10 Movies To Carve Pumpkins To

For those who pay attention to the precise moment when the leaves begin to die and the package of pumpkin spice whatever hits the shelves, October can easily be divided into two halves.  The first half is for smelling the air every morning when you step outside, preferably while wearing a sweater and on your way to purchase your first aforementioned flavored latte.  And the second half is for the true reason why we love October...

Halloween.

AMC seems content on pushing this yearly holiday mile marker back further and further every year, until one day we'll start seeing "The Walking Dead" premiere and "Jason Takes Manhattan" on our new Black Friday purchased HD TV.  Despite American Movie Classics being plagued with the same "Friday" sequels and that zombie show every year, I still feel that spine tingling itch of excitement with the "Fear Fest" logo materializes in the bottom corner of my screen.  The instant I step into my house, before I even throw my shoes off or satiate the whining of Ripley because I hadn't fed her since eight that morning, I flip on channel 59 and enjoy the ambiance of 80s quality acting and censored blood splatters.

But with so little time jammed into this month, with Halloween Express trips to run and Snickers bags you have no desire to hand out to kids to purchase, you've gotta squeeze in a Jack O' Lantern carving or two before October 31st.  And that leaves no time for waiting until AMC starts rolling the occasional gold.  Your Halloween time is much too precious for that!

Here I present to you the top 10 movies to get you into the All Hallow's Eve mood while perfecting your pumpkin artisan skills.

10.  Sleepy Hollow 

 If there's one thing Tim Burton is good at, it's creating moving picture images perfect for adorning your computer's screen saver during your Halloween party.  The second thing he's good at is putting Johnny Depp into his movies.  Burton's 1999 retelling of Jonathon Irving's story features a ho-hum conspiracy to sap a small New England town of its five acre land, Christopher Walken chopping up American revolutionaries, and one-liners of the same quality as "Heads will roll" and "Watch your head".  Like most Burton movies, there's no story worth paying attention to, so just enjoy some haunting imagery accompanied by a classic Danny Elfman score and don't worry about hitting pause if you have to make another candle run.

9.  Cabin in the Woods

While not quite the genre-bending horror masterpiece the internet praised it of being, the Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard flick has its moments of humor accompanied with throwbacks to the classic era of slashers.  The assembly of monsters wreaking havoc on Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford's company at the end is a glorious ode to all gore fans out there.  But for those whose ears are offended by Whedon's overly snarky dialogue, you want to avoid this one.

8.  Child's Play

Hailed as the "Citizen Kane" of "evil toys possessed by serial killers" movies, "Child's Play" does a surprisingly good job of mixing eye-rolling schlock with moments of genuine creepiness.  Brad Dourif's voice is an interesting choice to embody a supposedly frightening doll, but mostly he brings a grindhouse level of legitimacy to the tone.  Clearly the filmmakers realized halfway through shooting that no one is really scared of a monster in baby overalls.  "Child's Play" does for Toys R Us what "Jaws" did for showers.

7.  Beetlejuice

While certainly not a horror movie, Tim Burton's sophomore effort following "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" also features the director's first use of Michel Keaton playing a character whose name starts with "B".  Easily Keaton's best performance ever and Burton makes full use of his rare, non-Johnny Depp star.  Plenty of claymation sandworms and other monster imagery perfect for getting you into that October 31st spirit.

6.  Trick R' Treat

Considered to be the new millennium's "Halloween", this Bryan Singer produced anthology film throws everything but the kitchen sink at you in the spirit of the season.  A psycho principle who murders trick or treaters, ghost stories, werewolves, and a lovable Halloween sprite named Sam who punishes pumpkin smashers.  Plenty of fun with a cast that includes Rogue, William Stryker, and The Lizard, guaranteed to become your yearly staple after one viewing.  Also, enough Jack O' Lanterns to get you into the mood to carve your own.

5.  1408

Easily the greatest movie ever to be based off of a Stephen King Ghost Hotel story, "1408" features a fantastic, and pretty much solo, performance from John Cusack.  Samuel L. Jackson takes the other half of the top billing, otherwise it's the Cusack alone in a hotel room show.  Legitimately creepy, with a surprising dose of emotion, the film takes the correct route in spinning a spooky yarn and never explains the reason why room 1408 does what it does.  It focuses on the protagonist and his growth, never on satiating audience questions.  All you need to know is, "It's an evil fucking room."  Perfect for after that Jack O' Lantern is lit and all of the lights are off.

4.  Ghost Busters

"It's true, this man has no dick."  If "1408" creeped you out too much, just throw this on to remind yourself that you "ain't afraid of no ghost."

3.  Night of the Living Dead

Legendary for being the first horror movie to star a black character who doesn't die first, George Romero's classic is required viewing every October.  The ambiance is Romero's signature strength with this film, and its sequel "Dawn of the Dead".  You truly feel the country side surround you, along with the boarded up entrances of a zombie-besieged farmhouse.  One of the few films in existence that will convince you that the month is October, no matter what time of the year it really is.

2.  Evil Dead II

Sam Rami's greatest achievement and with Bruce Campbell at his most Shempiest, the perfect follow up to "Night of the Living Dead" for your trapped-in-a-cabin-or-farmhouse marathon.  A deadly mixture of both humor and horror, get ready for haunted P.O.V camera shots, laughing lamps, boomsticks, and severed demon hands giving you the bird.  The scent of the season is just as pungent as gasoline smoke chugging from a chainsaw.  And if your pumpkin carving takes you over the 90 minute mark, you can always throw in "Army of Darkness" for good measure.

1.  Halloween

Duh.