Five Hidden Gem Movies for Halloween

Look, I’m a fan of horror movies 365 days a year. The season doesn’t explode into fall overnight and then all of a sudden I want spooky movies and a steady drip of pumpkin spice whatever-you-got inside me. Nope. I want it all the time. Not the pumpkin spice (although it’s growing on me), just the horror movies. But since I realize most people only have a limited bandwidth for terror, I try to only recommend spookies only set in and around Halloween during the month of October. 

Obviously, there are the stone classics like “Halloween” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (although it can and should be argued the latter is more of a Christmas movie). But what about those Halloween themed horror flicks that don’t get enough love? Glad you asked! Here are a few lesser-known gems that are always a blast to check out across October (or in any season if you think time is just an artificial construct). 

“Night of the Demons” (1988): This one is just bottomless entertainment, following a group of teenagers who go to a Halloween party at an abandoned mortuary and accidentally summon some horny demons. Featuring another classic role from arguably the greatest scream queen of all time, Linnea Quigley, “Night of the Demons” checks all the boxes by being creepy, funny, goofy and packed with some of the best prosthetic effects ever to come from a B-grade horror flick.  Now streaming on Peacock. 

“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” (2019): “Scary Stories” is a really great entry point for pre-teens or teenagers looking to dip their toes in the horror genre without going too hard right from the jump. The books by Alvin Schwartz were such a deeply important part of my initial romance with horror that to have a well-made film filled with some of the book’s disturbing iconography is a dream come true. Set on Halloween 1968, this has a timeless feeling that even the most jaded of teens will come to appreciate. Now Streaming on Hulu & Peacock

“Murder Party” (2007): From eventual auteur Jeremy Saulnier (“Green Room” and “Blue Ruin”) comes this hysterical and bloody indie gore fest that follows a nerdy and lonely meter maid who gets invited to a Halloween party by some art students who are planning on murdering him for an art project. As the film progresses everything just gets crazier and less predictable until you realize you’ve been watching with your hands over your mouth for half hour. There is genuine genius to this one. Now Streaming on Tubi

“Trick‘r Treat:” (2007): This has been catching on over the last few years as a bit of a Halloween mainstay, but the amount of classic moments scattered throughout this anthology makes it perfect for a yearly viewing. With werewolves, ghosts, serial killers, home invasions and creepy kids, there are so many different spooky things going on that “Trick ‘r Treat” is kind of impossible not to love. Word is a sequel may be on the way, but that’s been promised for years. Now Streaming on Prime

“Ginger Snaps:” (2000) The best Canadian werewolf movie you’ve never seen follows two sisters as one slowly becomes a lycanthrope, while the other isn’t sure whether she might have to put some silver bullets into her favorite person. The brilliant script by Karen Walton uses lycanthropy as a metaphor for puberty, turning this into one of the most thoughtful and character-driven horror movies of the aughts. Now Streaming on Peacock