October’s finally here! The eager anticipation for Halloween has begun. There’s no better way to spend your free time this spooky season than binge-watching horror movies. Here are some frightening movies to get you ready for Halloween:  

Franchises: 

There are so many horror franchises that are must-watches this time of year, one of them being Scream. Although Scream wouldn’t be considered the most horrific movie that would have you keeping the lights on and the door locked while sleeping, it’s still one of the best horror franchises to exist. 

The Scream movies follow the motif of the “final girl” in horror film history. Throughout movies 1-4, Sidney Prescott and her friends are harassed by a masked killer named Ghostface. Sam Carpenter and Tara Carpenter are introduced as the new “Final Girls” in Scream 5 and Scream 6, showing that Sidney’s torch has been passed onto a new generation. 

Halloween of course has to be on this list. This franchise also has the same motif. Laurie Strode is stalked and tormented by Michael Myers on Halloween night every year for the movies she’s in. Halloween can get confusing considering the different timelines and many new characters. Even though the franchise was dragged out for longer than it should have been, the first two movies are ones you definitely need to watch this October.

Stand-alones: 

Franchises take a lot of time to get through, especially the ones that have over ten movies. Stand-alones are great to watch this Halloween season if you’re not ready for the commitment of a franchise. 

A fun stand-alone to get you in the Halloween spirit is Trick ‘r Treat. Trick ‘r Treat has four interwoven stories that take place on Halloween night. The tales are a high school principal who is secretly a serial killer, a teenage girl looking for love (but it turns out all wrong), a group of teens attempt to pull a prank that backfires on them and a cranky old man who has to face a trick-or-treating demon named Sam.

Another stand-alone you should give a try is Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. This movie, originally a series of short horror stories, is about a group of teens who go into the Bellow family’s abandoned mansion. They then stumble upon a book of scary stories written by Sarah Bellow, but the scary stories are real things that Sarah had gone through. As the teens begin to read, Sarah’s stories start emerging to haunt the teens. The group of teens are forced to try and find a way to put an end to this nightmare.  

Upcoming movies:

New horror movies, both stand-alone and franchise, are coming to theaters. In total, there are three that are the most notable: Five Nights at Freddy’s, Totally Killer and The Exorcist: Believer.

Five Nights at Freddy’s is based on a fictional horror video game series released in 2014, and the movie will be released Oct. 27. Five Nights at Freddy’s follows the main character. Mike Schmidt, a security guard working the night shift at Freddy Faz Bear’s Pizza. While working the night shift five animatronics come to life and attempt to kill him.

Totally Killer will be released Oct. 6, In this movie, a murderer returns after thirty-five years to kill their fourth victim. Jamie, the leading character, comes face-to-face with the killer when she accidentally time-travels back to 1987. Jamie then teams up with her mother to try and take down the killer for good. 

The Exorcist: Believer will be the sixth movie in this franchise when it comes out on October 6, 2023. This Exorcist movie is a direct sequel to the original one that was released in 1973. Just like the original The Exorcist: Believer will follow a family and the possession of a young girl.

Non-scary movies:

Horror movies can be very entertaining, although they aren’t for everybody. Some classic movies for this October are The Craft, Carrie and Beetlejuice. These are all thrillers for which you may not need to leave the lights on.

The Craft is not only an outstanding movie, but its message is admirable: school cliques can be damaging for young women. Female empowerment is the undertone. The Craft takes place in a high school in Los Angeles and is about four outcast teenage girls who pursue witchcraft for their personal gain and the negative repercussions they face.

Carrie was released in 1974 and has had multiple remakes throughout the years. Carrie, a high school girl who doesn’t fit in at her school, discovers that she has telekinetic powers. Her religious mother and peers from school lead her over the edge, which causes her to unleash her built-up emotions at the senior prom. 

Beetlejuice is a classic loved by all with its witty sayings and unusual plot. The storyline revolves around a recently deceased couple getting in contact with a friend named Beetlejuice, a devious and obnoxious ghost. He attempts to scare away the home’s new owners. With its abnormal plot, this movie will make you want to keep watching.