ARTICLE: Top 10 Halloween Movies on Amazon, Netflix and 4K Blu-ray

Simon Crust

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Cheers for this, a good list! Nice to see Triangle get a mention too, that’s a film that I think back to quite a bit, a very good horror/thriller that keeps you guessing. I’d also add Doctor Sleep as a nice companion piece to The Shining! Oh and obviously these lists are massively subjective but I’d also give a mention to Session 9, an incredibly creepy film that really gets under your skin but isn’t very well known; and Trick R Treat, another Michael Dougherty cracker that is perfect for Halloween!
 
I'll go with Don't be afraid of the Dark, Drag me to Hell, Prince of Darkness, The Thing (Kurt Russell) and Event Horizon. If I want to go old school I'd go with Night of the Demon (arguably the Drag me to Hell original version), Quatermass and the pit or Village of the damned.
 
I'd like to throw one into the mix - Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist. It's somewhat forgotten these days, but it's actually a really well made little ghost story with a truly sensational Jerry Goldsmith score and a great cast.
 
interestingly, I don't think a lot of these are "Halloween" movies. Much like Christmas, I'd class a Halloween movie as being set during that time. Therefore films such as Halloween, Hocus Pocus, Idle Hands etc ARE real Halloween movies and stuff like The Shining, IT, Conjuring are movies that may be fun to watch on the lead up to the night but are there simply because they are Horror.
 
Modern classics such as get out and a Quiet Place are fantastic but as far as Hereditary is concerned the less said the better. It was also a fine adaptation and of course Psycho is still terrifying
 
I'm ready for Halloween! 🎃
(just small sample of my movie lib)
IMG_0235.jpg
 
For some old-school fantasy horror, I'd like to throw The Gate (1987) in the mix. It's very much 'of its time' but it's still an entertaining watch for those of us who were teenagers during the 80s.

Edit: I should probably have mentioned that it's on Amazon Prime
 
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Interesting, as it demonstrates that too many classics are missing from 4K, such as 'John Carpenter's The Thing', 'The Exorcist, 'Dawn of the Dead', (the Romero cut) - out in November 2020 on UHD bluray), 'Night of the Demon', any of the Hammer output ('(Horror) of Dracula, 'Brides of Dracula' or the excellent 'Frankenstein created Woman' would be great places to start) and something from the Universal vaults, such as 'The Black Cat', or the more famous 'The Mummy', 'Bride of Frankenstein' or 'The Wolf Man'). If horror anthologies need dusted off, I'd go for 'Dr Terror's House of Horror', as my number one pick.

Horror comedies are harder to recommend, but, again, one can't go wrong with 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein' (featuring Frankenstein's monster, Dracula and the Wolf Man), 'Carry On Screaming' (a superb send up of Hammer and Amicus movies) or the classic, 'Ghostbusters'. I'd also consider 'Evil Dead II' here.

Of the 4K discs, I'd suggest 'The Fog' (effective ghost story) and 'Alien' (a haunted house story, set in space, and a stone-cold classic) as worthy contenders not on the list.
 
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Nice to see Triangle get a mention too, that’s a film that I think back to quite a bit, a very good horror/thriller that keeps you guessing.
Have you seen Coherence (2013), as if you like Triangle this is a similar vibe?
 
I'd recommend Re-animator and From Beyond. Two fantastic Jeffrey Combs movies from the 80's.

Also if you want to see two very creepy ghost horror stories these are two great Indonesian Horror movies. Impetigore and Satan's Slaves. Very creepy atmosphere in both of those movies.
 
I'd recommend 'Trick R Treat', well worth seeing. I was also impressed by a couple of Stuart Gordon horrors recently, 'Castle Freak' and 'The Pit and the Pendulum'.

And you can't go wrong with 'Tales From the Crypt' from 1972, one of my all time favourites.
 
The keep is good horror, its a pity nowhere has it on streaming. Nearest thing to it is overlord. Which i enjoyed as it reminded me of return to castle wolfenstein game.
 
So many great films being mentioned, I'm also a sucker for the old J-Horror stuff as well. Some of that really gets under your skin.
 
So many great films being mentioned, I'm also a sucker for the old J-Horror stuff as well. Some of that really gets under your skin.

Certainly does. 'The Ring' trilogy, 'One Missed Call' trilogy and 'Dark Water' are all personal favourites. Some of the Korean stuff also very worthwhile, including 'Thirst' and 'Dumplings'. None of them on 4K, either disc or streaming, as far as I am aware.
 
The original black & white Night of the Living Dead still creeps me out after all these years.
 

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