Horror with Heart: Movie Edition
Things that make you go "AHHH!" then "Awww."
Welcome to the Creepiest Month of the Year! Each week, I’ll be doing countdowns of some of my favorite works to enjoy during the Halloween season, especially those scary stories that have some real heart (and occasionally real hearts).
This week: Movies. And as a bonus, I’ll also include recommendations on additional movies to pair with each entry for a double feature!
Movies on this list may contain R-rated content, so I encourage you to check out the Parent’s Guide section of IMBD before watching if you’d like a heads up on graphic content. I also recommend Does the Dog Die?, a site for finding out if a movie has certain events that a viewer may find more upsetting than entertaining. I am a strong advocate of knowing what I’m getting into before watching a movie, so I use both of these resources often!
#10 - Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
When I think of legit horror with big heart, I immediately think of this movie. A modern-ish remake of an old classic (but only retaining the barest of plot details), Thir13een Ghosts is a scary, gory, and at times, heart-pounding ghost(s) story.
The throughline of a broken family just trying to survive hard times and great loss is not uncommon in horror stories, but it can often feel tacked on or hackneyed. This one, however, is the true beating heart of the story, and it makes for an excellent movie with a very satisfying conclusion.
Be forewarned, though: there’s a ton of blood and body horror, the language is atrocious, and one of the ghosts is very naked for the entire movie. Not one for the kiddos or for the squeamish.
If you want to make a double feature out of it, House on Haunted Hill (1999) is a perfect match. It’s also nominally based on an old classic and has an unfortunate amount of R-rated content.
Alternatively, you double up with the original 13 Ghosts (1960), which is still spooky and macabre but is also much more lighthearted than pretty much anything else on this list, including the musical sitting at #5.
#9 - Poltergeist (1982)
A family unit is at the center of several of the movies on this list, and for good reason. Home is where the heart is, and most good horror stories are scary because you care about the outcome of the characters.
Poltergeist has all you need: a sweet family, a good doggo, and a cursed house. What more could you ask for?
I also totally recommend the remake, Poltergeist (2015). It’s similar enough to be familiar, but there are enough differences in my eyes to warrant calling it a separate film.
#8 - Darkness Falls (2003)
A movie about an evil tooth fairy who comes to visit on the night you lose your last baby tooth, and if you look at her, she will maul you to death.
This is the movie my parents took me to see when I was 13, we were temporarily living in a motel room, and I had literally just lost my last baby tooth that day.
I did not sleep that night.
However, I definitely think this is a fun spooky movie befitting this time of year. Dark, brooding, and featuring a wraith-like villain in a porcelain mask, it’s a scary good time. Especially when you have all your adult teeth.
To roll with nearly the exact same vibes, do a double feature with Boogeyman (2005).
#7 - Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)
This made-for-TV movie is basically a revenge plot involving an intellectually disabled man and his four tormentors. But this movie is a lot spookier and also has so much more heart than that basic descriptor might make you assume.
Since this one is probably much less well known than the others on the list, I don’t want to dive into spoilers. Just trust me when I say it’s a good’un and give it a shot!
For some reason, Silver Bullet (1985) comes to mind as a good pairing for a longer movie night. Not sure why, but I’d have fun at that double feature.
#6 - The Mummy (1999)
The classic film that cemented many people’s adoration of Brendan Fraser.
The horror elements of this action/adventure/comedy are legit, and I think it might be one of the only examples of a good modern mummy movie. I’d be happy to be proven wrong on that one, especially since “modern” in this case is over 25 years old.
(typing that factoid made me die a little inside)
I don’t think I need to sell you on this one, right? But may I offer you a double feature in the form of some other classic monsters in one adventure movie? How about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)?
#5 - Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
This was my comfort movie as a child, and it remains one of my favorite movies of all time for the rockin’ music and hilariously quotable script. And also for the giant, singing plant from outer space.
However, the heart of this movie gets ripped right out if you watch the Director’s Cut (aka, the original intended ending where, spoilers, everybody dies).
Don’t do that.
It doesn’t work on film, it doesn’t work work with the tone of the rest of the movie, it doesn’t work with Rick Moranis’ version of Seymour.
Theatrical Cut is the only cut, and I will die on that hill.
If I were to pair a movie with Little Shop for a double feature, I’d probably default to either Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) or my other all-time favorite movie, Clue (1985), just to keep the classic laughs and macabre humor rolling.
#4 - Jurassic Park (1993)
While Steven Spielberg’s films might be considered more “action and adventure!” movies, there is often an element (sometimes a strong element) of horror. Let’s examine the barebones version of the plot of Jurassic Park.
Dinosaurs are resurrected from the past, genetically engineered, and then let loose to devour people trapped on an island in a hurricane.
That’s a horror movie. And thus befitting of watching on Halloween.
But it’s also a heart-filled journey of wonder! Thus befitting of watching any other day of the year!
Basically, dinosaurs are freaking awesome and you should watch Jurassic Park anytime of the year you want. I could also get behind a full Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movie marathon.
For these last three entries, we turn to the purported “king” of horror: Stephen King.
While there have been a great number of feature film adaptations of his works, there are three particular TV mini-series adaptations that count among my favorite scary stories of all time. The following have plenty of heart and horror, and I heartily recommend them.
#3 - Rose Red (2002 Mini-series)
A house with a will of its own, growing like a rambling garden and luring any that would enter into its darkest corners.
This is a phenomenal haunted house movie with some of the most unsettling atmospheric moments. But it also has beautiful, heartfelt moments and some awesome character growth.
Take a day off, make some popcorn and oven pizza, and watch this whole miniseries in one go for a great time.
#2 - The Shining (1997 Mini-series)
Yes, yes, I know, the Stanley Kubrick movie is eeeeeverybody’s favorite, but I personally loathe that movie for all the reasons I love the TV mini-series adaptation.
I know, I know, Kubrick did his own thing with the setting, it’s cinematic art, it’s true horror, blahblahblah. Don’t care. I am a certified hater of that movie, and while you are welcome to enshrine it in your list of favorites, I could never.
My biggest problem is that the characters were, frankly, butchered in translation from Stephen King’s novel into the acclaimed 1980 film.
The TV mini-series gets them right (even if the acting is a little hoaky here and there). It does not reduce the lead to a grade-A psychopath from the very start, your heroine into a wilting flower by abusing the actress on and off camera, and your psychic kid, who is the actual main character in the book, into a prop with a talking finger.
Whew. I would say I’m glad I got that off my chest, but I’m fighting the urge to keep going.
I could write all day about my love for this mini-series and my absolute burning hatred for its predecessor, but none of us have time for that. We have snacks to prepare and a mini-series or two to watch.
#1 - IT (1990 Mini-series)
Finally, the pièce de résistance.
Stephen King’s It terrorized my entire childhood.
Due to Clue and other such works, I loved Tim Curry and wanted to watch and appreciate everything he had done (including that one musical movie with plenty of Halloween traditions of its own, which I am now look back on rather ruefully).
But each of my attempts to watch It with my parents resulted in me being terrified, quitting partway through, and vehemently insisting that the VHS or DVD be removed from the house.
It got me bad.
But when I reached my pre-teens, I fought to watch it again. My parents tried to dissuade me (due to my rather contentious history with the series), but I would not back down. I loved Tim Curry, I loved spooky movies, and by golly, I would climb that Everest if it killed me.
The rest is history.
It is a masterpiece in my mind. The nostalgia, the hope, the camaraderie, the chills, the thrills, the heartbreaks, the freakouts, all of it. All of It. Even the big googly-eyed monster. And especially the darkly funny Pennywise.
This movie, with its terror and its ardor both, lives in my heart, and I personally cannot wait for the next time I get to sit down and watch it again.
Perhaps this Halloween, if I can wait that long.
There are many, many other movies that I adore that could have made it onto this list (in fact, I agonized over not putting Hellboy (2004) on here, so I’m mentioning it now).
But alas, there are only 24 hours in a day, and only 10 spots on this list.
What can you do? (except make more lists to post throughout the month…)
Next time, we’ll look at five tabletop roleplaying games that are perfect for the Halloween season!
Scarecrows... love Scarecrows... but it really DOES creep me out...