Do you like scary movies? Yes! Well, I have a list of my favorite scary (and admittedly not-so-scary) Halloween movies. Now, this list is not the best, but it’s made up of the movies I make sure to fit in during Halloween. These movies all hold some special place in my heart or, in some cases, are just good movies. So, in honor of Friday the 13th, here are 13 movies to get you in the spooky mood:
1. Coraline (2009)
Now listen, I recognize as an adult that this movie is not scary, but it had to make an honorable mention on my list. Coraline came out when I was seven and was my first experience into scary movies. The Other World and Other Mother started out as a dream and escape from the harsh change Coraline experienced moving away from home. But this dream becomes a decaying nightmare. Watching as these characters that you begin to love, like Wybie and the Other Father, die or deteriorate with the world, you begin to feel our main character’s anxiety as she rushes to escape. If you want something creepy yet fun, Coraline will definitely deliver. It will also give you a nostalgic feel if the film was also a part of your childhood. I can safely say that there has not been a movie like Coraline in a long time, and I hope this style of children’s horror makes a resurgence.
2. Carrie (1976)
If you want some good old-fashioned horror, why not revisit a classic? Following Carrie White’s senior year, Prom approaches as she deals with bullying and being widely outcasted. It begins as a slow look at her life before morphing into a thriller when Carrie discovers she has telekinetic powers. Carrie has everything, including blood, mass murder, and romance. Carrie can tend to drag in its main story, but the ending will not disappoint, and it landed the film a spot on my list. There is a reason why this movie’s end is so iconic, with the image of Carrie drenched in pig’s blood staring down the camera. This blood bath is remembered so well that they had to remake the movie, but the original will always be close to my heart.
3. Talk to Me (2023)
The newest addition on my list from the horror mega-giant that is A24, this paranormal thriller has become a hit for its original takes on our classic horror tropes. The opening scene sets up the stakes of the movie and sets the feels with a gruesome murder in the middle of the party, with the mentioning and mumbling about one of the characters’ absent father. This is only just setting up this weird and twisted paranormal possession movie. As it is so new, I don’t want to go into full detail to spoil it, but this movie is one to add to your must-watch lists. A24 knocks it out of the park each time, and this is not their only movie on my list.
4. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
As someone from Maryland, how could I leave this Maryland found footage film out of the mix? Maybe not so much for the story, but for the lore that has surrounded it after its release. Props to the marketing team for this film, as it was on another level compared to other films released at the time. The filmmakers somehow managed to convince everyone and their mothers that this movie actually happened, which created a whole media frenzy about the three friends in it. This movie may not be scary in a traditional sense but watch it with the original lens that the creators intended, and you will never want to enter any large woods again.
5. Silence of the Lambs (1991)
This is another popular 90s horror movie that, in my personal opinion, has recently lost much of its popularity with the newer horror genre uprising, but is still a staple on its own. The cast should speak for itself, as it stars actors like Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. Silence of the Lambs is a tale of manipulation and ‘cat and mouse,’ and has two notable classic horror characters like Hannibal and Buffalo Bill. Jodie Foster’s character is an FBI agent trying to understand Buffalo Bill’s motives through the mind of Anthony Hopkins Hannibal, and she begins to see how the killer’s mind is darker than she first believed. This film is the backbone of classic horror and needs to make a resurgence or remake/reboot soon.
6. Scream (1996)
When creating this list, I wanted to leave out the basics, but there is a reason that Scream is on a lot of people’s lists and is so widely regarded. This slasher series will keep you on your feet wondering who the hooded killer is, and it’s great for a binge-watch session with your friends or significant other. The first film will always be my favorite, as it began this cherished franchise and introduced us to beloved characters like Sydney Prescott and Officer Dewey (RIP). It arguably has my favorite Ghostface duo of all time, whose chemistry on and off screen still amazes me even after multiple watches. None of the following duos have come close to the level of fangirling Skeet and Matt have acquired; they were the blueprint for Ghostfaces to come. The longevity of this series has spanned almost three decades with six movies and has refused to give up any traction.
7. Candy Man (1992)
Do you remember being in middle school and sitting around the lunch table discussing urban legends? Things like Bloody Mary or, in this case, the Candy Man? Well, this movie dives deep into the lore and horror of the Candy Man urban legend. Stand in the mirror and say his name five times, and a man with a hook for a hand will appear. As adults, we may not believe that, but college student Helen Lyle was a bit too curious, and she took it upon herself to investigate this tale for herself. This eerie movie will cause your heart to race and your mind to wonder how this film is not up there with popular franchises such as A Nightmare on Elm Street or The Conjuring.
8. X (2022)
Listen, I can’t lie, A24 is killing the game. This movie set Mia Goth on a path of becoming a staple horror movie actress. Set in the 1970’s, X follows a group of young filmmakers as they search for a perfect setting to record their… not-suitable-for-work movie. When they think they have found the perfect abandoned house, they quickly find out that nothing is what it seems. This movie combines the supernatural with a perfect capturing of emotion to create a tenseness that clings to the audience. The universe this one movie has created with its prequel and soon-to-be sequel should show how memorable this movie has and is becoming with its viewers.
9. Midsommar (2019)
Crazy, another A24 movie. A24 has another hit with Midsommar, one of my favorite movies that brainwashes you along with the main character, Dani. This cult-based psychological horror slowly warps your perspective with Dani and convinces you that her ending is a happy one, but it is not. Dani joins a cult and is corrupted into finding a new ‘family’ after the death of her own. This was my introduction into A24 studio’s work, and I use it to introduce my friends to their work as well. The ending is up there with Carrie‘s, as Dani’s subtle smile when her now ex-boyfriend is burned alive permanently haunts my mind and brain. This is a must-watch in all regards; from cinematography to acting, it is an all-around masterpiece.
10. The Beyond (1981)
In my search for an international horror movie, I stumbled on an Italian 80s movie, The Beyond. I mean, it’s about a hotel built on the seven gates of hell, tell me you aren’t interested in that fact alone! Despite being an international movie, it is set in a haunted hotel in New Orleans. When a young woman inherits the hotel, she discovers that she got more than she bargained for by seeing reanimated corpses and paranormal beings who want to harm her. It is an extremely graphic movie that will haunt you days after. If you are easily squeamish, I would say skip this one, but for my intense horror fans, this will not disappoint in the slightest.
11. The Conjuring (2013)
Lorraine and Ed Warren are one of, if not the, most well-known figures in the paranormal world. The Conjuring is based on their real-world investigations, with this one focusing on the haunting of a family’s new home that the audience witnesses first-hand get progressively worse and worse. It is a battle of good and evil that has put paranormal horror on the map, and the film consistently produces more and more movies and franchises. I chose the first film for the same reason I chose the first Scream: it is just the staple. It is the movie I think of when this franchise is brought up in conversations.
12. Insidious (2010)
This movie was not originally on my radar until I started making this list, and my boyfriend told me it had to be included, and for good reason. Insidious is another paranormal investigation movie that goes through the demonic haunting of a family’s home that causes their son to fall into a coma. The family has to call in an expert to save him before he is lost to ‘The Further’ forever. It utilizes things such as jumpscares and a unique take on the paranormal that was not replicated until movies like The Conjuring helped to push paranormal-investigation-style franchises.
13. Friday the 13th (1980)
Yes, I am cheesy. I ended this list of 13 with the pinnacle of the 13th. Friday the 13th is a classic slasher film that everyone has at least heard of. Set at a summer camp at Crystal Lake, a group of camp counselors are terrorized by a slasher in a gruesome bloodbath. This is the audience’s first introduction to the iconic Jason Voorhees, and the film sets up some of those stereotypical cliches within the horror genre. This movie demonstrates the qualities of bad luck and superstition causing the mass phenomena that has become Friday the 13th.