Whether it is Netflix, Hulu or Freeform’s “31 Nights of Halloween,” there are many Halloween movies out there for horror movie fanatics to get their fix before the night of trick-or-treating and scaring arrives.
Netflix offers a handful of different movie categories including comedies, romance, action, sci-fi and horror. At this time, Netflix even has a Halloween tab at the top of its home page so users can access the collection of horror movies that is being offered now.
Some of these movies or series are Netflix originals like “Stranger Things”, “The Babysitter”, “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Ritual”.
There are suspenseful movies like “The Sixth Sense” and “Would You Rather” along with slasher movies like the “Scream” franchise.
Another option for those who might not have Netflix but have access to a TV and cable is Freeform’s “31 Nights of Halloween.” This Halloween special features movies like “ParaNorman”, “The Addams Family”, “Monster House”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Hocus Pocus”. The full schedule of showtimes and movies can be found on Freeform’s website.
Some scary movies, claimed to be the “best Halloween movies on Netflix” by Harper’s Bazaar, available to stream are “The Shining”, “Children of the Corn”, “Deep Blue Sea”, “Cabin Fever”, “Coraline” and “The Babadook”.
There are options for those Halloween lovers who don’t necessarily like to be scared such as “Hocus Pocus”, “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “The Corpse Bride” and the Disney animated version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, according to an article on PopSugar.
Junior political science and journalism double major Kristina Watrobski said a favorite Halloween movie of hers was one that her family watched every year.
“‘Halloweentown’ is a good one,” Watrobski said. “When I was little, it was my favorite.”
But her all-time favorite is “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” Watrobski said her dad would find it on the TV every year for the them to gather around and enjoy.
In an article on Science Daily, it states that investigators claim there are two explanations for this. One being that the viewer isn’t actually scared by the movie, but they’re more excited by it. The second is that viewers are willing to go through the feeling of terror so they can feel the sense of relief at the end.
However, there are clashing ideas from a study done by Eduardo Andrade and Joel B. Cohen. They were able to utilize a new method that was able to track both the positive and negative emotions of a viewer. As the article puts it, viewers are able to feel those emotions at the same time, therefore enjoying being scared.
“The most pleasant moments of a particular event may also be the most fearful,” Andrade and Cohen said.
Whether or not viewers prefer scary movies or non-scary movies that still have a Halloween theme, there are options available for everyone.
Email Annie Campbell at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
