Halloween themed films to watch this Halloween

 

One of the things that makes Halloween one of my favorite Holidays, is all of the awesome films that have been made in its honor. Some of them scary horror films, others in good natured comedic fun and still others with more of an adventurous theme.   Halloween is a holiday that has many things about it that makes it great, and the movies made in its honor is one of them.

Here are some that I recommend.


Key

Orange - Will indicate horror films



Blue - Will indicate comedy films




Purple - Will indicate action/adventure films

The Halloween Franchise



 

The Halloween Franchise started in 1978 and if you count Rob Zombie's two horrific (pardon the pun) reimaginings,  it lasted for 31 years.  Rather ironic when you consider that Halloween falls on the 31st day of October.  Most everyone loves the original "Halloween" and "Halloween II."   They work so well  together as a continuous film, that is so well put together, it's hard to believe that there was a three year lapse in between the two films.   They seem as if they were filmed continuously.

It's a very simple storyline, about a mental hospital escapee that terrorizes a small Illinois town on Halloween night.   No cheap scares, no over the top gore, and an ensemble of characters that you can invest in and care about.   If you're looking for a suspenseful and scary film that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire movie, I highly recommend at least checking out the first two films in this series.

Parts III through VIII are hit and miss amongst fans, with the same being said about Zombie's versions.

For me "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" as a sequel completely falls flat, but as a stand alone film, I have to say that it is pretty good.   It has absolutely nothing to do with the first two Halloween films and it has nothing to do with it's predecessor "Halloween IV" either, but if you treat it all in a world of it's own, it's a good film.    It's about an evil warlock at a factory known as Silver Shamrock who puts curses on Halloween mask, that will activate when the kids watch a Silver Shamrock commercial, thus killing the kids.   While their are a few parts in the film that do use the element of gore, it once again is much more about mystery and suspense.   Without saying to much more about it, I will say that it is one of the best ambiguous endings that I have ever seen.  Usually ambiguous endings leave me feeling unsatisfied but not this one. 

"Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers" is hardly a shadow of the first two Halloween films,  but compared to some of the films that follow it, it's not half bad.    Donald Pleasence once again returns to fulfill his role as the heroic Dr. Loomis, and Ellie Cornell, along with Danielle Harris are welcoming additions. 

"Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers" is the weakest out of the Halloween series, and frankly the one to skip if you're going to skip one in a movie marathon.   A weak script, with some very asinine executive decisions, that wouldn't even be watchable if it weren't for Donald Pleasence's performance.  Nevertheless there are a few parts of the film that are rather clever.

"Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers"  -  It's hard for me to talk about this film, because I read it's original script and know how good this film could have been.  It is a film that was ruined by the actions of a pretentious and spoiled director that took a well written script, and completely butchered the Hell out of it.   Paul Rudd said that he took on the role of Tommy Doyle in the film because he loved the script and was thrilled at the honor of working with the legendary Donald Pleasence.  After the film was over, he said that he hated worked with Joe Chappelle and would never touch another Halloween film again because of how bad his experience was.  Marianne Hagen and Mitch Ryan had similar comments.   Even with all of the films flaws, it still has quite a few parts that hold up well, because the script was so strong to begin with.   If only there were a way to go back in time, and have the film done with the original script, it would be without a doubt the strongest film in the series.   You can even get a glimpse of that, as you watch the film. 

"Halloween H20" - Many fans of the series consider this to be the saving grace, that breathed life back into the series.  I feel that it was a good film and would have been a great film, had it not been missing Dr. Sam Loomis.  Unfortunately, he passed away two years prior to the making of this film and couldn't be a part of it.   It brings the focus back on the element of sister vs brother, and was a much better done film with the budget and backing of a box office film vs the B film treatment that the other three films before it received.   It has nothing on the original first two Halloween films, but it is pretty good.

"Halloween Resurrection" - Whatever "Halloween H20" did to try and save the Halloween series, Resurrection did what it could to put it back into a coma.  Trying to make unlikeable characters into heroic protagonist is an idea that I've never quite gotten.   "Halloween Resurrection" is not a film about horror or suspense.  It instead plays out much more like a game, where you root for Michael to kill everyone and cheer loudly at the screen each time he does.  

I'll give Rob Zombie's "Halloween" remake enough merit to say that it has an awesome cast and it is an extremely well lit film.   Other than that though, the film bites the big one.   A petrifyingly bad script, that contradicts itself multiple times throughout the film and has continuity errors up the wazoo.   As for his version of "Halloween II" I have absolutely nothing good to say about it.   Some people liked it though.

Based on my recommendation for sure check out the original "Halloween" and "Halloween II"  and if you want take a gamble on the other eight movies.    They're hit and miss with a lot of people, and you won't know until you try.

Ernest Scared Stupid

 

One of the stronger films out of the Ernest P Worrell franchise, "Ernest Scared Stupid" is a delightfully funny film, with a good strong story and fairly good performances out of the cast, considering how young and inexperienced most of them were.   Ernest is working as a city garbage man, when he accidentally summons an evil troll back to life that wrecks havoc on the town by turning the children into little wooden dolls.  Now that he caused the problem, it's up to him to try and fix it.   Along with the help of a few friends, Ernest sets out to defeat the troll and get the kids back to normal.

Hocus Pocus

 

Here is one that the whole family will enjoy.   Adventurous, funny, suspenseful and even a touch of horror.   Bette Midler, Sara Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are all fantastic as the evil, yet stupid Sanderson sisters.   If you're looking for a film that is just plain fun to watch with children, a significant other, in a large group or just by yourself I highly recommend this film.  



Once Bitten

 

I'm normally not real big on Vampire films because they're either way to over the top for me on gore and seriousness without comedic relief or they're way to prissy, with unnatural and fake romance like "Twilight".     "Once Bitten" is an exception.   It's a bit corny and it's ridiculous but it's also fun and entertaining.   If you feel like a good laugh on Halloween night, check this out.

Scream

 

The Scream films are almost difficult to classify because while they are a parody of horror films that poke fun of the supposed rules and standards that each horror film must follow, they were not done in a comedic tone.  They were still, in spite of the fact that they were parodies, horror films, meant to frighten, thrill and scare.   The first "Scream" was a pioneering film that was truly the first of it's kind.  To this day, "Scream" remains the only franchise that I know of  that has parodied a genre, without being sarcastic or comical about it.    In this franchise, parts One and two work very well together, with part four being the strongest and  most clever of them all.   Part 3 in comparison to the other three films is a bit weaker, but do not skip out on part four just because you may not like part 3.   Part 4 is one of the best part four films of any that I've ever seen.  It proves that if done right, franchises do not have to get weaker as they go along. 

Scary Movie

 

 

There are five of these films, and while they poke fun of an assortment of different horror films their main focus (at least in the beginning) was "Scream".   Rather ironic to see a film parodying a film that was already a parody.    Of all of the films, I feel that part two was the strongest in story and laughs.   In all of the other parts,  the jokes were hit and miss with me.  Some making me drop significant amounts of weight trying to catch my breath, with others not even registering a smile.   All five films are fun, and worth the time of checking out.   If you like a film that is pretty much little more than a gag reel,  you'll enjoy all five of these.

Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th

 

A rather good, entertaining and funny flick that is often forgotten by the masses because of it's unfortunate release date.   It doesn't suffer from being a "copy cat" of the "Scary Movies" because it didn't come out after them.   It also doesn't suffer from being the original parody of a parody film either, because it didn't come out before "Scary Movie" either.   It ironically came out at nearly the exact same time that "Scary Movie" did and in my opinion, is just as good.  It has a good cast, it's well written and it's very funny.   If you enjoy forgotten about/never heard of films that are pretty good in spite of the fact that none of your friends know anything about it, then I highly recommend this hidden gem.

 

Sleepy Hallow

 

Sleepy Hallow is an action/adventure film full of mystery, suspense, horror and enough comedy relief to make it a phenomenally well rounded film.  Performances out of Johnny Depp, Christine Ricci and Christopher Walken are magnificent.   There have been many retellings of the classic story of "Sleepy Hallow" and this is my favorite of all of them.   Tim Burton has done a lot of films, and this is by far one of his best.

Casper

 

Taking a well known and beloved cartoon series from yesteryear and turning it into a full length feature film is a huge risk that sometimes pays off and sometimes doesn't.   In the case of "Casper" it most certainly paid off.     Funny, touching and sentimental, without being unnatural or fake,  "Casper" is a well done film that has a bit of everything for everyone.   If you have kids and like to watch films together as a family, I think this will be one to take a look at.  It's also a lot of fun to watch alone as well.

"The Halloween Tree"

"The Halloween Tree" is a bit difficult to classify, because it is tame enough and kid-friendly enough to where it cannot be classified as a true horror, but it also touches on enough adult oriented themes (For example, rather heavily enough on death) that you can't treat it as a wholesome Disney family film either.   I wouldn't recommend parents of small children to watch this as a family, because it does have some frightening parts. However, parents of children 9 or older ought to feel perfectly safe having their kids watch this.  Really if you are an avid lover of scary films, like I am, this is the absolute perfect film to start your kids on if you hope to get them into the horror genre.    It's a great film, with its strongest element being its heavy focus on friendship.   Four friends set out on a mission, Hell bent to save the life of their best friend.   One of the best animated films I've ever seen.




I also highly recommend, if you're able to, check out Halloween themed episodes of television shows.   "Roseanne" had three or four Halloween oriented episodes that were fantastic.    Many anthology series like "Are you Afraid of the Dark" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" also had some good stories centered around Halloween.

Halloween is a great holiday, to dress up in costume, eat candy and other junk food and enjoy some good films!

Check out the films that I've recommended.  Whether you're a fan of horror, comedy, action adventure, a combination of the two or all three I've listed so really good films!  Check them out!