Our Favorite Horror Movies Set on Halloween Night

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Spooky season greetings and salutations and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. It's Halloween. Everyone's entitled to one good scare. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast typically dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack, a total joke, a waste of time, or slash.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Totally killer, unintended.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Now we believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with the perspective we've gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the classic horror connoisseur Sean.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

There are rules. You should be more careful.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Now we're typically here to rate and review movies, but today we're actually just going to be listing a lot of movies because this week we're winding down spooky season by making our preparations for Halloween night.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

You know, it's the one time of year when the rules of the real world loosen their grip, where masks aren't just costumes, and horror stories feel a little too close for comfort.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Yes. The genre has long been obsessed with this holiday, right? Horror and Halloween, it just goes hand in hand, right? And for good reason. The night itself is a built-in setup, dark streets, strange visitors, and permission for just absolute chaos and all kinds of spooky things in between.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

I love that there's consented chaos on Halloween. It's the best part of it.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

And while plenty of horror movies have Halloween vibes, there are so many of them. Tonight we're actually going to drill down to specifically the ones that actually take place on October 31st. So films where the setting isn't just decoration, but it's actually part of the story.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Absolutely. And you think of movies that do this, right? Some use the holiday as this backdrop for slasher films, others kind of dig into the urban legends, the folklore, or just straight up supernatural weirdness, right? Either way, they all answer one question. What happens when the scariest night of the year gets even worse?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Hell yeah. Now, this week we're celebrating the best Halloween horror movies that are actually set on Halloween night. Now, I've kind of categorized these in a couple different ways, right? So we have, I think what are some common staples. We have a whole section dedicated to haunts, we have other horror movies that take place on Halloween, and then we have some honorable mentions that are less horror, but honestly, still too much Halloween fun to really ignore. And how can you start anywhere but Halloween 1978?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

It's arguably probably the most iconic Halloween horror movie that you would be watching during this season.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

A hundred percent. John Carpenter and Deborah Hill essentially wrote the rule book for Halloween night horror. It's minimalist setup, it's babysitters, suburbs, mass killer, but it actually carved out a template that still defines the holiday. And no matter what you get, you're gonna get something very similar to Halloween. Many will emulate it, few will actually come close to doing it justice.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Yeah, 100%. It also gave us this idea that Halloween can feel quietly wrong, right? Like the jack-o'-lanterns are glowing, the leaves are falling, we've got the vibes, and yet there's this sense that something is watching.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Oh, yeah, it's also always Michael Myers watching you in the corner. When you wake up in the middle of the night and you feel like someone's in the room, it's Michael Myers staring at you. I cannot wait because this time next year we're gonna have Halloween the game, and I watch some of the gameplay teasers, it looks like this motherfucker's gonna be lurking and stalking, and I I can't wait. Now, this franchise is built around the entire holiday of Halloween and it keeps folding back into that date. So while similar to Friday the 13th, actually continues on Saturday the 14th, there are sequels and timelines that go on and and start before Halloween, they pick up after Halloween, but uh October 31st is the anchor that never goes away, and it's really baked into the story. And we actually have an entire bonus episode dedicated to telling you which Halloween entries best capture the spirit of the holiday, and really which continuity that you can really watch. But Carpenter's original is the eternal classic, but he's not the only game in town.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

No, for sure. There is obviously, or maybe not obviously, but for us, I feel like every year, and this is also one that I also like to squeeze in really close to, if not on Halloween, but trick or treat.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

It's so good. This is one of the earlier episodes that we did on our podcast. So the episode review of it, I'm pretty sure, is no longer available online. Our patrons will be able to get access to it in the crypt. We'll eventually redo it at some point, but this one I love so much because it's actually love actually for horror fans. So it's five interconnected stories. It's all set on one night in a small town that actually takes Halloween pretty seriously, right? You got everything, you got school bus ghosts. You have if you see have seen this movie, you may recognize Mark Harmon from Final Destination Bloodlines. You have eventual werewolves, you have poison candy, and then of course you have Sam, the pumpkin headed enforcer of Halloween tradition.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Yeah, I have Sam right outside. He's sitting on my driveway right now, just kind of swiveling his head to people, showing the rules behind him. Yeah, I never really I what I love is that you actually kind of tried to tie this into love actually, which I think is absolutely hilarious. I see where you're going with it for sure, but yeah, I remember distinctly watching this movie when it first came out with one of my lifelong friends, and it was around Halloween. We're like, we really want to watch a Halloween type movie. We saw this one, we put it on, and holy shit, from that year forward, I watch this one every single Halloween season because it just has the perfect vibe, the perfect mood. You're getting everything. You listed a whole bunch of stuff already as to why you should be watching this movie. It does take Halloween very seriously, and if you really want to get in the vibe of the Halloween spirit, this one will get you there.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

And what's great about this is it's an older movie comparatively now, being in 2025, but it still feels super timely.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

And nothing about this feels very aged, it doesn't feel like you're in the 90s or the early aughts. Like you can watch this movie and still feel like it's happening right now. It's just so exceptionally well made. And I actually absolutely love how it captures that sense of neighborhood mischief, right? You can smell the candy corn in cold air. I fucking hate the smell of candy corn, but like I feel like you can look at this movie and just smell it. And it's not that it's just uh freaky and spooky, uh, it's also just fun because it's a celebratory love letter to Halloween.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Yeah, it's just truly a masterpiece in how it interwove all these different stories together and it really ties it together well. There's some anthology Halloween type movies out there or anthology horror movies that will just go ahead and give you a bunch of different stories, but they don't tie together the way this ties everything together, which makes it feel even better.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

A hundred percent. Now, speaking of other anthologies and also other movies that you can spell, you gotta be down the clown with terrifier.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Ooh, you have to be.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

So we have three entries. Obviously, this is a whole franchise, but you have All Hollows Eve that introduced Art the Clown. Yep. Then you have Terrifier Proper, and then you have Terrifier 2, both of which are set on Halloween night. Now, this is something that absolutely ditches subtlety, and it dives face first into Halloween chaos. And I really enjoy this because it turns the holiday into a playground for like pure unapologetic brutality, and finally getting to live that and see that in Halloween Horror Nights this year was just incredible.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Ah, it really, really was. What I love about Terrifier and just the franchise as a whole. One, we're obviously we're talking about these couple specific films that are set on Halloween night, but I love the traction that this has gotten. I love that this has very much become this generation's iconic slasher, right? And it's really, really cool. Art the Clown has become this modern boogeyman, completely silent, but full of character, full of charisma. He's cruel, he's always grinning. The first terrifier was this low budget splatterfest that hit cult status because it refused to pull its punches, but it's just gotten so much popularity. Look at it now, people are wearing terrifier shirts. We got figures being sold at Walmart. We've got my neighbor fucking has an art the clown prop in his yard. Art is everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

It is incredible, and I love it so much. And you know, Sean, I mentioned you and I are gonna go see Halloween together in theaters today. Yeah. And then I'm driving home and going to see the first terrifier in theaters with Allie. Like, this is a day of just good shit.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

What a double feature.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Honestly, like these my two spooky Halloween boys, and I am 100% here for it. And the great thing is that you had all that chaos, all that nonsense and terrifier, but then terrifier 2 came along and basically said, What if we did everything even better, right? What if we just doubled it?

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Just amplify it.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Yeah, let's just do this, but fucking take it up a notch. You have a bigger score, you have deeper lore, you have more surreal nightmare logic, and oh god, somehow even more gore, even more violence. You think you stop right there at the hot dog slice, and then you keep going. This movie is a full endurance test that still captures that Halloween night vibe. You have late night parties, empty streets, and that feeling that danger is still just around the corner. But also you get Arthur Clown being a silly, spooky, funny, goofy guy.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

The fucking trick-or-treaters in this movie, I feel like he belongs as a segment in Trick-or-treat. I would die for a trick-or-treat sequel that also ties in Terrifier 2 specifically, and those trick-or-treaters who reached into the decapitated head candy bowl.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Damn, that would be absolutely fantastic. But yeah, it's so interesting. Terrifier 2 definitely brings you that Halloween night vibe even more than Terrifier, the original Terrifier. Because, you know, the original Terrifier, obviously, it is on Halloween night, but we're kind of getting the tail end of the night almost. Like we've got the couple of girls that are kind of just done with whatever they were doing, they're stopping for a bite to eat, whatever, and they run in and cross paths with Art the Clown and shit hits the fan, right? But Terrifier 2 really gives you all the vibes. Like you said, you've got the trick-or-treating, you've got the costumes, you've got all the different things, the Halloween party of it all. You've got all the things you want in a Halloween movie that's set on Halloween, right? It's all there and it's really prominent.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

It absolutely is. Now, the great thing about Halloween horror movies is it's not just the trick-or-treaters, it's not just the Halloween night in a neighborhood, it's also haunts as a whole. Now, one of the first ones that might come to mind for you is the Halloween haunts Hellhouse LLC. But apparently, that takes place October 8th, 2009, with that mysterious death. So what a bummer that is.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yeah, it doesn't necessarily take place on Halloween night, but it does kind of get you into that vibe. So maybe it's like a honorable mention, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 12:05

For sure. Now, what does take place on Halloween is Haunt Hellfest and the House's Octoberbuilt.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

All really good options for sure, if you're really into one, not just the Halloween night vibes, but if you're into watching horror movies that are set around haunts, because there's a lot of fun stuff here.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

It really is. I actually really love even the House of Octoberbuilt specifically because it's exactly the kind of fucking horror movie that I would be in. It's a road trip, it's found footage, and they're trying to find some good haunts. Like that is what I'm into. I can easily see myself in that. It's the days leading up to Halloween and then culminates on Halloween.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

And when you have Haunt and Hellfest, both of those have the perfect haunts and fun environment that you get the entire spooky season. But they specifically just bookend all this and really arrive at this destination on Halloween. And there's something more fucked up for me about going to a haunt on Halloween. If I wasn't the kind of person who wanted to just sit at home and watch Michael Myers movies, I would absolutely do a haunt on Halloween because I feel like the atmosphere would be even better.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Yeah, it definitely feels like a really great place to spend your Halloween night. And I'm with you. Like if I didn't have the desire to really be a part of my neighborhood, which is like 200 plus trick-or-treaters, like we get a whole lot happening here. So I really try to go all out for the kids that are trick-or-treating because I don't want to be the guy that just leaves a bowl out and just hopes for the best. You know what I mean? I think that's just a cop out. So I try to at least be here on Halloween. I guess the the one thing that will be interesting is if Halloween, well, I guess this year it is a Friday, so it is a weekend day. That's interesting. I could throw a wrench. If it ever ends up on like a Saturday, you know, the bar crawl we did this last weekend. If that ends up happening on a Halloween night that's on a Saturday, these kids are fucked.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Yep. Fuck them kids.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

These kids are fucked. But yes, uh, being at a haunt on Halloween sounds like a really great time to spend your night.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Yeah, I would love to do that. And I honestly, I think what I'll do instead is just live vicariously through these movies. Now, there are some other horror movies that take place on October 31st, and I want to shout out to Cobweb.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

It's not fresh in my memory still, but yeah, that's a great call out for sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Now we have another one that came out very recently, and that was Late Night with the Devil. This shit I'm into.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

That was a good one. If you if anyone hasn't seen Late Night with the Devil, I think definitely it's a good one to watch. It's arguably a good one to watch, you know, anytime during the spooky season. It gets you in those vibes for sure. I think Late Night with the Devil is probably, man, it's a sleeper. I feel like I don't know a ton of people that have actually watched that movie still for some reason, even though I think it gained a little bit of popularity when it first came out, but it's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

It really is. Now, another one that surprises me to remember that it takes place, at least in part, on Halloween, is Ginger Snaps.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Yeah. Well, you know, we did relatively recently cover that movie, right? In this last year. So I feel like that it helped us a lot in remembering that this took place around Halloween.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Yeah, it really just popped up in the back of my brain. It's like buried in a filing cabinet in the back of my brain. Wild. That's where Ginger Snaps lives right now. That is one that you can sneak in. I don't see this immediately feel Halloween. Like I wouldn't watch this in October. I would watch this maybe in like November. But there are two others that are on this list that I have not seen, Sean.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Yeah. One would be 31, you know, written, directed by uh yours truly, uh Rob Zombie.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah, the guy who made the Halloween movies you skip every year.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, I love Rob Zombie. I'm not like necessarily mad at the Halloween films. I just happen to skip past them when I'm trying to get through the franchise. You know, it happens. I do like a lot of the films that he does do, which may be, depending on who you're talking to, a popular or unpopular decision. But 31 is definitely one that takes place on Halloween. It's definitely one that you could watch in October in your spooky season watch list, right? You've got some wild clown action, you've got some wild, fun little horrific games going on, you know what I mean? So it is definitely one that I think could be kind of fun.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

I honestly long for the day that there is a Rob Zombie movie I like that isn't the monsters.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Well, we may not have gotten there yet.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

I honestly hope so. I really, really hope so. Because I guess the idea of there being a Rob Zombie movie that takes place on Halloween that isn't Halloween, that might be something that I can get into.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Yeah, you just never know. But this one, I don't know if this one will be the one. You never know. I've only I even though I own this one, I've only watched it a couple of times. So I'll have to refresh it before saying that maybe this is one that you'll like. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Yeah, but you know, let's just take a moment to also add to the list the monsters from Rob Zombie because it does say quits on Halloween.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

That's so true. That's so true. I don't know how we could forget that one. You know, the monsters, definitely a good watch. That's a fun watch. It is so fun. 100%. That'll get you in the mood. It's like you're walking through a haunted house in and of itself watching that movie. The vibes are great, the atmosphere is great, it's got a little bit of comedy in there. It's just good.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

10 out of 10.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

And then it ends on November 1st, so that's pretty great.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

There you go. It'll take you all the way through the season. But also another one that I think should be on everyone's radar is another anthology movie of sorts. It's Tales of Halloween.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

Tell me more. I know nothing of it.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Well, Tales of Halloween, I've only watched it once, and I remember really liking it. It is basically 10 short stories that all revolve around ghosts, ghouls, monsters. I think the devil, aliens is in there, axe murderers who terrorize a suburb on Halloween night. There's a lot going on with this movie. Yeah. A lot going on, but it's kind of fun. And I think this is definitely one you'd want to put on your radar for the Halloween season.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Okay. All right. I could get into that. I'm not mad at that. I need to see where I can watch it because I'm looking it up right now. I'm honestly intrigued.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Yeah, I don't know where it's streaming at this time.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Okay, so Tales of Halloween on Tubi, the Tubi special.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

The Tubi special.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

The Tubi is also where I watched the original Phantom of the Opera for our episode.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

That's it. Tubi's got a lot of actually a lot of content. So if you're looking for horror movies in general, Halloween movies, whatever, that Tubi might be the place to go.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

It might be. Now, you say Tubi. There's also a list of honorable mentions, and that is uh movies that mostly take place on Halloween or are not specifically Halloween, but also feel like they should be. But you have Hubie Halloween. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

I've never seen this. Oh, come on. Listen, okay. If anyone likes Adam Sandler or Adam Sandler films, you know, this is one that came out semi-recently in the last few years, from what I remember. And it's not as maybe raunchy of comedy as maybe he's had in older movies like Billy Madison and different things like that. This is one that where he's gotten his kids involved, right? So his daughters are in there, right? His I think his wife is in there. So it's like one of those where he like, you know, Adam Sandler brings his friends along with him in every movie, but now he's also bringing his friends along and his family, which is kind of cool. So it has this kind of family feel to it. And it's just a cute movie, like Huey Halloween. He just plays this guy who's kind of been bullied his whole life, and he's just like the town, like Halloween night protector. He's just trying to like be out there making sure the kids have a safe time on Halloween, but everyone kind of treats him like crap. And he goes through this journey on Halloween, on the nights leading up to and on Halloween itself. And it's just a really, a really fun story. I don't want to give anything away, but you've got a lot of great vibes. The town that he lives in goes all out on Halloween. Like, this would be the town that I want to live in for the rest of my life. Like every house decked out to the max. There's local haunts that are happening, there's a whole bunch of stuff. People go all out. It's fucking great.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Okay, I'm intrigued. I wasn't initially intrigued at the mention of Adam Sandler. Not that I dislike him, I typically like his movies, but you didn't sell me until you described it that way. Now, some other ones that we absolutely love. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came out last year.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

10 out of 10 experience. Loved that. It does take place specifically on Halloween. So we love that. But then we have the Devil Trouble, the things from my childhood. The third one on the list is gonna be a specific one. But Hocus Pocus and Halloween Town were my bread and butter as a child.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

It's so good. I mean, for sure. And it's so interesting. Like Halloween Town, I remember watching all the time on the Disney Channel and different things like that with my brothers. And Hocus Pocus, I think, is one that has just continued to just gain popularity. Because when it first came out, it was kind of a flop. And now it's like this cult classic for all ages. Like, even us, we're just like Hocus Pocus. Like, how could you not go through the season? Without Hocus Pocus, and it's such a great movie to get you in the spirits. It's got like everything that you would want in a Halloween night movie, right?

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Mm-hmm. Did you like Hocus Pocus too?

SPEAKER_00 22:12

I enjoyed it for what it was. I didn't think it it didn't match the same energy that I got from the first one, but I was not mad at it. I only gave it one watch, so I still have to give it another watch, and I think I'll maybe try to squeeze that in pretty soon. I heard there's confirmation of a third one.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Oh, that's intriguing. I do love the the soundtrack from Hocus Pocus 2.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

And I enjoyed Hocus Pocus too. I mean, the thing is you can't have Hocus Pocus and then expect after how many years of nostalgia that anything else is gonna really capture it. I guess the same could be said for Bealo Juice. I think it was a moderately successful movie. It did have a little bit too much going on.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

But also just recognize that going into these movies. You can still have fun with it.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Yeah, it's hard. It's hard to do something 20 plus years later. We see it here and there, not even with just horror movies, but just with movies in general, where they're just like, oh man, it's been a couple decades. Maybe we'll just try to pick up this story somehow. You know what I mean? Let's get some of these actors that are now 20 years older. It's like, holy shit, this is a lot to try to pull off. But it is kind of cool. Hocus Pocus has these types of things like if you ever find yourself in Salem, you can actually go to Allison's house. That is a house that's still there. I don't think they'll let you inside, but you can definitely see the house from the outside.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

So there are still some vibes there. I would love if they kept like the Sanderson's house somewhere as that set built would be fucking cool. I don't know if that maybe it is, I don't know, but that would be cool if it was something that they kept alive.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Yeah, I fucking would love to see that. Now you could also travel to the West Coast to go see where Halloween Town was filmed.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Mmm, that would be fun.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

Yeah, you can absolutely go to St. Helens, Oregon, and apparently their Halloween spirit is so fucking high.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

See, that's the vibes. I need to find myself settling down in a town like that. But so you got Hocus Pocus, you got Halloween Town. Another one that we can honorably mention here is Casper. It does end on Halloween night at the, you know, the little Halloween party at the house or whatever at Casper's house, which is cool. What a cute little movie. You know what I mean? What a great one to get you in the vibes. It's not super scary. It's one that everyone can watch together. It's a great story. It ends on a high note. You know what I mean? That perfect line at the end when Casper is like leaning in and saying, Can I keep you forever or whatever?

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Like, can I keep you? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

Borderline, you know, but still.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Imagine if the Phantom said that. It's cute when Casper does it. But imagine if the Phantom of the Phantom of the Opera did that.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

Well, maybe the Phantom needs to take some advice from Casper and make it cute, okay?

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Yeah. Phantom, you just gotta turn into a different person altogether and softly whisper, can I keep you? in someone's ear. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

Now there's another one on this list that I haven't seen, and that's Monster House.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Yeah, Monster House is another one of those family-friendly movies. It's an animated film. It's a great movie. If I'm not mistaken, it is set during the days leading up to Halloween and ending on Halloween as well. It's got a lot of great vibes. So if you're looking for like an animated Halloween type, spooky animated film for you and the kids, or you're just looking for something animated and lighthearted, this is a really fun story about a haunted-esque house type situation.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Alright, I can get into that. Now, something that is often debated. Is it Halloween? Is it Christmas? You have, and I put this at the bottom of the list specifically for this reason. Nightmare Before Christmas does start on Halloween. I love that. It's great. But also, it's more of a November 1st movie. It's a November 1st through December 26th movie. Watch that shit 90 times in that season. I think we can hold off a little bit on Nightmare Before Christmas. I don't know what your take is.

SPEAKER_00 26:09

Yeah, this is one that's interesting. I agree. I think it's a good transitional piece. Like it's coming out of the spooky season, you're not ready to let go, and you want to still hang on to a little bit of that Halloween vibe going into the rest of these holidays coming up into Christmas, right? And so I think November is a great way to watch this film, whether it's November 1st or sometime in November. This is definitely one that you can watch on Halloween too if you desire to, but it's definitely for me, like you, it's a more of a in-between.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Yeah, I need Jack the Pumpkin King to just hold me in his bony arms and just nurture me through the Christmas spirit bullshit. That's what I need. And we also have Thanksgiving coming up in November, too. So we have some slashers now. But that's where I really rely on Nightmare Before Christmas to shine. Now there are some other Halloween-esque animated films like Frank and Weenie and Paranorman that really stand out too.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Yeah, both come to mind as something that would fit right in with the vibes of something to watch that is also kind of family friendly, right? Animated, kind of fun. You got the Tim Burton vibes there with Frank and Weenie and whatnot. And you know, maybe they're not on Halloween night specifically, but they're fun. They're spooky.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

And that's what we need, right? That's the thing about Halloween. It's a setting that is fun. It's also horror's natural habitat. Everyone's pretending to be something else. It's a tension between mask and identity that the genre thrives on. And when you're not lurking in a lot of darkness, right? When you're not getting creeped out by Michael Myers and Arthur Clown, you can just have this family-friendly fun. It's also this the one night, right? That we invite that fear in. We open the door for it literally. Trick-or-treating is just is just exactly that. It's saying, Hey, I'm consenting to this experience, and let's let's fuck around and find out. Let's see what let's see what goes down.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Yeah, for sure. It's just fun. We love all of the things that go about it, trick-or-treating. Whether you like to trick-or-treat, whether you're living through your kids trick-or-treating, whether you're liking to scare kids that are trying to trick-or-treat at your house. It's just a vibe.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

Absolutely. Now, whether it's Michael Myers, Sam, or a possessed party guest, the message is always the same. Don't fucking underestimate the power of Halloween night. Now, if you're queuing up your own Halloween marathon, we've linked our official best Halloween horror movie set on Halloween Night list in the show notes, along with a few deep cuts from our own archives.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

And if you want to find out how you can go even further than this episode, consider supporting the show by visiting patreon.com/slash hackerslash. This is where you can enjoy even more of the show, including episodes like this, bonus content, early access, extended episodes with our B-sides, which are free sides for the spooky season, movie nominations, and live shows.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

We'll see you next time, folks, and remember, always check your candy.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good fright.