With the pandemic impacting what would have been a season of new thrilling releases, this year is a great time to revisit your favorite Halloween films. From the classics like Hocus Pocus, The Exorcist or the Scream franchise, there are plenty of movies available to stream at home.
Ryan Jay, Lake Effect's film contributor, shares some of his top movie picks to watch this Halloween:
1. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)
"I remember seeing parts of it as a kid and thinking it was really scary. Usually, by the time you rewatch them as an adult, they don't scare you as much, but I checked parts of it out recently and I have to tell you, it's just as disturbing today," he says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MnaYzBhx0A
2. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
"You know how we have happy tears and sad tears? This is the first time I ever found myself crying out of fear," Jay says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFsmuRPClr4
3. The Others(2001)
"[Nicole Kidman] shines as the mother of two children who are, can't be seen around the light and the house seems to be haunted. And it's kind of like The Sixth Sense for those of you who enjoyed that," he says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISch6Fi-q0A
4. Hocus Pocus (1993)
"I think Halloween movies can be really fun too. So, if we look at Hocus Pocus, which is probably the definitive Halloween film of all-time, it's become a cult classic, it's just grown in popularity over the years," Jay says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFm_2RyxXjQ
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas(1993)
"A musical, it's Disney, so much fun. You can watch it over and over again," he says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj56m937TZ8
6. Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)
"It's not really a horror film, but it's creepy and it's fun for the family," Jay says.
Fun fact: Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who did the music for this movie, also created the music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqFZuR6UzjA
7. The Witches (2020)
"The Witches is a classic film from 1990 with Anjelica Huston, but we're getting a brand new version," he says. "Directed by my favorite director, Robert Zemeckis, who did Forest Gump, he did Death Becomes Her, Contact, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, all the Back to the Future movies."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IVKVZ-Yk-c
8. The Craft: Legacy (2020)
"This is based on a movie that I absolutely love, one of my favorites is The Craft," Jay says. "So, The Craft: Legacy is a reboot to that movie, but also it's kinda a remake or a sequel, so I think we have potential for more in the franchise."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J60ueFp-jv8
9. It (2017)
"A lot of people find clowns very scary, I don't, but I certainly find the clown in It scary, so it's a fun one to watch this time of year," he says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o97Ph_1ECD0
10. The Exorcist (1973)
"You can count on some [movies] to always scare you and that's like The Exorcist. So, if I really want to be scared and have trouble falling asleep at night, I'll put that movie on," he says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyW5YXDcIGs
