Halloween movies are a basic requirement for the entire month of October–from the beginning of the month to the end, every day is an opportunity to indulge in spooky or scary movies. But sometimes the films get repetitive year after year, so it’s important to find new or old new movies to enjoy during the spooktacular holiday. Personally, I like to introduce blasts from the past into the queue by including my favorite childhood Halloween flicks. Here’s my list of all the best Halloween movies that you completely forgot existed by will definitely want to rewatch this year.
The Halloween town movies were quintessential Disney Halloween movies that had to be rewatched every year when you were growing up. You’d record them on the DVR and absolutely freak out if anyone deleted them because Halloween just wasn’t the same without Halloweentown. So it’s time to revisit these Disney channel classics and enjoy the shoddy CGI, loveable characters, and not-so-subtle Disney moral lessons.
Except for Return to Halloweentown. While I love Sara Paxton (Aquamarine is an absolute classic 2000s movie) she’s just not Marnie. If it’s not Kimberly J. Brown, I don’t want it.
Another one of the absolutely classic Disney Halloween movies, Twitches made us fall deeper in love with Tia and Tamera Mowry than we already were. I woke up every Saturday and Sunday to watch Sister, Sister and every Halloween in the mid-2000s has a day dedicated to “Twitches” and Twitches Too. Is this where my obsession with celestial imagery came from? Probably. Did I also want to be a witch? Definitely, for sure. Am I going to rewatch both these basic Disney movies with their cringey CGI and mediocre acting and bask in the nostalgia of it all? Absolutely.
This movie is not at all one of the scary Halloween movies–it’s a Disney children’s movie, not an R-rated Horror flick–and we all know that, we do. But don’t pretend that this movie didn’t give you nightmares at least once. To a kid, The Haunted Mansion was absolutely terrifying, but the storyline was so interesting and the cinematography was incredible to a kid, so we all ended up watching this movie every year knowing we’d be scared. As a grown person, this movie won’t scare you the way it did when you were younger, but you’ll still love it just as much.
As far as Halloween movies go, this was one of my favorites. I mean, I owned it on VHS. You heard that right – VHS. And it was so worn and overwatched, I’m not sure how my copy survived as long as it did. Disney’s House of Mouse was a classic early 2000s show that’s been forgotten over time, but it’s Mickey’s House of Villains that needs to be revived as a classic Halloween flick. I mean, c’mon, it’s all our favorite Disney characters in a nightclub setting enjoying some funny skits until, suddenly, the villains take over and Mickey and his pals have to find a way to get back their club! If that doesn’t sell it for you, I don’t know what will.
As far as classic Halloween movies go, Tim Burton is the absolute king of Halloween. And while I love The Nightmare Before Christmas, in my opinion it’s not the best spooky Tim Burton movie. That rank lies with Corpse Bride. I am incredibly certain that this movie (all Tim Burton movies honestly) are the reason for the rise in the cute spooky aesthetic, so these are definites for Halloween movie parties. The art style is above and beyond what a child’s movie needs to be, and the fact that these movies are entirely stop motion and took over 50 weeks to make is insane.
Probably one of the most popular Halloween movies included on this list, I still think Beetlejuice is incredibly underrated. I was terrified of “Beetlejuice” as a kid – and I mean terrified – but I’ve grown to adore the twisted characters, dark imagery, and late ’80s fashion. Also, again, it’s a Tim Burton film which makes it the only conceivable option for a Halloween movie montage. I still have a healthy fear of Beetlejuice–as we all should–but it’s definitely become a Halloween favorite and a must-watch every October.
Did you forget about Monster House? Because I forgot about Monster House. Honestly, though, I’m not sure how I forgot this one because it was one of my favorite childhood Halloween movies. A sentient house that eats children is blown up by her husband and three neighborhood so she’ll stop eating children? I wish I could have been included in the board meeting where this film was brought up because that’s such an absurd concept. But anyone who’s seen this movie knows that it’s a really amazing film and incredibly underrated.
Much like the Halloweentown movies, any of the Scooby-Doo films make good Halloween movies. Personally, I love Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School–I definitely owned this on VHS, too–and it’s my go-to Scooby-Doo movie. I mean, the girls were not only the daughters of classic scary monsters, but they were also super cute and gave me intense fashion goals. It was a cute spooky movie and should be brought back to life from the forgotten Halloween movie graveyard.
This 2012 movie hit on the peak of Victoria Justice’s stardom and is one of the best teen Halloween movies I’ve seen. It’s like the ’80s classic Adventures in Babysitting, except set on Halloween. The movie was friendship goals and fashion goals, and young me rewatched it like 3 times in one Halloween (which may have been excessive, but oh well). This is definitely the movie choice for a Halloween night in with the girls.
While Haunted Mansion scared you as a kid but doesn’t scare you as an adult, Coraline is one of the children’s Halloween movies that will scare you both as a kid AND as an adult. It’s been rising in popularity again these last few years, but there was a point in time when it was almost forgotten. And we just can’t have that. This is another amazing animated stop motion movie, and the style and plotline is both fascinating and terrifying in the best possible ways. If you haven’t watched Coraline since you were a kid, here is your sign to rewatch it this year.
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