It's Spooky Season once again! Feel free to follow along with this year's watchlist while you dust off your haunted dolls and elaborate torture devices.
We've got a mix of classics, new releases, and a whole lot of voodoo!
Feel free to skip over anything you've already seen and watch one you haven't. Also, anything marked 'Optional' is not officially part of the watchlist but is recommended nonetheless.
Enjoy!
Starting off we're going to take a look at the must-watch media for the upcoming New Orleans trip!
Each group is based off of one of these, so knowledge of the other groups may be helpful.
One of the greatest horror films of all time. An absolute must-watch.
"What the fuck?!" - Nick
Get your droogs together for Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the famous novel.
Expect a surprisingly thought-provoking look at sex, ultra-violence, morality, and dairy consumption.
Although I'm sure everyone has seen this show, it's been eight years since the first season released so a perfect time to rewatch!
Trivia: The town of Hawkins and Jim Hopper are both named after characters from Predator (1987)
They're creepy and they're kooky...
Mysterious and spooky...
They're all together ooky...
Embrace your inner not-a-phase, 2010, hot topic child with an absolute classic.
This is another film that makes the list every year (and for good reason).
If you don't want to watch this film again so soon, feel free to watch a few episodes of the TV show.
Although this is the fourth installment in the "Child's Play" series, it is by far the best one.
You absolutely do not need to watch the others first. All you need to know going in is that serial killer Charles Lee Ray used voodoo to transfer his soul into a talking doll.
This movie is a direct continuation of Bride of Chucky and is iconic in its depiction of transgender youths.
Let me live 'neath your spell
Do do that voodoo that you do so well
'Cause you do something to me
That nobody else could do
- Cole Porter
A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.
A puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.
To get us into the history of the area, we're next going to look at some great films set in New Orleans, LA.
In 1955 New Orleans, small-time private investigator Harry Angel is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cypher to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite, but the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Sexy vampires before it was cool. Starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Antonio Banderas.
A waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.
We are currently experiencing a Horror renaissance, so here are some bangers.
The first film in the 'X' series. A great modern horror trilogy which makes some really interesting choices.
Also Jenna Ortega has a sex scene.
This film was written during and started filming immediately after 'X' was being shot. It's not bad, but it's not as good as the first or third movies.
Since it's a prequel, you can safely skip it and go straight to Maxxxine.
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.
In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.
This movie is CREEPY.
A self-described "requel" which does a great job of incorporating the legacy characters while bringing fresh faces into the fold.
An excellent continuation with the new cast. If you enjoyed any Scream film, you will enjoy this one.
We've come a long way from the Three Witches of Macbeth... or have we?
Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted, at a cost, when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.
When a fading actress learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
Heavily referenced in Sabrina Carpenter's Taste music video.
A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.
Featuring a young Neve Campbell (from Scream fame) and Fairuza Balk (Vicki Vallencourt from The Waterboy).
These don't have a unifying theme, but they're probably still worth watching.
THIS. MOVIE. IS. NOT. TORTURE. PORN.
The others might be, but this movie is one of the greatest thrillers of all time and is tamer than your average episode of Game of Thrones.
The filming of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) is hampered by the fact that its star Max Schreck is taking the role of a vampire far more seriously than seems humanly possible.
I'm not gonna say what race... the exorcist in this movie was... we know I can't say that.
It was a Jewish exorcist.
The edgiest of the edgy. I really thought Drew's D&D character was based on this.
The on-set death of Brandon Lee was tragic. Hollywood also did not learn its lesson. To save you the search, he died after filming, during reshoots so 99% of the movie is really him.
Our return to the area has warranted both of these films be added to the list. If anyone wants to get up to some Sleepy Hollow shenanigans, hmu.
Old school Disney animated adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Extremely stylized Tim Burton adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Featuring Christopher Walken as everybody's favorite headless Hessian.
And of course we have to finish off the season with just some fun, vibe-y media.
An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.
Technically a remake of the 1966 show, although they don't share much. This movie is just a good Halloween vibe.
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Women. Can't live with 'em...
Two brothers find themselves lost in a mysterious land and try to find their way home.
If you've never watched this series, watch this series. The total runtime is 111 minutes, so very doable in one or two nights!
It's not really Halloween if you don't get a visit from the Great Pumpkin.