13 SPOOKTACAULAR MOVIES TO WATCH THIS HALLOWEEN

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

With Halloween fast approaching and spooky season underway, why not watch some spooktacular movies? No need to scroll on social media for recommendations or spend 30 minutes narrowing down your options, I’ve listed my top 13 iconic Halloween movies. This list is also perfect for all the girlies who want to get in the Halloween spirit without being scared out of their minds.

One of my personal favorite Tim Burton movies, The Corpse Bride follows an awkward groom, Victor, on the eve of his wedding day, in which he accidentally marries corpse bride Emily, and ends up descending with her to the underworld. Corpse Bride is an imaginative, gothic, bittersweet commentary on family, death, hope, and romance. It’s perfect for fans of Tim Burton’s gothic aesthetic, dark romantic comedies, and an amazing film score.

Fun Facts:

• The movie was filmed entirely with stop-motion taking roughly a year to film, with 109,440 individually animated frames

• It was also filmed simultaneously to another Tim Burton film Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, even featuring actors Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, and Deep Roy.

Another unsettlingly captivating movie, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, follows a young girl who, while exploring her family’s new house, encounters a strange door that leads her into an alternate version of her life. At first, everything seems great, but it’s almost too good to be true and takes a turn for the creepy. Coraline is a whimsically creepy, captivating story that balances psychological horror with heartwarming moments.

Fun Facts:

• Coraline was also filmed as a stop-motion animation, with over 130 sets built across 52 different stages at the studios. They spanned around 183,000 sqft (roughly 4.22 acres)

• There were 24 different puppets used to animate Coraline in the movie, each one took 3-4 months to construct.

A classic Halloween movie, Casper follows an Afterlife therapist and his daughter, Kat, who move into a crumbling haunted mansion to remove its spectral inhabitants. Known as a groundbreaking movie for its special effects, Casper continues to be a family favorite movie, exploring themes of loss, loneliness, and the desire to make friends.

Fun Facts:

• One of the first movies to have a fully CGI generated main character.

• Won five awards including: Best performance by a young actor- Christina Ricci & Malachi Pearson, Best performance by a young actor in a comedy film- Christina Ricci, Top Box office film 1996, and the Golden screen in Germany.

Another famous Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice, is a dark comedy in which the spirits of a deceased couple are being tormented by an unbearable family who has just moved in. As a last resort, they hire some malicious spirits to drive them out. A unique, captivating film that features gothic-inspired visuals and practical effects that create its classic charm.

Fun Facts:

• Won 7 awards, including 1 Oscar for Best Makeup. Other awards included Best Horror Film, Best Actor-Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor- Sylvia Sidney, Best Director- Tim Burton, BMI Film Music Award- Danny Elfman, and Best Family Animation of Fantasy Motion Picture.

• Had a 90s Cartoon adaptation as well as Musical performances on Broadway.

(I think we’re seeing the pattern here) Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is an iconic Halloween/Christmas classic. It follows Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, who attempts to bring Christmas to his town but instead brings some chaos. It’s a classic, renowned for its unique stop-motion production, memorable music, and unforgettable characters.

Fun Facts:

• The movie was originally based on a poem written by Tim Burton while he was working at Disney’s Animation Studios, it was called ” ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.”

• The movie took over three years to make, with a peak of 120 people working on it and about 12-18 animators.

Probably my favorite Disney Halloween movie, Girl vs. Monster, follows a teen girl whose parents are monster hunters. She goes on a dangerous journey along with her friends to capture some dangerous monsters that she released into the world. It has catchy songs, the classic Disney 2010 vibes, and a central message about friendship, overcoming your fears.

Fun Facts:

• Director Stuart Gillard also directed some of Disney’s Halloween classic decoms, including The Scream Team & both Twitches movies.

• The song “Had Me @ Hello” won Radio Disney Music Award for Best Crush Song in 2013. Personally, I agree with this choice, this song is nostalgic and great.

Another Tim Burton film, Frankenweenie, is about when a young boy, Victor, sees his dog Sparky pass away suddenly, and he attempts to bring it back to life through an unlikely science experiment. A fully black and white movie and homage to classic monster movies using stop animation. It explores themes of grief, a person’s love for pets, and the dangers of unchecked science.

Fun Facts:

• The pet cemetery in the movie features Zero, Jack Skellingtons dog in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

• The film feature other actors that Burton worked with in Beetlejuice including Winona Ryder and Catherine O’hara.

Another fan favorite Halloween movie and a Kenny Ortega film, Hocus Pocus follows teenage Max and his younger sister when they move to Salem and awaken a trio of diabolical witches killed in the 17th century. The film creates a spooky, whimsical, and nostalgic movie to watch with your friends, family, or by yourself.

Fun Facts:

• The role of Max was almost given to Leonardo DiCaprio, but he turned the role down to appear in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

• Hocus Pocus was filmed over the course of five months in Salem, Massachusetts among other locations. Film production began in Oct. of 1992 and finished in February of 1993.

There have been many iterations and adaptations of The Addams Family adapted to the live screen, but arguably one of the more iconic adaptations is the 1991 version. Starring Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci, it is a classic dark comedy. Both gothic and spooky, it highlights the importance of family loyalty and exception.

Fun Facts:

• The exterior of the Addams family home cost $100,000 dollars to create.

• Christiana Ricci claims that her favorite role has been playing Wednesday Addams, so much so that she even made a guest appearance as Marilyn Thornhill, the antagonist of the Netflix new series Wednesday season 1.

Another film that gained so much fame and notoriety that it led to the creation of spin-offs, sequels, and various other branding materials. The movie Ghostbusters itself follows three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding who set up a unique ghost removal shop.

• Ghostbusters was the highest-grossing comedy of all time until Home Alone came out in 1990.

• There have been five total ghostbuster movies including the original, Ghostbusters II, Ghostbusters (2016), Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Little Shop of Horrors is a dark comedy musical about a nerdy florist assistant named Seymour who finds a chance for success and the girl of his dreams with the help of a man-eating plant, demanding to be fed. The film blends Sci-fi, love, horror, and comedy, expanding on themes like ambition and the consequences of one’s desire.

• The song “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space” was the first Oscar-nominated song to contain profanity. It was then performed at the Oscars ceremony by Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops.

• The film had a budget of $25 million, costing Warner Bros a hefty sum at the time, even more so than Alien (1986) which had a budget of $11 million.

A supernatural horror comedy, Monster House, follows three teens who discover that their creepy neighbor’s house is really a living, breathing, scary monster. The movie balances both a coming-of-age story and the cycle of love and death in this spooky Halloween setting.

Fun Facts:

• As of 2018, it was the only motion capture film to ever feature an entirely original story, not based off of any source material.

• It was the first film created using Sony’s animation rendering software.

The funny, enticing, and classic kids comedy, Hotel Transylvania, follows Dracula, who owns and operates his own monster hotel/resort. He, however, goes into protective dad mode when Johnny, a human boy, discovers the hotel and falls in love with his daughter Mavis. A lighthearted and funny watch, Hotel Transylvania is a great movie to watch this spooky season.

• Won two awards, including the BMI Film Music Award in 2013 for film music, and Favorite Voice Actor from an Animated Movie- Adam Sandler.

• In typical animated movies they have the actors film their voice recordings separately, however Genndy Tartoskovsky wanted Adam Sandler, Kevin James, David Spade, and Steve Buscemi to record together as if it was live action.