Honestly, most people approach their Halloween watchlist like they’re filling a prescription. You grab the big names, check the boxes, and wonder why you’re bored by 11:00 PM. We’ve all seen Halloween (1978). We know Michael Myers walks slow and kills fast. But a truly great list of halloween movies isn't just a "best of" reel; it's about the texture of the night. It's about that specific, chilly October feeling where the wind rattles the windowpane and you actually start to believe the shadows are moving.
The mistake? Thinking every movie has to be a slasher. Or thinking "scary" is the only metric that matters. Halloween is a mood, not just a jump scare. It’s the orange-hued nostalgia of the 90s, the grainy grit of 70s folk horror, and the weirdly comforting stop-motion of a Tim Burton fever dream.
The Foundations: A List of Halloween Movies You Can't Ignore
If you don't start with the classics, your marathon has no soul. You need that 1970s and 80s DNA.
John Carpenter’s Halloween is the obvious king, but let’s talk about Trick 'r Treat (2007). It’s become the modern-day essential because it actually is about the holiday. It’s an anthology that weaves together werewolves, serial killers, and a creepy little sack-headed kid named Sam who enforces the "rules" of Halloween. If you blow out your jack-o'-lantern before midnight, Sam is coming for you. It’s a love letter to the holiday that feels like a warm, bloody hug.
Then there’s the "Elevated Horror" that everyone argues about on Reddit. The Witch (2015) isn't going to give you a roller coaster ride, but it will make you feel like you need an exorcism by the time the credits roll. It’s slow. It’s quiet. It’s basically just a family falling apart in the woods while a goat named Black Phillip talks to them. But the atmosphere? Unbeatable.
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The Heavy Hitters
- The Exorcist (1973): Still the most effective "shut the lights off and regret it" movie ever made.
- Scream (1996): Perfect if you want something Meta that still delivers on the body count.
- The Thing (1982): Technically sci-fi, but nothing beats the paranoia of John Carpenter’s practical effects on a cold October night.
Why Nostalgia Is Your Best Friend
You don't always want to be terrified. Sometimes you just want to feel like you’re ten years old again, eating too much candy in a polyester Batman suit. This is where the "Gateway Horror" comes in.
Hocus Pocus (1993) is the obvious choice, but let’s be real—the 90s were a goldmine for this. The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) are arguably better written than 90% of modern comedies. Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston have more chemistry as a couple than any other duo in cinema history. It’s macabre, it’s dry, and it’s perfect for a 7:00 PM slot before the real gore starts.
And we have to mention The Nightmare Before Christmas. Is it a Halloween movie? Is it a Christmas movie? It’s both. Henry Selick’s direction (often credited to Burton, but Selick did the heavy lifting) creates a world that feels tactile. You can almost smell the dead leaves and pumpkin guts.
The New Blood: 2025 and 2026 Additions
The landscape of horror changed recently. We aren't just looking at masked killers anymore. In late 2025, we finally got Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein on Netflix, and it's a masterpiece of gothic melancholy. If you want a list of halloween movies that actually makes you feel something besides fear, this is it. It stars Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac, and it leans heavily into the "tragic monster" vibe that the original Mary Shelley book perfected.
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Also, keep an eye out for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026). Nia DaCosta took the reigns of the franchise and turned the "fast zombie" trope into something much more psychological. It’s visceral. It’s mean. It’s exactly what you need when the sugar high from the Reese's Cups starts to wear off and you need a jolt of adrenaline.
Recent Gems You Might Have Missed
- Late Night with the Devil (2024): A faux-70s talk show gone wrong. It captures that "found footage" dread without the shaky-cam headache.
- Sinners (2025): Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan doing 1930s vampires? Yes, please. It’s got that Jim Crow-era tension mixed with pure supernatural terror.
- Oddity (2024): An Irish folk horror that uses a terrifying wooden mannequin. It’s simple, effective, and features one of the best jump scares of the decade.
Breaking the Rules of the Marathon
A lot of people think a list of halloween movies has to be a linear progression of "scary to scarier." That’s a one-way ticket to a nap. You have to pace yourself.
Start with something atmospheric and "fun" like Beetlejuice (the original or the 2024 sequel). Then, move into something grit-your-teeth tense. Barbarian (2022) is great for this because it starts as a "wrong Airbnb" thriller and turns into... well, something much weirder.
If you have kids, the "Spooky Kids" subgenre is deep. Monster House (2006) is genuinely creepy for a PG movie. Coraline (2009) is even creepier. Seriously, the "Other Mother" with button eyes is more nightmare-inducing than Michael Myers for most people.
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The Underrated and the Weird
If you want to impress your friends, skip the stuff they’ve seen. Go for the deep cuts. WNUF Halloween Special (2013) is a trip. It’s designed to look like a recorded VHS tape of a local news broadcast from 1987. It even has fake commercials. It’s the ultimate "vibe" movie because it feels like something you actually would have watched on a dusty TV in the 80s.
Another one is Session 9 (2001). It’s set in a real abandoned mental asylum (Danvers State Hospital). No ghosts, no monsters—just the sound of a voice on an old reel-to-reel tape and the slow unraveling of a man’s mind. It’s the kind of movie that stays in your head for a week.
Organizing Your Night
Don't overthink the order, but do think about the transitions. Going from the slapstick of Evil Dead II (1987) straight into the depressing realism of Hereditary (2018) is a bit of a mood killer.
- The Early Evening (Sun setting): It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown or Halloweentown.
- The Transition (Dark outside): Scream or The Lost Boys.
- The Deep Night (Midnight): The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
- The "I Can't Sleep Now" Slot: The Blair Witch Project or Skinamarink.
Practical Next Steps
Building the perfect list of halloween movies is about curation. Don't just scroll through Netflix for two hours.
- Pick a Theme: Do a "Vampire Night" (Original Dracula, The Lost Boys, and Sinners) or a "Haunted House Night" (Poltergeist, The Conjuring, and His House).
- Check the Apps: Most horror fans know about Shudder. If you don't have it, get a trial for October. They have the stuff that doesn't make it to the "mainstream" streamers.
- Calibrate for the Crowd: If you have one friend who hates gore, stick to the psychological stuff like The Others or The Sixth Sense.
The best part about this holiday is that there are no wrong answers. Whether you’re watching a black-and-white classic like Nosferatu (the 1922 original or the 2025 Eggers version) or a goofy slasher, the point is the ritual. Light a candle, grab a blanket, and let the screen be the only light in the room.
If you’re ready to start your marathon tonight, check your local listings or streaming platforms for the 4K restoration of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It’s never looked more terrifyingly real than it does in 2026. Keep the snacks close and the doors locked.