Thread: Halloween Vs. Horror Movies

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I can see that many on this forum don't really make a distinction, but I have noticed comments from some of you who have.

To those of you that do, where do you make the distinction between a Halloween movie and a Regular old horror film?

Now I am one of these people. I'll watch a Horror movie during the Halloween month(s), but I don't really feel any more or less halloween'ie unless it meets some Halloween Criteria.

Your thoughts?

Anything that contains Frankenstein or Dracula (<-- the person) is a Halloween Movie. Movies that contain Werewolves, Mummies, Witches are more-often-than-not Halloween movies. Movies that contain Ghosts, Vampires, and Zombies, are often not Halloween movies unless the subject matter of the movie shows as much.

I'll give Michael Meyers his credit, but the majority of other recent big budget monsters aren't Halloween to me.

Perhaps I am stubborn and take the classical approach to Halloween and will only accept Historical Cinema Monsters. Vampires and Ghosts have seem to have taken on a pop-culture vibe and with most films and shows, I have revoked their Halloween cards.

For me, a Halloween movie generally has the holiday involved, like Trick or Treat, Something Wicked This Way Comes or even the Great Pumpkin.

While a ton of horror flicks can be scary they don't have a Halloween feel to them. Saw or Scream may be scary but they don't fit that mold for me.

I also think it has a lot to do with what you watched as a kid during October. To me Halloween meant Vincent Price, Hammer Films, classic Universal Monsters, Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee, just creepy, scary stuff, but not gory stuff would be on TV all over for the whole month.

I watch all kinds of horror movies around Halloween but the movies that fit the Halloween sprit the most for me are gothic in style and atmosphere. Universals of the 30’s and 40’s, Hammer’s, Poe/Corman films of the 60’s, those are the ones I want to watch the most around Halloween.

My differentiator is a pumpkin. Halloween, Sleepy Hollow, and any other scary movie that has pumpkins is a Halloween movie.

Yes for me it has to actually involve the Holiday itself, or it's just a scary movie.

Originally Posted by kprimm

Yes for me it has to actually involve the Holiday itself, or it's just a scary movie.

For the most part I agree.
But I'm willing to grandfather in the classics like Dracula and Frankenstein.

I'm not sure where the line is. To me, the remake of House On Haunted Hill feels a bit Halloweeny, maybe because of the "spend the night at a haunted mansion" cliché, or maybe it's the "psycho fun lab" insane asylum setting. Others, like Elm St. and Saw just don't give off that Halloween vibe.

Even though not all horror movies contain the holiday itself, we still consider horror movies to be "Halloween films" just for the fact that they are scary, which is a key part of the 10/31 experience. But, a TRUE Halloween film, will include 10/31

Like some of you are saying..if its got the holiday in it then that's kind if NY definition. Trick R Treat did a FANTASTIC job of being a Halloween movie.

For other horror movies, I love them and I associate them with that most wonderfully spooky time of year but they're not actual Halloween movies for me unless they've got the holiday in them. On the other hand, I'm trying to think about whether I consider Friday The 13th a Halloween movie...maybe but not nearly as much as the original Halloween.