ABCs of horror: Movie recommendations for Halloween

From apparitions to zombies, this season offers up a variety of scary movies, and film critic Richard Crouse has recommendations for you -- from A to Z -- to watch on Halloween (Getty Images / FOTOKITA)

From apparitions to zombies, this season offers up a variety of scary movies, and finding something to watch on Halloween is as easy at ABC.

A: A Quiet Place

Imagine your life depends on staying completely silent. That’s the situation for the Abbott family—and the rest of the world—in this low key, unique and unsettling horror film.

B: Black Christmas

Without this groundbreaking 1974 Canadian horror film, there might never have been a Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers. Film Threat magazine calls the story of a group of sorority girls stalked by a relentless, deadly stranger, “the first modern slasher movie.”

C: Candyman (2021)

This one succeeds as a comment on the echoes of historical racism that can still be heard today and as a horror film that'll scare the pants off you.

D: The Descent

“The Descent” is scary. Run home to your Mom scary. “Hold me, I’m scared,” scary. There are gory moments, but it isn’t the blood and guts that terrifies. It is the hopeless situation of being trapped underground, pursued by strange predators and the unrelenting air of menace that really plays on the viewer’s fears.

E: The Exorcist

This so traumatized audiences with shots of the demonically possessed Regan MacNeil’s 360-degree spinning head that in the U.K. the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade were on-call at screenings to tend to fainters.

F: Freaks

As a young man, director Tod Browning had been a member of a travelling circus, and that experience brought such a horrifying realism to the story of carnival sideshow performers that one woman threatened to sue MGM, claiming the film had caused her to suffer a miscarriage.

G: Ginger Snaps

From 2000, and directed by John Fawcett, this is a great reinvention of a classic horror myth that mixes and matches a werewolf tale with a coming-of-age story.

H: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Atmospheric and gothic though it may be, the movie is actually a tender-hearted story that uses the undead to celebrate life.

I: It Follows

The dual horror of teenage ennui coupled with a terrifying sexually transmitted supernatural virus is a coming-of-age story steeped in body/mind horror.

J: Jennifer’s Body

A bloody story about demonic transference and a cheerleading succubus who feeds on the intestines of teenage boys, this is an inventive take on established demonic possession mythology with humor and lots of blood and guts.

K: Killer Klowns from Outer Space

The alien Klowns are beautifully realized creations that will scare the heck out of coulrophobes. Beneath large painted-on grins are rows of yellowed sharp teeth, topped off with beady jaundiced eyes, oversized ears and wildly coloured hair. Every feature is madly exaggerated until you have a living caricature of a clown. The result is a cult classic that is funny, but weird and scary at the same time.

L: Late Night with the Devil

A Faustian showbiz satire about the price of success, this contains enough genuinely disturbing images and eerie ideas to become a found footage favorite.

M: Monster Squad

A 1987 teenage horror comedy that owes a big nod to “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” with a side order of “The Goonies” thrown in for good measure.

N: Night of the Living Dead

The movie premiered on Oct. 1,1968, earning a rave from Roger Ebert and that other mark of success for a horror film, condemnation from fundamentalist Christian groups.

O: Orphan

The success of every 'creepy kid' movie relies on lines like, “I have a surprise for you, Mommy!” Why is the line so successful? Because the surprise is never good. It works because of the juxtaposition of innocence against a malevolent backdrop. In other words, evil children are scary.

As “Orphan’s” resident creepy kid, Isabelle Fuhrman is particularly good, a stern presence I could see inspiring a drinking game. How about a shot of Jäger every time she gives someone the creepy kid stink eye? You’d be on your butt before the 40-minute mark.

P: Psycho

If Alfred Hitchcock had any doubts about the effectiveness of the shower sequence in “Psycho,” they must have been put to bed when he received an angry letter from the father whose daughter stopped bathing after seeing the bathtub murder scene in “Les Diaboliques” and then, more distressingly, refused to shower after seeing “Psycho.”

Hitch’s response to the concerned dad? “Send her to the dry cleaners.”

Q: The Winged Serpent

In a career filled with gonzo movies, exploitation director Larry Cohen outdid himself with this big monster opus. Critic Colin Greenland noted, “It is not often that a film is enjoyable as a monster movie, a character study and a satire, but Q: The Winged Serpent scores on every one.”

R: Ready or Not

This film is a bloody satire with sly commentary about the lengths the 1% will do to keep their cash. The surprisingly nasty third act gives “Ready or Not” the feel of a future cult classic, a crowd-pleaser with some laughs and a giddily gory climax.

S: Sleepaway Camp

This gory slasher flick is most notable for a wild twist ending that has been called a “jaw-dropping, tape-rewinding, pause-and-stare-and-call-your-friends-over-to-stare” moment. Ignore the sequels, although the number two’s title, "Unhappy Campers," is pretty great.

T: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

An unforgettable atmospheric gem that, combined with other transgressive films like “Night of the Living Dead” and “The Last House on the Left,” initiated a modern age of cinematic terror in the 1970s and made the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface the first icon of modern horror.

U: Us

Inspired by an episode of the Eisenhower-era “Twilight Zone” series called “Mirror Image,” "Us" is a gory take on class structure, on the chasm between rich and poor. It’s an outlandish story but the powerful message resonates loudly.

V: Viva La Muerte (Long Live Death)

Risky and upsetting viewing, but in the avant-garde descriptions is a beautifully crafted — although completely gonzo — portrait of a young person in mental anguish.

W: The Witch

“The Witch’s” puritanical folk tale will slowly burrow itself into the brain, leaving you queasy and uneasy. It won’t be for everyone, and certainly not for casual horror fans. There’s no Freddys or Jasons in sight, just pure terror.

X: X

“X” is a throwback to the horror of legendary directors like Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven, but with a sensibility that simultaneously feels like a tribute and an update.

Y: You’re Next

Morals or feelings need not apply. So even though there isn’t a lot of blood—it is mostly implied—this home invasion movie still packs a grisly punch.

Z: Zombieland

Director Ruben Fleischer understands that horror comedies are neither fish nor fowl—they are both. For every gross decapitation you must have a giggle and “Zombieland” delivers on both counts.