13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Halloween...

A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a bookish teenage girl and her friends while his doctor chases him through the streets.

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Cast:  Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards, Brian Andrews, John Michael Graham, Nancy Stephens, Arthur Malet, Mickey Yablans, Brent Le Page, Adam Hollander, Robert Phalen, Tony Moran
Directed by: John Carpenter
Written by: John Carpenter & Debra Hill
Production: Compass International Pictures & Falcon International Productions
Release Date: October 25th, 1978

And this is the last and favorite in my little thirteen days of Halloween movies. Halloween (1978) is one of my favorite movies of all time, anytime of the year. I don't know why but I just love this film and I have ever since I was a child.

Apparently theaters all over the country are playing it tonight. So if you wanna see it on the big screen, which I totally do and am thinking about going to the movies by myself for the first time ever, you can check on ScreenVision to see if it's at a theater near you.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown...

The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin.

Genre: Animated/Short/Comedy
Cast:  Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Sally Dryer, Kathy Steinberg, Ann Altieri, Gail DeFaria, Lisa DeFaria, Bill Melendez, Glenn Mendelson 
Directed by: Bill Melendez
Written by: Charles M. Schulz
Production: Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Bill Melendez Productions, United Feature Syndicate
Release Date: October 27th, 1966

I know, I know... It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) isn't a movie but c'mon, it's not a holiday without the Peanuts gang!

Here is an article that came out the other day in The Washington Post called ‘It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’: 7 Things You Don’t Know About Thursday’s ‘Peanuts’ Special.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Salem's Lot...

Vampires are invading a small New England town. It's up to a novelist and a young horror fan to save it.

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Cast: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres, Ed Flanders, Fred Willard, Julie Cobb, Kenneth McMillan, Geoffrey Lewis, Barney McFadden, Marie Windsor, Bonnie Bartlett, George Dzundza, Elisha Cook Jr., Clarissa Kaye-Mason, Ned Wilson, Barbara Babcock, Joshua Bryant, James Gallery, Brad Savage, Ronnie Scribner, Reggie Nalder
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Written by: Stephen King & Paul Monash
Production: Warner Bros. Television
Release Date: November 17th, 1979

What's a list of Halloween/horror/whatever movies without one based off a Stephen King novel?! Salem's Lot (1979) is the first vampire movie that I ever saw, so it is what I base vampires on -- No sparkly vampires for me! If you haven't seen this 70's TV movie, then you need to get on this one.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Poltergeist...

A family's home is haunted by a host of ghosts.

Genre: Horror
Cast: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O'Rourke, Michael McManus, Virginia Kiser, Martin Casella, Richard Lawson, Zelda Rubinstein, James Karen, Lou Perryman, Clair E. Leucart, Dirk Blocker, Allan Graf
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Written by: Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor 
Production:
Release Date: June 4th, 1982

This is one of those horror movies that I've loved since I first saw it as a child. I actually make a point of making people watch it if I find out that they haven't seen it -- I think it was last year I made Justin, Phil and another one of our friends watch it. If you like ghost movies this is a must.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Fido...

Timmy Robinson's best friend in the whole wide world is a six-foot tall rotting zombie named Fido. But when Fido eats the next-door neighbor, Mom and Dad hit the roof, and Timmy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido a part of the family. A boy-and-his-dog movie for grown ups, "FIDO" will rip your heart out.

Genre: Comedy/Horror/Drama
Cast:  Jan Skorzewski, Kevin Tyell, Andy Parkin, Lynn Pendleton, Gary Slater, Taylor Petri, Glenn Richards, Raphael Kepinski, Carl-James Kalbfleisch, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight, Kesun Loder, Alexia Fast, Henry Czerny, Aaron Brown, Brandon Olds, Jennifer Clement, Tim Blake Nelson, Sonja Bennett, Mary Black, Bernard Cuffling, Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly, Dylan Baker, Glen Power, Michael Irwin, Liam Crocker, Lauren Oleksewich, Harold Courchene, Geoff Adams, Michael P. Northey, Adam Scorgie, John B. Lowe, Raymond E. Bailey, Doug Abrahams, Rob LaBelle, Jacob Rupp, Clint Carleton, Lauro Chartrand, Andrew Hedge, Chad Sayn, Rick Pearce, Barbara Moss
Directed by: Andrew Currie
Written by: Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie & Dennis Heaton
Production: Lions Gate Films, Anagram Pictures, Astral Media, British Columbia Film, CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund, Canadian Television Fund, Chum Television, Movie Central Network, Movie Network, Téléfilm Canada
 Release Date: March 16th, 2007

This is the zombie movie for people who aren't into super gory stuff and want a good laugh. A+ Canada for this sweet little zombie comedy flick.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: The Worst Witch...

Mildred is one of the young girls at a prestigious witch academy. She can't seem to do anything right and is picked on by classmates and teachers. The headmistress of the school, Miss Cackle, has an evil twin sister who plans to destroy the school. Can Mildred foil the plan before the Grand Wizard comes to the Academy for the Halloween celebration you'll never forget?!!

I couldn't find a trailer for this particular movie, probably because it was a TV movie from 1986 but I did find the full movie on YouTube.


Genre: Comedy/Family/Fantasy
Cast:  Diana Rigg, Charlotte Rae, Tim Curry, Fairuza Balk, Sabina Franklyn, Su Elliot, Danielle Batchelor, Anna Kipling, Leila Marr, Liz May Brice, Katrina Heath, Tara Stevenson, Laura Heath, Sophie Cook, Sophie Millett, Julia Nagle, Kathryn Lacey, Nevena Kaley, Caroline Woolf, Amy Shindler, Pui Fan Lee
Written by: Jill Murphy & Mary Pleshette Willis
Production: Central Independent Television
Release Date: November 1st, 1986

Why should you watch this movie? Because of this right here...


If that wasn't enough for you, I don't know what to tell you...

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: The Cabin In The Woods....

Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Brian White, Amy Acker, Tim De Zarn, Tom Lenk
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Written by: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Production: Lionsgate & Mutant Enemy 
Release Date: April13th, 2012

This is one of those films I went to see with little expectations of because it looked like tons of other horror/slasher films and it ended up blowing me away. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and if  you haven't seen it I really urge you to, more so than any of the other movies I've mentioned. It's really a great movie.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Ghostbusters...

Three unemployed parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.

Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi
Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson, David Margulies, 
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Written by: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis & Rick Moranis 
Production: Black Rhino Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation & Delphi Films
Release Date: June 8th, 1984

I don't think I could have gotten away with doing this little project without mentioning Ghostbusters (1984) because...

1. Um, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver & Harold Ramis
2. Justin "Fucking loves Ghostbusters!!!" (He was drunk in Las Vegas & screamed this at a dude wearing a Ghostbusters shirt in the casino at Mandalay Bay)
3. And it's a pretty great movie

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Friday The 13th...

Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp that was the site of a child's drowning.

Genre: Horror
Cast:  Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan,  Kevin Bacon, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Peter Brouwer, Rex Everhart, Ronn Carroll, Ron Millkie, Walt Gorney, Willie Adams, Debra S. Hayes, Dorothy Kobs, Sally Anne Golden, Mary Rocco,  Ken L. Parker, Ari Lehman
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Victor Miller, Sean S. Cunningham, Ron Kurz & Victor Miller 
Production: Paramount Pictures, Georgetown Productions Inc. & Sean S. Cunningham Films
Release Date: May 9th, 1980


This is one of those horror movies that I first watched as a child (Yeah, my parent's let me watch horror movies as a kid and I think they are awesome because of it) and still love to this day. It is just such an amazing slasher flick (That spawned a franchise of twelve movies in total, plus a 2009 remake) and is a must watch in my opinion.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Hocus Pocus...

After 300 years, three sister witches are resurrected in Salem Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it us up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches reign of terror once and for all.

Genre: Comedy/Family/Fantasy
Cast: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Jodie-Amy Rivera, Larry Bagby, Tobias Jelinek, Stephanie Faracy, Charles Rocket, Doug Jones, Karyn Malchus, Sean Murray, Steve Voboril, Norbert Weisser, Kathleen Freeman, Jason Marsden
Directed by: Kenny Ortega
Written by: David Kirschner, Mick Garris & Neil Cuthbert
Production: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: July 16th, 1993

This movie was probably a total give in for those of you that have been following me for a while -- I was one of the Sanderson sisters (Mary to be exact) for Halloween last year and I made a handful of posts about it at the time. But yeah, Hocus Pocus (1993) is one of my all time favorite childhood movies and it made me want to be a witch.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: 28 Days Later...

Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.

Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Luke Mably, Stuart McQuarrie, Ricci Harnett, Leo Bill, Junior Laniyan, Ray Panthaki,  Sanjay Rambaruth, Marvin Campbell, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Huntley, Christopher Dunne, Emma Hitching, Alexander Delamere, Kim McGarrity
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland
Production: DNA Films & British Film Council
Release Date: June 27th, 2003 (USA)

As an avid fan of zombies, I've seen a lot of zombie movies -- I'm talking about like everything from George A. Romero's classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) to the not so classy classic Zombie Strippers (2008). And that being said, 28 Days Later (2003) is absolutely one of my favorite movies in the zombie genre and I just love everything about it. If you like zombie movies and you haven't seen this one, WHY?! Go watch it!

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Shaun Of The Dead...

A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

Genre: Comedy/Horror
Cast: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Nicola Cunningham Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright
Production:  Universal Pictures -- StudioCanal, Working Title Films, WT2 Productions, Big Talk Productions, Inside Track 2, FilmFour & De Wolfe Music
Release Date: September 24th, 2004

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and zombies. What do I have to explain?!

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: The Devil's Backbone...

After Carlos, a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War, arrives at an ominous boy's orphanage he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets that he must uncover.

Genre: Drama/Horror
Cast:  Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve, Íñigo Garcés, Irene Visedo, José Manuel Lorenzo, Francisco Maestre, Junio Valverde, Berta Ojea, Adrián Lamana, Daniel Esparza
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras & David Muñoz
Production: El Deseo S.A. -- Tequila Gang, Sogepaq, Canal+ España, Anhelo Producciones
Release Date: April 20th, 2001

Something that you probably don't know about me is that I absolutely love foreign language horror movies, especially Spanish language ones. That being said, El Espinazo Del Diablo or The Devil's Backbone (2001) is one of my favorites in the genre. It is a beautifully thoughtful ghost story that puts other ghost stories to shame. That being said, if you are okay reading subtitles watch this movie.

13 Days Of Halloween Movies: Trick 'R Treat...

Since Halloween is creeping closer and closer I thought it would be fun to do a little thirteen days of horror (or not) movie recommendations. So, for the next two weeks and a day I will be featuring some of my personal favorites in the genre of horror, comedy-horror, paranormal, Halloween, etc. in daily posts.

And now for the first...

Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.

Genre: Comedy/Horror/Thriller
Cast: Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Quinn Lord, Lauren Lee Smith. Tahmoh Penikett, Moneca Delain, Brett Kelly, Britt McKillip, Isabelle Deluce, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Leslie Bibb, Patrick Gilmore, C. Ernst Harth, Christine Willes
Directed by: Michael Dougherty
Written by: Michael Dougherty
Production: Warner Bros. -- Legendary Pictures, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Little Sam Films
Release Date: December 9th, 2007

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this movie the first time I watched it. It was unexpected, amazing and a great way to get into the spirit of Halloween.

If you don't feel like renting this one it is going to be livestreaming on the Legendary Pictures Facebook on October 28th at 7:30pm PT/10:30pm ET because they are having theatrical screening that day that will be followed by a cast and crew panel at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

If you guys have any favorites that you'd like to recommend to me I'd love to hear about them!