie based around Halloween. Filled with a good amount of tension, social commentary, and fun gore (as well as a great John Carpenter score), Season of the Witch also has one of the coolest deaths of a kid in any movie. That last comment probably put me on a list somewhere.
Watch on: Amazon / Starz
It Follows
One of the more recent movies on this list, It Follows is a smart, tension-filled horror film that is also stylish and smart. The acting is on point and authentic, drawing unpolished performances from a talented group of younger actors. It Follows is a blast to watch, taking an infamous horror trope (“Have sex and you’ll die”) and turning into something intelligent and thought provoking. It also goes with out saying that the soundtrack by Disasterpiece is absolutely fantastic.
Watch on: Netflix
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Probably the grimiest, goriest movie on this list, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre still holds up as a pure vision of terror. By itself, the screaming at the end will scar this movie into your soul. It’s violent, gritty and in your face. There is a reason this movie is still talked about and why every haunted house still has a creepy actor in a mask chasing you with a chainsaw. The saw is family.
Watch on: Amazon Prime
The Return of the Living Dead
I have not put any George Romero is on this list. I know, I know. While I love the fuck out of his Dead trilogy, I wanted to choose a zombie movie that just feels like Halloween: The Return of the Living Dead. Filled with awesome practical effects, punk rock, tons of gore, Return of the Living Dead is one hell of a fun time and is great to watch with friends. BRAINS!
Watch on: Vudu
Evil Dead
This will always be the best movie to watch around Halloween. Deadites, a chainsaw, tons of gore and the man himself, Bruce Campbell: what else could you want?
Watch on: Amazon
Scream
There’s no way to talk about the best horror movies and then leave Scream off the list. It was a box office hit, making fun of slasher films while also being a solid slasher film in itself. The film takes place on Halloween, turning into an almost instructional manual for people who really don’t watch horror. It’s a fun watch with good scares, good deaths and a good amount of laughs.
Watch on: Amazon
6 Horror Synth Jams to Listen to
And here’s a bonus Halloween treat: put these in a playlist on a loop and creep out the neighborhood trick-or-treaters.
