Plot: Dr. Louis Creed’s family moves into the country house of their dreams and discover a pet cemetery at the back of their property. The cursed burial ground deep in the woods brings the dead back to life – with minor problems. At first, only the family’s cat makes the return trip, but an accident forces a heartbroken father to contemplate the unthinkable.

Horror Subgenre(s): Folk Horror Films, Psychological Horror Films, Films About Zombies

KBZ’s Take: One of the better Stephen King Film Adaptations that’s as heartbreaking as it is terrifying. Though the 2019 remake switched things up a bit and was an admirable effort, it couldn’t match the emotional core of the original film with its saddest ‘villain’ in horror film history.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church. If opened, it could mean the end of the world.

Horror Subgenre(s): Cosmic Horror Films, Survival Horror Films, Films About the Devil, Demons & Hell, Films About Zombies

KBZ’s Take: Most younger horror fans have seen John Carpenter’s classic The Thing (1984) but somehow have not yet seen this classic film from Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy” (which also includes In the Mouth of Madness (1991)). Carpenter is a master of horror for a reason, and this film is a perfect blend of technology, the Apocalypse, demonic possession and Satan. Even with the film being dated a bit, the scares within the film have stood the test of time.

Additional Lists: Top Films About the Devil, Demons & Hell You Haven’t Seen – 1970 – 1989 #2, Best Apocalypse Films #13

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate as they go on a rampage seeking their favorite food: brains!

Horror Subgenre(s): Horror Comedies, Films About Zombies

KBZ’s Take: 1985 had a one-two punch of Day of the Dead (1985), which is #13 on our list, and Return of the Living Dead. Both are classic films of the Zombie Film subgenre, but Return is a slightly better (and scarier) film. Though the film has equal parts horror and comedy, it’s the film’s early comedic elements that catch you off guard once it transitions to full-on horror mode with some truly frightening sequences.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings – Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), teenaged Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O’Rourke) – when ghosts commune with them through the television set. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist for help.

Subgenre(s): Films About The Paranormal, Hauntings & Ghosts

KBZ’s Take: Like Jaws (1975), Poltergeist somehow received a PG-rating though it would likely be rated PG-13 in today’s environment. The film has quite a few terrifying scares that emotionally scarred a generation of 80’s kids who quickly came to fear clowns and leftover chicken. Though it’s a great ‘family’ pick for Halloween movie night, you might want to keep younger kids away from the film to keep their innocence of youth intact.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop’s daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world…

Horror Subgenre(s): Slasher Films

KBZ’s Take: Freddy Kreuger often makes up the third horror great of the triumvirate of 80’s slashers – after Michael Meyers and Jason Vorhees. However, unlike those slashers, Freddy doesn’t hide behind a mask and rose to fame with his patented knives-infused glove. Nightmare also latched on to supernatural themes of horror that the Friday the 13^th and Halloween franchises would soon follow. Even though the film is almost 40 years old, it’s still one of the scarier films from the 80’s that’s defied time.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Strange things begin to occur as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone stumbles upon a dark secret about the town’s founding; radio announcer Stevie witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.

Horror Subgenre(s): Survival Horror Films, Films About The Paranormal, Hauntings & Ghosts, Films About Zombies

KBZ’s Take: Of all of John Carpenter horror films, The Fog is one of his least-well known and seen films. But it’s also one of his scariest films after Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982) and Prince of Darkness (1987). Though the film was dismissed as a below average horror film on its release in 1980, it’s earned cult classic status over time as its eternal themes of supernatural revenge continue to scare subsequent generations. This is one film we would highly recommend for younger generations that want more atmospheric scares on Halloween night.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: 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.

Horror Subgenre(s): Slasher Films

KBZ’s Take: Friday the 13^th would kick off the “Summer Camp Slasher” trend that rose to prominence in the early 1980’s. Friday’s influence could be seen in summer camp horror films from The Burning (1981) to Sleepaway Camp (1983). And though the film would be followed by 11 sequels and 1 reboot, it’s the original film and its successor (featuring the debut of Jason Vorhees) that would define a generation of horror.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Members of an American scientific research outpost in Antarctica find themselves battling a parasitic alien organism capable of perfectly imitating its victims. They soon discover that this task will be harder than they thought, as they don’t know which members of the team have already been assimilated and their paranoia threatens to tear them apart.

Horror Subgenre(s): Body Horror Films, Cosmic Horror Films, Films About Monsters, Survival Horror Films

KBZ’s Take:  Another John Carpenter horror film that has evolved into a cult classic and is now considered one of the scariest films of all time. There are too many classic horror sequences in the film to list here, but we’ll always go with the ‘Spider Head’ scene as one of the truly scariest moments in any horror film – period. The Thing should be on your very short list of films to watch on Halloween if you somehow haven’t yet seen (or haven’t developed the courage to see) this classic horror film.

Additional Lists: Best Alien Invasion Films #1, Best Body Horror Films of All Time #3

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren’t prepared for the madness that lurks within.

Horror Subgenre(s): Films About Exorcism & Possession, Films About the Devil, Demons & Hell, Films About The Paranormal, Hauntings & Ghosts

KBZ’s Take: 43 years later, The Shining is still considered one of the scariest films ever created with its perfect blend of the supernatural, psychological horror and psychic powers. It’s one of Jack Nicholson’s career performances as Jack Torrance who is slowly losing his mind to the Overlook Hotel. Partnered with its sequel, Doctor Sleep (2019), both films make up one of the best (and scariest) double feature movie nights you’ll ever have on Halloween.

Additional Lists: Best Films About Telepathy #3

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: When a group of college students finds a mysterious book and recording in the old wilderness cabin they’ve rented for the weekend, they unwittingly unleash a demonic force from the surrounding forest.

Horror Subgenre(s): Cosmic Horror Films, Films About Exorcism & Possession, Survival Horror Films, Films About the Devil, Demons & Hell, Splatter & Gore Films

KBZ’s Take: Though Sam Raimi’s sequels to The Evil Dead would increasingly blend humor with horror, the original film is a no-holds-barred horror fest from start to finish. Despite a low budget, the film’s use of practical effects and gore would influence entire subgenres from Survival Horror to Cosmic Horror and redefine ‘cabin in the woods’ horror. It’s a raw, brutal and intense horror film that features shocking sequences that continue to terrify viewers to this day.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon