1. A Nightmare on Elm St. (1984)
We’ll kick off the movie marathon with a timeless classic. The emergence of Freddy Kruger, and he’s been putting the scare in kids for 24 years and counting. Also the film debut of one Johnny Depp.2. Feast (2005)
This is one that you’ve probably never seen, but you’ll be glad you did. It was the winner of that Project Greenlight or whatever with Affleck and Damon a few years back. Bunch of people stuck in a bar in the middle of the desert when crazy creatures show up. Can’t miss.
3. Cape Fear (1991)
One of the few remakes that may actually be better than the original. Robert De Niro has a fantastic performance as Max Cady.
4. Psycho (1960)
It’s in black and white, but it’s a classic. Norman Bates is an absolute creep show, one of the best Horror movies of all time.
5. Urban Legend (1998)
Say what you want about Urban Legend, but I liked it. Takes place in a fictional school in NH and stars one Rebecca Gayheart.
6. Evil Dead II (1987) The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead’s are both horror classics. Bruce Campbell began his reign as a horror icon in these films. Watch them both if you want, if you had to only see one, I’d lean towards II. They’re pretty similar with II done just a bit better in my opinion.
7. Army of Darkness (1992)
The third installment of the Evil Dead trilogy is Army of Darkness. More blood, more gore, more action, more one liners. My personal favorite of the three. “First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me. Blow.” -Ash
8. House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Rob Zombie’s first feature film. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s pretty crazy, but give it a chance. You’ll be glad you did particularly when watching the film that comes next.
9. The Devil’s Reject’s (2005)
The sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects drops some of the wild fantastical story lines from the first, and focuses more on the Firefly’s, a serial killing family. This is in my top 5 all-time Horror movies. You don’t have to watch Corpses to understand what’s going on, but it adds to the characters.10. Friday the 13th (1980)
Its Friday the 10th this month, really the best we can do. Part of that slasher triumvirate that has produced countless and mostly terrible sequels along with the Nightmare and Halloween franchises. This again, is the original, look for a young Kevin Bacon as one of the councilors at Camp Crystal Lake.
11. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
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This is actually the debut of hockey mask wearing killer Jason Voorhees, therefore it has to be on the countdown and on its own night.
12. Grindhouse (2007)
Not even sure if this qualifies as a horror movie. Grindhouse is the double feature that includes Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. If you only have time for one go with Planet Terror. Rose McGowen is great as is the story and ensemble.
13. From Dusk til Dawn (1996)
Speaking of Rodriguez and Tarantino here is another collaborative effort from those two. Rodriguez directed the film that Tarantino wrote and co-stared in. Really two films in one as it starts out with George Clooney and Tarantino as bank-robbing/ killer brothers on the run that end up at a bar with their hostages that turns out to be a feeding ground for vampires. And it might even be better than it sounds. This starts off our string of Vampire films.
14. Dracula (1992)
You can’t have a horror movie list that doesn’t involve at least one Dracula film. I went with Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Anthony Hopkins, and directed by Francis Ford Coppella. It’s the original story, and I figured you’d have a better chance of watching this one then the 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi.
15. Interview with the Vampire (1994)
In my mind probably the best performance by a child star as Kirsten Dunst, at 11 or 12, steals the show from Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. A great film to wrap up the mini vampire marathon.
16. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Who doesn’t enjoy the headless horseman? Anyone? Tim Burton directs this creepy tale that stars Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. “Heads will roll.”
17. Scream (1996)
In the middle of the month, make it a complete Scream weekend. Can’t believe this movie has been out for 12 years now, but you know what, it’s still good. Some horror fans love it others think it’s a mockery, I fall in the former. This is one of my top-10 films all-time, any genre.18. Scream 2 (1997)
Clearly not as good as the first, but horror and sequels go together like roller coasters and nausea.
19. Scream 3 (2000)
I’ll do it, I’ll put the 3rd one on the list. Follow the ghostface killer (not the guy from Wu-Tang) through these Wes Craven led works of art. I admit, they get worst as they go on, but still worth a watch this October.
20. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
This movie is nuts. Crazy, creepy, scary, satanic, dark, you name it. You’ll feel for Rosemary, guaranteed.
21. Seven (1995)
Not sure if this is technically a horror movie. Seven does have some memorable gruesome images and a diabolical and unique serial killer, so I’m going to include it. Brad Pitt and the great Morgan Freeman try to track down John Doe who kills using the 7 deadly sins.
22. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Is it cheesy? Yeah, maybe a little bit. One of the countless slasher films that came out immediately following the success of Scream, but in my opinion it’s one of the best out of that group. Teens stars, brutal deaths, what more could you want?
23. Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Only horror movie to sweep the Oscars. Everyone has seen this movie, all you need to say is Hannibal Lector.
24. Candyman (1992)
Say his name 5 times in the mirror. You won’t.
25. Saw (2004) Saw II (2005)
I remember seeing the first one in the theater during college and being blown away. Then the second one, and the third one… haven’t seen the fourth yet, and the fifth is on the way. Wow. Even Nightmare, Friday the 13th, and Halloween took some time off while making all their sequels. No rest for the Saw people. Definitely watch the first one, they’re short, so maybe squeeze in another couple.
26. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The film quality is crappy and you’ll wonder what the hell you’re watching, but it’s a classic. One of the most well renowned B-movie horrors of all-time. There’s been remakes recently, but this the debut of Leatherface.
27. The Ring (2002)
Top-5 scariest movie on this list. It just creeps the hell out of me. Let’s move on.
28. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Another classic right here. You could swap it out with any George A. Romero zombie movie, but this is the first. I also really enjoyed the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Can’t go wrong with either.
29. The Shining (1980)
Talk about some crazy stuff going on. After you’ve seen it a couple of time, really look for things that you may have missed. Just weird. I never read the book, so I don’t know what that was like. Jack Nicholson is as scary as they come and his wife, played by Shelley Duvall is frightening just to look at.
30. The Exorcist (1973)
People passed out in the theaters when this movie was released in 1973. You combine the Devil with religious views and you’re just asking for trouble… or one of the highest grossing horror films of all time.31. Halloween (1978) Halloween II (1981) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
What else would you watch on Halloween. Make it an unprecedented triple-feature while you’re passing out candy this year. There’s I believe 9 films that carry the “Halloween” name, but these are the best 3 by far. The third one doesn’t even involve Michael Myers, so go original, II (which takes place literally right after the first ends), and then go 4. It’s the only way to cap off a ridiculous month of horror movies.
-Keefe
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