I have three kids but only one of them shares my love of scary movies. So every year for the past few years my daughter (she started college this year) make time to watch some of the many scary movies that I’ve loved over the years which she hasn’t seen yet. Here’s my list of some of the ones she’s enjoyed the most.

Halloween (1978) – This is a classic and it absolutely still holds up. My daughter and I have been working our way through all of Carpenter’s movies and this is obviously one of his best. By today’s standards it’s even a bit tame in some ways. Though set in Haddonfield, IL the movie was actually shot on locations in Los Angeles. The original Halloween House, which was vacant when the film was made, was scheduled to be torn down years ago but was saved at the last moment by someone who wanted to preserve it for posterity. The person who had bought the land the house was on agreed to let the house be removed so long as it was gone in a matter of days. It was picked up and and moved about a block away to a spot adjacent to some railroad tracks without city approval, but the city of Pasadena decided to leave it. It’s been fixed up and is currently home to a realtor’s office. But the tenants welcome people to come and take pictures. My daughter and I are planning to stop by this weekend.

The Fly (1986) – I saw this in the theater when it came out in 1986 and, at the time it seemed fantastic and really gruesome. Rewatching it about a month ago it’s still really enjoyable though some of the later effects are a bit dated looking. Even decades later some of the scenes of Brindle-Fly eating and losing various bits of his anatomy are pretty gross so don’t watch this with anyone who isn’t up for some classic Cronenberg body horror. This is one of the movies that made me love Jeff Goldblum as an actor. He’s always fun to watch.

Scanners (1981) – Speaking of David Cronenberg, this film is one that I was too scared to see when I was young. When I eventually did see it I was sort of glad I hadn’t gone sooner. It’s not just the exploding head or the psychic duel at the end. The whole film just has a weird vibe that feels very 1970s to me (even though it was early 80s). My daughter agreed it was very creepy.

The Entity (1882) – Here’s one I never hear anyone talking about anymore. Maybe that’s because it’s not easily available to stream. Or maybe it’s because the subject matter (a poltergeist that repeatedly rapes the main character) feels a bit too transgressive. The movie itself holds up with a strong performance by Barbara Hershey and an unforgettable soundtrack that will raise your blood pressure. And rewatching it as an adult, there’s also a really strong feminist angle which, believe it or not, does not feel forced or preachy. Instead, it’s just there in the story: None of the men believe her. It’s only when one of her female friends witnesses something happen that the story takes a turn. Plus the ending is one of my favorites for movies in the supernatural horror genre.

The Wicker Man (1973) – I hadn’t seen this one before when my daughter and I watched it last October. This is not a jump scare movie, this is horror in the truest sense. It just builds and builds to a an inescapable conclusion. Christopher Lee, who made a lot of horror movies over his career, gives one of his best ever performances. And if I’m not mistaken, he once said this was one of his favorite of his own films. Again, there’s nothing too gruesome for most of the run time but by the end you’ll be wishing you could look away.

Shutter (2004) – This is one of my favorite Asian ghost movies and my daughter agrees it’s one of the creepiest movie’s she’s ever seen. The original film is from Thailand and follows a character who notices that photos he takes seem to have ghosts in them. Very creepy and very effective without being gory. There’s a reveal at the end of the film that will stick with you.

The Ring (2002) – Another Asian ghost movie that got remade in English. This one I didn’t watch with my daughter. She had a girl’s sleepover about 5 years ago and they all wanted a scary movie to watch. I recommended this one and they made it about 2/3 of the way through before they all decided it was too scary and turned it off. I still really like this one. I don’t know why Naomi Watts is so good in horror movies but this is one of her best.

The Invisible Man (1933) – In addition to 80s and more recent horror we’ve also watched all of the Universal Classics. Her favorite is this one starring Claude Rains. I love all of these old films but this one does hold up pretty well. We also both like the sequel The Invisible Man Returns (1940) and we like the remake which came out a couple years ago as well, though it feels a bit more science fiction than the originals.

There are a bunch more we’ve seen together that she enjoyed including The Conjuring, Psycho (she’s a Hitchcock fan), Night of the Demon, Carrie, Aliens and The Thing (both the original and the Carpenter remake) but all of those seem like obvious choices.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Halloween weekend and watches a few scary movies with whoever in your family enjoys that sort of thing.