By james art A good spooky movie is as essential to the Halloween season these days as fun-sized chocolate bars and 12-foot skeletons. But in the age of streaming, when every vampire, serial killer, and goblin is at your fingertips, it can be hard to stop scrolling and just pick a move.
So Gambit knocked on a few caskets and scoured the graveyard to dig up some horror movie recommendations for a night when you need a classic movie to give you goosebumps, or you just want something to wear while handing out candy this week. And in case you want to do it late at night – or maybe the ghouls and goblins are keeping you awake – we’ve turned these recommendations into mini movie marathons for a terrifyingly fun night.
Each movie is on a streaming platform and is also available to rent through Amazon Prime Video for a few bucks.
The season in New Orleans is full, spooky.
It is dangerous to overdo it
Louisiana folklore is full of ghosts, monsters, murders, and the unexplainable, and countless filmmakers have tried to capture that—with varying degrees of success. Plus, recognizing a horror movie location helps increase the creep factor.
“Interview with the Vampire”, the 1994 adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel, is perhaps the most iconic horror film set in South Louisiana, and as long as you’re okay with a little melodrama and camp, it remains a classic (Streaming on HBO Max ).
If you’re more in the mood for a possession movie, head to Baton Rouge with “The Last Exorcism”. A minister ready to expose his exorcism scam invites a documentary crew to visit a possessed girl on a remote farm – and gets more than he bargained for in this intense found-footage film (On Prime Video and Peacock).
The 2006 film hatchet has flown under the radar over the years, but it’s a solid, fun slasher. A group of tourists get stuck on a swamp tour and come face to face with the brutal Victor Crowley, Louisiana’s unstoppable killer (Find him on Tubi).
“What We Do in the Shadows”
He laughs by the graveyard
It’s been a long year — a long decade — and with Election Day upon us, maybe a heavy movie isn’t what you’re looking for. If you want to keep the spooky vibe while adding some laughs, check out these great horror comedies.
“Shaun of the Dead” the 2004 collaboration between director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost about a pair of aimless Londoners facing a zombie apocalypse is not only one of the best horror comedies ever made, but it’s also a loving tribute to the zombie genre (Peacock Streaming).
Similarly, the 2014 documentary “What We Do in the Shadows” is a first class ode to the vampire genre. The witty film, directed by Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, about four vampires who share an apartment in Wellington, New Zealand, also launched an acclaimed TV show (Rent it on Prime Video).
There are few better Halloween movies than the 2007 anthology film “Cake and Treat”, featuring the instantly iconic character Sam, dressed in orange pajamas and an old-school burlap mask. There are plenty of thrills, plenty of gore, and a healthy dose of humor in its five intertwining stories—just don’t neglect the traditions of Halloween (on HBO Max).
“Frankenstein”
Dracula is a real pain in the neck
It could be argued that half the monsters, mad scientists, spooky castles, and other tropes we play with on Halloween originated at Universal Studios. The series of classic monster movies in the early 20th century more than helped shape our ideas of Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and the Wolf Man.
While most of these black and white movies are worth watching, we recommend starting with Bride of Frankenstein — a sequel that surpasses the original and paints the monster as a misunderstood character — and moves into “The Wolf Man” the 1941 werewolf film starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the tragic Larry Talbot. Complete the trilogy with “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” the 1943 crossover film, complete with foggy graveyards, monster battles, and Universal Studios creating its own shared cinematic universe.
Want more? Cleanse your palate with the wacky but adorable “Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein” the 1948 film starring Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Chaney as the Wolfman and Glenn Strange as Frankenstein’s monster.