Maha Yassin
Knock knock. Who is it? The spooky season! We are only days away from -arguably- the best day of the year! Yes, we’re talking about Halloween! Some people are Christmas people; others are… we don’t know, Labour Day people? But here we are, Halloween people, and we bet so are you! Halloween is the best time of the year to let your weird side out! Wear freaky costumes, watch scary movies, and eat a ton of candy. No one is judging!
Speaking of scary movies, everyone always turns to the classics when looking for the perfect Halloween film. We agree that classics are classics for a reason. They are great, they are seasoned, and they never disappoint! Whether that is because we have a special place for them in our hearts or because they are actually THAT good, it doesn’t matter.
But this year, we were hoping you could give more modern Halloween films a chance. There are so many movies out there that are so good you will be surprised! From Halloween family movies to films that will make your heart skip out of your chest, modern cinema has been giving!
Modern Halloween Films Are Just As Great!
Even though we watch new movies all the time, when the spooky season arrives, we all go back to our old habits. Nothing is wrong with that! But you are really missing out on some tremendous modern Halloween films. In recent years, we’ve had so many great horror movies that can make Halloween the scariest night of your life. We also have a lot of more tame films that are fun to watch with your family on Halloween.
So, if you are up for some change or at least to add some new movies to your list, then here we go!
A Quiet Place (2018)
Directed by: John Krasinski
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, and Cillian Murphy
Imagine a world where making a sound, any sound, means your immediate death! This is the world of John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place. Krasinski and Emily Blunt (Real-life husband and wife!) play the roles of a married couple who live with their family in a post-apocalyptic world where making a sound means death in the most horrible of ways.
This horror film was an instant success when it came out in 2018. It is one of the best modern Halloween films, even though it does not take place on Halloween. The horror, the intensity, and the emotions of A Quiet Place are high throughout the whole movie. You will not be able to get your eyes off the screen! We bet the entire house will not peep a word throughout the film, either!
So, if silent, scary, and intense is what you’re looking for in a modern Halloween film, A Quiet Place is a movie you must add to your list.
Us (2019)
Directed by: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker
In recent years, Jordan Peele has proven himself to be an exceptional psychological horror movie creator! Since the release of Get Out, people have been tripping over their feet waiting for his next project, and he did not disappoint! In 2018, he gave us the US, a horror film that will leave you with more questions than answers and will make you want to watch it all over again.
What would you do if you found sadistic doppelgängers of yourself and your family who want to take over your life? That is what Adelaide and her family go through in this horror, soon-to-be classic. Doppelgängers of almost every single person on earth are set on killing the original and stealing their lives. Adelaide and her family will try to survive, but knowing who is real and who is not is not as easy as you think.
Even though this film stars a whole family, adults and children, we do not recommend it for kids. The vibes are terrifying, and so is the theme, but that is what makes it one of the best modern Halloween films on this list!
It (2017)
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, and Bill Skarsgård
When you think of horror stories, you immediately think of the King of Horror, Stephen King. From Carrie to The Boogeyman, Stephen King owns horror both in books and film adaptations. A couple of years ago, he introduced his psychotic clown Pennywise in the adaptation of his novel It, and we have never been the same since!
It is the story of a group of friends who get tangled with Pennywise in an endearing but terrifying tale. Bill, the leader of the group, lost his brother in mysterious circumstances a year ago. Believing his brother might still be alive, Bill recruits his friends to go look for him. Their investigation leads them straight into Pennywise’s lair.
This modern Halloween film is simply one of the best modern horrors made! The children’s lives will remind you of your own childhood and friendships. As you start to relate to them and sympathise with them, the film takes a turn for the horror in every way possible! It is a great Halloween movie for adults and maybe teenagers with supervision.
Totally Killer (2023)
Directed by: Nahnatchka Khan
Starring: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, and Julie Bowen
Serial killers, time travel, and a high school adventure all make the best combination for a Halloween movie! Totally Killer, starring The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Kiernan Shipka (which is also a great series to binge on Netflix for Halloween!), is back with a murder mystery that will make you laugh and hold your breath at the same time.
Having a good relationship with your mother as a teenage daughter is challenging. However, when Jamie’s mum is killed by a serial killer who went on a killing spree in the 80s, Jamie travels back in time to catch the killer. As she makes friends with her mom in the past, Jamie is set on saving her by exposing the killer in the 80s so her mom survives in the present.
Totally Killer is a great film to watch with your family if you’re not up to watching actual horror. It tows the lines between comedy, coming of age, and slight horror in a really great way that will keep all parties entertained. It is one of the best family-friendly modern Halloween films this year.
The Blackening (2023)
Directed by: Tim Story
Starring: Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, and X Mayo
If you are a horror movie enthusiast, then you probably know the trope of always killing the black character first. Aliens, Gremlins, and Scream 2 are only some of the films where this trope happens. Well, how would that happen if the WHOLE cast is black? Who would you kill first? That is what The Blackening is about!
The Blackening is a comedy slasher film that makes fun of every single horror trope out there. Especially the ones that have to do with black characters. A group of black friends decide to stay in a cabin in the woods (wink wink) for Juneteenth. They are then targeted by a masked killer and must all survive because they refuse to let the black dude die first!
Do you want to laugh your heart out on Halloween without missing the theme? Then The Blackening is the film for you! This horror/comedy is a treat for every horror movie lover, as well as a great movie for the ones who are easily spooked. It is one of the funniest modern Halloween films, and you will not regret adding it to your list!
A Haunting In Venice (2023)
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Yeoh, and Jamie Dornan
Some people can’t enjoy a horror film unless there is a mystery involved. When it comes to solving murder mysteries, there is only one guy to turn to: Detective Hercule Poirot. The Agatha Christie character is back with another film this year. It’s a direct sequel to A Death on the Nile with a whole new cast!
A Haunting in Venice is a Poirot mystery that touches on the supernatural for the first time. When invited to attend a séance with a friend in Venice, Poirot, now retired, is faced with a murder mystery. When one of the guests is found impaled on a statue in the house’s courtyard, Poirot must put aside his retirement plans and catch the killer.
You’re either an Agatha Christie fan or you are not. If you appreciate a good murder mystery on Halloween, then this highly anticipated movie is what you’re looking for! A Haunting in Venice is one of the most anticipated films of 2023 and will make a great addition to your modern Halloween films list. The best thing? You can go watch it in the theatre!
Hubie Halloween (2020)
Directed by: Steve Brill
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Julie Bowen, and Ray Liotta
No one thinks about watching a comedy on Halloween, but when Adam Sandler releases a Halloween comedy, we are seated! If you’re looking for an endearing Halloween adventure to watch with your kids, then Hubie Halloween is the film for you!
Hubie is a cowardly delicatessen employee who lives in Salem, Massachusetts. Everyone in town makes fun of Hubie, and no one respects him. So, on Halloween night, when Hubie finds out about a kidnapper lost in Salem, he decides to save his town. Armed with a flashlight and a lot of heart, Hubie is set on proving he is just as brave as anyone in Salem!
Sometimes, we want to get into the Halloween spirit without blood and gore. Hubie Halloween is an excellent Halloween movie to stream on Netflix this year! It is funny, exciting, and adventurous, and the Halloween spirit runs high throughout the whole film.
The School for Good and Evil (2022)
Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Sophia Anne Caruso, Sofia Wylie, Charlize Theron, and Kerry Washington
Good and evil fairy tales are always so black and white. You can’t be both, and you have to choose a side. But how do you decide on which side to be? Well, you go to school for it, of course! Or at least that is how things are in the film adaptation of Soman Chainani’s The School for Good and Evil.
Sophie and Agatha are best friends who live in the town of Gavelodn. Life isn’t easy for either of them. Sophie is dirt poor, and Agatha is accused of being a witch. So when they hear about the existence of a school that trains fairy tale characters, Sophie gets obsessed with the idea. As she tries to run away with Agatha, they’re both captured and sent to the school. However, they don’t end up on the same side.
Children love fairy tales! Halloween might not be the best time for them, but The School for Good and Evil will change your mind! The story feels like being backstage in every fairy tale you’ve ever known, not to mention the tons of inspiration you can get for your outstanding Halloween costume this year!
Haunted Mansion (2023)
Directed by: Justin Simien
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, and Danny DeVito
Have you ever been to Disneyland? If you have, then you know that the most popular and best ride in the park is The Haunted Mansion. The scary ride is loved by everyone who visits the park, adults and children alike! That’s why Disney decided to make a film adaptation of the ride so everyone can join the adventure.
Based on the famous Disneyland ride, Haunted Mansion follows Gabbie and Travis as they enlist the help of a group of friends to expel the ghosts that live in their mansion. Exorcism is not straightforward, though, but Gabbie, Travis, and their friends are hell-bent on ridding their house of any sort of unwanted presence.
Haunted Mansion is a horror comedy that is made primarily for children but also Disney-obsessed adults! The movie is a perfect modern Halloween film. It took Disney more than ten years to finally bring that movie to light, so it must be good, right?
I Woke Up a Vampire (2023)
Directed by: Tommy Lynch
Starring: Niko Ceci, Zebastian Borjeau, and Ana Araujo
Our tenth and final Halloween movie is one for the kiddos! You did not think we forgot about you, did you? Middle school is hard, but we bet it is even more complicated when you have to hide the fact that you are a vampire, right?
I Woke Up a Vampire is a Netflix movie about a teenage girl who, on her 13th birthday, finds out that she is half-human and half-vampire. As her powers develop on her birthday, Carmie must find a way to lead an everyday life in middle school and hide her freaky powers from her friends. It’s easier said than done, though.
This film is a fun Halloween movie for children that you can stream on Netflix. The middle school setting, the teenage drama, and the extraordinary new powers will all make your kid very interested in the movie. I Woke Up a Vampire is an excellent addition to your modern Halloween films list, so make sure to watch it.
That’s all, folks! There is no need to dust off your old Halloween movies this year because there are actually a ton of new movies just as good! Filmmakers work hard every year to top what has been made before. Even though it doesn’t always work, we’re proud to say these movies above prove that it can be done! Have a great Halloween, eat lots of candy, and enjoy your time to the max!