What better to watch on Halloween that a horror movie that takes place on Halloween? Here are the 15 best I could come up with.
This lighthearted made-for-TV movie plays like a feature-length version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video without the red leather or the burdensome insistence on hipness. The film takes place one Halloween night as a group of 30-something "teens" (including LeVar Burton, Shari Belafonte, Dedee Pfeiffer and Peter DeLuise) accidentally unleash an ancient curse that raises the dead (which, for some reason includes a werewolf and a vampire). It's cheesy PG-rated fun that's good for an (unintentional) laugh -- especially during the jaw-dropping musical number "I'm Dead, You're Dying."More »
If it's Halloween in LA, there's only one spot to be: West Hollywood. Hellbent, supposedly the first gay slasher, smartly takes advantage of this gay neighborhood setting in the tale of a devil-masked killer stalking victims at the annual Halloween festivities. Its strong set pieces provide thrills beyond the film's modest budget because it's first and foremost a horror movie -- one that just happens to feature gay characters.More »
This derivative but fun low-budget horror-comedy finds a group of fraternity and sorority pledges dressing up in costumes, going on a scavenger hunt and spending Halloween night in a haunted house. Unfortunately for them, one of the items in the scavenger hunt is a book that opens a portal to Hell (probably something by Nicholas Sparks). As if spending the night in a haunted house isn't bad enough, now they have to deal with demonic possessions -- although, on the bright side, this makes their deaths all the more entertaining.More »
Few trends define the '80s like hair metal, and few movies capture the essence of hair metal like the campy Trick or Treat. In the movie, social misfit Eddie discovers that he can conjure his dead rock 'n roll idol, Sammi Curr, by playing his last, unreleased album backwards. Given this method of communication, he shouldn't be surprised when the rocker's spirit turns out to be evil and goes about killing people right and left, including a Halloween concert in which he vaporizes audience members by shooting electric beams from his guitar. Another can't-miss scene: Sammi reaches through the TV and strangles a moral crusader railing against his music on a talk show.More »
This staid ghost story is all the more terrifying because it's told from a child's point of view via voiceover and nostalgic flashbacks; indeed, it could've been called A Halloween Story. On Halloween night, a boy is locked alone in a closet at school, where he witnesses the ghost of a murdered girl -- and the return of the all-too-alive murderer.More »
This so-bad-it's-good Mexican flick (also known as Cementerio del Terror) proves that cinematic teenagers are stupid in any language. On Halloween night, a group of teens thinks it's a good idea to sneak into an abandoned house and use a satanic book they find to raise the dead. It's such a good idea, in fact, that they go out of their way to break into a morgue and steal a body suitable for raising. Too bad for them they end up stealing a claw-handed satanic serial killer. Bad things ensue, including a rousing ending that turns the film from a slasher into an all-out zombie movie.More »
Ridiculous caricatures, lame dialogue and cheesy acting only enhance the campy fun of this oh-so-'80s gorefest. Stop me if you've heard this one before: a group of teens decide to throw a Halloween party at an old haunted house. I'm sure they'll be fine. Or maybe a demon from Hell will possess a pair of partygoers, turning them into hideous, fanged she-demons. Like a Halloween haunted house, Night of the Demons is more about atmosphere and makeup effects than it is about content.More »
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15. The Midnight Hour (1985)
This lighthearted made-for-TV movie plays like a feature-length version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video without the red leather or the burdensome insistence on hipness. The film takes place one Halloween night as a group of 30-something "teens" (including LeVar Burton, Shari Belafonte, Dedee Pfeiffer and Peter DeLuise) accidentally unleash an ancient curse that raises the dead (which, for some reason includes a werewolf and a vampire). It's cheesy PG-rated fun that's good for an (unintentional) laugh -- especially during the jaw-dropping musical number "I'm Dead, You're Dying."More »
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14. Hellbent (2004)
If it's Halloween in LA, there's only one spot to be: West Hollywood. Hellbent, supposedly the first gay slasher, smartly takes advantage of this gay neighborhood setting in the tale of a devil-masked killer stalking victims at the annual Halloween festivities. Its strong set pieces provide thrills beyond the film's modest budget because it's first and foremost a horror movie -- one that just happens to feature gay characters.More »
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13. Boo (2005)
Is there anything better on Halloween than a haunted house? This high-end straight-to-video offering provides the requisite scares (partying teens + haunted hospital = dead partying teens) with a clever self-awareness of genre expectations: one character exclaims as they head into the spooky building on Halloween night: "Great, we are gonna be those stupid kids."More »){kind=link}
12. The Hazing (2004)
This derivative but fun low-budget horror-comedy finds a group of fraternity and sorority pledges dressing up in costumes, going on a scavenger hunt and spending Halloween night in a haunted house. Unfortunately for them, one of the items in the scavenger hunt is a book that opens a portal to Hell (probably something by Nicholas Sparks). As if spending the night in a haunted house isn't bad enough, now they have to deal with demonic possessions -- although, on the bright side, this makes their deaths all the more entertaining.More »
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11. Trick or Treat (1986)
Few trends define the '80s like hair metal, and few movies capture the essence of hair metal like the campy Trick or Treat. In the movie, social misfit Eddie discovers that he can conjure his dead rock 'n roll idol, Sammi Curr, by playing his last, unreleased album backwards. Given this method of communication, he shouldn't be surprised when the rocker's spirit turns out to be evil and goes about killing people right and left, including a Halloween concert in which he vaporizes audience members by shooting electric beams from his guitar. Another can't-miss scene: Sammi reaches through the TV and strangles a moral crusader railing against his music on a talk show.More »
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10. Lady in White (1988)
This staid ghost story is all the more terrifying because it's told from a child's point of view via voiceover and nostalgic flashbacks; indeed, it could've been called A Halloween Story. On Halloween night, a boy is locked alone in a closet at school, where he witnesses the ghost of a murdered girl -- and the return of the all-too-alive murderer.More »
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9. Cemetery of Terror (1985)
This so-bad-it's-good Mexican flick (also known as Cementerio del Terror) proves that cinematic teenagers are stupid in any language. On Halloween night, a group of teens thinks it's a good idea to sneak into an abandoned house and use a satanic book they find to raise the dead. It's such a good idea, in fact, that they go out of their way to break into a morgue and steal a body suitable for raising. Too bad for them they end up stealing a claw-handed satanic serial killer. Bad things ensue, including a rousing ending that turns the film from a slasher into an all-out zombie movie.More »
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8. Night of the Demons (1988)
Ridiculous caricatures, lame dialogue and cheesy acting only enhance the campy fun of this oh-so-'80s gorefest. Stop me if you've heard this one before: a group of teens decide to throw a Halloween party at an old haunted house. I'm sure they'll be fine. Or maybe a demon from Hell will possess a pair of partygoers, turning them into hideous, fanged she-demons. Like a Halloween haunted house, Night of the Demons is more about atmosphere and makeup effects than it is about content.More »
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