Two Old-School Classics

Whether you’re first in line to see every new horror film that comes out, or you’re not horror-obsessed but you’re easing your way into it, starting with the classics is always a good plan. We’d be surprised if you haven’t seen these, or at the very least, heard of them – here are our two classic choices.

The Shining

Based on a Stephen King novel, The Shining (1980) is a film that everyone should watch at least once. Jack, our protagonist, is a winter caretaker in a hotel during the off-season, living there with his wife and young boy. Soon, things take a turn as Danny, the son, starts having premonitions and Jack starts to lose his mind. We won’t ruin it, but you might well have seen clips of this film with some twins, a hotel corridor flooded with blood, and Jack Nicholson cutting his way through a door with an axe screaming ‘Here’s Johnny!’. Note to self, if you see or hear the phrase ‘redrum’, it might be time to leave.

Psycho

We’re throwing it back to one of the original horror films that inspired many a film following its release in 1960. At the time, Psycho was an incredibly controversial film due to some racy scenes, most famously the shower scene – which is one of the most-known scenes to exist in horror. We meet our main character, Marion, who’s stolen a lot of money from her employer to pay off her boyfriend’s debts so they can get married. She stops off for the night – in Bates Motel, which might ring a few bells for you – where she meets Norman Bates. Shortly after, we encounter that shower scene, and the family of Marion come looking for her, revealing horrors about the Bates family. The Bates Motel went on to inspire various films and tv shows, and for good reason too – be wary of Mother.

Two Mega-Gore Choices

We know that gore slasher fics aren’t for everyone, but the people that love it, love it – and we can’t help ourselves when they come on. If you’re feeling brave and think you can stomach it, give these a try.

The Saw Franchise

We know, we kind of can’t believe that they’re still making the Saw films either, as they started in 2004, and they’re working on Saw 11 now, due to debut in 2025. Saw started as an incredibly low-budget film, almost completely filmed in one room and released at a film festival, and has now become one of the largest horror franchises across the world, with films, a television series, video games, comic books, theme park rides and attractions, and merchandising. The franchise is based around John, an older man who has been diagnosed with cancer, who takes people he deems as ‘unworthy’ and puts them into situations to prove themselves – he doesn’t kill them outright, but puts them into life-threatening situations in which they have to suffer to live on. These films are incredibly gory with some very impressive effects – we warn you, they’re not for the squeamish among us.

The Final Destination Franchise

Not dissimilar to Saw, the Final Destination franchise blew up and has become huge in the horror industry, with the first film released in 2000 and the 6^th due to release in 2025. While these films don’t typically carry through, each one has the same storyline – someone has a vision of a horrible accident and prevents it, but then those in the vision start dying in the same ways they did in the vision, a homage to how you cannot cheat Death. Some of the deaths are incredibly creative, and we have to respect a franchise that has left generations of people terrified to drive behind a truck full of logs – if you know, you know.

Halloween Comedies

Okay, the gore-filled films are pretty intense, so we think it’s time for something a bit lighter. There are plenty of horror-comedy spoofs out there, perfect to take the edge off the end of a movie night and have a good giggle with your mates. These are our go-to choices.

8-Legged Freaks

If you’re not familiar, 8-Legged Freaks is exactly what you think it is – an arachaphobes’ worst nightmare. Released in 2002, this comedy-horror is all about a town that suffers a horrendous creepy-crawly fate when a barrel of toxic waste falls into the local reservoir. Cue the insanely massive spiders that would terrify anyone, this is one of those films that you just have to watch at least once. Filled with plenty of laughs, this is a great option for those who still want to stick to the Halloween vibe without having to sleep with the lights on afterwards.

Mars Attacks!

Mars Attacks! is a bit of a cult classic, released in 1996 with a cast that we still can’t quite believe. Featuring huge names including Jack Nicholson, Sarah Jessica Parker, a young Jack Black, Danny Devito, Piers Brosnan, Michael J Fox, and, somehow, Tom Jones – alongside a huge range of massive celebs. It’s a typical alien invasion flick inspired – or more appropriately, spoofing Independence Day, where aliens land on earth and start to cause utter havoc, and is, frankly, utterly ridiculous. A perfect choice for anyone looking to laugh more than they scream this Halloween, it sure is a film you won’t forget in a hurry.

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