Isn’t Halloween the best? Not only do you get to dress up and eat candy, but you don’t look weird for watching spooky movies every day of the week. Some of the most fun horror movies are those that actually take place on Halloween. Plenty of underrated horror movies also feature events that take place on or around Oct. 31, but you might not catch it unless you’re really paying attention. Here are a few that you might not have seen, but probably should.
Trick ‘r Treat
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
Trick ‘r Treat is a spooky anthology movie that revolves around a creepy kid in a burlap sack on Halloween. It should’ve become a massive franchise, but Warner Bros. released the movie straight to video, dumping it into the DVD bargain bins of America.
Luckily, the film found new life online, and horror fans everywhere are finally getting to see what happens when you blow out a jack-o-lantern before midnight.
Halloween III: Season Of The Witch
Photo: Universal Pictures
Halloween mastermind John Carpenter intended for this sequel to be the start of an anthology series that wouldn’t feature Michael Myers. That didn’t happen. But if you haven’t seen this insane movie (it’s about a coven of witches that owns a company manufacturing Halloween masks that cause kids’ heads to explode), then you must watch it now.
Idle Hands
Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing
If you grew up around Y2K, you probably watched Idle Hands during a sleepover and promptly forgot about the wealth of information it imparted upon you. Watch this fountain of teenage knowledge again, and you’ll feel the way you did when it introduced you to demonic possession, Jessica Alba, and the Ramones all at once.
The Crow
Photo: Miramax
Since its release in the mid-’90s, The Crow has become a cult classic. But the final movie starring Brandon Lee (who died in an on-set accident while filming) is so much more than what it seems. Set on Halloween, it’s a supernatural action flick that manages to conjure emotions that several sequels and copycat movies never could.The Crow really does deserve a second viewing.
Ginger Snaps
Photo: Motion International
The Fitzgerald sisters don’t need Halloween to be spooky – they’re into wearing bird skulls around their necks and faking their own deaths year-round. But when a werewolf bites Ginger (Katharine Isabelle), her transformation coincides with the approach of Halloween.
It’s good timing: most people assume her fangs and claws are just part of a costume. Ginger Snaps is a fascinating take on werewolf mythology, and it’s actually pretty scary, too.
Lady In White
Photo: New Century Vista Film Company
This movie revolves around a murder committed on Halloween, the young boy who witnessed the whole thing, and the ghost whose murder he has to avenge. Lady In White is more of a spooky whodunnit than anything else, so watch it on a Halloween date night.
All Hallows’ Eve
Photo: Image Entertainment
A horror anthology that includes elements of earlier short films by director Damien Leone, All Hallows’ Eve revolves around a mysterious VHS tape that ends up in a bag after a night of trick or treating. All three stories on the tape are pretty scary, and they feature the introduction of Art the Clown (Mike Giannelli), who would later go off onto fame and fortune in his own terrifying franchise.
May
Photo: Lions Gate Films
If you like Carrie, but always thought it should have more violent amputation scenes, then May is the Halloween film for you. The movie follows May (Angela Bettis), a young woman who’s just dying to have a friend.
Silver Bullet
Photo: Paramount Pictures
What would Halloween be without Stephen King? If you dig werewolves but feel like they’ve been taken over by the Twilight movies, then check out King’s Silver Bullet. It’s a gritty portrayal of lycanthropy that’ll make you look over your shoulder every full moon.
Monster House
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Not every Halloween movie needs to give you nightmares, although Monster House does have a few surprising scares. It’s about three young friends who believe a creepy house in their neighborhood is actually a living creature, but it’s a Halloween movie the whole family can enjoy.