The following list of spooky movies is far from exhaustive. I’m leaving out some fan-favorites and including some potentially divisive choices. I’m pretty sure all of these are rated PG or lower as well, and I’m leaving out obvious choices like Gremlins because they’re PG-13.
Another note on what’s not included: At least two of the most famous, most beloved Halloween movies out there are ones I don’t really care for. I think Hocus Pocus is terribly mediocre and is only watchable thanks to Bette Midler. And Beetlejuice, outside of a couple funny scenes, is obnoxious and tedious in turns. I’m a big Michael Keaton fan but I can’t stand him in this. (In fact, I almost included Batman Returns on this list—it could definitely qualify as a Halloween-adjacent movie!)
So with that confession out of the way, let’s get on to the list!
1. E.T.
Steven Spielberg has made many wonderful movies over the years, but E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial remains one of the best. It’s not particularly scary, and is even quite funny at times, but as a kid I definitely remember being terrified when the scientists showed up in their space suits and E.T. was laying there pale and dying next to Elliot. Definitely one of the best films of all time and perfect for Halloween.
2. Arsenic and Old Lace
Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors and Arsenic and Old Lace is one of his best movies. It’s also one of my favorite movies of all time, with some truly side-splitting scenes and plenty of murder to go around. I watch this one every few years and it never gets old. “No, please, Johnny! Not the long way Johnny!”
3. Return to Oz
This is basically if you took The Wizard Of Oz and a bad acid trip and combined the two. I haven’t seen it in years, but my memories of Return To Oz are, quite frankly, nightmarish, like shreds of a bad dream. I’ve been meaning to watch it again. It’s old, and certainly not the musical masterpiece that the original film was, but it captures some of the darker sides of L. Frank Baum’s fiction. Certainly this is rough around the edges, but still worth watching.
4. Spirited Away
By far the strangest, creepiest, scariest of the Studio Ghibli films I’ve seen, Spirited Away was a big deal when it came out, winning the 75 Academy Award for Best Animated Film, making it the first and only hand-illustrated, non-English film to do so. It’s absolutely bonkers in the best kind of way, though often quite disturbing compared to what we’re used to with family cartoons in the West.
5. Coco
Not a Halloween movie, I know! That’s okay! But El Dia De Muertos is close enough, since both holidays share a common history with All Souls Day. And regardless, the days of the dead are celebrated between October 31st and November 2nd, so it counts. Coco is a tremendous film, with spellbinding animation and music and a really powerful story.
6. The Goonies
Also not exactly a Halloween movie, but it’s got pirate skeletons and murderous bad guys, plenty of booby traps and an overall vibe that works perfectly for this time of year. Not to mention, The Goonies is one of the all-time greatest movies ever made. The adventure, the comradery, the hope, it’s all just so fun and heart-warming and wonderful. They really don’t make ‘em like they used to.
7. Jaws
Forget The Meg, if you want a horror movie about a giant ocean predator there’s only one place to turn: Jaws. This is a movie that proves great scares are even better when you have great characters, writing and actors to go along with them. I remember being absolutely terrified when I watched this as a kid. Then again, we were less desensitized back then!
What are your favorite family-friendly Halloween movies? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.
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