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Scary Movie Night

Invite guests to share a spooky flick to celebrate Halloween.

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What You'll Need

DVD player and selection of movies
Comfortable seating
Lots of snacks and drinks

Getting Ready for the Creep Show

Decide if it's going to be serious movie viewing, or if people can joke and comment. (If you think your partygoers might be split on this, then show the same movie in two different rooms and designate one for serious viewers only.)
Have plenty of snacks. (If it's a big party, you can rent a popcorn cart that keeps hot popcorn coming.) Go for easy-to-eat finger foods over knife-and-fork dinners
Keep drinks cold in buckets full of ice or a cooler, so guests can help themselves

Flick Picks

One person's scary is another person's silly, so it's impossible to
rank movies by their scariness. That said, there are certain movies
that stand the test of time as truly ghastly, shocking, or amusingly
weird. Here are several to consider:

Classics: Dracula, Rosemary's Baby, The Birds, Psycho, The Raven, The Shining, The Omen, The Phantom of the Opera, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Swamp Thing

Science fiction: Alien, Interview With the Vampire, The Terminator

Contemporary: The Ring, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Blair Witch Project, The Fly, Friday the Thirteenth

Comedy:Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scary Movie, Ghostbusters, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, An American Werewolf in London, Beetle Juice

Even more!
The Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, It, Carrie, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Nosferatu, War of the Worlds, The Blob, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, The Sixth Sense, The Exorcist, Poltergeist

Provided by Reader's Digest

Comments

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LAUREN BUTTS

Sep. 13, 2009 8:15 am

DEAR MOM CAN YOU RENT DR.JEKYLL@MR.HYDE THE MOVIE

Ryan C.

Oct. 6, 2009 7:26 pm

I'm going to toss my hat in for Drag Me to Hell, which came out earlier this year. Easily, the scariest movie of the decade, though campy and funny enough so it won't alienate anyone.

Ween582

Oct. 13, 2009 9:15 pm

Mom, Can you please make me dirt worm cupcakes?

dogwalks9

Oct. 20, 2009 6:05 pm

this sound like a god plan for a party because this is what im gonna do

American

Oct. 21, 2009 2:15 pm

Great ideas!

NicoleSDAnn

Oct. 21, 2009 2:22 pm

You can't ever get enough old classic horror films such as the Shining, Carrie, and the Exorcist. I am going to have to disagree with Drag me to Hell, it was by far one of the worst movies I have seen! I would suggest The New Halloween series by Rob Zombie!

Janette

Jan. 3, 2010 4:46 pm

I agree with Ryan C. Drag Me to Hell was a great movie from the very beginning to the end. It kept my attention through the whole movie! The older movies are great but when you have seen them again and again its time for a new movie.

ljmitchell

Oct. 2, 2010 3:47 pm

I recommend Zombieland for the younger crowds. i'm in college and it hits the perfect combo of horror/humor/romance

lorraine

Oct. 6, 2010 11:57 am

I have been doing this with my grandkids for twenty years and they still look forward to it....when they were younger we did The Halloween Tree and Nightmare Before Christmas....the whole family watches Halloween every year since it came out...(they used to play it on tv every year)....we all like the scarier the better movies now...zombies rock...Romero rules!!!!

MandyH.

Oct. 9, 2010 7:29 pm

My aunt and I started doing this last year and I can't wait for this year. She has a MASSIVE collection of horror movies that she bought while on tour in Iraq so we have plenty to choose from. Now, I'm planning the snacks. This is by far my favorite holiday. :)

Laura

Oct. 11, 2010 4:06 pm

Add Shaun of the Dead to the comedy list!

mwal1976

Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)

Oct. 13, 2010 4:32 am

I'm sorry but the original Halloween still rocks in my book. Can't even watch in the daylight because the movie freaks me out so much! But still fun to watch. Something for me to think about since my kids do not have anything planned and we LOVE scary movies. My son recommends DARKNESS FALLS. Scares him to death.

AUTUMND7

Oct. 17, 2010 9:49 am

Lots of good ideas here...I used to do a party but I'm thinking a movie marathon could be a good switch. I think it would be fun to really theme up the food with the movie. :) House on Haunted Hill classic Vincent Price

Lauren

Oct. 18, 2010 12:39 pm

Anything with Christopher Lee...

Honey bunny

Oct. 18, 2010 4:18 pm

Hey hey, what about hocus pocus? not just for kids :)

kittykat86

Oct. 19, 2010 11:27 am

what about "Tales from the Crytp" very good

rbhodson81

Oct. 20, 2010 6:54 am

Watch the Fourth Kind .... very very scary.. it has live footage of events that really happened!

brandilynn

Oct. 20, 2010 10:39 am

We love the comedy classic "Private Eyes" with Tim Conway. It's become a family tradition! One that scared both my husband and I when we were kids is "The Lady in White."

angelbrandi

Oct. 21, 2010 1:25 pm

Me being a huge horror fan, I've decided to give you the good ones by sub genre. 1.Slashers: Halloween, Nightmare on Elm street, or Friday the 13th (originals only please, watch the remakes at your own risk) 2.Supernaturals: Pet Sematary, Suspiria, or The Shining. 3.Trilogies: Creepshow, Twilight zone the movie, or Trick r treat. 4.Foreign: Ju-on (the grudge)series, The Orphanage, or REC 5.Zombie: Night of the living dead, Dawn of the dead, and Day of the dead (all originals by George Romero. Night and dawn remakes are pretty good though) Enjoy the spooktacular kiddies.....

Circe

Oct. 27, 2010 5:21 pm

My absolute favorite movies to watch on Halloween are the original Night of the Living Dead and the classic The Haunting (black and white version). Nothing better than curling up on a chilly Halloween night with some popcorn and some scary movies!

sjr243

Oct. 27, 2010 6:45 pm

I had a difficult time taking "Drag Me to Hell" seriously. Although a good movie, I do not think I will watch it again. I find posession frightening so I recommend the "Excorcism of Emily Rose" along with the classic "The Exorcist." Knowing both were based on true stories made it more eerie for me.

DollBox

Oct. 28, 2010 9:49 pm

We are having a scary movie night: Our selections for the evening consist of A Nightmare On Elm St, The Shining, The Mist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre... Each one of us chose our favorite horror movie!

Sylvi Shook

Oct. 4, 2011 4:58 pm

Shawn of the Dead!!! haha. Awesome and Funnny! ;)

deb

Oct. 9, 2011 10:03 am

I agree that Shawn of the Dead should be added to the comedy section, but no one has mentioned Paranormal Activity....the first one. I love horror but this one scared me to death!

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