There is something truly sentimental about this time of year. October has always been my favorite month because it evokes wonderful memories from my childhood. Everything from the changing of the seasons, to watching football, the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, and (of course) Halloween festivities.
Well, I like just about everything except horror movies.
You could make an endless list of better nostalgic Halloween flicks: Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, Childs Play etc. However, those all scare the crap out of me.
When it comes time to embrace October on the big screen, I have always preferred a softer type of scary movie. Here are my top Halloween Movies for P(w)ussies:
UPDATE: your suggestions added below
1) Young Frankenstein (1974)
Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that he is not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
2) Ghostbusters (1984)
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver
Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.
3) Beetlejuice (1988)
Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton
A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a “bio-exorcist” in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.
4) Donnie Darko (2001)
Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell
A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.
5) The Burbs (1989)
Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman
An overstressed suburbanite and two of his neighbors struggle to prove their paranoid theory that the new family on the block are part of a murderous cult.
6) Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of 3 people with the culprit being the legendary apparition, the Headless Horseman.
7) Hocus Pocus (1993)
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy
After three centuries, three witch sisters are resurrected in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it is up to two teenagers, a young girl and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches’ reign of terror once and for all.
8) The Addams Family (1991)
Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd
Con artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
9) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
10) Beetlejuice (1988)
Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton
A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a “bio-exorcist” in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.
11) Scream (1996)
Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
Sidney, attempting to cope with her mother’s mysterious murder, and her horror movie-obsessed friends are stalked by an unknown killer who seems to have a hard time letting the past go.
12) The Craft (1996)
Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell
A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who even slightly anger them.
13) Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
Ernest unleashes an ugly troll that plots to transform children into wooden dolls in the town of Briarville, Missouri.
14) The Faculty (1998)
Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris
Students suspect that their teachers are aliens after bizarre occurrences.
15) The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn
In November 1984, the Soviet Union’s best submarine captain in their newest sub violates orders and heads for the USA. Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
16) Shaun of the Dead (2004)
A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.
17) House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Sid Haig, Karen Black, Bill Moseley
Two teenage couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of murder end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers.
18) Beetlejuice (1988)
Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton
A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a “bio-exorcist” in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.
JUST ADDED:
ET (1982)
The classic tale of boy meets alien, gets drunk and goes cliff jumping.
Does this one count??
