5 horror films to get you out of your post-Halloween slump
Early November can feel like a drag to horror lovers. After a month-long celebration of all things scary, we must resign ourselves to another year until next October. But as we wave goodbye to spooky season, and the decorations go from orange and black to red and green, we still can’t shake that desire for the macabre.
It does not have to be Halloween to enjoy horror, even if that’s the one time of year when perpetually everyone around joins the fun. But the realization that the widespread celebration has been sealed up for a year may leave us hesitant to browse Shudder or put in a Scream Factory DVD.
Indeed, it may take a bit to get back into the horror groove when the jack-o-lanterns are thrown out, and the plastic skeletons go back in the garage. But one of the best aspects of horror movies is that they don’t always have to take place at Halloween to provide us with terrifying fun.
In the spirit of moving on from the past spooky season, while embracing its core spirit, here are five films to cure you of the post-Halloween horror slump.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The stores don’t even wait this long to get into the holiday spirit, so why should we? If it still feels a little too soon to get excited for yule logs and mistletoe, the ultimate transition is The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The stop-motion animated film directed by Henry Selleck (not Tim Burton) holds the distinction of being both a Christmas and Halloween film. Led by pumpkin king Jack Skellington (voiced by Fright Night’s Chris Sarandon), the citizens of the town of Halloween discover the existence of Santa Claus and Christmas.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the most popular works associated with Tim Burton, who wrote a three-page poem upon which the film was based. It is the only film aired during both Freeform’s “31 Nights of Halloween” and “25 Days of Christmas” block each year.
If you want to ease into the holiday spirit, but you’re not quite ready to get nipped by Jack Frost, you can watch Jack Skellington in his disastrous attempts at being Father Christmas.
Thanksgiving (2023)
We can get hungry for turkey and cranberry sauce while also craving a good slasher. This is what makes Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving great.
The film takes place in Plymouth, Massachusetts and centers on a serial killer in a pilgrim mask killing townspeople one year after a horrific Black Friday tragedy.
A lot of trailers contain scenes pulled from their films, but few films contain scenes pulled from their trailers. The long-awaited horror film was based on one of the fake trailers attached to Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse feature (which also featured trailers from filmmakers such as Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie).
Thanksgiving uses the classic holiday-set slasher trope popular in films like Halloween, April Fool’s Day, and Black Christmas (which almost made this list). The result is a self-aware camp that makes an unserious premise somewhat serious. Eli Roth knew what film he was making, but did not make it a parody. He made an entertaining slasher worthy of nursing a November 1st hangover with.
The Shining (1980)
This entry should be taken with a grain of salt, as horror lovers may feel they were overexposed to it during October. But if that’s not the case, The Shining is an excellent remedy to your post-Halloween blues.
Based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel (whether he likes it or not), the film follows struggling writer and recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) residing as caretaker in the empty Overlook Hotel during its off season. He is joined by his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their psychic son Danny (Danny Lloyd), whose presence alerts evil spirits at the hotel.
The film is a staple of horror, and its charm lies in both psychological and supernatural terror. Jack’s struggles with creativity, addiction, and being a decent father and husband concurs with the malicious intentions of the Overlook’s spirits.
However, October may have oversaturated the film because of its place in horror. But like Jack Torrance, if you don’t mind the same sentence over and over again, you may like starting this movie again and watching his family’s stay at The Overlook.
Midsommar (2019)
Night is a popular time of the day to set a horror film in. The darkness provides a great, natural aesthetic that doesn’t feel out of place or forced. To set a film mostly in daylight is ambitious and hard to do, which is why Midsommar is an excellent horror movie to watch after Halloween.
The perpetually-sunny, high altitudes of Sweden during the summer solstice is the primary setting for Ari Aster’s horror film starring Florence Pugh as Dani. After a tragedy involving her sister and parents, she joins her grad student boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) on a trip with his colleagues to study a remote village in Sweden.
While November is still far from summer, the bright aesthetic of Midsommar is almost equally as far from October's cozy, autumn association. Despite those differences, the film is a great example of folk horror and effective writing. Aster proves that even in the light of day, we can still be afraid of things found in the dark.
Alien (1979)
In space, no one can hear you say “trick or treat.”
Ridley Scott’s 1979 film has the unique distinction of belonging to both the science-fiction and horror genre. With special effects headed by Brian Johnson and Nick Allder, and the creatures and ship designed by iconic artist H.R. Giger, Alien is a visual feast of terror.
The crew of a space-bound commercial freighter inadvertently bring an alien lifeform onboard after responding to a distress call from a ship on a desolate moon. It escapes and attacks the crew members.
Alien is the type of horror movie that can be enjoyed year-round, unbound by seasonal associations or aesthetics. Despite having an extraterrestrial being as the characteristic killer, and a spaceship as the primary setting, it fits a comfortable slasher standard. It features a hard-to-kill assailant picking off helpless people one by one until only Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the “final girl,” remains.
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