Among the many celebrated Halloween traditions like edgy costumes and theme parties, a movie marathon is a classic must-do to celebrate the spooky festival. Now most of us enjoy the spine-chilling, eerie plots with thrilling scares and jump scenes. However, when it comes to a family movie marathon for Halloween, it’s best to whip up classics that are more funny than they are scary. And so, here are some of the classic favourites that are a must-watch for Halloween.
Casper
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
Ghosts aren’t always scary, and Casper, the friendly ghost is proof. Based on the Harvey Comics character of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Casper ditches the tragic backstory for a realistic one about a boy who died from pneumonia when he was a child. Casper, along with his uncles, roams the halls of a house inherited by a conceited heiress. Wanting to get to the treasure hidden within the mansion, the heiress named Carrigan Crittenden attempts to get rid of Casper and his obnoxious uncles, by inviting paranormal expert, Dr James Harvey to exorcise the mansion. However, the situation takes a turn when Dr James’ daughter Kat played by Christina Ricci befriends Casper. The outdated VFX, which was way ahead of its time back then, might be a tad outdated today. Nonetheless, Casper always makes for a delightful watch.
Watch online on Apple TV
Hocus Pocus
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
A standard classic for Halloween, regardless of your age or favourite genre has to be Hocus Pocus. It is a family-friendly movie that will continue to be a classic for many years to come. The movie focuses on three sisters who are witches from Salem. After 300 years of being dead, the witches are accidentally resurrected after a young boy named Max, lights a cursed Candle of Black Flame. What makes it such a beloved movie is its focus on alluring urban legends, creepy plots and just enough suspense, not to mention brilliant performances by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy. The best part is that the movie was just renewed with the release of Hocus Pocus 2, which may not live up to the former, but would still make for a great binge.
Watch online on Disney+ Hotstar
Ghostbusters
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
Another harmless Halloween classic with no jumpscares or murders, Ghostbustersis a hilarious watch. Although the movie is a franchise, fans of the movie agree that nothing really beats an original. With the growing number of paranormal activities in New York City, three scientists Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis decide to start their own ghost-hunting establishment called Ghostbusters. The establishment claims to fight the evil ghosts lurking in New York City. Due to the overwhelming response, the trio is later joined by Ernie Hudson’s Winston who becomes the fourth Ghostbuster, and Annie Potts’s Janine who serves as their receptionist. If you feel like a Ghostbusters marathon, the 2016 reboot featuring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy and Ghostbusters: Afterlife are certainly worth a watch.
Watch online on Amazon Prime
Scooby-Doo
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
The original ghostbusters aka the Scooby gang make for a bittersweet memory. We’re talking about the 2002 live-action film featuring Freddie Prinze Jr., Sara Michelle Geller, Matthew Lilliard and Linda Cardellini. While it does stay true to its original animated series, the plot does have more mature content with lightly darker themes, and a villainous version of Scooby-Doo called Scrappy-Doo. After a bitter breakup and staying apart for two years, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, reunite after they are invited to investigate strange occurrences at a resort on Spooky Island. Spooky and eerie yet funny and entertaining, Scooby-Doo is a great breaker from the overly thrilling, gory Halloween movies.
Watch online on Netflix and Amazon Prime
The Addams Family
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
No matter how much we talk about it, Halloween and The Addams Familywill always be interlinked. Apart from being a major inspiration for Halloween costumes, the movie is absolutely entertaining. In fact, the creepy family has been entertaining families for decades, right from the black-and-white series to 2019’s animated redux. However, it is the 1991 live-action film by Barry Sonnenfeld that offers the perfect fusion of fun and freaky for the season. Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia as Morticia and Gomez are as compelling as they are silly, while Christina Ricci’s portrayal of Wednesday Addams gave a new meaning to goth looks for the generations that follow. A supernatural gothic family, the Addams embrace the gothic aesthetic while drilling at the idea of killing, however, they never really act on it and fit into society quite well. The main plot of the movie focuses on a bunch of con artists attempting to fleece the family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
Watch online on Amazon Prime
While we love the classic non-scary flicks, the horror genre is the defining point of Halloween. So if you’re looking to delve into the real thrillers, here are some new horror movie releases to check out for a solo movie marathon.
Men
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
Alex Garland combines horror, science fiction and gore, all in one. His latest creation, Men is equal parts creepy and scary. The movie stars Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley playing the role of a widow. Post the death of her husband, Harper looks to find herself and so she takes a solo trip to the countryside to recover from the death of her husband. While everyone seems perfectly kind at first, Harper soon finds herself being stalked by the men in the village who seem to share an eerie resemblance with one another. Her initial solo retreat soon turns into a full-fledged nightmare with the awakening of something primal in the forest.
Watch online on Amazon Prime
Orphan: First Kill
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
To this day, the 2009 movie Orphan leaves many with nightmares of the creepy orphan girl who murders members of her newly appointed family. The main character Esther, played by Isabelle Fuhrman has left a lasting impression that the new sequel attempts to reinvent. Orphan: First Kill chronicles Esther’s origin story as she escapes from a psychiatric facility in Estonia. Esther manages to escape the facility and travel to America where she impersonates a couple’s missing daughter. Believable at first, Esther’s plans soon begin to unravel as she unleashes her evil reign of terror.
Watch online on Amazon Prime
Scream
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
There are far too many horror gems to recount, but Screamremains a top favourite for many. The franchise has five instalments. the last of which released early this year. Taking place twenty-five years after the original, the town of Woodboro finds a new Ghostface killer hunting down victims with ties to the original victims. The movie features the return of some of the original cast including Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette essaying the role of Sidney Prescot, Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley respectively. After her sister is attacked by the Ghostface killer, Sam Carpenter returns to Woodsboro and approaches Dewey Riley to help catch the killer, who warns Sidney and Gale. The movie also highlights the return of an original character which makes for the best surprise ever!
Watch online on Amazon Prime
Smile
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
People aimlessly smiling in a horror movie has to be one of the creepiest images ever. And the 2022 movie Smileis going to leave you scared of smiles for a very long time. A therapist named Dr Rose Cotter is left in tatters after a bizarre experience with a patient. After witnessing the brutal death of one of her patients, Dr Cotter is forced to deal with a string of terrifying and unsettling incidents that she cannot explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Watch online on Paramount+
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Photo Courtesy: IMDb
The Conjuring Universe, as terrifying as it is, is one of the best franchises of the modern horror genre. With each new instalment comes the ‘inspired by real events’ warning that can either entertain you or leave you prepared to cross yourself. Their latest instalment, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It exceeds all of their last movies by a mile. It tells the story of the infamous paranormal experts, Ed and Lorraine Warren who stumble upon the case of a young man being charged with manslaughter. The only problem? He claims that the devil made him do it. The eerie, spine-chilling plot is heaps above its former predecessors with one of the memorable dialogues by Ed Warren, “The court accepts the existence of God every time a witness swears to tell the truth. I think it’s about time they accept the existence of the Devil.”
Schenelle Dsouza
