Happy October to my lovely readers!
If anyone asked me what my favourite film genre would be, it is probably a mix of horror and comedy. That has been my answer for as long as I can remember.
With Halloween around the corner and with my years of horror film-watching experience, I’m your girl when it comes to creepy things to watch. I will also be rating them according to a ‘scare factor’ scale, 1 being the least scary and 10 being the scare-your-socks-off most scary. Without further ado, let’s begin!
FYI – this is a spoiler free zone!
The Visit (2015)
Scare Factor : 7/10
The Visit is a film I always recommend to anyone looking for something to creep you out. Unlike other horror films, this one doesn’t actually include any ghosts or paranormal activity.
The Visit follows the story of 2 children, Becca and Tyler, who are being sent by their mother to live with their estranged grandparents for a week at their farm as a little ‘get to know me’ trip.
Tyler is an aspiring filmmaker and brings a video camera along to document their visit and interview their grandparents – sort of like a vlog! He documents their visit and strange things start to happen.
The film was released in 2015 and grossed over $65.2 million in the US box office and $25.4 million in its first opening weekend. I personally really enjoyed this film and I’ve seen it twice so far – even though I know the full plot, it still manages to creep me out!
Dead Silence (2007)
Scare Factor : 8/10
The plot of Dead Silence follows the story of Jamie Ashen who receives an anonymous gift of a ventriloquist doll (who the HELL does that?!) and mysterious things start to happen after that. He also received a message about someone named ‘Mary Shaw’, a now-deceased ventriloquist from his hometown.
He then visits his extremely wealthy father for some information regarding the strange ‘Mary Shaw’. After getting the information, he realises it is a much more serious affair than what he thought it was at the start.
I remember watching this film in the cinema like it was yesterday and actually getting scared a lot of times. I saw it with my mum and she loved it! To this day I wouldn’t ever dare touch a ventriloquist doll, they look creepy enough as it is before I saw this film. Now they just terrify me. Would highly recommend this film to anyone who doesn’t already have a fear of dolls!
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Scare Factor : 1/10
The ever so popular The Nightmare Before Christmas film is probably Tim Burton’s most well-known film and for good reason!
This stop motion animated musical film tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, who wrongly ends up in Christmas Town and realises he actually loves Christmas, possibly more than Halloween! He celebrates the holiday like it is his last.
The songs are extremely catchy and the characters are so easy to fall in love with, sometimes through random times of the day I find myself singing ‘What’s This?’ to myself, it is definitely my favourite song from the film.
I am a huge fan of Tim Burton and musicals, and if you are too, this film is the one for you!
Laddaland (2011)
Scare Factor : 9/10
Laddaland is a Thai horror film that follows the story of a family consisting of a husband, a wife and two children, all of whom move into a new house because of financial issues.
Even though Laddaland seems like a lovely and quiet neighbourhood, the entire family figures that the environment seems kind of… off. A neighbour is found dead next door and another neighbour abuses his wife and mother. Stranger things start happening that make the family ponder whether or not moving to this new place was a good idea or not.
Asian horror films are honestly the best and if you haven’t already watched one, I highly recommend it! They are the scariest and MOST creepy out of all that I’ve ever seen. An asian horror film has never not scared me. Thai horror films are especially top notch. If the language barrier puts you off, I beg of you to just put the subtitles on and watch one, it’ll change your perception!
Shutter (2004)
Scare Factor : 8/10
Shutter is another incredible Thai horror film that I’ve sworn by when it comes to scaring yourself.
The plot follows Jane and her photographer boyfriend Tun who get into a car accident after Jane unintentionally runs over a woman. They do a hit-and-run, which puts them in a situation for the worst.
Tun begins to notice bizarre things appearing in the photographs that he develops in the dark room, like white spots and even some faces. His girlfriend suspects them to be spirits but Tun doesn’t believe in that.
Shutter is another one of those films that all Asians have probably watched and love. Very very creepy and there are some points of jump scares, but the storyline is so interesting and there is also a lot of thrilling aspects in it.
The Devil Inside (2012)
Scare Factor : 10/10 (For me at least!)
When people ask me what the scariest movie I’ve ever seen in my life is, I always say OH MY GOD ‘THE DEVIL INSIDE’! That is solely because I hate hate HATE movies with a possession storyline. I went into the movie theatre not knowing what I was about to see and it has stayed with me for over 8 years.
The Devil Inside is known as a ‘found footage’ supernatural documentary-style film about a woman who is on a quest to find her mother, all while getting unintentionally involved in a large series of exorcisms.
The Catholic church is heavily involved in this and I grew up Catholic, which also might explain why I found it a bit too close to home. A quote on the poster even says ‘The film the Vatican doesn’t want you to see’. Yuck, makes my hair stand on end just thinking about it.
If you’re fine with watching films about demonic possessions or religious ‘procedures’, this probably wouldn’t scare you that much. But if you’re like me and you hate visuals of exorcism, this film will make you shit a brick. I watched it once and never again.
Corpse Bride (2005)
Scare Factor : 2/10
To end off on a more pleasant note, the final film I’m recommending you is Corpse Bride, another Tim Burton classic – but a more underrated one in my opinion. Not many people know this about me but Corpse Bride is in my top 5 favourite movies of all time, and that’s saying something!
Corpse Bride is a stop-motion animation film following the storyline of a Victor Van Dort in the 1800s who has an arranged marriage ordered by his parents to a woman he has never met before named Victoria Everglot, who is a daughter of an aristocratic couple. The marriage was arranged so as to raise the social class of the Van Dort family.
However, during a little wander into the woods before his wedding day, Victor encounters something eerie, something he never thought he’d experience in his lifetime and it changes him forever.
Corpse Bride is a beautiful film with an amazing soundtrack and I personally hail it as Tim Burton’s best piece of work yet. The storyline is so sweet and pure, the characters can get creepy but are still loveable, and I would highly recommend this. I think I’ve watched it over 50 times in my lifetime!
Thank you all for indulging me in my passion for creepy films this October!
What’s a creepy horror film you enjoy and would recommend me? What’s your favourite type of horror film sub-genre, haunted houses, possessions, creepy children, poltergeists?
Let me know in the comments below! Until next time, have a good October!
58 responses to “Film Recommendations For Your Halloween Movie Marathon”
Great list! I love horror movies and this is the best month for them! I plan on watching The Shining for the 100th time and probably many more. I still love The Exorcist, to mention that classic demonic possession film to rule them all. Cabin in the Woods is one my favorite recent horror movies, though it’s just as much comedy as horror. A fun/scary film and kind of a tribute to the entire horror genre.
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I’ve only seen The Shining once (embarrassingly). THe Exorcist is terrifying, I don’t think I’ve watched all of it before. Cabin In The Woods is a cult favourite too!
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I’m a total wimp when it comes to scary movies. I remember seeing The Ring and I refused to sleep in my room until my brother took my VCR out of my room. I remember watching House on Haunted Hill and It a lot growing up but I literally don’t dare now!
It’s spoopy szn for me lmao.
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The Ring is such a classic, I haven’t seen it in years but I remember enjoying it!
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Thanks for these movie reviews, I will definitely try.
https://swarnaz.com/
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Thank you for reading!
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oh god I’m so glad I stumbled across this post! I’m definitely going to be showing this to my boyfriend and making it a mission to watch these! My favourite is the nightmare before Christmas!
Courtney x
c0urrtney.blogspot.com/
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It really never gets old, and I love the soundtrack too 😊
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Awesome list! I’ve seen most of these movies and they never disappoint! Love this time of year because it’s “normal” to watch these types of movies so I don’t feel like such as weirdo watching them all year round 😜
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Haha, I totally get you! I love watching horror movies any time of the year!
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I usually avoid horrors except for the horror-comedy movies. LOL
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Horror Comedies are great too though 😛
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I agree with you, Corpse Bride is definitely underrated! My husband and I have a ‘Tim Burton night’ every October where we curl up and watch all our favourite Tim Burton movies (or those that we just feel like we need to watch because it’s been too long). Corpse Bride makes the list every year!
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That totally sounds like something my boyfriend and I would do if only we lived in the same country! Corpse Bride is really one of those hidden gems.
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I love Nightmare Before Christmas & Corpse Bride! I’d def add Hocus Pocus and Coraline to this list, too.
I’m not huge on scary films but I was def creeped out by Shutter!
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I am so embarrassed to admit I’ve never seen Hocus Pocus, I’ll be sure to finally watch it this month!
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I can’t watch horror movies. My imagination is too vivid and after watching horror movies I see murderers everywhere and I imagine what it would feel like to hang from the rafters from a hook in your spine. Disgusting! I can’t sleep or even wash my hair because if I close my eyes I think a murderer will appear 😀 It’s no good. But Tim Burton’s movies I loooove! You’ve actually just given me an idea, I think I’ll have a Tim Burton movie marathon at Halloween 🙂
Teresa Maria | Outlandish Blog
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I was honestly like that when I was younger too! I remember watching Sleepy Hollow when I was little and having lots of nightmares about it. Only when I turned 15 or 16 did I start to enjoy horror films, no idea what happened there!
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Some great films listed here, I have not seen any of them before but I have just sent a few over to my partner for us to watch x x
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Awesome! I hope you enjoy 😊
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Laddaland sounds great! I’ve heard that Asian horrors are like, MEGA scary and for me, the scarier the better so I’ll definitely be checking some out! I love the Corpse Bride. Such a wonderful film! Coraline – although not scary IMO – would be top of my list. It’s my favourite EVER film.
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Ooooh you heard right! Asian horror movies are top notch, most are soooo scary and will stay with you! I’ve embarrassingly never seen Coraline, no idea why as it definitely seems like my kind of film. Will definitely give it a watch this October!
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I LOVE Horror season and there are lots of films in here that I’d forgotten about! I love a good scare so anything super jumpy is great for me!
Rosie
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You’d love Laddaland then! 😉
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I hate scary films but I love nightmare before christmas and corpse bride to get me in the halloween mood, I just cant bring myself to watch something I know is gonna freak me out aha!
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Oh you’re sane enough then! Not sure what happened to me that caused me to suddenly like horror films in my mid teens 😛
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This is a great list – I love halloween movies. They really bring in the full mood of the holiday
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Very true! 😊
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I love horror films but cant watch any at the moment as my boyfriend hates them and we dont have a spare room. Horror films dont normally scare me but make me laugh. The last one I saw was Annabelle and the conjuring. I loved both and they actually freaked me out for a bit. I saw Annabelle when I lived in a house that had a creepy basement and my then boyfriend left a note that was in Annabelle. Love your list definitely interest in the Thai films.
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My boyfriend isn’t a big fan either but he will watch some occasionally with me! I do find myself watching them alone most of the time. Annabelle is really so freaky isn’t it!
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Asian horror films are the best and I agree Corpse Bride is super underrated just like Coroline. Anyway, there this stopmotion film called ParaNorman I think you will like it the protagonist live in Salem, Massachusetts so you can get a small idea on how the movie is about. 😉
Michelle| brokebutflawless.com
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Ahhh glad someone likes Asian horror films too! ParaNorman sounds awesome, I wanna give it a watch now! Thank you 😊
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I love The Nightmare Before Christmas so much! I cannot handle scary movies haha This looks like a great list though!
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The Nightmare Before Christmas is such a classic!
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Great movie recommendation! I will definitely be watching most of these for Halloween – I love it! Thanks for sharing xo
xoxo Olivia | http://www.oliviaandbeauty.com
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Yay glad my list helped you!
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Yep! Horror films and I just don’t mix! The two ‘scary’ films I’ve watched have been An Interview With A Vampire (which I loved!) and My Bloody Valentine (only because it had Jensen Ackles in it! Haha!)
Daisy xoxo | AccordingToDaisy
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I actually haven’t watched either of those two, will look them up!
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I still love the nightmare before Christmas sometimes children movie just make you feel good!
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Very true! 😊
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OOooh…. outside of Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride (which I loved), these are new to me. I’ve been looking for some recommendations this month, so this was a gift. Thanks!
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I’m glad my list helped you!
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I can’t believe it’s already fall – and I’m so happy about it! Thanks for this list – I’m a total wuss about scary movies, but I love festive things and cute movies like Corpse Bride.
xo Danai | living-learning-eating.blogspot.com
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Corpse Bride is really good! I’m glad you like it too.
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Excellent film recommendations! I love Shutter, both the original and the English version. It’s creepy and clever.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
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I’ve never seen the English version but the storyline is incredible!
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I love scary movies! I never get tired of The Nightmare Before Christmas, it’s a classic. The Devil Inside looks interesting. Will need to check that out!
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The Devil Inside is terrifying but they’ve had a lot of great reviews!
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Thank you for sharing your list. I am not good with horror and scary films, unless I have someone to hide behind ha ha!
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I’m quite the same but recently I’ve gotten used to watching them alone 😛
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I love The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride & Shutter! The Visit is creepy too!
I love Asian horror movies b/c they don’t rely on tons of jumpscares & gore to make a scary movie so I definitely need to watch Laddaland!
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You’re completely right – asian horror movies are so good!
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Great list! I love both Thai horror movies. Asian horror movies are my favorite by far, with Ju-On being my favorite horror movie *ever*! I also have a very hard time with possession movies, I don’t even watch them, haha.
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Ju-On is truly a classic, I haven’t watched it in awhile, but I need to!
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I’m not a fan of scary films but I couldn’t help but click on your post to see your thoughts! A lot of these (of course) I haven’t heard of due to my lack of horror watching lol. The bright side, I can recommend these to my other half as he is a huge fan of these kinds of films! 👏🏼
Des | https://www.itsbetterinheels.com
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Tim Burton isn’t usually that scary, you could defo give those a watch! 😊
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A couple of my favourite Tim Burton films on here (I only recently watched Nightmare for the first time and I’m wondering why I took so long!?) and some I’ve never even heard of. The Devil Inside actually intrigues me, I love exorcism films after seeing The Exorcist way back in the day, and I love the Gothic element of religion in horror, although I can see why it might not be everybody’s cup of tea. Some excellent recommendations!
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The Nightmare Before Christmas is such an amazing classic, I love anything Tim Burton! And you NEED to watch The Devil Inside, sounds so much like your kind of thing 😊
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