Are you freaked out by
Friday the 13th? Scared
stiff by Silence of the Lambs? Terrified
at the mere mention of The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre?
Then put those monstrous
movies aside and host a family-friendly fright fest this weekend. Here’s a
roundup of creepy creature features that are good, spooky fun, but that won’t
leave you too harried, haunted or horrified to enjoy 
.
Frankenstein (1931)
Recommended for ages 8
and up.
Carnival of Souls
(1962)
Dreamlike. Ethereal.
Hypnotic. Haunting. Surreal. These words only half-describe 
, an artfully directed
film shot in Lawrence, Kan., and Salt Lake City, Utah, on a shoestring budget
(estimated at $30,000). The story follows Mary Henry, a beautiful young
organist who survives a car accident, only to be haunted throughout the rest of
the film by a ghastly ghoul (played by director Herk Harvey). The movie
wallowed in obscurity for years, but has become a cult classic along the lines
of such similar (at least in tone) ’60s black-and-white thrillers as Dementia 13, Spider Baby and 
.
Recommended for ages 13
and up.
Mad Monster Party
(1967)
Most everyone is
familiar with the classic stop-motion animated Christmas TV specials produced
by Rankin/Bass (Frosty the Snowman,
etc.) Far fewer people are hip to their Halloween-friendly theatrical release, 
. Boris Karloff plays
the voice of Baron Von Frankenstein, a retiring mad scientist who plans to
leave his eerie enterprise to his nerdy nephew, Felix Flankin. Dracula, the
Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Monster’s Mate (Phyllis Diller) and others of
their ill-tempered ilk are less than happy with this ill-advised arrangement,
leading to a fun-filled monster bash from beginning to end, the latter of which
pays hilarious homage to King Kong
and Some Like it Hot.
Recommended for ages 5
and up.
Kingdom of the Spiders
(1977)
William Shatner, as
veterinarian “Rack” Hansen, turns in one of his better—not to mention least
hammy—performances in 
, a nature-run-amuck B-movie of the type that was so prevalent
during the 1970s. Thousands of tarantulas attack the denizens of Verde Valley,
Arizona, who have depleted the arachnids’ natural food supply with
insecticides. Real spiders were used during filming, and the characters, particularly
Hansen, seem genuinely scared. Thanks to an increasing sense of menace as
things get more and more desperate, Kingdom
succeeds where many similar movies fail, giving viewers an experience they’ll
likely never forget. The bone-chilling ending is especially effective.
Recommended for ages
10 and up.
Poltergeist (1982)
Tobe Hooper’s best film
(The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a
close second),
is truly a
product of its era, yet it holds up remarkably well. The movie moves along at a
relatively leisurely pace, letting viewers get to know the characters before
putting them in explicit danger. Little Carol Anne’s trademark “They’re here”
pertains to ghosts communicating through the family television set, setting the
stage for escalating supernatural scares, from impossibly stacked chairs to a raging
storm to the abduction of Carol Anne into a spectral void. JoBeth Williams’
impassioned performance as the loving wife and mother gives the film an eerie
sense of verisimilitude, helping make it a true time-honored classic.
Recommended for ages
13 and up.
Ghostbusters (1984)
While 
didn’t invent the horror
comedy (the genre goes back at least as far as 1914 with Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ghost Breaker), it did reinvent the
notion of mixing scares with laughs. Produced and directed by Ivan Reitman, the
film has numerous spectacular and now iconic elements, including Ray Parker
Jr.’s catchy pop theme song, terrific special effects (Who can forget the Stay
Puft Marshmallow Man?) and a terrific cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold
Ramis, who form a ghost removal service. Aykroyd and Ramis also wrote the
screenplay, which is clever and frequently hilarious. What you gonna watch? Ghostbusters!
Recommended for ages 13
and up.
The Monster Squad (1987)
The Monster Squad is somewhat similar to 
, but with Universal-style monsters instead of pirates. The plot
doesn’t exactly break new ground—Count Dracula, with the help of the Wolfman,
the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, must retrieve an amulet
before midnight—but the fast-paced action and Stan Winston’s cool creature
designs will entertain all but the most jaded of horror hounds. A sympathetic
Frankenstein monster sides with the titular squad of teenage boys to thwart the
Count’s plan, giving the film some heart. Creative creature deaths and
well-placed humor add to the fun.
Recommended for ages 13
and up.
Beetlejuice (1988)
Easily one of Tim
Burton’s better films, 
stars Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as a cute, likeable couple who die in a car
accident and, as ghosts, return to haunt their spacious yet comfortable New
England home. Unfortunately, pretentious, obnoxiously rich bores move in, and
the dead duo must turn to a crazed ghoul named Betelgeuse to get rid of them.
Played by a pre-Batman Michael
Keaton, Betelgeuse, like the film itself, is bizarre, manic and outrageously
funny. A wall-to-wall parade of clever bits, quirky characters, colorful sight
gags and otherworldly comedy (the waiting room of the dead is hysterical), Beetlejuice seems tailor-made for Halloween.
Recommended for ages
13 and up.
Scooby-Doo and the
Witch's Ghost (1999)
The Witch’s Ghost is the second in a surprisingly entertaining series of direct-to-video 
films in which the ghoulish goings-on are real and not simply bad
guys in masks. Tim Curry voices Ben Ravencroft, a Stephen King-like New
Englander who invites Mystery, Inc. to his hometown for the Autumn Harvest
Festival. As the title implies, the town is haunted by a witch’s ghost, scaring
up frolicsome frights and even a few surprises as the gang investigates. Catchy
pop tunes by a vampy cartoon trio called “The Hex Girls,” a rousing musical
score and a rollicking good version of the classic TV show theme by Billy Ray Cyrus
add to the fun.
Recommended for ages 5
to 15.
Monster House (2006)
The computer animated 
is the most flawed film on
this list; the back story doesn’t quite work, and the African-American deputy
is an unfunny stereotype. But its star—a living, breathing, pulsating haunted house—is
enough to make it a terrific pick for a Halloween fright fest. A kid named DJ
lives across the street from a cranky old man who keeps anything—toys,
tricycles, basketballs, etc.—that happens to get on his lawn. The film tries
with only marginal success to elicit sympathy for the old man, but his house,
with its windows for eyes, jagged boards for teeth, and long red carpet for a
tongue, is a truly memorable character.
Recommended for ages
10-15.
Ten more family-friendly
fright flicks to enjoy this weekend:
The Wolf Man (1941;
recommended for ages 8 and up)
Abbott and Costello
Meet Frankenstein (1948; recommended for ages 8 and up)
House of Wax (1953;
recommended for ages 10 and up)
Horror of Dracula
(1958; recommended for ages 13 and up)
The Birds (1963;
recommended for ages 13 and up)
Gremlins (1984;
recommended for ages 13 and up)
The Witches (1990;
recommended for ages 8 and up)
Halloweentown (1998;
recommended for ages 8 to 15)
Wallace & Gromit:
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005; recommended for ages 5 and up)
Coraline (2009;
recommended for ages 10 and up)
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