Halloween is less than a week away and 3 things come to mind – scares, candy, and movies! Half of the fun is not what happens on 31st October but the days leading up to it.
In order to help get you into the Halloween spirit, we’ve decided to compile a list of past and present films for your own horror movie marathons. Although several remakes have found mainstream success recently, we’ve also included some all-time popular favourites to give yourself a good scare.
Take your pick:
1. “Casper”
- Release Date: May 1995
- Cast: Malachi Pearson, Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle, Amy Brenneman
Our first suggestion is probably the only children-friendly movie in the list. Directed by Brad Silberling, the 1995 animated comedy is loosely based on the comic cartoon Casper the Friendly Ghost. When a paranormal expert and his daughter move into an abandoned house, they realise that it is haunted by a friendly ghost and his prankster uncles, known as the Ghostly Trio. If anything, watching this ghost story again will certainly bring back some childhood Halloween nostalgia.
2. “The Craft”
- Release Date: May 1996
- Cast: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True
Can you believe that it has been more than 2 decades since “The Craft” was released? For those who are not familiar, the cult classic centres on Sarah Bailey, who transfers to a Catholic prep high school in Los Angeles and joins a trio of outcasts to form a coven. Together, they discover their interest in witchcraft but when the girls start casting spells and using their powers on those who wronged them, karma comes back to bite them hard.
3. “A Tale Of Two Sisters”
- Release Date: June 2003
- Cast: Im Soo-jung, Moon Geun-young, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-soo
Inspired by a Korean folktale, “A Tale Of Two Sisters” (장화, 홍련) is a psychological thriller that centres on a released patient from a mental institution who returns home to be with her sister. The sibling duo, Su-mi and Su-yeon, are forced to endure a hate/tolerate relationship with their icy stepmother in their haunted mansion. To quote Rolling Stone, “offbeat camera angles disorient the viewer, making it all the more startling when apparitions leap out of the shadows. By the time the movie reveals all its secrets, a dysfunctional family has morphed into its own kind of monster”.
4. “Pan’s Labyrinth”
- Release Date: 2006
- Cast: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo
Set in 1944 against a fascist regime backdrop in Spain, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is said to be the “Alice in Wonderland” for grown-ups, with the horrors of reality and dark fantasy blending together. The chilling story centres on Ofelia, a girl who is sent along with her expecting mother to live with her stepfather. In her loneliness, the lonely and dreamy child would dream of fantastical creatures and secret destinies. One night, Ofelia meets an old faun who reveals that she’s a princess. In order to prove her royalty, she must survive 3 gruesome tasks. If she fails, she won’t be able to claim the title of the true princess, and with it, immortality.
5. “Orphan”
- Release Date: July 2009
- Cast: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman
Kate and John Colema are rebuilding their troubled marriage after the death of their unborn 3rd child. Devastated, the couple tries to regain some normalcy into their lives by adopting another child. When they first come in contact with a 9-year-old girl named Esther, at the St. Marina Orphanage, they become enamoured by her sophistication. Little do they know that Esther is actually a manipulative and violent 33-year-old woman named Leena Klammer.
6. “The Conjuring”
- Release Date: July 2013
- Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
Based on a true story, “The Conjuring” has all the horror elements to keep your pulse thumping! Married couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are world renowned paranormal investigators, must confront a powerful demonic entity when a family is terrorised by its dark presence. The film unfolds like a docudrama that makes good use of old school terror tactics such as clowns and dolls, as well as ghosts in sheets. Remember the hand clap game scene? That still gives us the chills.
7. “Split”
- Release Date: January 2017
- Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor Joy, Betty Buckley
Kevin is a troubled young man who suffers from split-personality disorder. That means he has multiple personalities – 23 to be exact – fighting for control over his body. Played masterfully by James McAvoy, the Brit actor is convincingly funny and silly one moment, then creepy and malevolent in the next. Not all 23 personalities are given equal screen time, but they are all distinct and believable. Having said that, “Split” wouldn’t be a M. Night Shyamalan film without a surprise twist at the end.
8. “Get Out”
- Release Date: 2017
- Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, and Caleb Landry Jones
Helmed and written by Jordan Peele, the psychological thriller film perfectly combines horror, comedy, and chair-grabbing tension. The monster in this movie is racism. When a young African-American man named Chris visits his white girlfriend Rose’s family for the first time, a series of weird events start to follow. If there’s something moviegoers can expect, it’s the fact that something’s going to go wrong. Sure, there are plenty of intentional laughs here but just when you least expect it, the movie will dump a bucket of ice water on you.
9. “IT”
- Release Date: September 2017
- Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff
The 1990 “IT” movie is perhaps the main reason why kids from the 80s and the 90s are terrified of clowns. Based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name, the remake is set in the town of Derry, Maine. As children begin to disappear, a group of young kids (known as The Losers Club) are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil villain named Pennywise the Dancing Clown, whose history of murder and violence date back for centuries.
10. “Haunted Hotel”
- Release Date: October 2017
- Cast: Li Chuan, Aom Sushar
In promoting Malaysia to tourists, award-winning director Ryon Lee is using horror to draw people here. Since its opening, “Haunted Hotel” has managed to become a box office hit in China by making RM10 million! Not bad for a Malaysian production. Featuring the famous haunted Amber Courts apartment in Genting Highlands, the story follows Bai Ling who checks into a haunted hotel by mistake. Upon realising that the venue has all sorts of creepiness around, she and her friends try to escape. However, escaping ain’t going to be easy.
Don’t forget to check out our other horror-themed lists below:
- Spooky Hollywood Movies That Were Cursed!
- Short Horror Films That Will Totally Creep You Out!
- Twisted and Gory Movies
- The Best Horror Video Games To Play In The Dark
Happy Halloween, peeps ?
