Halloween is on Saturday and you’re probably trying to get into the spirit. Perhaps you have a Halloween party planned and need some help deciding what activities to do once all of the bobbing for apples and other debauchery is winding down. The activity most will choose is watching a scary movie (“and chill” not guaranteed or required) to put you in the Halloween mood. I’ve compiled my three favorite movies that actually are about Halloween!

Halloween (1978)

Let’s start with the most obvious choice on the list: the 1978 classic that birthed the slasher genre. Michael Myers escapes from a mental institution and tries to hunt down a babysitter on the night of Halloween. Not only is the film a classic in the sense of the script, cinematography, and cast, but it also completely captures the essence of Fall in the Midwest on Halloween. If you haven’t seen this film (or someone at your gathering hasn’t), do yourself a favor and check out John Carpenter’s masterpiece. Oh, and if anyone recommends the Rob Zombie remake by saying “It’s the same thing,” promptly make them leave your party after a swift punch to the throat.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

There is much debate on whether this is a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie. The director has come out and said it’s a Halloween movie but you should find any reason to watch this amazing film. The film follows the plight of Jack Skellington (The Pumpkin King if you’re nasty) and his desire to find something more in life than just scaring people on Halloween. With a wonderfully creative cast of characters, songs that will be forever stuck in your head, and a story that we can all relate to, Nightmare Before Christmas is a wonderful film for people of all ages and not just for emo teens who feel ignored by their parents and shop at Hot Topic (I’m in that category, though).

Trick R Treat (2009)

This is one of the best pure Halloween movies to come out since, well, the original Halloween (again, if you mention Rob Zombie, throat=punch). The movie follows the tale of several individuals as their stories all intertwine on Halloween night. You have a zombie story, a werewolf story, and a story of the not-so-normal neighbor all expertly weaved together. This film also gives us the wonderful horror character of Sam, who nicely ties all the stories together. Once you watch this film, you can be that guy that constantly recommends it to everyone and gets brownie points for being hipster about a movie not a lot of people have heard about. Grow out your beard and manbun in preparation for those sweet, gluten-free brownie points!

Any films I missed? Let me know in the comments!

More From WDKS-FM