My SO and I are always looking for good movies, shows, etc. to fill the month of October. We like things that are atmospheric, cerebral, or just fun. But a lot of the standard recommendations are your typical slasher movies and the like, disgusting body horror, kids movies that we have no interest in, and things that are just plain miserable.

Here’s some things we’ve liked to one degree or another from previous years.

Action Horror / Horror That’s Actually Enjoyable

  • Aliens
  • Bram Stoker’s Dracula
  • Fright Night
  • Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
  • The Mummy (1999)
  • Silence of the Lambs
  • Sleepy Hollow (Great? No. Fun? Yes.)
  • Termors 1 & 2
  • Various Stephen King Mini series (IT, The Stand, Rose Red)

Funny and Spooky

  • Army of Darkness
  • BeetleJuice
  • Bubba Ho-Tep
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie)
  • The Burbs (didn’t love it, but a good fit)
  • Death Becomes Her
  • The Frighteners
  • Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace
  • Ghostbusters 1 & 2
  • Gremlins 1 & 2
  • High Anxiety
  • Little Shop of Horrors (not really into musicals, but still a good fit)
  • Shaun of the Dead
  • What We Do in the Shadows (movie)
  • Various MST3K horror movie episodes
  • Young Frankenstein

Anthology Shows (inherently hit or miss)

  • The Twilight Zone (60s)
  • The Outer Limits (90s)
  • Tales From the Crypt

Old Timey Classics

  • Dracula
  • Frankenstein (actually underwhelming, but it was a good fit)
  • The Haunting (1963)
  • The Haunting of Hill House (with Rifftrax, but still counts)
  • The Last Man on Earth
  • Psycho
  • The Invisible Man

Barely Qualifies as spooky but still good:

  • Dark Man
  • The Dead Zone (movie)
  • Men in Black
  • Pacific Rim
  • The Shadow
  • They Live
  • @EvilBit
    6•21 hours ago

    As long as you don’t mind blood and guts in a lighter context, Cabin in the Woods and Tucker and Dale vs Evil are both incredibly fun comedy horror. Neither is really scary (though CitW has a stretch where it emulates classic slasher tropes), but both are quotably hilarious. Considering Shaun of the Dead is on your list and it includes a full evisceration, you’re probably fine.

    If you’ve seen Bubba Ho-Tep but not at least Evil Dead 2 if not also Army of Darkness, then you’re woefully deprived.

    Zombieland and its sequel are both delightful popcorn fun and very funny.

    Happy Death Day is a slasher, but it’s also Groundhog Day and a likable, fun, PG-13 romp without too much meanness or darkness. The sequel is… fine.

    Slither is a brilliant horror comedy but it’s a bit of a gross-out type, so it’s iffy if you don’t like seeing people swell to bursting with alien slugs and stuff like that. But the tone is always light and it’s just so much fun. Nathan Fillion in his peak Firefly days is the immensely likable hero.

    There’s also a movie from the 80’s called Night of the Creeps that’s a cheesy, schlocky, gooey slugfest that is the spiritual predecessor to Slither.

    Speaking of the 80’s, Return of the Living Dead is a super fun and funny 80’s zombie movie that actually has the honor of originating the “zombies eat brains” trope as far as I know.

    If the 90’s are in play, Idle Hands is a fun, slightly gross, thoroughly silly stoner horror comedy that’s especially fun if you’re a fan of The Offspring (IYKYK).

    I would also add Coraline and Nightmare Before Christmas as spooky atmospheric fun that aren’t obnoxiously kid-focused.

    And segueing into Christmas horror, Krampus is a really fun movie that is both very funny and, but also works as a solid proper horror movie AND a family Christmas movie (for freaks like me).