Halloween is my favorite time of the year. I love decorating the house, getting scary costumes picked out, and watching horror movies. In no particular order, here's my list of the movies I watch every October.
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Of all the slasher film boogeymen, Freddy Krueger is arguably the scariest, most fear inducing, just based on looks alone. I watched this just the other night, and while the acting is actually pretty bad, I was struck by how terrifying Freddy is all these years later. The sequels saw Freddy get more and more comedic, but the original is serious as hell. Our most vulnerable moments are when we are sleeping, so it's no surprise the original Freddy terrifies all these years later.
Psycho
For the me a lot of "scary" is in the tension and the story telling. Psycho is the oldest movie on my list, but it's also one of the best written and executed. The twist at the end is genuinely one of the most shocking and interesting in cinema.
Halloween
Halloween singlehandedly began the slasher movie genre, and the original film still delivers. Michael Myers stalks like no other killer in the game. The terrifying slow roll out of Michael's plan to wreck havoc on his hometown is unmatched.
Saw
If you are unfamiliar with the original Saw film, you may have a negative preconceived notion that is "torture porn"... that it's all gore and very little substance. This is simply not true. Saw's story is well written and well executed. Two strangers find themselves chained up in bathroom and work to solve the mystery of why they are there, how they are connected, and how they can get out. The twist at the end is tons of fun.
Scream
This is the most unique film on this list because it combines dark comedy with a "whodunit" mystery. It's basically a murder mystery with a spooky overlay. There are "scary" segments, but the fun of this film comes from the amazing chemistry between the characters, and the game of trying to solve puzzle of who the killer is.