Hausu (aka House)
Probably one of the most batshit crazy films I have ever seen that is now a must in my required Halloween viewing every year. I don't even know how to explain it but it's just wild and has some of the most craziest visuals and effects I've seen on film. It's definitely one you can watch with a group of friends and laugh your ass off or get drunk to, if you don't believe me see the trailer for yourself.
The Monster Squad
For most kids growing up in the 80s, The Goonies was the go-to kids film that had friendship, adventure and excitement...not me! I am a fan of The Goonies but The Monster Squad was just a cooler movie in my opinion, a gang of kids obsessed with monsters and they end up fighting Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon and team up with Frankenstein I mean you can't get any cooler than that. This one is safe to watch with the family for Halloween (mind you PG in the 80s is different from PG of now so expect some foul language).
The Cabin in the Woods
Man Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard wrote such a kick-ass script it caught me off guard when I first saw this in theatres. From watching the trailers and reading the sypnosis made you think it was your standard haunted house film and when watching the beginning of the film you were expecting that and it seemed to go that direction but then does a 360 and gives you some great twists that made the story much more interesting and the film much more fun. Highly recommended.
I Saw The Devil
Not your typical Halloween film but one I would definitely recommend if you have a strong stomach and looking for something really extreme. I remember seeing this at TIFF 2010 blindly without reading the synopsis and expected a Korean action thriller with lots of gun battles and car chases, boy was I way off. The film has two great lead actors that go toe to toe throughout the 2.5 hour runtime in Lee Byung Hun who you may know as Storm Shadow in the GI Joe films and Choi Min Sik who was recently in the Luc Besson action film Lucy. Even though it's not a horror film per se it definitely has horrific elements in it: gruesome kills, cannibals, crazy psychopaths and a hero who will do whatever it takes to catch the psychopath. Trust me after you watch it you'll want to take a shower, it's really that brutal and intense. One of my favourite films, period.
Happy Halloween everyone!