Boo: 29 Halloween films for kids
Spooky movies that’ll thrill your kids — rather than scarring them for life. From the new to the nostalgic, this is your family-friendly watchlist.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024, 12A)
That’s right, the juice is on the loose once more! Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara reunited this year for another round of spooks and stripy trousers some 30-ish years after its debut (ouch). Less of a sequel and more of a homage to the original, it sees the Deetz family return to Winter River after an unexpected tragedy, the model town is discovered, the portal to the afterlife is accidentally reopened and, of course someone says Beetlejuice one too many times and all hell breaks loose. Joining the mayhem is Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe. Bring on the nostalgia, and some age appropriate spooks for ages 12+.
The School for Good and Evil (2022, 12)
A bumper crop of A-listers including Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne and Michelle Yeoh star in this Netflix film based on the book series by Soman Chainani, whose central premise is deliciously dark – The School for Good and Evil being a place where fairytale characters go to hone their magical craft and determine whether they will become the heroes or the villains of future fairytales. Almost like an origin story for the characters of your favourite fairy stories, combined with the different houses of Hogwarts.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, (1982, U)
Though E.T. is a friendly alien, he’s an alien nonetheless, which let’s be honest is pretty terrifying. After becoming stranded on Earth, E.T. is taken home by Elliott (Henry Thomas) who along with his brother and little sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) try to keep him a secret. But, the. E.T. falls ill, the government ends up intervening – if the alien doesn’t tick the Halloween box, the dudes in hazmat suits certainly will!
Gremlins (1984, 15)
Cute and cuddly by day but if you get your Gremlins wet, expose them to light or feed them after midnight you’re in for a world of pain, chaos and all out anarchy! This 1984 cult classic is a Halloween failsafe and might just teach your kids a thing or two about looking after their pets.
The Amazing Maurice (2023, PG)
How scary can a cat possibly be? It’s not the moggy you need to worry about. Based on Terry Pratchett’s book The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, a cat named of Maurice leads a crew of rats and one musician in a Pied Piper-style con — only to go up against a real evil entity that’s taking a town’s food. It boasts a starry voiceover cast: Hugh Laurie (Maurice), David Tennant (Dangerous Beans), Gemma Arterton (Peaches) and Emilia Clarke (Malicia). It’s heavy on the eerie and light on the fear factor, but great if you don’t want your kids to have nightmares.
We Have A Ghost (2023, PG-13)
If you need to scare your tweens and teens to put their phones down for more than a minute, We Have A Ghost should do it. Director Christopher Landon is no stranger to the horror genre (Happy Death Day and Freaky), but this young adult scary movie is about a haunted house and the family’s quest to use the ghosts for social media stardom.
Wendell & Wild (2022, 12A)
From the wicked minds of Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline) and Jordan Peele (Get Out), comes Wendell & Wild. This gothic stop-motion film takes two scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) who enlist tough teen orphan Kat Elliot to summon them to the Land of the Living. What Kat demands in return leads to a bizarre and comedic adventure like no other.
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022, PG)
Loved the 1993 original? Well, you’ve only had to wait 29 years for a sequel. The Black Flame Candle has been lit once more, resurrecting the 17th-century Sanderson sisters – and they want revenge. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy haven’t aged a bit, the storyline, might feel a bit tired. It’s now up to three teens to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem. Available to stream on Disney+.
The Little Shop of Horrors (1986, 12+)
You’ll never look at your houseplants in the same way again. Rated 12+, because carnivorous plants, and the murders it requires for food aren’t exactly PG. This camp musical noir is an 80s classic, songs by Alan Menken and the B-movie vibe make the whole thing less disturbing.
Cruella (2021, 12)
“Scary” is an interesting word to describe this movie. It’s PG-13 and definitely has its intense moments, but it isn’t full of ghosts, ghouls or even much horror. Instead, it’s about a psychological duel between two career-oriented fashion designers. It’s perfect for those tweens and teens with an edgy sensibility (and it makes for a great Halloween costume inspiration).
Muppet’s Haunted Mansion (2021, PG)
The Muppet’s first ever Halloween special. Haunted Mansion is little bit spooky, a lot silly because it’s kinda spooky, and wickedly short – just one hour long. It’s not a complicated story: Gonzo accepts a challenge to stay in the Haunted Mansion overnight, and has run-ins with all its famous grim, grinning ghosts. Good for littlies with the attention span of a gold fish.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Were Rabbit (2005, U)
Stop motion stars, Wallace and Gromit make their mark for this little bit scary but not too scary Halloween film. Out spooktacular sleuths must figure out what’s been destroying a town’s vegetable gardens. It turns out to be a monster, but not one that you’d expect — it’s a were-rabbit, transforming from a bunny to beast. It’s basically Midsomer Murders meets Tim Burton.
COCO, (2017, U)
Officially Day of the Dead is not a halloween movie, but we’re borrowing it because kids don’t care about dates and holidays – unless it’s Christmas. Take an aspiring young musician, Miguel, who wants to play like his idol Ernesto de La Cruz. Trying to pursue his dreams, he finds himself in the Land of the Dead and embarks on a journey where he learns about his family. Sounds fright night ready to us, so it’s on the list.
Nightbooks (2021, PG)
This dark fantasy film sees a heavily goth’d Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad, Jessica Jones) as an evil witch who kidnaps our main character Alex, and forces him to tell her a scary story each night — or else. Alex bands together with another stolen child, and the two of them seek escape. A fun, flashy ride.
The Witches (2020, PG)
The Witches is the stuff of childhood nightmares. but a good scare never did them any harm, right? Anne Hathaway could be the best stranger danger campaign EVER. Glamorous lady turns out to be the child-hating grotesque Grand High Witch Lilith, overseer of her own global coven. Director Robert Zemeckis takes a few liberties with Roald Dahl’s classic, swapping England for Alabama in the late Sixties, so that it’s now vaguely rooted in Black Southern culture – its food (cornbread and fresh crab), its jukebox classics, and the Voodoo religion. Purists will not be happy, but it’s still a must watch.
Corpse Bride (2005, PG)
This is Tim Burton’s third stop motion animated film – and it’s an absolute beaut. Less Halloween horror, more gothic romance. When Victor (Johnny Depp) is preparing for his big day, he attempts to recite his speech and ends up accidentally proposing to a dead bride (voiced by Burton’s ex Helena Bonham Carter)… despite the fact his actual bride is alive and kicking. What was once a difficult situation is even more complicated when Victor attempts to get things back to normal. Loved it.
Casper (1995, PG)
A young Christina Ricci and the first CGI created lead character, Casper is a faithful but slightly darker version of the hit TV series. It’s a film designed to be watched post trick or treating, but this year you can slide into the cosy part of proceedings to see Ricci play Kathleen ‘Kat’ Harvey, the daughter of a “ghost therapist,” who has a direct line to spirits. Things going bump in the night is an occupational hazard. But she’d never had a ghostly friend before… until now.
ParaNorman (2012, PG)
ParaNorman‘s opening scene certainly sets the tone as we see a screaming woman (she’d just stepped on a brain) running away from a lumbering zombie. This, it turns out, is a film within the film, as Norman — a teen horror buff — watches a scary movies with wide-eyed attention. But this opening scene is also ParaNorman‘s statement of purpose. It features ghosts, witches, and zombies, which are generally far more likely these days to be found in splatterfests (a fact the film proudly acknowledges with winking references to both Halloween and Friday the 13th).
The Addams Family (1991, PG)
“They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, they’re all together ooky…” It can only be The Addams Family. Anjelica Houston based her Morticia on Jerry Hall, while Christina Ricci’s Wednesday Addams was based on Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice – both put in pitch perfect performances as this creepy family try and figure out if Uncle Fester real is one of the clan.
Scooby Doo: The Movie (2002, PG)
Calling this live-action Scooby-Doo movie a Halloween flick might be a stretch, but I am reliably informed there has to be an element of supernatural – and we think evil monsters of any kind (even if it turns out to be a disgruntled employee) definitely qualifies. The movie brings Mystery Incorporated to life (though Scooby is still animated) as the gang reunites on Spooky Island. Following a series of, er, creepy incidents all over the party resort, the crew must solve the case.
Hotel Transylvannia (2012, PG)
Hotel Transylvania is animated twist on your typical horror flick. Count Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) is running a posh resort for fright night fiends, far from humankind. When Jonathan (Andy Samberg) stumbles upon it and falls for the Count’s daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), the overprotective if undead dad must make sure his guests don’t discover the human visitor. It’s a film made to cash in on the Halloween hype, but it’s a crowd pleaser with younger kids.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993, PG)
What happens when the Pumpkin King is over Halloween? If you’re Jack Skellington, you tumble into Christmas Town and kidnap Father Christmas. Tim Burton weaves his dark gothic magic in The Nightmare Before Christmas (would you expect anything less?), with a cast of loveable-morbid creations working a goofy, macabre storyline. It might be too dark for littlies, but it’s a visual delight for Halloween.
Coraline (2009, PG)
Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) moves into a new house and life is boooooorrriiing! All of that changes when she finds a secret door to an alternate universe that’s the 2:0 version of her own. In this new realm, everything seems perfect, but nothing truly is. Yes, it’s a bit creepy and dark, but his Neil Gaiman book-turned-movie is great for a jumpy film night.
Goosebumps (2015, PG)
A Halloween flick that won’t give your kids nightmares – yes, naysayers, it can be done. Goosebumps, starring Jack Black, is based on the hugely popular fiction series by RL Stine. Yes, it’s fully loaded with ghouls, werewolf puppies, and living dummies, but it’s more of an action caper than anything remotely resembling haunting.
Frankenweenie (2012, PG)
It’s ALIVE!… and it’s wagging its tail. Despite a striking resemblance to my last school sewing project, Frankenweenie is the invention of, you guessed it, Tim Burton. It’s a 3D stop motion black and white animation, about a boy named Victor Frankenstein who uses the power of electricity to resurrect his dead Bull Terrier, Sparky, but is then blackmailed by his peers into revealing how they can reanimate their own deceased pets and other creatures, resulting in mayhem.
Monster House (2006, PG)
Check the credits of Monster House and there’s a bit of Hollywood magic sprinkled all over it. Robert Zemeckis (Polar Express) and Steven Spielberg (too many to list), joined Gil Kenan on his directorial debut. What’s it about? A creepy haunted house that eats anything that comes too close. With Halloween approaching, the neighbourhood’s trick or treaters will be gobbled up unless a group of kids can reveal the chilling truth. It’s a thrill for kids and full of smart grown up jokes to stop you from nodding off.
Edward Scissorhands (1990, PG)
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have long been a match made in horror heaven but it all started with Edward Scissorhands – about a gothic robot with knives for fingers plonked into pastel suburbia where the bored housewives have the hots for their freakish new resident and there’s a bittersweet romance between Edward and Kim (Winona Ryder). It’s as fun as Burton’s other films but with the heart to match. Also good for hairdressing tips.
Ghostbusters (1984, 12A)
Fire up the proton pack, and wipe that slime off your face, Ghostbusters is a cult classic. It may have Stay Puft Marshmallow Man-sized holes in the plot, but pah who cares? The special effects guys at the time were let loose in the sweet shop, Dan Ackroyd (he wrote the script) and Bill Murray have some witty one-liners, the soundtrack is infectious and we all love a boiler suit.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, 15)
Seeing Tim Curry’s fabulous pins strutting his stuff in stockings and suspenders treads the fine line between fantasy and horror, but it’s a cult classic with the opportunity to do The Time Warp. Does Frank N. Furter’s musical mayhem qualify as a Halloween film? The story is a spoof of old-time horror and sci-fi movies, so it’s a hell yes in our book.