Psycho, Halloween, and The Amityville Horror Story—these are some of the classic Halloween movies you can watch right now.
“Do you like scary movies?” Wes Craven’s Ghostface had asked when Scream first hit the theatres in 1996. And what better time to reply to his question than Halloween? Be it Norman Bates murdering innocents in Psycho or a pesky black cat bringing a bad omen in The Tomb Of Ligeia, it is the primal thrill of a good scare that makes Halloween a little extra spooky every year. So, to help you with a good bingeing session, we bring you some of the classic Halloween movies to watch in 2023.
While horror has proven to be one of the most successful genres in the global entertainment world, it is today an umbrella term, with sub-genres including slasher, comedy, paranormal, mythical and torture.
Triggering a sense of dread with severe violence and a psychotic killer are slasher horror movies like Halloween (1978) and Scream (1996). The former, directed by John Carpenter, brings to the forefront the infamous bloodlust of Michael Myers in a jumpsuit. Meanwhile, the latter plays with the most visceral phobias of viewers. Not to forget Ghostface’s terrifying mask, which acts as Craven’s postmodern rendering of acclaimed painter Edvard Munch’s 1893 Expressionist composition “The Scream”.
Captivating audiences and critics alike with a well-knit plot, necessary jump scares, big numbers and rave reviews is the 1973 classic horror film The Exorcist. A landmark for the supernatural horror sub-genre, this William Friedkin directorial is widely considered one of the greatest horror movies ever made. The movie has grossed USD 441 million worldwide as of 2023.
Now, to set the stage for a truly spine-chilling Halloween season, here are some classic movies that you absolutely must watch this year.
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Psycho (1960)
Psycho is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films. Loosely based on the real-life killings of Wisconsin serial murderer Ed Gein, the series of slasher and psychological horror thrillers started after this classic hit.
In this thriller, protagonist Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is a real-estate secretary who flees her job with USD 40,000. She checks into the eerie Bates Motel, which is run by the shy Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his dominating old mother.
Hitchcock makes viewers follow Marion around for about a quarter of the movie before killing her in the famous shower scene. It then becomes the Bates’ show, with him cleverly trying to dodge the murder investigation.
Watch on Prime Video.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Regarded highly by various critics, Rosemanry’s Baby is among the most widely watched movies during Halloween.
The film introduced horror fans to Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), a naive and convent school-educated character from Omaha. Portrayed by award-winning Farrow, the story follows Rosemary giving birth to a stillborn only to discover that her baby was alive and was taken away by a religious cult.
With unnerving paranoia and psychological claustrophobia, Rosemary’s Baby is considered a staple watch from the horror genre.
Based on Ira Levin’s 1967 novel of the same name, Roman Polanski’s movie was succeeded by a slew of sequels. Some of these include the 1976 television film Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby and the 2014 NBC miniseries of the same name.
Watch on Prime Video.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
This OG black-and-white zombie horror that sparked a whole genre after its release is one of the best Halloween movies to watch in 2023.
The movie was directed by the acclaimed George A. Romero, who is credited for the groundbreaking introduction of explicit violence and gore to the big screen.
Night of the Living Dead centres around protagonist Ben (Duane Jones) and a group of survivors who are hiding out from a horde of murderous ghouls in an abandoned farmhouse. Desperately fighting to survive and save everyone else, Ben was made the lead character of this American movie, despite it primarily featuring white actors. The reason behind this casting choice was mainly due to Jones’s performance during the auditions, as Romero claimed in most of his later interviews about the movie.
The movie was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress in 1999 and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Furthermore, an official remake of this classic, written by Romero and directed by Tom Savini, was released in 1990.
Watch on Prime Video.
The Exorcist (1973)
Helmed by William Friedkin, The Exorcist is an adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name. This classic horror flick tells the story of a single mother Chris MacNeil’s (Ellen Burstyn) young daughter Regan (Linda Blair). While Regan gets possessed by a demon, two priests, Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), are tasked with her exorcism.
Oscar-winner Burstyn shines as the vulnerable and horrified mother. She notices the first signs of trouble when Regan claims that she has communicated with a ghost called Captain Howdy (Eileen Dietz) through an Ouija board.
The Exorcist is also partly inspired by the true story of Roland Doe. Doe, a 13-year-old boy raised in a German Lutheran family in the 1940s, experienced weird happenings after his aunt Harriet passed away. It was Father Walter H. Halloran and Rev. William Bowdern, from St. Louis University, who performed an exorcism on him after Roland was found with marks on his body that spelt “Louis”.
Watch on Prime Video.
Jaws (1975)
One of the classic horror movies of all time, Jaws is based on the 1974 novel of the same name by American author Peter Benchley.
The story centres around the people of the beach town Amity Island who are under a deadly shark attack. The sudden human killings lead the town’s Police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) to embark on a mission to destroy the beast before it kills again.
A Stephen Spielberg directorial, the movie broke the box office records previously set by The Godfather (1972) and The Exorcist (1973), grossing a whopping USD 100 million within 60 days of its release.
Watch on Prime Video.
Carrie (1976)
Directed by Brian De Palma, this cult classic is adapted from a screenplay written by Lawrence D. Cohen, which was inspired by Stephen King’s 1974 epistolary horror novel of the same name.
The story focuses on the aloof and withdrawn Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), who is a victim of relentless bullying at school. She is also mentally harassed by her mother, Margaret White (Piper Laurie) at home. When Carrie starts to discover that she has the power of telekinesis, she starts plotting revenge.
In 2008, Carrie was ranked 86th on Empire’s list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.
Watch on Prime Video.
The Omen (1976)
One of the scariest movies ever made, The Omen tells the story of American diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) who substitutes his stillborn baby with the infant of a dead woman. When a series of ominous incidents start surrounding the Thorn family, Robert’s wife Katherine (Lee Remick) suspects the child of possessing demonic powers.
Directed by Richard Donner, the movie grossed USD 4,273,886 in its opening weekend. Additionally, it collected around USD 60,922,980 at the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Omen’s release was followed up by hit sequels. Some of these include Damien: Omen II (1978), Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and Omen IV: The Awakening (1991).
Watch on Hotstar.
Halloween (1978)
This iconic John Carpenter directorial creates the right Halloween ambience with Jamie Lee Curtis in the role of petrified babysitter Laurie Strode, while Tony Moran’s Michael Myers lurks around the corners.
The story starts on a cold winter night in 1963 when six-year-old Michael (Moran) is taken into police custody for killing his teenage sister. After 15 years, he breaks out of prison on the eve of Halloween and heads for his hometown in Haddonfield, Illinois, with a sinister motive.
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Halloween is not just hailed for being a classic horror flick but also for its revolutionary musical score. Composed by Carpenter himself, the movie has one of the most powerful and creepiest soundtracks of all time.
One of the highest-grossing Halloween movies of all time, this cult classic is inspired by producer Irwin Yablan’s idea, which eventually led to the genesis of an American slasher franchise of its own. Some of the prominent releases from the Halloween franchise include Halloween II (1981), Halloween (2018) and Halloween Ends (2022).
Watch on Prime Video.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
The Amityville Horror, based on Jay Anson’s 1977 novel of the same name, is one of the best horror movies to watch on Halloween 2023. It chronicles the real-life paranormal activity that took place in a Long Island house at 112 Ocean Avenue, New York.
Directed by The Pope of Greenwich Village fame Stuart Rosenberg, the movie is set in the 1970s and follows a newly married couple — George (James Brolin) and Kathy Lutz (Margot Kidder) — who move into a house with their three children. Unbeknownst to them, the house was witness to a gruesome mass murder, and soon, the family was left to face strange happenings and demonic entities.
The horror movie was included in The British Film Institute’s top-ten list of great haunted house films in 2013. It was also ranked the fifth-scariest haunted house film ever made by Esquire in 2018.
Watch on Prime Video.
Alien (1979)
If you are a fan of suspense and science fiction, then director Ridley Scott’s Alien should be on your list of Halloween movies to watch in 2023.
Alien follows a spaceship, Nostromo, as it heads back to Earth carrying tons of ore mined on distant planets. The crew, consisting of Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), are supposed to reach Earth, without halts. However, halfway through, they land on a mysterious planet and are hunted down by an alien species that can kill with optimum efficiency.
The idea for the film originated when Dan O’Bannon felt that a comedic alien segment from the 1974 John Carpenter directorial Dark Star had the potential to work as a whole science fiction horror movie. Later O’Bannon, along with Ronald Shusett, adapted the script from a story named The Star Beast.
After the release, distributors 20th Century Fox came up with three sequels of the movie — Aliens (1986), directed by James Cameron; Alien 3 (1992), directed by David Fincher; Alien Resurrection (1997), directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Watch on Hotstar.
Friday the 13th (1980)
A Halloween bingeing session is incomplete without this classic horror movie and its signature hockey mask.
Helmed by Sean S. Cunningham, Friday the 13th follows the reopening of a cursed summer camp called Crystal Lake. While most people avoid the place, friends Jack (Kevin Bacon), Alice (Adrienne King), Bill (Harry Crosby), Marcie (Jeannine Taylor) and Ned (Mark Nelson) decide to visit and explore the abandoned summer camp. The group is soon stalked by a mysterious killer (Betsy Palmer).
One of the top-grossing American horror movies, Friday the 13th has a worldwide grossing of USD 39,786,892 (via Box Office Mojo). Some of the most popular sequels from the franchise include
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part III (1982) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).
Watch on Netflix.
The Evil Dead (1981)
Russian-American director Sam Raimi’s feature directorial debut follows a group of college students who are on vacation at an isolated cabin in rural Tennessee. When four members of the group are possessed by demons, the fifth and final member, Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), tries his best to survive the supernatural mayhem.
A perfect choice for Halloween 2023, The Evil Dead is one of the rare horror movies that enjoyed a special screening at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Additionally, Williams turned into a cultural icon with the movie spawning a media franchise including not just video games and comic books but also multiple hit sequels.
Evil Dead II, directed by Raimi, saw Williams return for some more horror adventures in 1987. Other sequels that followed up are Army of Darkness (1992), Evil Dead (2013), Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) and Evil Dead Rise (2023).
Watch on Prime Video.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
This Wes Craven-directed film has a boogeyman killing defenceless people with a razor glove, making it one of the must-see Halloween movies. The idea for the script originated when Craven came across a Los Angeles Times article about a boy who suffered from horrifying nightmares and ended up dying in the middle of one.
The movie, set in the fictional Midwestern town of Springwood, Ohio, follows four teenagers who are stalked and killed in their dreams by a dead child murderer, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund).
This American supernatural media franchise consists of novels, comic books, merchandise and hit sequels to the original movie. These include A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), New Nightmare (1994), Freddy vs. Jason (2003) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).
Watch on Netflix.
Scream (1996)
A Wes Craven slasher gem, the 1996 Scream is a must-watch horror movie for this and every other Halloween.
Introducing the “masked murderer”, who is on an intense killing spree, to the big screen, the movie takes audiences to the quaint town of Woodsboro. Sidney (Neve Campbell) and her friends are getting strange anonymous phone calls where they are forced to answer horror film-based questions. Soon, they realise that the group is targeted by a dangerous serial killer (Billy Loomis) who is ready to “slash” them all.
A cult classic, the movie paved the way for some of the most successful horror sequels in the Scream franchise, including Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 4 (2011), Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023).
Watch on Prime Video.
(Hero and featured image: Courtesy IMDb)
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– Which is the most highly rated Halloween movie?
Some of the highest-rated and best Halloween movies are The Exorcist, Psycho, Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead and Rosemary’s Baby.
– Which is the best scary movie?
Some of the scariest horror movies of all time include The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Halloween, It, The Conjuring, The Nun, Insidious, Carrie, The Thing, Scream, Train to Busan, Us, The Exorcist and Alien.
– Which is the best Halloween movie to watch in 2023?
Some of the best Halloween movies to watch in 2023 are Rosemary’s Baby, Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist and Psycho.
– Why is a Halloween movie so popular?
Halloween marks a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints’ Day. While most people dress up spooky for the occasion, Halloween is incomplete without bingeing on the Halloween movies. These help bring out the real essence of the festival, all the while helping people get into the perfect Halloween mood. Some of the most popular Halloween flicks include The Conjuring, The Nun, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien and the all-time classic hit film Halloween.
