Your Netflix streaming Halloween playlist
These creepy classics, all available on Netflix, will put you in a Halloween mood.
- Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
Whether you're throwing a big Halloween party or just planning a simple night in pretending you're not home and hiding from trick-or-treaters, you'll need a little cinematic entertainment, even if it's just as background noise.
My go-to used to be the nonstop scary movies on AMC, but in recent years the quality has taken a steep dive, abandoning true genre classics such as "Night of the Demon" for pointless schlock (to wit, endless repeats of "Halloween 4-6").
Fortunately, a high-quality alternative has presented itself in the form of the Netflix streaming service, which continues to add great atmospheric fright films on a regular basis. It's always surprising to me that people like Netflix's streaming service as much as they do. Much of the catalog is devoted to classic films and semi-obscure foreign movies and television--ideal for someone like myself, a cinema buff with a film degree, but not exactly mainstream stuff. But this is the one time of year when it really does work to everyone's advantage.
The list presented hererepresents my suggestions for a perfect Halloween party playlist, based on atmosphere, historical importance, and genuine creepiness. They're all black-and-white classics, which I think play the best on a big-screen TV in the midst of cocktails and costumes, and if you have any other suggestions, post them below for all to see.