Once October hits, it’s spooky season. It’s time for cold days, sweet treats, hot 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 a classic 1950s horror or the latest Tim Burton movie, there are plenty of fun options to celebrate the season. While it’s always fun to watch scary movies with friends, not everyone really enjoys the ghosts. For those who want to fit in but don’t want to have nightmares for a week, here are some options for good horror movies.
Beetle Juice (1988)
A classic film with a stacked cast including a young Winona Ryder, as well as Michael Keaton as the titular character, this story brings the strange and unusual to life by following the ghosts of a young married couple who haunt their home. Winona Ryder as Lidia moves in with her family and things get more and more bizarre from there, as the audience gets to see a little behind the scenes in the grim afterlife and some of the more monstrous things in the afterlife. This film has talented actors who bring to life a wide variety of fascinating characters, especially the eccentric and sinister Beetlejuice, which is sure to leave onlookers unsettled and startled, but has a droll charm that takes the edge off.
Coraline (2009)
While this movie is technically a kids movie, it can be incredibly unnerving. It revolves around Coraline, who had to move with her parents to a new town, to a weird house with other tenants above and below them. She is 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, announced by her Other Mother, who has eye buttons. As the Other Mother tempts Coraline to stay in her world forever, things get more and more intense and terrifying. Even still, the movie has an incredible claymation design that makes things feel erratic yet slightly terrifying at the same time. The storyline is incredible and well worth watching.
Creep (2014)
Fans of found images horror will love this movie called Crawl, who follows Aaron into the mountains after answering a craigslist ad for a videographer. Aaron films for a man named Josef, who claims to be dying of cancer and wants to leave a video for his unborn son. As they spend a lot of time together and bond, Aaron begins to notice the gaps and inconsistencies in Josef’s stories. Crawl is a fun film that explores themes of relationships and honesty, but is also great for those who aren’t into your average horror movies. This film has a perpetual air of anticipation; it makes the audience expect a lot of different things and make them nervous before swinging in a different direction. It challenges expectations while satisfying the itch for something spooky and unpleasant.
47 Meters Down (2017)
While most people don’t really think of shark movies as a Halloween watch, they’re perfect for when you need a little excitement but don’t feel like slashers and monsters. Shark movies are pretty straight forward and can only have a limited number of twists and turns, but they can still scare an audience. 47 meters down fits right in this category. The acting is a little hokey, but the shark is much more terrifying, and these two qualities balance each other out for a hair-raising experience that won’t leave you with an aquaphobia. The film revolves around two sisters on vacation trying to get away from the stress they’ve been dealing with, and decide to try something new by cage diving with sharks. They are secure enough in the cage and have some scuba gear on to breathe underwater, but all hell breaks loose when the rigging fails and their cage falls to the ocean floor. While trying to save air and find a way back up, the sisters are confronted by large sharks that hinder them at every step and devour all the divers who come to rescue them. It’s entertaining and scary in the best ways.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
This movie is also a classic and has an incredibly fun cast. The film revolves around Seymour, who spends his days working in a flower shop and is sheepishly in love with his co-worker, Audrey, whom he can’t get the nerve to actually ask out on a date. He finds a strange plant with a bulbous top that is wide open in a mouth, and he not only likes to eat meat, but he can also talk. Seymour tries to care for the strange plant and is pressured by him to feed him what he really craves: human flesh and blood. While the plot sounds slightly terrifying and the film has some spooky moments, the scare factor is relieved a bit by the fact that the entire film is a musical. The songs fit into the story well and add a lighter element to it, keeping it from being too terrifying.
The Boy (2016)
This movie is a wild ride and viewers were stunned by the twist at the end. The story follows Greta, who escapes an abusive relationship and takes a job as a full-time nanny for a young boy in England. When she arrives and meets the old couple whose boy she will be caring for, she is confused and disturbed by the fact that he is actually a doll named Brahms. The couple and their delivery boy all treat Brahms like a real kid, and the couple insist that he abide by some rules. Then the couple goes on a trip and leaves their son with Greta. At first she ignores the rules Brahms apparently likes, but then strange things start happening in the house and the doll seems to be able to move and act on its own. This movie is a good watch for those who don’t like scary movies like the boy is just a haunting and chilling story for the most part until it climaxes towards the end (and even with the wild twist, still not too scary).