5 Movies to Watch This Halloween

5 Movies to watch this Halloween- 2023 edition!

As we head into the final week of October, people are starting to get into the spirit of Halloween and embracing the spooky season. Decorations are starting to appear in people’s yards, Jack-O-Lanterns are also being carved and appearing in windows and horror themes and Halloween themed music can be heard in the streets. The only thing that’s missing are spooky movies. Every year I put together a roster of Halloween themed films and horror movies that make up my viewing through the month of October and to celebrate Halloween, I have also put together a list for Sanity, breaking down 5 movies you need to watch this Halloween. 

The Exorcist (1973) –

As covered earlier this month in a separate blog post, ‘The Exorcist’ has released a 4K Ultra HD release to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Every year, I like re-visiting The Exorcist as I get something new out of it every time, I watch it. It not only is a great horror film, oozing creepy atmosphere and some of the best scares of all time, it’s a compelling and thought-provoking drama about a mother dealing with this horrific situation, in a foreign town, far away from everything they know. This aspect of the film makes the whole situation all the more believable and relatable. I could speak about the impact of ‘The Exorcist’ for days. It is one of those films that is simply perfect. It has no flaws. We have a director at the top of his game, getting performances from his talented actors that very few directors would be able to do. It’s a testament to his abilities as a filmmaker but also the concept of Lightning in a bottle. The coming together of all these people for the one project at this point in time, resulted in the masterpiece we know as ‘The Exorcist’. It’s a must-watch over the Halloween season.

Buy The Exorcist Movie here here

Beetlejuice (1988) –

Tim Burton in recent years hasn’t been able to capture the magic of his earlier films. Whilst all still technologically competent and visually stunning, they lack some of the creativity and fun of his previous films. One of the best examples of this creativity and fun is of course his 1988, horror/comedy ‘Beetlejuice’ starring the great Michael Keaton in the title role of Beetlejuice. The film also starred Gena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Kathryn O’Hara and Winona Ryder.  The ensemble cast help sell the absurdity of the scenario and Tim Burton’s signature style and use of gorgeous visual stylings, cement Beetlejuice as a classic in the horror/comedy genre. Beetlejuice himself is the reason we always come back to watch this one. Keaton is hilarious, disgusting and memorable as the titular demon. The film has also received a stunning 4K UHD release just in time for Halloween, so what better time to revisit this classic! Let’s hope the same magic can be captured with Beetlejuice 2, expected to hit cinemas on Halloween, 2024.Our fingers and toes are crossed.

Buy The Beetlejuice Movie here here

Scream VI (2023) –

‘Scream VI’ is one of my favourite entries in the franchise to date. It’s exactly what I was hoping for from a new Scream film set in New York City. It's brutal, with Ghostface really showcasing just how savage and angry he/she can be., potentially being the most brutal in the franchise to date. The reveal of the killer(s) is a lot of fun and is one of the highlights of the film. The updated setting does provide Scream fans with something a little different as well, which is what the franchise has continued to do over the years to prevent it from becoming stale. I had an absolute blast with this film, and it might just be my favourite sequel to date. It can be made into a movie marathon with the other 5 entries in the franchise or watched by itself. No matter how you want to watch it, you need to check it out this Halloween!

Buy The Scream Movies here here

Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania (2022) –

The Hotel Transylvania franchise has been an enduring one, first debuting back in 2012, over ten years ago. In 2022, we got the fourth instalment in the beloved children’s franchise, seeing our favourite monsters transformed into humans, and our favourite human, Johnny, transformed into a monster. This concept has been utilised plenty of times before, but what makes it so fun here is the characters in which it’s happening to. We’ve been on 3 whacky adventures with these characters previously, and here the fun concept feels earned, as we can really see the changes in these characters. This is the perfect Halloween themed film, especially for families and children. We have iterations of the Universal monsters that have been on our screens for nearly 100 years and fun, colourful animation that will keep the young ones satisfied. It truly is fun for the whole family. Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania is now out on DVD just in time for Halloween!

Buy The Hotel Transylvania Movies here here

Halloween, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends (2018, 2021, 2022) –

I am cheating a little with this entry, including all 3 films from the recent David Gordon-Green and Danny McBride Halloween trilogy that began with its 2018 film, simply titles ‘Halloween’ which saw Jamie Lee-Curtis return in the titular role as Laurie Strode in a legacy sequel, that ignored all the films that came since the 1978 original. The new trilogy then continued with the 2021 entry, Halloween Kills, which served as a direct sequel to the 2018 film, taking place directly after the events of this film, once again seeing Michael Myers terrorise the town of Haddonfield on Halloween night. The trilogy then concluded with the 2022 entry, aptly titled Halloween Ends, which saw a different killer team up with Michael Myers, in Cory Cunningham, Laurie and her Granddaughter once again get thrown into the situation and need to combat Michael and Cory at all costs. This trilogy is a mixed bag for sure, but what it does, oh so well, is re-establish how scary a killer in a mask can be. The film does a great job at paying respects to John Carpenter’s original film, whilst also paving the way for a new generation of slasher films, creating the trend of the legacy sequel which we have seen in ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (2022), ‘Scream V and Scream VI’ and David Gordon-Green’s latest ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ (2023). As the title of the films suggests, these are the perfect films to watch leading up to Halloween! Pick-up the trilogy on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K UHD today!

Buy The Halloween Movies here here

Halloween is getting bigger and bigger each year in Australia, so get out there and enjoy all the spookiness this time of year has to offer, it's not everyday you get to watch Horror themed movies with your friends just for fun! Shop Sanity’s amazing range of Halloween films, decorations and pop culture items today. Order now for them to arrive just in time for Halloween night!

Long live physical media!

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here