Halloween/Horror TV, Movies and Music Reviews and Recommendations

[Allison]

It’s officially Autumn! Hopefully you’re decorated for Halloween, and your house is all cozy pumpkin spice and everything nice.

Even before Covid kept us home, one of my favorite ways to celebrate the season has always been binging as much Halloween and/or horror movies, shows and music as possible.

In this thread, please feel free to recommend and/or review any Halloween and/or horror themed shows, movies and music. Family friendly to super spooky, share it all!

What do you always watch or listen to that puts you in the Halloween spirit?

Happy Halloween!

 

[Grabnar]

I usually wait until closer to Halloween for it but I re-watched Trick 'r Treat again the other day. The best Halloween movie imo, or at least tied with Halloween (1978).

For more recent picks check out Haunt and Host on Shudder. Fairly low budget, but pretty solid flicks.

 

[Mad Dog]

Neither of us cares for horror movies, but we both love the cult classic musical Rocky Horror Picture Show. So we watch the dvd every Halloween evening, as a traditional event. .....and we loved the short version
Universal had at some past HHN's in the former Beetleguise Theater.

 

[Allison]

I usually wait until closer to Halloween for it but I re-watched Trick 'r Treat again the other day. The best Halloween movie imo, or at least tied with Halloween (1978).

For more recent picks check out Haunt and Host on Shudder. Fairly low budget, but pretty solid flicks.

I loved Host! So pleasantly surprised by that one, it was much creepier than I thought it was gonna be.

Neither of us cares for horror movies, but we both love the cult classic musical Rocky Horror Picture Show. So we watch the dvd every Halloween evening, as a traditional event. .....and we loved the short version
Universal had at some past HHN's in the former Beetleguise Theater.

I saw a live showing of RHPS once at a horror convention when I was a teenager, but, I haven’t seen a live one since-it would’ve been really cool to see it at HHN though!

 

[Jerroddragon]

I have Two Podcasts to Recommend The White Vault and The Black Tapes

Both are really great, listened to both series last year while I headed to HHN and really got me in the mood for some scarys

 

[UNIrd]

If you haven't seen Invisible Man, it's now on HBO Max. I also picked up both Hocus Pocus and Beetlejuice on 4K Blu-ray and watched those the past 2 nights. They look better than ever.

 

[Stryker]

One of my all time favorites is The Omen (1976). It's about a child who is the anti-Christ so "666" appears in the movie. I remember watching it in high school with a bunch of friends and it ended right at midnight so in 6 hours it would be 6 am and the 6th day of the month. How creepy. I was so afraid to drive home that night.

There's a part II, III and IV, but the first is the best. I haven't seen the 2006 remake yet so I'll probably watch that soon.

 

[PenguinCowboy]

In terms of traditional horror-y horror movies, I 100% have watched Trick 'r Treat every year since it came out!

Other than that one constant, I usually have a rotating cast of horror movies I put on repeat (not going to lie, usually dictated by the HHN lineup, haha), including but not limited to: Slither, Shawn of the Dead, Sinister, Insidious I&II, Saw (really the OG, but the first three make a nice trilogy; complicated feelings on the rest), Dead Silence, Sleepy Hollow, and An American Werewolf in London!

For some lighter, family friendly fare I usually also have to watch Beetlejuice (I know it has an F-bomb, sue me), Hocus Pocus, and/or Ghostbusters!

I know these tend to be pretty mainstream in terms of horror, so one sliiiightly more obscure recommendation is actually a cartoon mini-series called Over the Garden Wall. It just OOZES fall vibes, and it is beautiful to look at (think Gravity Falls meets American Folk Art). It is just the right amount of silly and whimsical, and the soundtrack is sublime! The voice talent includes Elijah Wood, Christopher Lloyd, and guest voice appearances by Tim Curry, John Cleese, and Thomas Lennon! It has definitely gained a cult following over the years, and each episode is only 15 minutes long, so put together end to end it actually fills a movie time slot perfectly!

 

[Tbad556]

Highly recommend some clipping for the holiday season. They dropped a horror-themed album last year (There Existed An Addiction to Blood) and have another on the way next month (Visions of Bodies Being Burned).

clipping are an experimental hip hop group that lean heavy on the experimental part of the genre Definitely not for everyone. The rapping is all done by Daveed Diggs of Hamilton fame fwiw.

Some examples from their singles:

Nothing Is Safe (described as "a reversal of Assault on Precinct 13 with a lyric video based on the OG Halloween)




Say The Name (Candyman song)




'96 Neve Campbell (tribute to Neve Campbell's iconic character from Scream)

 

[Paulio]

Usually, I have Peacock, so I will watch all of the Universal Monster movies there as well as horror movies/TV shows from HBO Max like The Shining and The Exorcist.

 

[Grabnar]

Neither of us cares for horror movies, but we both love the cult classic musical Rocky Horror Picture Show. So we watch the dvd every Halloween evening, as a traditional event. .....and we loved the short version
Universal had at some past HHN's in the former Beetleguise Theater.

I saw a live showing of RHPS once at a horror convention when I was a teenager, but, I haven’t seen a live one since-it would’ve been really cool to see it at HHN though!

Y'all are bringing me back to college...

I was (still am) a huge RHPS fan back then. We had a local theatre troupe back then called the Queerios, now it's called O'Brien's Orchestra, and every Saturday at midnight they'd do a live shadowcast with the movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. We'd finish up coursework for the week and we'd go pre-game at a local coffeeshop/bar, and spend the rest of the night at the showing and the obligatory last call at the Drafthouse's bar. We'd usually end up back at home around 4-5am stinking drunk and covered in stage makeup.

Meanwhile, nowadays I'm in bed by 9 and up at 4 to workout before I head to work. When did I get old?
-----------------------------------
But, back on the topic of music, @Tbad556 reminded me of a few Halloween-adjacent artists that I like:

Slasher Dave, basically a synth soundtrack to horror movies that don't exist:


Slasher Film Festival Strategy, more of the same, but a little smoother. More "It Follows" than "Suspiria":


Ghost, my dream HHN music house:

 

[Tbad556]

Ghost, my dream HHN music house:

Back the Ghost recommendation hard. I've seen them three times (Papa II, Papa III and Cardinal Copia eras) and they're just the best.

 

[Allison]

In terms of traditional horror-y horror movies, I 100% have watched Trick 'r Treat every year since it came out!

Other than that one constant, I usually have a rotating cast of horror movies I put on repeat (not going to lie, usually dictated by the HHN lineup, haha), including but not limited to: Slither, Shawn of the Dead, Sinister, Insidious I&II, Saw (really the OG, but the first three make a nice trilogy; complicated feelings on the rest), Dead Silence, Sleepy Hollow, and An American Werewolf in London!

For some lighter, family friendly fare I usually also have to watch Beetlejuice (I know it has an F-bomb, sue me), Hocus Pocus, and/or Ghostbusters!

I know these tend to be pretty mainstream in terms of horror, so one sliiiightly more obscure recommendation is actually a cartoon mini-series called Over the Garden Wall. It just OOZES fall vibes, and it is beautiful to look at (think Gravity Falls meets American Folk Art). It is just the right amount of silly and whimsical, and the soundtrack is sublime! The voice talent includes Elijah Wood, Christopher Lloyd, and guest voice appearances by Tim Curry, John Cleese, and Thomas Lennon! It has definitely gained a cult following over the years, and each episode is only 15 minutes long, so put together end to end it actually fills a movie time slot perfectly!

Usually, I have Peacock, so I will watch all of the Universal Monster movies there as well as horror movies/TV shows from HBO Max like The Shining and The Exorcist.

If you find yourselves looking for any family friendly shows, all the offerings on the Food Network are 10/10 (Halloween Baking Championship, Halloween Wars, Outrageous Pumpkins) and Peacock has an R.L. Stine movie called Cabinet of Souls, takes place at Halloween (and at/surrounding a haunt) and it’s really cute.

 

[Allison]

Anyone ever tried doing 31 new/new to you movies for each night in October?

Seeing as how we don’t have HHN this year, I’m kinda attempting this now.

 

[RevFreako]

I recommend any horror fan sign up for Shudder and watch every episode of Joe Bob's Drive In. First of all, nearly every movie is eother a horror all timer or stupid fun, and Joe Bob Briggs is the finest horror critic there is. There's learning fu, gecko fu, Lone Star beer fu, Airstream trailer fu, and Darcy the Mail Girl. Four stars - the Rev says check it out.

 

[joelbryant11]

Anyone ever tried doing 31 new/new to you movies for each night in October?

Seeing as how we don’t have HHN this year, I’m kinda attempting this now.

Well that’s a great idea and now I’m mad at myself for not starting something like that two days ago. What new ones have you watched so far?

I recommend any horror fan sign up for Shudder and watch every episode of Joe Bob's Drive In. First of all, nearly every movie is eother a horror all timer or stupid fun, and Joe Bob Briggs is the finest horror critic there is. There's learning fu, gecko fu, Lone Star beer fu, Airstream trailer fu, and Darcy the Mail Girl. Four stars - the Rev says check it out.

Thanks for the rec, will check it out.

 

[RevFreako]

Thanks for the rec, will check it out.

You should. Joe Bob Briggs/John Blo os the only horror host I'm aware of that brings scholarly bona fides to the genre, Texas accent notwithstanding.

 

[Allison]

I recommend any horror fan sign up for Shudder and watch every episode of Joe Bob's Drive In. First of all, nearly every movie is eother a horror all timer or stupid fun, and Joe Bob Briggs is the finest horror critic there is. There's learning fu, gecko fu, Lone Star beer fu, Airstream trailer fu, and Darcy the Mail Girl. Four stars - the Rev says check it out.

Just for the record, personally I cannot support him, but to anyone else that wants to-feel free.

Well that’s a great idea and now I’m mad at myself for not starting something like that two days ago. What new ones have you watched so far?

So far I’ve got...

10/1: The Invisible Man-not really new to me, still a great movie but a really hard watch due to the subject matter.
10/2: The Witch in the Window-so, so good! Slow burn, unsettling kinda movie.
10/3: The Autopsy of Jane Doe-very interesting, a little confusing, but avoid at all costs if you’re not a fan of gore.

 

[RevFreako]

Just for the record, personally I cannot support him, but to anyone else that wants to-feel free.

He's made some mistakes for sure - his response to the Gillette commercial and his handking of the aftermath was super cringe - but he did stand up for the sexual harassment victims in the Fangoria situation over the soring, and quit over it. That said, I wouldn't tell you to support him or not. You could say I support your lack of support.

 

[Paulio]

Anyone ever tried doing 31 new/new to you movies for each night in October?

Seeing as how we don’t have HHN this year, I’m kinda attempting this now.

Yes, I just recently watched Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978 versions). Also, I watched the forgettable 1978 horror movie "Magic" which starred Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margaret on HBO MAX.