Horror Movies to Kick Off Fall
Part of my job as the owner and operator of Midslumber Media (an all horror book and video store located in Portland, Oregon) is serving up horror recommendations.
Actually, it’s my favorite part of the job.
There’s something so satisfying about creating the perfect list. Horror is a massive genre and there is no shortage of topics, scare levels, subgenera, and vibes to choose from. Whether you’re on the hunt for gothic vampire romances, techno-horror hellscapes, goopy slimy wet grossness, or even family friendly spooks-horror has it all!
It can be a little overwhelming and I know better than anyone that it’s not a one size fits all journey. Everyone has different scare levels, preferences, and limits. And, not all horror is created equal either. Some horror is arguably only meant to be watched during the fall season!
With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of horror flicks that perfectly set the mood for the start of spooky season. It’s not Halloween yet but that doesn’t mean we can’t prepare for the true horrors that await us!
Happy watching and happy fall!
-Mick
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), an eccentric investigator is determined to stop the murderous Headless Horseman while Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Richi), the beautiful and mysterious girl struggles to hide her secret ties to the paranormal terror.
Graveyards. Leaves. Abundant fog. Nothing quite sets the mood for fall like this eerie and enchanting version of the classic tale of horror.
Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
Two tabloid reporters (Jeff Goldblum & Joseph Bologna) travel to modern-day Transylvania to uncover the truth behind Frankenstein sightings. Along the way, they encounter other horror filmstaples—a mummy, a werewolf, and a vampire—each with a twist.
This underrated wacky horror comedy is the perfect slapstick start to fall festivities! Mummy, werewolf, Gina Davis as a sexy vampire…oh my!
Transylvania 6-5000 is currently available to stream on Tubi*
This film is not currently available to us to sell or it is out of print entirely. As a physical media enthusiast, advocate, and focused business-you’ll be hard pressed to find me promoting any streaming services. But, I also understand that sometimes being a horror fan means limited access to physical copies of our favorite films. Tubi, a free-with-ads streaming service, frequently fills that gap and is one of very few exceptions to my strict anti-streaming service stance.
*We (me, Mick and Midslumber Media) are not affiliated with nor sponsored by Tubi. We do not receive any compensation from Tubi, this link, or any potential sign-ups to their platform.
Five years after an unexplained malfunction causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house tour, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to find out what really happened.
A found footage spook-fest that follows a group of young adults rushing to get a haunted house attraction ready for the upcoming Halloween season. Talk about perfectly setting the tone for the spooky season!
A villainous carnival owner, Mr. Dark, preys upon unsuspecting Midwestern townsfolk by granting wishes, but for a price.
An all around classic haunt based on Ray Bradbury’s book of the same name- takes place in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Although labeled ‘Family Friendly’ my childhood self begs to differ…
A group of film students thought it would be a hoot to rent an old theater and put on an all-night terror festival of gimmicky old flicks like "The Stench," "Attack of the Amazing Electrified Man" and "Mosquito." Unfortunately, though... that shrouded killer who's randomly preying on members of the audience? He isn't a gimmick.
A meta horror romp that’s made for the horror nerds! While set almost entirely in an independent movie theater and not strictly a fall flick-what’s more fall than visiting a local theater for a showing of a horror film?
Locked in the cloakroom after school as a Halloween prank, Frankie (Lukas Haas) meets the ghost of a young neighborhood girl, Melissa Anne Montgomery (Joelle Jacobi), who had been found strangled to death 10 years before. Frankie soon learns that nine other children have been killed in the years since, and with the spectral help of Melissa and her mother, a grieving apparition known as The Lady in White (Karen Powell), he attempts to discover the murderer before he becomes his latest victim.
A story about kids but absolutely not a kids movie - chills, thrills, and terror on a backdrop of the sugar-coma induced chaos of Halloween at an elementary school. Vibrant fall colors, visuals, and vibes that will absolutely satiate your Halloween-of-old nostalgia fix…and then promptly traumatize the sh*t out of you.
An Amish-style community lives cut off from the outside world by the woods, in which they believe dangerous creatures exist. They have an uneasy truce with the creatures - if they stay out of the woods, they are left unharmed. When one of the young villagers becomes ill, the boy who loves her ignores the elders of the village to make a bid to the next town to fetch medicine.
I’m admittedly not a huge M. Night Shyamalan fan but I did enjoy The Village. The gorgeous fall foliage and chilling atmosphere are perfect to set the tone of the season!
Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard. A spooky documentary leads to unimaginable terror for three film students lost in the Maryland woods.
A no brainer - the found footage low-budget box office smash has a retainer on most fall horror lists for a reason!
Carnival of Souls (1962)
A young woman in a small Kansas town survives a drag race accident, then agrees to take a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City. en route, she becomes haunted by a bizarre apparition that compels her toward an abandoned lakeside pavilion. Made by industrial filmmakers on a modest budget, the eerily effective B-movie classic Carnival of Souls was intended to have the look of a Bergman and the feel of a Cocteau and, with it's strikingly used locations and spooky organ score, it succeeds. Herk Harvey's macabre masterpiece gained a cult following on late-night television and continues to inspire filmmakers today.
Need I say more? I think not.
