Top 11 New Halloween Classics

(The Nostalgia-ween 2014 opening plays out)

NC: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to! We all know the Halloween classics that we watch every year.

NC: (v/o) From the old Universal monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein, to the 80s slashers like Freddy and Jason, to even kids' specials like Charlie Brown and The Nightmare Before Christmas. But the great thing about Halloween is that we keep trying to push it further and further, and sure enough, over the years some new classics have evolved.

NC: (v/o) The criteria for them isn't super-specific. It doesn't have to be a certain time-frame, very well known, or even necessarily a good product beginning to end, but they do have to be drenched in something new, something unique, something you can look at and think one word: Halloween. We're counting down the all-time best new Halloween classics, and trust me when I say the best one doesn't disappoint.

NC: We're here to make the Top 11 Obscure Halloween films even less obscure! Why Top 11? Because I like to go one step beyond. So sit back and enjoy the Top 11 New Halloween Classics!

#11
NC: (v/o) The Saw movies. I'm not going to lie, I'm not a fan of these films; even the first one, I didn't like so much. There's a million things that didn't make sense about it; you want more detail why go watch Cinema Sins. But that doesn't mean I don't see why these movies became a staple of Halloween. The concept of each film is that there's a killer known as Jigsaw, and he sets up death traps where, if you want to survive, you have to do something horrible; like kill another person, cut off a body part, or heck, even force a terrible American Accent.

(Cut to a scene of Lawrence Gordon and Adam Faulkner in the bathroom from Saw 1)

Lawrence: Technically speaking, he's not really a murderer.

NC: (v/o) Why, he sounds as American as Tommy Wiseau. The idea of torture horror certainly existed long before this film, but not only was this the one that made it mainstream, but it was also the one that people put themselves in the situation. "What would I do if I was there. Would I go through the terrible deed or would I rather let death take its toll? The film was so popular that the demand for sequels, every Halloween, was always met. For several years, there wasn't a Halloween without a Saw film. Hell, they even worked it into their advertising. Even if people thought the movie was going to suck, they had a tradition going and they always associated it with the holiday. Even if it was the number eight hundred-fifty billion, asking as the word Saw was in front of it, there would always going be an audience. The Jigsaw puppet (aka Billy) has also worked it's way into the lineup of Classic Halloween villains. Whenever you know that image, you know exactly who he is and what movie he came from. Whether you get wrapped up in the stories or not, there's no doubt about it that the Saw films have certainly left their mark, and chances are it's one that won't be healing anytime soon.

Jigsaw: (v/o on tape) You have given people the news that they are going to die soon. Now you, will be the cause of death.

#10
NC: (v/o) Halloween III: The Season of the Witch. Many people hated this movie when it first came out, and I'm not going to lie, I did too. Not only does it have nothing to do with the first two Halloween movies, which was later revealed that he producers wanted each movie to be a different story; but if that was the case, how come the first two continued the same story?

NC: Hello?

NC: (v/o) But the film itself just seemed downright silly. We go from a story about a slasher to a story about witches...kind of...that use technology....kind of...that use spells....kind of...to kill kids cause....kind of no real reason. Yeah, it's a pretty nonsensible set up, even if you one to accept it as its own film, but as time went by, I did find myself thinking back to it a lot; I do remember the characters, I do remember the visuals, and who the hell could ever forget that god damn song?

Silver Shamrock song: Happy happy Halloween Halloween Halloween, happy happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock.

NC: (v/o) When I stopped trying to take it so seriously, In found it actually had its own strange unique charm to it. It's surrounded in eighties decor, has all sorts of broody atmosphere, and, by god, there is just Halloween stuff everywhere; I mean, everywhere. In a way, I associated this movie more with Halloween than I do the first Halloween, simply because Halloween is all over the place. It's nowhere near as good as the first film

#9
NC: (v/o) The Paranormal Activity movies. Again, splitting a lot of audiences down the middle, the Paranormal Activity movies still manage to produce many creeps with little cost. While many see the (picture of) Blair Witch Project as the film that made the found footage genre popular, it was defenitely Paranormal Activity that kept it going. The film, about a couple whose house seems to be possessed by an evil entity, started out in very few theatres. But, word of mouth spread so fast that they actually worked into their advertising that people asked the movie theatre owners for it. Yeah, isn't that weird? A commercial for a movie that's actually asking you to demand the movie in your movie theatre. Can you remember another film commercial that's done that?

NC: (v/o) Having never been really asked that by our TV's before, audiences shrugged and said "why not". They demanded to see the film in their theatres l, and sure enough, it became a smash hit; resulting in sequel after sequel coming out. And, just like Saw; it came out every year during Halloween; but, unlike Saw, these films were much easier and faster to make because it relied on fewer production costs. If it looked like amateur film maker, that was fine, because it was suppose to look like amateur film making. It made it more realistic. And its point of view action made many audience members feel like they were right there, experiencing the scares as the characters were witnessing it. Now, are they all good? Even the most die hard fan would probably say no. Me personally, I think two is the only one that was actually great from beginning to end. But even at its worst, every movie has something new and innovative to offer. The first one had scary subtleties, the second one had brilliant editing, the third one had the slow reveal of the moving camera, the fourth one made a clever use of the household appliances, and the fith one....

NC: (unsure) Uh, the acting was nice.

NC (v/o): It's understandable if not everyone gets scared by these movies, but the new ways each movie delivers a new kind of scares is really something to admire. Even if you got to sit through a lot of repeated cliches to get to them. Always keeping the dread high, the Parnormal Activity films knew how to scare an awful lot with an awful little.

#8
NC: (v/o): Cabin in the Woods. I've never seen a film that had such a devoted fanbase of people, who dedicated themselves to not spoiling the movie. It's amazing, anytime you talk to someone, they always say "I can't tell you anything about it; you just have to see it. And, in honour of that, I won't spoil it for you either. Though I do have to talk a little bit about it, but still we'll keep this mostly spoiler free.

NC: (v/o) This Joss Whedon written horror film relies much on surprise and twists. So like I said, I won't give too much away. What I can say is that on the surface, it looks like any other scary film. A bunch of college kids go to a cabin, and of course, some supernatural evil tries to destroy them. Sounds basic enough, but as the film progresses, you find out very quickly that this is a love letter to not one, but every kind of horror movie ever made, and in a way you probably never would have expected.

NC: (v/o) It tries everything to incorporate classic tropes through scares, humour, and dang clever writing. And honestly, to say any more would ruin the fun. And I think that's why so many people consider it a unique scary movie. It's a film you enjoy having revealed to you, and you get excited the more and more you figure it out. When you do figure out what it's up to, you realize you are having such fun with the concept, and realize that, not only is it paying homage to so many scary genres, but practically creating its own. I don't know; I can't think of other movies that have done specifically what this film has done, at least while still remaining a horror film.

#7
NC: (v/o) Oculus.

#6
NC: (v/o) Murder Party.

#5
NC: (v/o) Coraline.

#4
NC: (v/o) Hotel Transylvania.

#3
NC: (v/o) Shaun of the Dead.

#2
NC: (v/o) Paranorman.

Runner Ups
NC: And the #1 greatest, fucking badass awesome new Halloween classic is...You know what, I should do a runners-up. I don't usually do it, but I like the subject; I think it deserves it this time.

NC: (v/o) The Ring: Okay, it doesn't hold up the best over time, but that creepy ending and that image of that girl in every single Halloween store is definitely worth mentioning. The Halloween That Almost Wasn't: Pretty silly and awkward, but the performances from these hilarious actors totally makes it work. The Halloween Tree: A lot of people abated me to review this. I don't get it why? It's creative, it's educational, it's Ray Bradbury, what's not to like? Raggedy Ann and the Pumpkin that Couldn't Smile: Yeah sounds lake, and it is kind of slow, but the atmosphere is so laid back and drenched in Halloween, it's hard not to like. The original (The) Haunting: Pretty well known, so I didn't include it, but a timeless classic all the same. Trick 'r Treat: Kind of a hit and miss, but it might be the first film where the trick or treater is actually one of the villains. That alone is worth a honorable mention. Exorcist 3: Practically an apology for Exorcist 2 with a much better story and scares. Zombieland: A great comedy with great laughs, but I think Shaun of the Dead just did it a little bit better.