Three Halloween Movies You Probably Haven’t Watched (But Should)

For those of you who don’t know me, I am a Halloween nut. I love this time of year and look forward to it from January onward. I love the smell of pumpkin and fog machines, enjoy long walks through Spirit Halloween, and I am fully convinced any food item tastes better when it is pumpkin or ghost shaped, especially candy.

If it’s spooky or scary, I am into it. And that is especially true for movies. I have a roster of Halloween movies and specials that I watch every year. Of course some of the regular standbys are on the list (I consider myself a part-time resident of Halloweentown and an honorary Sanderson sister), but there are also quite a few that I adore but that a lot of people have apparently never heard of.

Well this year, I aim to change that. Here, for your reading and viewing pleasure, is a list of Halloween movies that you probably haven’t seen but should absolutely go seek out if you want to take your spooky season up a notch.

“When Good Ghouls Go Bad” – 2001

We start with a deep cut from my childhood. This TV movie first aired on Fox Family (remember when that existed?), and was based on a concept by the creator of Goosebumps himself, R.L. Stine. It stars Christopher Lloyd as “Uncle Fred” Walker.

His son James and grandson Danny have recently moved in with him in Walker Falls, a town supposedly cursed by a boy named Curtis Danko 20 years ago, doomed to destruction if they ever celebrated another Halloween, and the townspeople are fully convinced that the curse is real and haven’t observed the holiday in two decades.

Things start to change, though, when Uncle Fred is crushed by a falling tower of pumpkins in the town square, only to come back as a friendly zombie, followed soon after by just about every other resident of the local cemetery.

Yes this is a movie made for kids, but it’s also one of those awesome ones that has just enough creep factor and humor to make it just as much fun to watch for adults. It’s one of those great children’s movies that doesn’t dumb anything down for them, and watching it again as a grown-up, there was a lot that I caught and was able to appreciate that I couldn’t as a kid.

If you’re like me and enjoy leaning into the nostalgia of the holiday, this movie is perfect. It really captures that feeling of being a kid in a world that was beginning to feel smaller even as you held on to the magic you hadn’t quite stopped believing in yet. It is available on DVD but the last release was in 2008 so copies are rare and expensive. There are several decent uploads of the whole film on YouTube though.

“Hubie Halloween” – 2020

Okay I may lose some of you with this one, but yes, I am including the Adam Sandler Halloween movie on this list, and I will die on this hill. This one is pretty straightforward.

Hubie Dubois lives in Salem, Massachusetts with his mom and works at the local deli counter. Everyone in town picks on him with a few notable exceptions, and frankly you can kinda see why, as he is a bit dim and wicked easy to scare. But he also has a good heart and spends every Halloween as the town’s self-designated “Halloween Helper”, whether the local authorities appreciate his assistance or not.

But when a series of mysterious disappearances and occurrences occur on the most important night of the year for Salem, it’s up to Hubie to find out the truth and stop the culprit.

This one might be my favorite Halloween movie ever at this point, and yes I know what I said. Is it stupid? Well, yeah, it’s a Happy Madison movie. But it’s stupid in a good way, where it knows what it is and leans into it. And it’s stupid in a funny way.

Not to mention the absolutely STACKED cast the film has, including Julie Bowen, Ray Liotta, Michael Chiklis, and Steve Buscemi. Everyone in this film had a great time and it shows onscreen. More than anything though, this film is dripping in Halloween vibes. I swear I can smell caramel apples and carved pumpkins every time I watch. It’s just the most Halloween of Halloween movies and I eat it up every time. It’s available to stream on Netflix.

“Trick r’ Treat” – 2007

This one has gotten more recognition as of late, especially thanks to its main character’s presence all over Spirit Halloween, but whenever I mention it to people, I am still almost always told they have never heard of it, so I feel safe including it on this list.

The film comes to us from the same guy who gave us “Krampus” so that should give you an idea of the vibes you’re in for. It’s an anthology of interconnected stories set in the fictional town of Warren Valley, Ohio, with the mysterious “Sam” in his adorable footie pajamas watching over it all and making sure no one breaks the rules of the holiday…or else.

This is another one that falls into the “drenched in Halloween vibes” category, albeit much darker and bloodier vibes. This one is a straight up horror film with tits, gore, and ghouls aplenty, but I think my favorite thing about it is that there is seemingly not one second of screen time that is not Halloween-focused.

The movie is written and shot in such a way as to make Halloween feel like not just one night a year, but an entire universe unto itself. If you want a horror movie that puts you in the Halloween spirit and Mikey Meyers isn’t doing it for you anymore, you can’t get a better flick than this cult classic.

It’s currently streaming on HBO Max (or whatever the fuck it’s called this week). And there you have it. Hopefully one or all of these movies add some fun to your spooky season. Happy Haunting!

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