10 Halloween Movies Your Whole Group Can Agree On

Every group has the same Halloween problem. One person wants something properly frightening, one will leave the room at the first jump scare, and somebody else just wants to be home before midnight.

The fix is not finding one perfect film. It is building a shortlist that everyone can live with, then letting the group choose. Below are ten Halloween movies sorted by how scared your group is willing to be, from fun-scary crowd-pleasers to one genuine classic.

How to pick for a mixed group

Start with the most nervous person in the room, not the bravest. A film that is a little too gentle for the horror fan is still a good night. A film that is too intense for one friend ends with them watching through their fingers, or not at all.

Pick three or four titles from different tiers, agree that nobody gets a veto, and vote. A group that chose its film together argues far less about it halfway through.

Fun-scary

Spooky atmosphere, plenty of laughs and very little that will keep anyone awake. These are the safest bets for a big or unpredictable group.

1. Ghostbusters (1984)

Ivan Reitman's comedy about a team of paranormal investigators loose in New York is more fun than frightening. Everyone knows the theme tune and most people know the best lines, which makes it ideal when the group is large and the attention spans are mixed.

2. Beetlejuice (1988)

Tim Burton's ghost story is about a recently deceased couple who try to scare the new family out of their house, and it is as strange and funny as its reputation suggests. It looks wonderful and it moves quickly, so there is never time to get bored.

3. Hocus Pocus (1993)

Kenny Ortega's family comedy follows three witches who return to Salem on Halloween night. It is silly, cosy and made for the season. Pick this one if the group includes younger viewers or anyone who wants Halloween without the fear.

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Directed by Henry Selick from a story by Tim Burton, this stop-motion musical has Halloween Town's Jack Skellington stumbling into Christmas. It works for Halloween night and again in December, so it earns its place on the shelf twice.

5. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Edgar Wright's zombie comedy is a rare film that works equally well for horror fans and people who do not like horror. It is genuinely funny, it has real scares when it needs them and it rewards a second viewing.

6. Zombieland (2009)

Ruben Fleischer's road trip through a zombie-ridden America is fast, gory in a cartoonish way and built around a set of survival rules that your group will be quoting for weeks. It suits friends who want something with energy rather than dread.

Properly tense

For groups who want to be scared, but still want something worth talking about afterwards.

7. Scream (1996)

Wes Craven's slasher knows every rule of the genre and plays with them, so it is both a proper whodunnit and a running joke about horror films. The group can shout guesses at the screen the whole way through, which is half the fun.

8. Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele's debut as a director is a tense, sharp thriller that gets more unsettling the more you think about it. It is the one on this list most likely to start a conversation that lasts longer than the film.

9. A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinski's film is set in a world where making a sound can get you killed, and that makes it a very good group watch. Everyone stays quiet, nobody checks their phone and the whole room reacts together when something goes wrong.

The classic

10. Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter's low-budget slasher defined a genre, and its score is still one of the most recognisable in cinema. If anyone in the group has never seen it, this is the night. It is slow to build, which is what makes it so effective.

Settle it without the argument

Ten films is a good shortlist and a bad way to decide. The usual routine of someone suggesting a film, someone else vetoing it and a third person scrolling in silence can eat half the evening.

A poll is much quicker. Start a poll with MyMoviePoll, share the link in your group chat, and let everyone nominate the films they want to watch. Once the nominations are in, everyone votes, and the winner is the film you watch.

Pick a tier, pick a few films, vote, and press play. Happy Halloween.