My Halloween film picks....

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year, and as a big horror film fan I enjoy the tradition of a Halloween film night. Turn the lights off, put you cosy pyjamas on and get your popcorn ready! Here are my film recommendations for what to watch...

The Classics...

You can't beat a bit of classic horror to get you in that eerie mood! Any of the Frankenstein films provide the perfect retro Halloween atmosphere along with any of the iconic Bela Lugosi films (especially Dracula.) The Shining ("Here's Johnny!!") Psycho, The Exorcist and The Birds are on my 'must see' classic horror list too.

Japanese horror...

Arguably Japan are the king of the horror film and have many weird and wonderful scary films to choose from. From the well known- (Ju-On: The Grudge, Chakushin Ari- One Missed Call, Dark Water, Ringu) which have all had US remakes to the more obscure, such as my personal favourite EXTE: Hair Extensions a film that is literally about killer hair extensions; and manages to be both ridiculously amusing and scary at the same time!

The Modern Classics...

Of course there's many great modern horror films. The US remakes of The Ring and The Grudge being two if you are not a fan of subtitles. The Descent is a brilliant film if you like your horror bleak. If you enjoy supernatural scares then you can't go wrong with Shutter, Silent Hill, Dark Corners, and the Paranormal Activity series. Or if you like your horror to be totally ridiculous (yep, guilty) then Drag Me To Hell, Orphan and the Hostel series are must see. 

The Zombie Films...

Zombies get their own section because I love them and quite frankly you can find a zombie film for every occasion. For instance how about Dead Snow, a zombie/ nazi crossover! Or Cockneys Vs Zombies (self explanatory), or one of my personal favourites the so-bad-it's-good Trailer Park of Terror which combines hill-billies and zombies! You can't go wrong with the classic Dawn of the Dead, or for something more recent 28 Days Later and the Resident Evil series (which brings back many nightmarish memories of playing the games as a kid!)

The Horror Comedy...

Perfect if you don't like too many scares, or prefer a laugh instead of nightmares. The best comedy horror (OFFICIALLY!) has to be Shaun of the Dead which brilliantly combines zombies, comedy, romance and many everyday objects as weapons. Other picks include Zombieland, and Dog Soldiers- which involves werewolves. Of course some horror films inadvertently end up as comedies for being so terrible! 

The Fun Horrors...

Finally the films that contain more gothic fun than scares and are (almost) fine for the whole family. Two of my all time favourite films sit in this category: the amazingness that is Beetlejuice (you can't beat a Tim Burton film!) and The Addams Family films (my favourite is the second.) But 90s classic The Craft is great too.

So there is a round up of my Halloween film recommendations... do you have any favourites?