It’s my most favorite time of the year!
I love October and Halloween. It is such an important holiday to my wife and I that we even got married on October 31st (a few years ago). With the love of the holiday comes my love of horror films, and during October I absolutely binge on the genre. There are so many horror films that are great to watch this month.
After helping with a previous Halloween themed list this month, I was inspired to make my own list of my favorite movies that I put on every Halloween season. I thought of doing the traditional 31 Movies of Halloween, but my list went right past that number, and it is a lot of writing and reading for even just 31 movies. So I figured that I would do the next best thing, flip the numbers, and make this an annual list of films for the site. So here it is, The 13 Movies of Halloween for 2018!
These are a few selections of the films that I watch during the Halloween season, and I suggest checking them out for yourselves. You can purchase copies of the film (and support our site) by clicking on the titles below. If you see ones that are already in your library, you’ve seen before, or they are new to you, let me know in the comments. Let’s go to the first movie!
BrainDead
I will start this list off with a cult favorite for zombie lovers out there, BrainDead (aka Dead Alive) was co-written and directed by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit). It stars Timothy Balme as Lionel Cosgrove, a young man who is entirely under the thumb of his overbearing mother. Lionel begins to explore a relationship with a local shop girl, but his mother tries to put a stop to it. While trailing her son on a date, she is bitten at the zoo by a Sumatran rat-monkey. The bite eventually turns her into a zombie and the infection spread quickly to others in Lionel’s life. We get tons of laughs watching Lionel try to cover up what is happening to his mother and the others infected until a party at his house turns into a literal bloodbath (and then we get even more laughs). Plus the film contains a kung-fu fighting priest and a zombie baby. If you like over-the-top gore and slapstick comedy, you’ll get a kick out of BrainDead.
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Puppet Master
It is 1939. A puppeteer named Andre Toulon has discovered a method for bringing life to inanimate objects. Using this knowledge, he awakens his beloved puppets. Nazis are hunting Toulon for his secret, but before they can get to him and retrieve the info, he commits suicide. Years later, believing that one of their own has discovered Toulon’s secret, a group of psychics gather at the hotel where Toulon died. When they arrive, they discover their colleague dead. One by one they meet up with Toulon’s puppets who deal out some gruesome ends for the group. Puppet Master has some interesting POV shots and creepy moments of puppets stalking the hotel for their victims. It will have you searching all the dark nooks and crannies of your home for little puppets with deadly intentions. This movie started a franchise that is still being developed today. A solid slasher movie for the list.
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Night of the Creeps
One part sci-fi movie, one part zombie movie, one part teen-comedy, put it all together and you end up with Night of the Creeps. Follow the college exploits of Chris Romero and his friend J.C. as they rob dead bodies from cryo labs, release alien parasites onto the campus, and defend a sorority from a swarm of zombies. Also, get some great one-liners from gruff Detective Ray Cameron as he struggles with depression and the sudden strangeness happening in his town. This film is fun, weird, and memorable. A cult classic that fits in well with the holiday.
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The Monster Club
The premise of this film seems great. An anthology horror movie with a wrap story that stars Vincent Price and John Carradine, all taking place inside a club for monsters. That sounds like an awesome film to me! However, this is not an awesome film. Unfortunately, it is plagued with really poor looking monsters (seriously, most of them look like they are merely wearing rubber masks from a Halloween shop). Aside from this, The Monster Club is a charming series of stories that are interesting and campy, has a fun soundtrack, and, as I said before, includes Vincent Price and John Carradine in starring roles. Also starring in the film, are Donald Pleasence and Stuart Whitman. Learn what a Shadmock is and see how a vampire family survives in the modern day. A good mix of humor, camp, shock, horror, and music. All-in-all, a fun bad movie for Halloween.
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The Exorcist III
Now getting away from the lighter side of Halloween, we head into the terror of William Blatty’s The Exorcist III (aka Legion). I have reviewed this one previously (check it out here for more details) and gave it my first “With Butter!” rating, which is the highest rating we have for our movies. The Exorcist III is a film that I cannot recommend watching enough. Between the atmosphere of terror, to the jump scares, to the gripping dialogue between characters, you won’t be disappointed. George C. Scott gives us an outstanding performance, as does everyone else involved. Do you want to be genuinely scared this Halloween? Check out The Exorcist III.
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Pumpkinhead
Pumpkinhead is a monster film steeped in tragedy. After the accidental death of his young son at the hands of some out of town teenagers, Ed Harley seeks vengeance by way of a local witch. With her instructions, Pumpkinhead is arisen and hunts down those responsible for Harley’s pain. While there is plenty of gore and some good moments of terror, there is an excellent representation of the tragedy and sorrow portrayed by Lance Henriksen as Ed Harley. You feel for him and understand why he decides to raise Pumpkinhead. This film has great effects and an engrossing story.
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