Spooky Halloween Films For People Who Don’t Like Scary Movies
Halloween is the perfect time for horror movie fans — but not everyone likes watching a scare-fest. Maybe you want to chill out to something more family-friendly with your kids. Or maybe you want to watch something that gives off spooky vibes but isn't going to leave you petrified of the dark. Whatever the reason, this is the perfect list for you. These are the perfect non-traumatizing, scary(ish) movies to watch this Halloween.
1. Hocus Pocus
Hocus Pocus shows up all the time on Disney Channel, so you know right off the bat that it’s not very scary. But it is smart, silly, and very, very popular. Despite it receiving bafflingly poor reviews upon its release in 1993, it has fast become a cult classic. And the good news is that if you like this movie, now there's a sequel that you can watch right after!
2. Scary Movie
Scary Movie unashamedly pokes fun at horror movies in the most outrageous (and dumb) ways possible. Obviously, this is not one to watch with the kids, but it’s a good one to let you luxuriate in the tropes of the slasher genre without all the scares. Plus, there are so many easter eggs from actual horror movies that it’s like being visited by a Halloween Easter Bunny.
3. Casper
Casper is the perfect Halloween movie for children or the easily scared — his nickname is Casper the friendly ghost, after all. Although the film gives a darker backstory to Casper than the one in the original Harvey Comics stories, the movie still has many more laughs than true scares. It was also, fact fans, the first-ever full-length film to star a completely computer-generated main character.
4. Donnie Darko
Before director Richard Kelly had shot a frame of his cult classic Donnie Darko, he’d been told that the movie would be impossible to market. The logic here, as Kelly told Forbes in 2016, was that “it didn’t fit into any category.” It is, after all, set in October, ends at a Halloween party, and features a horrific-looking rabbit — but it isn't technically a horror film. It will make you think, though.
