Welcome! Welcome! Welcome, to all my spooky boos and autumn aficionados! The season approaches on cloven hooves, so I'm putting together another Spooky Watchlist. I've been making these for a few years, originally just for myself and the folks I live with, but other pals kept asking to be included, so here we are. This year marks my second collab with MovieJawn, and you can and should read the first one HERE, because it was written to help folks who might otherwise feel overwhelmed by too many choices feel more at ease, and to make building their own month-long movie marathon less intimidating. So go read that one, then come back. I'll wait.
I will, however, reiterate my three main rules because they bear repeating:
Rule 1: Start with the easiest prompts first. Don't get hung up on one you're having trouble with, just come back to it.
Rule 2: There are no wrong answers. Make your selections however you want, and if you're "wrong" about a movie: who cares, as long as you had fun watching it.
Rule 3: The search bar is your friend. First, I hope we've all turned A.I. responses off (it's easy to do), but if you're having trouble coming up with a title, Letterboxd and to a lesser extent IMDb have plenty of themed lists for you to peruse for inspiration.
Now let's dive in. I've shared the image so you can copy it or print one out if you want to. Now I'm going to walk you through the prompts with some suggestions. We'll start with the ones that are extremely YOU-specific:
Free Streamies
Tubi, Plex, and PlutoTV are all excellent and importantly FREE resources for films great and small,
and I'm trying to reinforce the idea that you don't necessarily need to pay for all your entertainments,
even if you're big into streaming. So fire up your free streamer of choice and find something that looks
fun!
Physical Media
Choose a film you currently own, or owned at one time, or want to own on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray or
some other format.
Birth Year
A movie released in your birth year, or the birth year of a loved one who'll be watching with you.
Studio Specific
Pick a flick from a favorite studio if you have one - TriStar Pictures, Cannon Films, or Full Moon
Entertainment leap readily to mind for me.
Homegrown
A film made or set in or near your hometown, or wherever you might live now.
First Time Watch
Select a movie you, or someone watching with you, has never seen.
For the rest of these prompts, I'll try to make at least one suggestion family friendly in case you've got kids who'll be watching with you or maybe you just don't love the scarier side of the season. Also, in light of the country's recent bout of xenophobic inhospitality, I'll be suggesting at least one film of non-American origin, if for no other reason than to better appreciate the global arts community.
Monster By Name
A movie with 'monster' in the title - Monsters (2010), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Monster Seafood Wars
(2020, Japan).
Monster By Nature
A movie where the "monster" doesn't look like one - Psycho (1960), Monster House (2006), Hausu
(1977, Japan).
Monster By Nurture
A movie about what it takes to make a monster. It could be trauma, an evil spirit, a potion, a curse,
alienation, anything at all - Evil Dead II (1987), Gremlins (1984), The Loved Ones (2009, Australia).
Blockbuster
A film that was such a smash that it inspired numerous imitators - Alien (1979), E.T. the Extra-
Terrestrial (1982), Godzilla (1954, Japan).
Mockbuster
A film that's clearly inspired by something else - Life (2017), Masters of the Universe (1987), Bloody
Muscle Body Builder in Hell (1995, Japan).
Horny
Define this one however you're most comfortable: a film that's actively about being horny, or just one
with a sexually-charged atmosphere, or perhaps one about The Devil or another famously horned
character - Species (1995), Little Nicky (2000), Shivers (1975, Canada).
Costume Inspo
Folks dress up as all kinds of non-spooky things from movies for Halloween, so watch a movie that's
got good, non-spooky costume fodder - Police Academy (1984), Minions (2015), Ultraman (1966,
Japan)
The Master of Suspense
A film by or in the style of Alfred Hitchcock. On the plus side, a lot of Hitchcock is pretty all-ages
friendly - What Lies Beneath (2000), The Birds (1963), Cobweb (2023, South Korea).
"Never D Your Own G"
This phrase--coined the Hate Watch/Great Watch Podcast, Episode 131: Beneath the Darkness
(2011)--means "Never dig your own grave", which is unquestionably good advice. Choose a movie
with grave digging or a cemetery - Shallow Grave (1994), Army of Darkness (1992), Cemetery Man
(1994, Italy).
Kid Favorites
Could be a favorite from when you were a kid, or if you have kids it could one of their faves, or just a
well-liked film made for kids - Teen Wolf (1985), The Addams Family (1991), Wallace and Gromit:
The Curse of the Where Rabbit (2005, UK).
Summerween
A good scare is an any time of year treat Jaws (1975), Tremors (1990), High Tension (2003, France).
Permission to Board
Movies where someone uses an Ouija board or similar device - Ouija Shark (2020), 13 Ghosts (1960),
Alison's Birthday (1981, Australia).
Season of the Witch
Yes, there are a few films with this as a title and you could watch one of them, but this could be any
witchy movie - Bell Book and Candle (1958), Supergirl (1984), Suspiria (1977, Italy).
A.I. Was Never a Good Idea
"Artificial Intelligence" is heavy on the artificial part and extremely scarce on the intelligence. Always
has been - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021), Ghost in the Shell
(1995, Japan).
Monster Mashup
Choose any film where more than one type of monster appears - Freddy vs. Jason (2003), Scooby-
Doo (2002), Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man (1973, Mexico).
Weapon of Choice
Decide on a movie where a distinctive weapon is used - Planet Terror (2007), Krull (1983), Shaun of
the Dead (2004, UK).
Clowning Around
Step right up and choose a circus or clown-centric genre film - Freaks (1932), Something Wicked This
Way Comes (1983), Santa Sangre (1989, Italy).
1950s
Pick a genre film from the decade that brought us Snoopy - Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954),
Them! (1954), Diabolique (1955, France).
1960s
Choose a genre film from the Free Love era - X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes (1963), Mad Monster
Party? (1967), Black Sabbath (1963, Italy).
1970s
Select a genre film from the decade of Pong - Phantom of the Paradise (1974), The Phantom
Tollbooth (1970), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971, UK).
1980s
Decide upon a genre film from the age when Tiffany ruled the malls - Return of the Living Dead
(1985), Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), Pin (1988, Canada).
1990s
Opt for one genre film from the epoch of Crystal Pepsi - Anaconda (1997), Galaxy Quest (1999), I
Bought a Vampire Motorcycle (1990, UK).
This Year
Single out a genre film from 2025 - Sinners (2025), KPop Demon Hunters (2025), Bring Her Back
(2025, Australia).
This penultimate prompt is designed to make things easier for you--think of it as a cheat code to help make your October viewing go even more smoothly.
Franchise Freebies!
Basically, if you want to watch an entire franchise spread out over Oct., feel free to count some of the
films in that series INSTEAD of any prompts you're having trouble with. Can't think of a Monster By
Nurture film you wanna watch, or not that interested in a movie from the '70s? Watch some of the
Saw films instead. But all your substitutes must be from the SAME franchise, and they must be
watched IN ORDER.
This last prompt is the ONLY one I think is date-specific:
All Hallows Eve
On the 31st, watch a really "Halloweenie" movie - Murder Party (2007), It's the Great Pumpkin
Charlie Brown (1966), The Wicker Man (1973, UK).
Feel free to build your watchlist in whatever order you want, by the way, and remember: the spooky season isn't just for horror. There are plenty of other genres that fit right in: sci-fi, martial arts, super heroes, fantasy, whodunnit, kaiju, etc. Best of luck, I hope you have fun.
I cohost the Hate Watch/Great Watch Podcast and we've covered some of the films mentioned above, if you're interested:
- Episode 11: Shaun of the Dead (2004)
- Episode 28: Hausu (1977)
- Episode 110: Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
- Episode 111: Cemetery Man (1994)
- Episode 118: Bell Book and Candle (1958)
- Episode 131: Beneath the Darkness (2011)
- Episode 140: Alison's Birthday (1981)
- Episode 155: Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
- Episode 159: Jaws (1975)
- Episode 168: Supergirl (1984)
Share your progress with #SpookyJawnList on your social media of choice, and as always - Long Live the Movies!
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