6 Halloween Movie Recommendations

Hi guys! Halloween is only a few days away and so, today, I thought I would share with you some of the movies I love to watch at this time of the year. Halloween is my second favorite holiday, right after Christmas, but while the day itself is one of my favorite things in the year, anticipating Halloween is also part of the fun. And what better way to count the days till Halloween than to watch some spooky movies? 

I need to preface this though by pointing out that none of my recommendations are actual horror movies. I don't watch horror stuff. I'm too much of a scaredy cat for that. And the darker movies in this list lean more towards gothic than actual horror, so if like me you also don't really dig horror movies, these should suit you just fine. 

And now, onto the movies. Enjoy!

Practical Magic

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Sally and Gillian Owens, played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, come from a family of witches. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, for years the women of their family have been plagued by a curse, whereby all the men they fall in love with come to eventually meet an untimely death. Despite growing up to lead completely different lives, the sisters are as close as ever and when supernatural forces start wreaking havoc in their lives, they decide to join their powers and rid their family of the curse. This movie is perfect for Halloween because not only does it have witches and magic, but it also has at its heart a lot of humor. And for me, fantasy-comedies are the best Halloween movies ^^

Watch the trailer here.

Hocus Pocus

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Starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as a trio of evil witches, the movie follows their adventures as they are accidentally resurrected by a young boy after they were put to death in Salem centuries ago. This movie is hilarious and still great fun to watch now despite having been released in 1993. 

Watch the trailer here.

Halloweentown

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Marnie, played by Kimberly J. Brown, loves everything about Halloween and the supernatural, despite her mother disapproving of it all. When her grandmother Aggie, who is in fact a real witch, shows up on the night of Halloween, she tells Marnie and her siblings the story of a magical place called Halloweentown, where all sorts of fantastical creatures live together in peace. When the children secretly follow Aggie back home after she leaves their house, they stumble right into Halloweentown, which turns out to be very real. If you enjoy the movie - and you probably will - be sure to also check out the sequels!

Watch the trailer here.

The Phantom of the Opera

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Starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in the lead roles, this is the movie adaptation of a musical which was itself based on a French novel. It is 19th century Paris and the story takes place at an opera house rumored to be haunted by a mysterious masked Phantom. After he takes an interest in a young performer, Christine Daaé, the Phantom begins to scheme to give her the lead role in the opera, hoping to also win her love in the process. When Christine instead falls in love with someone else, the Phantom decides to do whatever it takes to make Christine his. The movie retains most songs from the musical, which is one of my favorite musicals by the way, and has the right amount of mystery mixed in with romance and gorgeous visuals to make this a delightful movie to watch in October. Plus Gerard Butler is in it. Enough said...

Watch the trailer here.

Scooby-Doo

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Back to comedy with this movie starring Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and Rowan Atkinson. The story follows Mystery Incorporated, a group of four young detectives who solve mysteries with their dog Scooby-Doo. After going separate ways two years ago, the group reunites after they are called to a horror resort to solve a mystery there. This movie was a staple of my childhood growing up and one of those movies that I watched all the time with my sister. It’s a guilty pleasure and one of those goofy, fun movies that totally lives up to the spirit of Halloween.

Watch the trailer here.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

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Set in Victorian times, this is the story of Sweeney Todd, a barber turned serial killer who returns to the city after being wrongfully arrested and exiled many years ago. On a quest of vengeance, he takes his old job as a barber back and begins killing off his customers with a razor while his new accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, helps him get rid of the corpses by baking them into the meat pies she sells in her shop. It has Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the lead roles and while it’s much more violent than the other movies on this list, it’s more a gothic story than a horror one. Plus, it has the songs that featured in the musical it was adapted from and is overall quite a stunning film. 

Watch the trailer here.

So those were some of my Halloween movie recommendations. I know there are a lot of classics I haven't mentioned, like Beetlejuice and the Addams Family, but that's because I haven't watched those yet. I do have a list of Halloween movies I still need to watch so expect a second part to this post at some point!

Until next time guys, have fun counting the days till Halloween ^^

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