With Halloween just around the corner, it’s officially time to start re-watching all the spooky classics and catching up on the newer fright-fests.
If you prefer your horror bone-chilling or light-hearted, there’s something comforting about curling up in the dark and letting a film do the haunting for you. Most of the movies on this list actually take place during Halloween, which means you’ll get the full experience with jack-o’-lanterns, masked killers, cursed candy, and the works.
To make your watchlist easier, I’ve split them into two categories: the ones that will have you checking behind the sofa (Scary) and the ones you can enjoy without losing sleep (Not-So-Scary).
Scary Halloween Films
1. Trick ’r Treat (2007)
If you’ve ever wondered what a true Halloween anthology should feel like, you have to watch Trick ’r Treat. The film weaves together four interconnected stories that all unfold on one fateful Halloween night, from deadly pranks and sinister neighbours to a little girl who’s more wolf than Red Riding Hood
The common thread through all of them is Sam, a creepy, silent trick-or-treater with a sack for a head who appears whenever someone breaks a Halloween rule.
It’s clever, and it mixes dark humour, folklore, and genuine scares. Trick ’r Treat didn’t get its due when it first released, but it has since become a cult favourite that captures the spooky, candy-coated chaos of Halloween night.
John Carpenter’s Halloween is the reason slasher movies exist. The story follows Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), a teenage babysitter stalked through her quiet neighbourhood by escaped killer Michael Myers.
What makes it so disturbing is its simplicity: Michael doesn’t run or rant, he just walks. His white mask, his silence, and the haunting music that plays make him terrifyingly ordinary and an evil hiding in plain sight.. It’s a slow-burn horror with minimal gore but maximum dread that shows us that sometimes, the scariest thing in the room is the one standing perfectly still.
3. Scream (1996)
A slasher flick that knows it’s a slasher flick, Scream revived horror in the ’90s by mixing satire with genuine terror. The film follows Sidney Prescott, a high schooler whose town is plagued by a masked killer obsessed with horror-movie “rules”.
It’s clever, self-aware, and loaded with both suspense and humour. Just when you think you know who the killer is, the film flips the script again. It’s messy, and it’s still one of the most entertaining horror films ever made.
4. Terrifier (2016)
If you thought clowns were creepy before, Terrifier will make sure you never look at one the same way again. The film follows two friends who encounter Art the Clown on Halloween night.
Art the Clown is a silent, sadistic figure whose methods of murder are almost too gruesome to describe. Despite its micro-budget, Terrifier leans fully into old-school gore and shock value. It’s relentless, disturbing, and designed purely to test your limits.
Imagine spending Halloween at a massive horror-themed amusement park, only to realise one of the masked actors is actually a killer. That’s Hell Fest in a nutshell. It follows Natalie and her friends as their night of fun turns into a real-life nightmare.
The film has that classic ’80s slasher energy with flashing lights, jump scares, and plenty of claustrophobic tension. It’s not trying to reinvent the genre, but it’s a good “group watch” horror film that’s fast, fun, and scary enough to keep your heart racing.
If you want to watch masked murderers or a night of gothic animation, this list covers the entire Halloween mood board. So grab your snacks, light a candle, and decide for yourself: Can you handle it?
