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25 Best Movies for a Halloween Marathon

The ultimate spooky season watchlist — from legendary slashers to fun campy thrills.

Updated March 23, 2026 · ThumbScore Editorial

1

Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter's slasher that started it all

2

Trick 'r Treat (2007)

The ultimate Halloween night anthology

3

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

A wickedly clever twist on every horror trope

4

Scream (1996)

Wes Craven reinvents the slasher genre

5

The Evil Dead (1981)

Sam Raimi's low-budget cabin-in-the-woods original

6

Evil Dead II (1987)

Slapstick horror sequel that became a cult classic

7

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Freddy Krueger haunts your dreams

8

Friday the 13th (1980)

The camp slasher that launched a franchise

9

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Tobe Hooper's raw, relentless terror

10

Poltergeist (1982)

Suburban haunted house spectacle from Spielberg

11

The Thing (1982)

John Carpenter's paranoia-fueled Antarctic horror

12

Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott's claustrophobic space nightmare

13

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Polanski's slow-burn psychological horror classic

14

The Exorcist (1973)

The possession film that terrified a generation

15

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Bette Midler and the Sanderson sisters run amok

16

Beetlejuice (1988)

Tim Burton's zany afterlife comedy

17

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Jack Skellington's spooky-sweet stop-motion classic

18

Ghostbusters (1984)

Who you gonna call? The perfect Halloween party movie

19

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Edgar Wright's zombie rom-com

20

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)

Hillbillies vs. college kids — not what you think

21

Hereditary (2018)

Ari Aster's devastating family horror

22

Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele's razor-sharp social horror debut

23

It (2017)

Pennywise returns in Stephen King's terrifying epic

24

Sinister (2012)

Found footage meets true-crime writer nightmare

25

The Conjuring (2013)

James Wan's haunted house masterclass

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