Hold on to your silver bullets, torches and wooden stakes, Philadelphia!
As Halloween approaches, we’ve compiled a list of scary movie screenings around the city — including vintage cult classics, as well as fresh independent horrors. After all, sometimes it’s better to go through jump scares in a public, group setting. The movies in this roundup span from 1947 to today.
From truly gory horrors to complex paranormal romances, our list has a wide range of spooky films for everyone.
When: Friday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m.
Where: Cherry Street Pier
The Cherry Street Pier is hosting two Halloween movie nights. The first on Oct. 17 is all about vintage monsters. It kicks off with two short films that are both over a century old: “Frankenstein” (1910) and “The Haunted Castle” (1896). The night is then followed up by the feature classic “Gremlins” — an ‘80s comedy horror about cute and fuzzy creatures that turn into creepy, killer gremlins when they eat after midnight. If only these guys knew about intermittent fasting!
When: Friday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m.
Where: Monster Vegan
Monster Vegan is hosting a series of film screenings this month. The first is “Trick or Treat,” directed by Charles Martin Smith. The film follows Eddie, a teen who loves heavy metal and gets haunted by the ghost of his favorite rock star. The supernatural headbanging slasher features fun performances from rock legends Gene Simmons and the late Ozzy Osbourne.
When: Friday, Oct. 17, at 9 p.m.
Where: Monster Vegan
The name of this movie says it all. Monster Vegan’s Friday double feature continues with “Hack-O-Lantern,” a gory slasher surrounding a family and an evil satanic cult. Throughout the film, a cloaked figure stalks and picks people off one by one in truly bloody fashion. But who is the killer? Watch and find out.
When: Friday, Oct. 17, at 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10:30 p.m.
Where: Film Society East
The 34th Philadelphia Film Festival presents, “The Plague,” a body horror surrounding toxic masculinity and bullying. According to the festival, it’s a story about a kid named Ben, who’s just trying to make new friends at a water polo summer camp in 2003. But when teasing begins about a mysterious “plague” that infects anyone who touches a boy named Eli (the group nerd). Ben begins to question if it’s real or fake — especially when his own strange symptoms start to set in.
When: Friday, Oct. 17, at 10 p.m.
Where: Landmark Ritz 5
Calling all “Rocky Horror” fans, it’s officially time to do the “Time Warp” again. Tim Curry plays everyone’s favorite “sweet transvestite from Transylvania,” Dr. Frank-N-Furter, who entertains a milquetoast couple Brad and Janet at his strange and sexually charged mansion. The subversive cult classic is full of sing-along music and chaos, and there will also be a live performance where a shadow cast plays along.
When: Saturday, Oct. 18, at 9:30 p.m. and Friday Oct. 24, at 9:15 p.m.
Where: Film Society Bourse
If “The Ring” taught us anything, it’s that sometimes finding a videotape is just bad news. “Man Finds Tape” is part of the Philly Film Festival lineup. According to the festival, the plot follows a man who uncovers surveillance video that captures a murder on tape. He recruits his filmmaker sister, as he tries to uncover the mystery behind the footage. From there, things begin to unravel and it becomes clear they’ve signed up for more than they bargained for.
When: Sunday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.
Where: Landmark Ritz 5
Don’t you hate it when you’re researching in the Antarctic and you accidentally unearth a 100,000-year-old evil alien? Well, that’s exactly what happens to Kurt Russell in “The Thing.” This movie, from director John Carpenter, has a truly bananas-looking monster that can shape-shift into its victims. The researchers just need to figure out who’s who to get out alive.
When: Sunday, Oct. 19, at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 26, at 12:45 p.m.
Where: Film Society Bourse
Ever wanted to film your own low-budget horror movie? After watching this film, you might think twice. “Demon Lover Diary” is a 1980 documentary from filmmakers Joel DeMott, Jeff Kreines and Mark Rance. The crew follows two amateurs making a regional horror flick, who are grossly incompetent. The film is included in the line up for the Philadelphia Film Festival in homage to DeMott, who passed away earlier this year.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 2, 4:15, and 7 p.m.
Where: Landmark Ritz 5
Tim Burton is one of the all-time greats when it comes to spooky movies. His version of “Sleepy Hollow” centers around police constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), who is investigating a series of beheadings around the Hudson River Valley. Rumor has it, the killer is a ghostly headless horseman who was decapitated during the Revolutionary War and is in search of his long-lost head.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m.
Where: Ambler Theater
Just because a movie is supernatural, doesn’t mean it can’t also have a little romance. This vintage film follows Lucy Muir, who rents an old cottage, only to realize it’s already occupied by a ghost. Luckily, this ghost is played by the suave and goateed actor Rex Harrison. Throughout the film, Lucy navigates romantic entanglements — both living and paranormal.
When: Thursday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Ambler Theater
David Cronenberg’s famous body horror, “The Fly,” continues to be one of the grossest classics to date. This terrifying thriller, starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis, is a remake of the 1950s Vincent Price film. The plot surrounds a scientist who accidently fuses his DNA with a fly’s in an attempt to create a teleportation machine. The result? One very scary Goldblum. After the screening there will be an afterparty with trivia hosted by Forest & Main Brewing Company at their pub down the street. Keep your movie ticket stub for $5 drafts all night.
When: Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.
Where: Monster Vegan
Monster Vegan’s second week of horror screenings begins with “Night of the Living Dead.” This cinematic adventure isn’t just the iconic film that’s credited for kicking off the zombie movie craze, it’s also a Pennsylvania-based horror! The plot follows a group of people who hunker down in a rural farmhouse to hide from flesh-eating animated corpses outside.
When: Friday, October 24, at 7 p.m.
Where: Cherry Street Pier
For its second spooky movie night, Cherry Street Pier is leaning into a haunted house vibe. Before the feature you can check out two historic short adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1941) and “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1928). Then it’s “House on Haunted Hill” time (not to be confused with “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The House at Haunted Hill”). The plot follows strangers who are invited to a haunted mansion and given a handsome reward — that is … if they can survive the night!
When: Friday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m.
Where: Monster Vegan
When: Sunday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m. and Monday. Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.
Where: Landmark Ritz 5
“Candyman” is a racial thriller, revolving around the 1800s legend of a Black man, who fell in love with a white woman and was brutally murdered. (A mob cut his hand off, covered him in honey and he was stung to death by bees.) In modern-day Chicago, he returns as the Candyman — a murderous spirit who appears when his name is chanted five times in a mirror. The film, which has had a lasting legacy, was given a sequel in 2021 with Jordan Peele as a producer. Both Monster Vegan and the Landmark are holding separate screenings.
When: Friday, Oct. 24, at 9 p.m.
Where: Monster Vegan
“Jeepers Creepers” is the last film in Monster Vegan’s cult-horror lineup. The film stars Justin Long and Gina Phillips, who play siblings driving through the Florida countryside for a spring break trip, when they encounter a strange figure in a large trench coat. To say the least, things get increasingly violent and spooky from there.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 2 and 7 p.m.
Where: Landmark Ritz 5
“The Ring” is all about a creepy videotape that curses whoever watches it to die in exactly one week. The film’s protagonist, journalist Rachel Keller, investigates the mysterious deaths of teenagers who watched the video. However, when she skeptically checks it out herself, she begins experiencing strange paranormal activity. Good thing we at Billy Penn only watch PBS.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Film Society East
The Philadelphia Film Society is showing two screenings of “Labyrinth” for Halloween. The film stars the one and only David Bowie as The Goblin King. A young girl named Sarah must go into a magical realm — filled with Jim Henson’s fantastical muppets — and solve an intricate maze in order to save her baby brother. To make things more fun, Thursday’s screening is a 21-and-older BYOB night.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m.
Where: Film Society East
From one maze to another, the PFS is also showing screenings of Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece “Pan’s Labyrinth.” The film is set five years after the Spanish Civil War, and once again a young girl finds herself stuck in a fantastical maze. The creatures in this film are top notch, as the movie won Oscars for Best Makeup, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. The iconic monster with eyes on his hands still haunts our dreams. Again, Thursday is BYOB and you must be over 21 to attend.
When: Friday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.
Where: Film Society East
“Thirst” is a twisted comedy and erotic thriller from South Korean director Park Chan-wook. The plot follows a Catholic priest who participates in a medical trial to try and cure a deadly virus. Unfortunately, he accidentally receives a transfusion of vampire blood. The priest then has to navigate his new-found thirst for human blood — and despite his vow of chastity — strong vampire sexual desires. Such is vampire life.
When: Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m.
Where: Film Society Center
If you thought Billy Zane was scary in “Titanic,” wait until you see him in “Demon Knight.” The actor plays an evil demon (disguised in human form, of course), who is trying to destroy humanity. When demon Billy infiltrates a group of people in a boarding house in New Mexico, things get gory. The spooky comedy is filled with campy horror makeup and even features a young Jada Pinkett Smith.