Halloween Movie Night: Top 5

It's Halloween, so let us rejoice! It’s that time of year where the whole country embraces its cosplay spirit, and you can eat as many Snickers as you want because they are “mini” and thus healthy for you. It’s also the perfect time to plop down on your couch and watch a scary movie. Over my lifetime I have watched hundreds of films. I often claim this is because of various jobs I have held, which is not untrue, but honestly a lot of it is just because I love movies. I love watching them, I love talking about them, and I love writing about them. So, when asked to put together my Top 5 movies for Halloween I was like “Bro?! Only 5?! But there's so many to choose from!” But life is full of hard decisions, and so after hours of fraught internal debate, I present my personal Top 5 Movies to watch this Halloween. Enjoy!

#5 The Nightmare (2015)
Sometimes you just gotta keep it real on Halloween. And this documentary does just that. Director Rodney Ascher examines the phenomenon of sleep paralysis, where individuals experience the inability to move or speak during the transition between sleep and wakefulness. This condition may be accompanied by physical sensations or hallucinations that can elicit significant fear. In the documentary, Ascher conducts interviews with affected individuals and then reconstructs their experiences. It is a fascinating peek into a legitimate condition, and the recreations do not disappoint. If you are less of a slasher flick person and more a murder doc fan, this is probably the right film for your Halloween movie night.

#4 Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
It may have taken this franchise a few films to figure itself out, but number 4 set the mold. It has everything a classic Friday the 13th movie needs – a seemingly superhuman Jason Voorhees, a group of oblivious Crystal Lake teens, memorable kills, and the glorious debut of Tommy Jarvis who would go on to become Jason's archnemesis across several future films and games. The fun factor is helped a ton by the presence of Crispin Glover and Cory Feldman in some of their earliest feature film work. (Hats off to that casting director.) The truth of the matter when it comes to a good Halloween movie is you don’t always need a deep story with plausible characters and dialogue. A big, psycho in a hockey mask can work just fine.

#3 The Thing (1982)
Make no mistake, The Thing is as brilliant now as it was when it debuted. But in general, people in 1982 were not on board with what director John Carpenter was serving up to them. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial debuted in theaters on June 11, 1982, and was praised for its uplifting story and optimism. The Thing released 2 weeks later and was universally panned for its cynical, bleak, and nihilistic tone. But with time, critics now praise the film, pointing to its “exceptionally crafted” cynical, bleak, and nihilistic tone. And while sci-fi horror is not the most accessible genre in film, it’s crazy that a movie this good almost destroyed Carpenter’s career. The actors are so believable, the lines are so quotable, and the effects are so incredibly memorable that I literally want to stop typing and watch it right now. It’s funny to say that a movie based on a 1938 novella and following in the footsteps of a 1951 adaptation was ahead of its time, but that was clearly the case with The Thing. As the world has changed around it, through wars and pandemics, the film has grown organically from a cult favorite to a genre-defining classic.

#2 Evil Dead II (1987)
Blending comedy and horror can be tricky. Which is why you want someone like Sam Raimi (whose Drag Me to Hell was strongly considered here as well) behind the camera and a genius like Bruce Campbell in front of it. Evil Dead II is everything your Halloween should be, it’s creepy, and campy, and just plain fun. Campbell as Ash Williams is all in, as he manically laughs and fights his way through each scene, delivering quotable line after quotable line. The practical effects, high-gore factor, and dark humor set Evil Dead II apart during a time when horror was dominated by slasher films and psychological thrillers. Years later Ash and the Evil Dead franchise have expanded into TV, games, comics, and even a presidential campaign. “Groovy.”

#1 Halloween (1978)
Yeah, it’s a bit hat on a hat for a list like this, but commmme onnnn, it’s just so good! Halloween set the standard for the slasher film craze of the 1980s and popularized the tropes that have become completely synonymous with the genre to this day. Director John Carpenter crafted the formula brilliantly. Give this man his flowers—he brought us the relentless masked killer, established Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate “final girl,” and even wrote and performed the legendary soundtrack. That theme music, in particular, helped Michael Myers become a horror icon (along with the inspired use of a modified Captain Kirk mask). The Halloween series has endured through more than ten sequels, remakes, and reboots, but the original film is still the best.