It’s almost Halloween so Complete PR thought it would be fun to give you a list of our favorite scary movies to watch this weekend to prep for the scariest holiday of the year.
Anna’s Scary List
Favorite: This was a difficult one, but I was able to narrow it down to two. Sinister and Hereditary are my two favorites for different reasons. Filled with jump scares and gruesome concepts, Sinister was the first new-age horror movie to actually really terrify me. Hereditary is a favorite because it’s the kind of movie that you literally can’t stop thinking about days after seeing it. It’s the kind of terror that just gets under your skin and I was uncomfortable the whole time I watched it. Therefore, a masterpiece.
Least Favorite: Poltergeist. Honestly, I think every TV should come with a customizable built-in evil spirit that helps you change the channels or something. Who needs an “Alexa” when you can have the spirit of Jaclyn who died of pneumonia in 1843?
Guilty Pleasure: The Shining and It (The original with Tim Curry). The Shining is a classic, not super scary but it is super eerie with incredible acting and a literal elevator full of blood. As far as the clown goes, I watched It for the first time when I was only 6 years old, so it holds a special place in my spooky heart. Also, don’t ask my mom about that in person.
Scariest: It Follows. I saw this in theaters, and when I left I literally had bruises on my ears from plugging them so hard.
Wild Card: The Autopsy of Jane Doe. This was such a low cost movie, but it is SO GOOD. Such a great concept, super interesting, and just the right amount of dead bodies.
Emily’s Not-So-Scary List
Favorite: Tied between Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown. Whose favorite Halloween movie isn’t Hocus Pocus? (if you say you hate it, you’re lying) Halloweentown was pretty even with the classic millennial-favorite film, Hocus Pocus, because I always wanted to live in a town where it was Halloween all year – and to be honest, still do.
Least Favorite: Any movies that make me have to sleep with the lights on. I don’t watch scary movies because I am a chicken. I mostly stick to the cheesy Halloween movies. (I mean Halloweentown was tied for my number one).
Guilty Pleasure: Any Harry Potter movie. Not technically Halloween-themed, but the films do include The Great Hall getting decorated with floating pumpkins, celebrating the holiday with a big feast, and serving pumpkin juice. Plus it’s a series about witches and wizards, which basically screams Halloween.
Scariest: As stated earlier, I hate being scared so watching hair-raising Halloween movies is not my favorite activity. Haunted Mansion always leaves me a little paranoid and that is about as scary as I will watch. I did try watching the trailer for the newest Halloween movie, but couldn’t even make it past the first ten-seconds…
Wild Card: Go watch something nice and uplifting.
Kaitlyn’s Spooky Screen Favorites
Favorite(s): Hocus Pocus because it’s awesome, Poltergeist because it was the first scary movie I ever watched alone as a kid, and A Haunted House because it’s hilarious and deserves more than 2.5 stars on IMDB.
Least Favorite: Those Chucky movies. He was a doll. Why couldn’t they just throw him away?
Scariest: The Conjuring. It actually ruined scary movies for me. I went to see it in theaters when it came out in 2013 and left so scared I haven’t been to see a new scary movie since.
Guilty Pleasure: The Halloween scene from Mean Girls. I took my Halloween costumes very seriously in college and can very much relate to Cady when asked, “why are you dressed so scary?”
Wild Card: The Disney Channel Original: Under Wraps. It inspired an extreme interest in mummies in my 6-year-old self. I always thought I’d somehow stumble across a mummy after seeing that movie. Fortunately I never did.
John’s Gruesome Goulies
Favorite: I am going to have to go with the original Halloween. It’s an amazingly condensed horror flick despite its flaws (palm trees in Illinois, Michael Myers staging victims’ bodies…because he knew they would provide jump scares?). Still, the camera work is brilliant and the sense of dread builds slowly through out. As a viewer, you simply are left wondering at what (not who) the killer is and why. Now, later films did their best to explain Myer’s origins and motivations, but the first one is just so damn creepy onto itself.
Least Favorite: The VVItch. Wow, was I left completely unimpressed with this modern “masterpiece.” I actually had to turn the subtitles on so I could make out the accents. So much was left unexplained and so much of it was non-frightening, that I never felt emotionally involved in the characters.
Guilty Pleasure: Peter Cushing starred in two classic movies in 1977. One was a little known film called Star Wars. The other was the blockbuster Shock Waves. Ok, I reversed that and Cushing had two other movies that year, but Shock Waves, oh man, Shock Waves. If you are unfamiliar, and you likely are, this movie involves underwater Nazi zombies. And seriously, that is all you need to know about the plot.
Scariest: 1982’s Superstition was a cheaply made horror film (how cheap? It didn’t come out until 1985) that ripped off slasher films and the Amityville Horror. But holy crud did it scare the heck out of me. True story, I wouldn’t go into our basement at night for six months after that film. Part of the reason was our vacuum cleaner turned on by itself during a pivotal scene. Then wouldn’t turn off until I unplugged it. (sidenote, parents, don’t make your nine-year-old turn off a possibly possessed vacuum cleaner, that stuff stays with them.)
Wild Card: If you have not watched the new series, the Haunting of Hill House, clear your calendar and binge it this weekend. It is a superiorly done horror series with a great mix of scares, ghosts and story line.
