Looking for some frightful (but not too terrifying) child-friendly films to watch this spooky season with the family this Halloween?
Here are six of our family favourites that will put you in the mood for the eeriest evening of the year.
So, grab the trick or treat sweets, a cushion to hide behind and turn the lights down low to watch these fright-filled flicks
The Addams Family (PG)
What better film to start with than The Addams Family? And we are talking the original here, not the recent animated version – although that is on Netflix and is worth a watch too. Although the film is mainly about gruesome and scary characters, at its heart it’s about the importance of family. Starring Raúl Juliá and Anjelica Huston as the parents, Back To The Future’s Christopher Lloyd as the lovable Uncle Fester, and Christina Ricci as Wednesday this really isn’t one to miss.
Amazon Prime.
Coraline (PG)
People tend to assume that Coraline was made by Tim Burton, as it’s so similar to The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it was actually by Henry Selick, who also did James And The Giant Peach. Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is creepy and unnerving rather than scary, but your little ones will still need a hand to hold when the Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) reveals her true self.
Amazon Prime.
Beetlejuice (15)
There are adult-friendly children’s films, and then there are children-friendly films for grown-ups. This is the latter. An oldie, but a golide – and one for the older kids – Bettlejuice is a real cult classic. Michael Keaton features as the witty and hilarious eponymous Beetlejuice, with Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as Barbara and Adam Maitland – the two (dead) main characters…
Amazon Prime.
Monster House (PG)
This is a film that nearly all children can relate to. Dotted around cities all over the world, there are scary houses with scary people who live there… that’s just plain – well, scary. So this film will feel familiar, as there’s a spooky old man who lives across the street. But not is all as it seems…
Netflix.
Ghostbusters (PG)
An absolute classic film, everything about Ghostbusters is… Fun! Bill Murray is hilarious, the ghosts are definitely more laughable than scream-at-able, and even the scary bit at the end where Sigourney Weaver gets possessed is funny because she kisses Seymour from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! (Rick Moranis)!
Amazon Prime.
The Witches (PG)
Anyone who says they didn’t spend at least some of their childhood holidays living in fear they’d be turned into a mouse by rogue witches would be lying. And that’s thanks to this incredible adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book The Witches. It may have been made in 1990, but the Grand High Witch peeling off her mask to reveal that monster face is still eerily convincing (and don’t fear for your little ones – the ending is way happier than it is in the book).
Amazon Prime.
For more creepy Halloween suggestions, click here.
