Rhiannon Irons' Top 13 Must See Horror Films For Halloween

I love Halloween.  There's nothing better than seeing young children dressed up like witches and zombies, lots of yummy treats and cool parties and above all, the spooky fun that is the magic of the movies.  I've complied a list of Halloween horror movies that help celebrate the day that belongs to goblins, ghouls and ghosts.

13:  Halloween H20 (1998)

Twenty years after the first wave of attacks, Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode.  Taking on her big brother, Michael Myers in a showdown, H20 often cops a lot of criticism.  I find it enjoyable, plus it was my initiation into the Halloween franchise.

12:  Junkyard Dog (2010)

Brad Dourif is always a reason to watch a movie, but this film is one hell of a psychological thriller.  It explores the demented mind of a cannibalistic serial rapist who kidnaps his tenth victim in as many months on Halloween night.

11:  Night Of The Demons (1988)

Teens do the most idiotic things!  Here ten teens decide to host a party on the night of Halloween at an abandoned funeral home built on an evil strip of land.  To kick things off, a séance is held in front of a mirror, and all hell breaks loose – quite literally.




10:  Idle Hands (1999)

Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson and a young Jessica Alba in a story of young teen who is absolutely lazy as all hell who winds up with a hand that is possessed by the devil.  Outrageous and funny as all hell, this comedy/horror is a must for Halloween night.  (Fun Fact: The "hand" is played by Christopher Hart who was also Thing in The Addams Family movies)

9:  Jack-O (1995)

It’s moronic teens at Halloween again when three friends choose this of all nights to seek out an ancient cemetery in the suburbs.  For fun they remove a cross from the tomb of Jack-O, who was buried many years ago after being killed by Arthur Kelly.  An evil creature bent on hunting down the descendants of the Kelly family is unleashed.



8:  Clownhouse (1986)

Nominated for the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, Clownhouse follows in the footsteps of John Carpenter’s Halloween in limiting the blood and gore by achieving its chills through suspense, shock and surprise.  Mix one lad with a pathological fear of clowns, three crazed killers and a circus in town and let the terror begin



7:  Boo (2005)

Eek.  A handful of college students do not have the ghost of a chance when they get trapped in a haunted hospital on Halloween. ‘But I don’t believe in ghosts,’ reasons one. ‘Don’t worry, you will,’ grimly answers another.



6:  The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

OK, so it's not a horror, but I couldn't resist adding this to the list.  After all it's something I watch every year without fail.  In this animated classic Tim Burton lets his bizarre, macabre imagination loose on a modern-day fairytale that unleashes Jack Skellington, a Halloween Town dweller, to try to figure out exactly what Christmas Town is all about.  Certainly not your traditional Christmas offering, but not your classic Halloween flick either – this is quite simply truly original.

5:  The Pumpkin Karver (2006)

It’s more than just the pumpkins that are being carved in this Halloween slasher classic.  A young man stabbed to death on the evening of 31 October 2003 returns in a horrific new guise exactly one year later to brutally butcher six people at a Halloween party.

4:  Trick Or Treats (1982)

A baby sitter is stuck watching over a young brat on Halloween night who keeps playing vicious pranks on her.  To add to her trouble the boy's deranged father has escaped from an asylum and is planning on making a visit.

3:  The Little Girl Who Lived Down The Lane (1976)

With Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen, this film is often overlooked but the solitude that is shown in the film adds to the tension that can be felt.  A thirteen-year-old girl who lives in a secluded house that she and her father have rented in a quiet seaside community.  But whenever anybody from the town tries to satisfy their curiosity, her father is never around, and it seems as if the girl is all alone.  her resourcefulness is put to the test as several people try to find out what she might be hiding, including the snobby landlady and her sleazy son.

2:  Trick 'O Treat (2007)

A truly perfect Halloween film, that intertwines 5 stories.  Of the bunch, this film most represents the season as each of its stories unfold during the festivities.  It’s anthology premise takes on the dangers of halloween candy, an urban legend, a jack o’ lantern  and even a Halloween Scrooge.  The film reminded me alot of the Tales from the Darkside which also included a few worthy Halloween shorts.

1:  Halloween (1978)

You cannot have a list of the best Halloween films and not include this John Carpenter classic.  From its opening scene, where fantastic use of point-of-view filming lets the audience become the eyes of little boy Michael Myers as he stalks and murders his sister, the film relies on suspense rather than sensationalism.  The fear created by the film is based on what could happen more than what actually does. So be prepared to jump and feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

So what horror films are on your list to watch this year on Halloween?