It’s Halloween! Which means everyone should go home tonight and load up on the scary movies (the scarier the better, is what we say – we like our horror straight, and rarely with a dash of comedy). But how many of those movies are actually set on Halloween? That, surprisingly, proves to be a somewhat trickier question.
While it seems as if there will always be an endless supply of movies set at or around Christmas, the list of films taking place on or around October 31st didn’t leap out at us at first, We found them, of course, but realized that Halloween is such a singular experience, with such specific connotations, that it is not open to a wide variety of stories and movies the way, say, the Christmas season is.
No, Halloween is all about one thing and one thing only, and the movies we picked below hopefully reflect that. And even if they weren’t set on All Hallow’s Eve, they still represent a fine selection of movies to watch tonight – because it’s Halloween, and you should.
Halloween (1978): Well, obviously. We just watched this again the other night (on a gorgeous new Blu-ray transfer) and while the ensuing 35 years have not been kind to the film in some ways (primarily in costuming and some of the early pacing), it still retains its terrifying power and makes full use of the modern trappings of the holiday.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982): While all the films in the Halloween franchise are set around the magic day, this is one of the best. No Michael Myers, just a bizarre plan to kill children on Halloween night through the use of masks that are cursed through witchcraft. Oh, did we tell you there are androids in the movie as well? People are still discovering this out-there film.
Trick ‘R’ Treat (2007): This semi-throwback to the great horror anthology films of lore tells several creepy stories at once, all intertwined and taking place in the same town on Halloween night. Eerie, funny and thoroughly original, Michael Dougherty’s little genre love letter sat on the shelf for two years thanks to the studio having no idea to market it. Now it’s a genuine cult classic – and there’s a sequel on the way!
Night of the Demons (1988): A bunch of randy teenagers assemble at the local abandoned mortuary for a party on Halloween night? As Larry Levy said in The Player, the script writes itself on this one. The film isn’t exactly begging for critical reappraisal or a Criterion restoration, but as an example of cheesy, somewhat vulgar Eighties horror, you can’t do much better.
Satan’s Little Helper (2005): Maverick filmmaker Jeff Lieberman – the weirdo behind indie horror gems like Squirm, Blue Sunshine and Just Before Dawn – creates a semi-satire of slasher films here, as well as a commentary on idol worship, as a little boy inadvertently helps a serial killer work his way through most of a small community on All Hallow’s Eve. It’s crudely effective, if only because it’s commenting on its own crudity at the same time.
Donnie Darko (1981): Richard Kelly’s rumination on death, time travel, metaphysics and a whole bunch of other stuff centers around one of the most frightening Halloween costumes we’ve ever come across in a film – and it’s a bunny. A Halloween party also anchors much of the movie’s second half, until the movie’s second half is completely erased from reality, that is.
May (2002): Indie horror auteur Lucky McKee made his directorial debut with this tender story of a young woman (an outstanding Angela Bettis) who decides to make the perfect friend – out of parts of everyone else she comes into contact with. And since she goes on her little slice-and-stitch adventure on Halloween night, she even does it in costume. Sadly, the rest of the cast doesn’t live to see November 1st.
House of 1,000 Corpses (2001): Rob Zombie’s directorial debut lacks taste, good acting (even with Rainn Wilson and the late Karen Black in the mix) and a coherent story, but it’s steeped in Zombie’s trademark trashy atmosphere and a gonzo “anything can happen” vibe. And of course it could only be set on Halloween. These days we find it more enjoyable that Zombie’s ill-advised Halloween remake.
Other films partially set on or around Halloween: The Lady in White (1988), Pumpkinhead (1988), Ginger Snaps (2000), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), The Crow (1994) and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976).