Once October hits, it’s the spooky season. The time has come for chilly days, sweet treats, warm drinks, and best of all –scary movies. Nothing sets the mood for October and Halloween quite like a good scary movie. Whether you’re watching some classic horror from the 50s or you’re watching the latest Tim Burton film, there are plenty of fun options to watch to celebrate the season. Even though it’s always fun to watch scary movies with friends, not everyone enjoys the spooks. For those who want to be included but don’t want to have nightmares for a week, here are some options for good spooky films.
Updated on September 2nd, 2023, by Yosra Ben lagha:This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
11Beetlejuice (1988)
A classic film with a stacked cast including a youngWinona Ryder, as well as Michael Keaton as the titular character, this story brings to life the strange and unusual by following the ghosts of a young married couple who haunt their home.
Winona Ryder as Lidia moves in with her family and things continue to get more bizarre from there as the audience is allowed to see behind-the-scenes into the grim afterlife and some of the more monstrous things in the beyond. This movie has talented actors bringing a wide range of fascinating characters to life, especially the eccentric and sinister Beetlejuice, who will leave audience members unsettled and spooked but has a droll charm that takes the edge off.
10Coraline (2009)
While this movie is technically a kid’s film, it can be incredibly unnerving. It centers around Coraline, who was forced to move to a new town with her parents, into a weird house that has other renters above and below them. She’s incredibly unhappy and feels invisible to her parents.
Then she finds a small door in the wall that leads to a seemingly perfect version of her world, heralded by her Other Mother, who has buttons for eyes. As the Other Mother tempts Coraline to stay in her world forever, things grow increasingly intense and frightening. Even still, the movie has anincredible claymationdesign that makes things feel simultaneously whimsical yet mildly haunting. The storyline is incredible and is worth the watch.
9Creep (2014)
Fans offound footage horrorwill enjoy this film calledCreep, which follows Aaron up into the mountains after answering a Craigslist ad for a videographer. Aaron is filming for a man called Josef, who claims that he is dying of cancer and wants to leave a video behind for his unborn son. As the two of them spend a lot of time and bond together, Aaron begins to notice the holes and inconsistencies in Josef’s stories.
Creepis a fun movie that explores themes of relationships and honesty, but is also great for those not into average horror movies. This film has a perpetual air of anticipation; it makes the audience expect a lot of different things and makes them feel unnerved before swinging in a different direction. It challenges expectations while satisfying the itch for something spooky and off-putting.
847 Meters Down (2017)
Though most people wouldn’t consider shark movies a Halloween watch, they’re perfect for when you need a bit of a thrill but don’t want to deal with slashers and monsters. Shark films are pretty straightforward and can only have so many twists and turns – but they can still provide scary for an audience.47 Meters Downfitsright into this category. The acting is a little hokey, but the shark is plenty fearsome, and these two qualities balance each other out for a spine-chilling experience that won’t give you aquaphobia.
The movie centers around two sisters on vacation trying to get away from the stresses they’ve been dealing with and decide to try something new by cage diving with sharks. They’re plenty safe inside the cage and have some scuba gear on to breathe underwater, but all hell breaks loose when the rigging fails and their cage is dropped to the ocean floor. As they attempt to conserve air and find a way back up, the sisters are met with large sharks that hinder them at every step and devour any divers that come to rescue them. It’s entertaining and frightening in all the best ways.
7Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
This movie is also a classic and has an incredibly fun cast. The movie revolves around Seymour, who spends his days working in a flower shop and sheepishly doting on his coworker, Audrey, whom he can’t get the nerve to ask on a date. He finds a strange plant with a bulbous top that opens wide into a mouth, and not only does it like to eat meat, but it can talk as well.
Seymour tries to care for the strange plant and is pressured by it to feed it what it truly craves– human meat and blood. Though the plot sounds mildly terrifying, and the movie does have some spooky moments, the scare factor is relieved a bit by the fact that the entiremovie is a musical. The songs play well into the story and add a lighter element to it, keeping it from being too frightening.
Related:Best Horror Movies Where Siblings Band Together
6The Boy (2016)
This movie is a wild ride, and viewers are left stunned by the twist at the end. The story follows Greta, who is escaping an abusive relationship and has taken a job as a full-time nanny for a young boy in England. When she arrives and meets the old couple whose boy she’ll be caring for, she’s confused and unsettled by the fact that he’s a doll named Brahms. The couple and their deliveryman all treat Brahms as a real child, and the couple insists on a set of rules he has to follow.
Then the couple goes on a trip and leaves their son with Greta. At first, she ignores the rules that Brahms likes, but then strange things start to happen around the house and the doll seems able to move and act on its own. This movie is a good watch for those not super into scary movies, asThe Boyis just a spooky and chilling story for most of it until a climactic point towards the end (and even with the wild twist, still not too scary).
5The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Directed by the brilliant Jonathan Demme,The Silence of the Lambsis more thriller than it is horror. The longest takes are set in prison, where Clarice (Jodie Foster), a top FBI student is tasked with interviewing a very successful psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), who also happens to be one of the most dangerous serial killers of his time. Even behind bars, Dr. Lecter’s dominance is tangible. The thrilling part of the movie is the constant expectation for the criminal to live up to his scary reputation and do something unexpected. And although that, indeed, happens (during Lecter’s escape), it’s not something unbearably scary. It does send chills all over the body, but not enough for this movie to be called unwatchable.
The focus of the plot is not on showcasing the horrible nature of the killer, but, instead, on the strange relationship he develops with the new, inexperienced, but special FBI agent, Clarice. Their exchange is, in its way, entertaining and didactic both for the psychiatrist himself, the young Clarice, and for the audience who gets to walk out of the movie with more than just a few senseless screams.
4The Babadook (2014)
Before we dismissThe Babadookfrom this list because of the scary elements that it has, like: freaky monsters, creepy children, and cursed books, it’s not that scary. It doesn’t have unbearable jump scares and isn’t even that bloody. If the audience can look through the scary parts, they’ll see that it’s all just a metaphorfor dealing with the trauma of grief.
The story revolves around a mother and her son dealing with a monstrous presence that only her son can see. This malicious presence appeared after the violent death of the father which is probably what triggered the boy’s fear in the first place. This is not a typical horror movie that will have you sweating and crying the whole time. You can watch it without having to squeeze someone else’s hand in fright.
3Get Out (2017)
Anyone could have guessed it.Get Outbelongs on this list.Jordan Peele’s brilliant satirical examinationof what came to be known as “racism without racists” is absolutely scary. It’s not scary because of its very mild jump scares, or its almost nonexistent bloody scenes, but because of how accurate and relevant it is in today’s culture.
The story is about a young African-American man called Chris as he visits his girlfriend’s parents' house in Upstate New York. At first, the parents, Missy and Dean, appear accommodating and welcoming of their daughter’s interracial relationship. However, in time, Chris makes shocking discoveries that reveal their true racist ideas and agendas. The quiet meet-the-parents weekend turns into a horrifying time jump to the era of slavery, a bit similar toAntebellum. Although this movie is an interesting thriller, you can watch it without holding your breath.
2Paranorman (2012)
Paranormanis an animated comedy horror movie, directed by Sam Fell, which is supposed to be a creepy monster flick for little children. The movie does havetoo many scary scenes for children, but hopefully, adults are more resilient. The story follows young Norman Babcock, a boy who can speak with the dead, ghosts, and zombies.
His uncle Prenderghast informs him about a centuries-old witch curse that will befall his town. Norman spends the rest of the movie trying his best to save the town from the malicious curse. The comedy during and in between the scary/creepy scenes manages to alleviate some of the tension. Let’s admit, if you can muster a few laughs, the movie is probably not that scary.
