Halloween movies for family viewing
There are actually some excellent, family-oriented movies that you can watch with your family on Halloween, including:
- Mad Monster Party
- An animated Rankin-Bass production, with the voice of Boris Karloff as Dr. Frankenstein, who wants to retire as the head of the worldwide monster organization. But Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy — and Francesa — may not agree! Excellent for viewing with younger children, as the monsters are more silly than scary
- The Raven
- A wonderful film, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, a young Jack Nicholson, and the lovely Hazel Court. With moments of serious scary, and lots of moments of humor as well
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
- The first of the many meetings Abbott and Costello had with Universal movie monsters, and probably the best. With Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man, Glen Strange as Frankenstein’s monster. A comedy with some outright chilling moments as well.
- The Monster Squad
- A frankly well-done homage to the Universal monsters, where they are escaping from their imprisonment. Until a group of teenage fans of monster movies can stop them. An excellent moment is when the “scary old man” in the neighborhood reveals that he’s not scary … And he’s had experience with monsters.
- The Lost Boys
- Definitely not for the younger children. A scary, atmospheric thriller — with a young Kiefer Sutherland as the leader of a gang of teenage vampires
- Fright Night
- What if a vampire moved in next door? A great, frightening vampire movie that’s also not for the younger children. With great performances from Chris Sarandon and the great Roddy McDowall