Nothing says Halloween like crisp fall evenings, warm flannel, too much candy, and a good spooky movie marathon with your bestie or your boo. During October, I love taking the time to rewatch some creepy, scary, or just plain weird cult classic films from the past to help me get in the Halloween spirit.
Come along with me as I take you on a journey back in time to look at some of my favorite movies from the late 70s, mid 80s, and early 2000s. Let’s get started!
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
What’s worse than a nightmare? Never waking up from one.
Meet Freddie Krueger, a cocky and twisted burn victim with a fist full of knives and a dark past. He starts appearing in the dreams of several teenagers in horrific and suspenseful ways, always chasing and taunting them. Soon the kids learn that any injuries that occur in these dreams also happen in the real world. One by one, Krueger starts taking the lives of these unknowing victims through their sleep, while their parents try to come up with a logical explanation for the sudden and violent deaths. When Nancy discovers a dark secret hidden away by her parents about Krueger’s history, she and her boyfriend begin to devise a plan to escape the fates of their friends. Can they figure out how to survive the dream killer before it’s too late?
Guess you’ll have to find out for yourself.
4. Jeepers Creepers (2001)
“Jeepers Creepers, where’d you get those peepers? Where’d you get those eyes?”
On an otherwise normal spring break trip home from college, Trish and her brother Darry make a pitstop when they see an unusual figure throwing a sheet covered mass down a large pipe in the ground near a church. Against Trish’s better judgement, Darry insists that they investigate what’s going on underground. At the bottom of the pipe, Darry finds a dying man stitched up like a ragdoll among hundreds of other lost souls who have been literally sewn into the walls of this gory lair. Once they escape and make it back to town, they’re approached by a psychic who informs them that they’re being hunted by an ancient creature known only as “The Creeper” who walks the earth for 23 days every 23rd spring to feed on the residents of the town. Trish and Darry race against time to find a way to rid themselves of this hungry beast, but will they make it out in one piece, or will they be added to The Creepers collage of left-overs?
3.The Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
Wouldn’t it be nice to inherit a gorgeous home from your family one day? Maybe, but what if the house is filled with more than just antique furniture?
Arthur Kriticos, the nephew of self-proclaimed Ghost Hunter Cyrus Kriticos, inherits his uncle’s mansion after one of the resident ghosts he’d failed to capture takes his life. Due to financial stress, he decides to move in with his 2 children, Kathy and Bobby, and their nanny Maggie. His uncle’s life’s work had been to eliminate the 12 ghosts of the Black Zodiac that inhabited the manor. Dennis, Cyrus’s psychic assistant, goes down to the basement of the home where he sees flashback visions that show him that the captured spirits still reside within the walls, and they’re not too happy about it. Moss, Cyrus’s estate lawyer, picks up a valise full of money that triggers the house into sealing itself, while also releasing the invisible and dangerous spirits one by one. Dennis quickly discovers that the only way to see the ghosts is with special spectral glasses, and they learn that the house itself is a machine powered by the captive spirits. The only way to shut it down you ask? Create a 13th ghost through a sacrifice of true love. Will Arthur be able to save his children before the ghosts get them, or will they all fall victim to this house of horrors?
2. Beetlejuice (1988)
Don’t say it three times, or who knows what will happen!
In this whacky Tim Burton treasure, Barbara and Adam Maitland are killed in a car accident and as a result they end up stuck on earth as spirits haunting their home unable to leave the house or move on to an afterlife. When The Deetzes and their teenage daughter Lydia move in, the Maitlands attempt to use their new forms to scare the family into leaving their house. Along the way, they meet Beetlejuice, a rambunctiously raunchy spirit whose attempts to help them quickly turn from surprise into danger.
1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1979)
“Let’s do the Time Warp again!”
In this strange, sexy, and beautiful musical treat, newly engaged couple Brad Majors and Janet Weiss are on their way home from their friend’s wedding when they hit some seriously nasty weather. To make matters worse, they hit something in the road and get a flat tire with no spare to be had. With no other buildings for miles in either direction, they decide to walk for help through the rain to a castle they passed nearby. What awaits them inside is a party they never expected to attend. Cue Dr. Frank N. Furter, a transvestite alien scientist hosting his annual Transylvanian Convention alongside his team of strange housemates, including a ghostly butler and a rocking biker. Despite their attempts to ask for a phone, Frank insists on showing the couple the creation in his lab, where he says he’s discovered the secret to creating life. Brad and Janet quickly find themselves involved in the affairs of the night, as they try to keep it together and get out of the castle alive. But Dr. Frank N Furter has other plans for these special guests
