Halloween’s on a Monday this year—but we’re not letting that slow down the greatest day of the year! The Riot Fest team has been hard at work celebrating, debating, and sharing our favorite films to watch on Halloween night, and we’ve come up with a frightfully good list of our top picks for you. Here’s ten of our favorites to consider for your movie marathons tonight (ordered by release year). Happy Halloween, you ghouls.
Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Truthfully, I don’t even know if I still love this movie as much as I loved it as a kid. However, I rented this VHS so many times from Blockbuster that when they received an updated copy, they gave me the old one as a gift.
—Mo Doron, Brand Manager
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Nostalgia in a potion bottle. I basically had a crush on a cat (aka Thackery Binx) and idolized the Sanderson sisters—still do if I’m being honest. IMO, all boys should be turned into cats. The world would be a better place. This movie makes me want to run ‘amok, amok, amok,’ and I HIGHLY recommend hollering “BoooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOK!” at the top of your lungs alone in your apartment. Trust. Channel your inner Winifred and let ‘er rip.
–Jen Moers, Office Administrator
The Frighteners (1996)
Everything you want out of a 1996 pre-Scream era horror movie: Michael J. Fox playing against type as a sleazy con man, laughably dodgy CGI visual effects, and a diabolical, deranged Jake Busey villain. A few of the 1990s-appropriate jokes and gags have aged like a museum mummy, but it’s a fun, re-watchable horror comedy that remains something of a mid-90s anomaly: humor, star power, and smart subversions of both slasher and supernatural movie tropes. It’s an essential Spooky Season watch!
—Dan Wade, Art Director
The Craft (1996)
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board.”
—Luba Vasilik, Office Director
The Exorcist: Director’s Cut (2000)
I still remember seeing the re-released director’s cut in 2000 in theaters when I was in high school. The spiderwalk scene totally freaked me out. If you ever get a chance to go to Georgetown, you can take your picture like I did at the bottom of the stairs where father Karras died.
—Tim Toomey, Marketing Director
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
I’ve only seen one movie in the Halloween series but this is by far the best one. I shat my pants 3 times during this movie. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen.
—Riot Fest Twitter Person
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
For when you can’t pick just one!
—Jake Biniszkiewicz, Booking Department
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
The word “underrated” gets thrown around too often these days, but when it comes to Wallace & Gromit’s first (and only) feature-length film, I truly believe it’s a wildly overlooked Halloween staple. Called the world’s “first vegetarian horror film,” it’s not only a brilliant parody of classic monster movies, but a stunning showcase of stop-motion animation as well, taking the crew five years to complete. It sure paid off, because The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is probably the funniest film about a vegetable-growing contest ever made.
–Bailey Davis, Content Director
Over The Garden Wall (2014)
OK, here’s the thing, it’s not a movie; Over The Garden Wall is a miniseries. So if that disqualifies me, please swiftly kick my ass to the curb. But: Magical frogs, dark animation, potatoes and molasses? And kids who possibly are unknowingly dead? This is an all time classic.
—Marc Solheim, Booking Department
Slenderman (2018)
I relate to his body figure.
—Hannah Tittle, Booking Department
The Related Rabbit Hole
