I love Halloween. It's one of my favorite times of the year. In fact, I take an entire week of vacation at Halloween time. It's a pretty safe bet that a good chunk of that vacation time will be spent watching scary movies. Here are some Halloween movie recommendations. 

  • Halloween

    Could this be even more obvious? I probably wouldn't even put this on the list if the movie wasn't so darn good. I also happened to pick up the new 35th anniversary Blu-ray a couple days ago, so I'm looking forward to seeing all the special features, like a new commentary with John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis, and rare footage from the television edit of the movie.

  • Nosferatu

    I first became aware of this movie when I found it in the bargain bin at K-Mart. It is celebrated German director Werner Herzog's remake of the silent classic, and is one of my absolute favorite versions of the Dracula story. 'Nosferatu' was well worth the $5 I paid for my VHS copy at K-Mart. I've since upgraded to DVD.

  • The Silence of the Lambs

    The Best Picture at the 64th annual Academy Awards, and still one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Not only did it snag the Best Picture award, but it also won for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Writing (adapted screenplay). It was just a few months ago that I finally got around to reading the original book by Thomas Harris. It was good, too.

  • Black Christmas

    'Black Christmas' reminds me a lot of 'Halloween,' though it predates the first Michael Meyers movie by four years. I first saw it a few years ago on Netflix and thought it was really a great thriller. I'm not sure if it's still available to stream,  but if not, it's definitely worth having the DVD mailed to you.

  • Cigarette Burns

    'Cigarette Burns' was John Carpenter's entry in the Showtime 'Masters of Horror' anthology series, which is available on DVD. This hour-long story revolves around an eccentric film collector who hires a man to track down a copy of a rare film that causes anyone who watches it to go mad. 'Cigarette Burns' stars Udo Kier and Norman Reedus (who has since gone on to play the popular role of Daryl Dixon on 'The Walking Dead').

  • A Nightmare on Elm Street

    It might be hard to believe now, but at one time Freddy Krueger was actually TERRIFYING! He became sort of a joke after three or four films, but his original movie just might be my favorite horror movie of all time. It has a great concept, a great monster, and lots of memorable scenes. They tried to re-start the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' franchise a few years ago. It wasn't a very successful reboot.

  • Return of the Living Dead

    "Brains! Brains!" This movie was unbelievably scary when I was a kid. Now it's unbelievably hysterical. If you're looking for a zombie movie without all the seroiusness of 'The Walking Dead' or 'World War Z,' this is the one to go with.

  • 28 Days Later

    On the other hand, if you prefer serious zombie movies, this one's pretty good. I went with my roommate to see this when it first came out during a midnight showing, which made it even more scary. '28 Days Later' was on the forefront of the current zombie craze. It was released around the same time that 'The Walking Dead' comic book started being published.

  • The Monster Squad

    Who says all Halloween movies have to be scary? 'The Monster Squad' is an 80s comedy that's sort of like 'Goonies,' only with Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, The Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

  • Creepshow

    Not only do I recommend 'Creepshow,' but also 'Creepshow 2' and 'Tales From the Darkside: The Movie,' which all basically follow the same formula. These movies are all anthology films, featuring short horror stories. They are pretty much motion picture love-letters to the old horror comic books that were popular in the 1950s.

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