Unusual Movies to Add to Your Halloween Watchlist

By Shannon O’Shea

I adore Halloween. One of my favorite parts of the year is the month of October, and one of my favorite parts of October is watching tons of scary and seasonal movies! Of course, I do love all the classics - Halloween, Beetlejuice, and yes, Hocus Pocus. But, I’m always excited to find something new to add to my lineup, especially something that’s a little weird or something I didn’t really expect to like. For anyone else who’s looking to expand their Halloween horizons, here’s a list of some fun, weird, and worth-watching spooky movies to check out!

1: The Love Witch

What a film! This is one of those movies I didn’t know how to process even once I had finished it. Like, I don’t even know how to explain it for the purpose of this synopsis. It’s one of those movies that you just have to experience for yourself. It has a unique, vintage style despite being a recent release, and it creates its own bizarre and enthralling world. It’s about a modern-day witch named Elaine and the spells she casts on the men who pass through her life. It’s weird, visually striking, and, though not explicitly a Halloween movie, I think it definitely fits the bill seeing as it’s a film about spells and witches.

2: What We Do In the Shadows

This is the perfect watch for anyone who loves spooky vibes but hates actually being scared. It was popular enough to get its own spin-off TV show, but if you haven’t had a chance to check the movie out yet, you absolutely should! It’s a mockumentary chronicling the lives of a group of vampires and shows their day-to-day struggles with everything from roommates not doing their chores to finding the next unsuspecting human to drink blood from. It’s goofy, hilarious and has perfect Halloween vibes.

3 & 4: Suspiria

Dario Argento’s 1977 art-horror is unusual and iconic. Visually arresting and creatively bizarre, it’s a great movie to check out if you’re getting bored of the more formulaic types of horror films. The 2018 remake, directed by Luca Guadagnino, is worth watching too—it’s more of a rework of the concept than a direct remake of the original film. It actually features one of the most bizarre and visually shocking climactic sequences of any blockbuster film I’ve watched recently, and I admire the fact that the film doesn’t seem to want to be immediately understandable or extremely palatable.

5: A Nightmare on Elm Street

This choice might seem too obvious, but hear me out! I actually didn’t get around to watching this film until last year, so now I’m intent on spreading the word to anyone else who hasn’t checked this one out! I guess since it’s considered a classic for the horror genre, I didn’t expect it to really do anything strange or unexpected. But, as soon as I watched it, it became one of my top Halloween movies for its unusual style. It’s super creative and has an energetic and stylized tone, making it feel different from most slashers (it’s basically the opposite of Halloween). It is one of the more straightforward horror-genre picks on this list, though, so steer clear if you aren’t a fan of that type of film. But for horror viewers, or anyone looking to get a little bit scared, I definitely recommend this film.

6: Over the Garden Wall

Okay, so technically this one isn’t a film. But it more than earns a place on this list! Though I didn’t grow up watching cartoons and I haven’t had an affinity for them as an adult, I absolutely adored this animated Cartoon Network miniseries when I first watched it this year. It has impeccable fall vibes and a wonderfully spooky, sometimes surprisingly dark atmosphere. Lovable characters, strange-but-memorable musical numbers, dancing pumpkins, and short episode lengths make it perfect for curling up on the couch and watching this month.

If there are any films on this list you haven’t had a chance to watch yet, I definitely encourage you to check them out! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.