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Aaron Morris

The top 10 Halloween movies of all time according to IMDB, just in time for spooky season

The sky is blue and the grass is green, but are you in the mood for Halloween?

Of course, with creepy costumes, delightful decorations and succulent sweets all filling up the shelves of stores across the United Kingdom, it can be easy to be excited for October 31 and its traditions - but some may not quite be feeling up to spooky season just yet.

And if that sounds like you, then maybe a creepy silver screen thriller or Halloween classic will jolt you into the mood for the end of month festivities.

Read more: The Watcher: What happened to the Brannock family in Netflix's creepy new thriller and where are they now?

From all time gore fests like the Saw franchise, to family friendly chillers like Hocus Pocus, there's something for everyone to bring a spot of spooky season excitement - which will make you feel less reluctant about pesky trick or treaters banging on your door when the time comes.

So here's a list of the top ten Halloween movies ever created according to the ever-faithful IMDB reviewers, to get you into high spirits as October comes to a close.

10) It Follows (2014)

6.8 stars out of 10 based on 241,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: "A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter."

After a carefree teenager sleeps with a new partner, she sharply learns that she has fell victim to a fatal curse which is passed on through intercourse. Death will creep slowly towards Jay (played by Maika Monroe) no matter how far away she runs, unless she passes the curse onto somebody else.

In an almost 'ghost story' turn of events, nobody believes poor Jay no matter how desperately she tries to convince them - until they too begin to see the 'phantom assassins' who are thirsty for her bloodshed.

9) The Omen (1976)

7.6 stars out of 10 based on 120,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: "Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?"

A cult classic full of eeriness and twists is the original 1976 instalment of The Omen. US diplomat Robert (played by Gregory Peck) adopts young boy Damien after his wife delivers a stillborn baby. After Damien's initial nanny commits suicide, a Father warns Robert that the youngster will murder his wife's unborn child in cold blood.

This comes to fruition when Kathrine miscarries after being pushed off a balcony by Damien, shortly before more and more people around the boy begin to perish. Robert conducts a sharp investigation into the deaths, and soon realises that Damien may actually be the antichrist.

8) Drag Me To Hell (2009)

6.6 stars out of 10 based on 204,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: "A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point."

Christine Brown (portrayed by Alison Lohman) is living the dream, with a fantastic relationship and brilliant job at an LA bank, but her ideal life soon becomes hellish after an off-the-cuff attempt to impress her boss. In which, she denies an elderly woman a vital extension on her home loan and pays the price in the form of a curse cast upon her.

Her soul quickly becomes the target of eternal damnation, and Christine enlists in the help of a professional psychic to help break the curse - but it may be too little, too late.

7) The Thing (1982)

8.2 stars out of 10 based on 421,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: "A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims."

Often dubbed 'the original sci-fi horror' The Thing takes place in remote Antarctica and involves a group of research scientists. When a sled dog appears after being shot at by a helicopter, the camp take the canine in but it brutally attacks them.

They soon discover that the beast can take the form of its victims, and attempts to take out the whole team, one by one - unless helicopter pilot (Kurt Russell) can fend off the creature long enough to come up with a plan of action.

6) Halloween (1978)

7.7 stars out of 10 based on 274,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: "Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again."

Six-year-old Michael Myers brutally murders his 17-year-old sister, Judith, on Halloween in 1963. For this, he receives a custodial sentence of 15 years, but breaks out of prison during a transfer to a court date on October 20, 1978.

The now 21-year-old steals a car and returns to his normally quiet hometown in search of his next victims.

5) Evil Dead II (1987)

7.7 stars out of 10 based on 165,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: "The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack."

It's not usual that sequels are rated higher than initial films, but the Evil Dead II scores better than the original according to IMDB. Part horror, part comedy, Ash Williams battles against devastating demons in a remote cabin in the woods.

Upon the discovery of an old audiotape left by a professor, he realises that he must find the Book of the Dead to prevent further onslaught. His girlfriend Linda soon after becomes possessed herself by spirits awakened on the tape, and Ash frivolously tries to survive, and ultimately escape the horror.

4) The Shining (1980)

8.4 stars out of 10 based on 1,000,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: " A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future."

"Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny..." is a quote you'll have heard time and time again in pop culture, and it's taken from an iconic scene in this Stanley Kubrick take on a Stephen King classic. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) finds himself an opening as a caretaker at the abandoned Overlook Hotel in Colorado, in a bid to mend his frustrating writer's block.

His wife Wendy and son Danny join him, and the boy soon starts suffering psychic premonitions. With Jack beginning to suffer cabin fever and Danny's visions becoming more and more violent, the hotel's dark secrets begin to come out in the wash - leading Jack hell-bent on terrorizing his family in a frenzied episode.

3) The Exorcist (1973)

8.1 stars out of 10 based on 401,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: " When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter."

Can you really have a top ten list of Halloween films without including The Exorcist? IMDB don't seem to think so.

One of the highest grossing horrors ever to grace the big screen, this disturbing tale of an exorcism is based on real-life happenings. When a young Regan begins to act abnormally - you know, levitating, speaking in tongue, manic episodes...the usual red flags - her mother seeks medical assistance, only to come up trumps.

A local priest played by Jason Miller soon considers that the youngster has been taken by the devil and makes a hasty request to perform a routine exorcism to save the girl and her soul.

2) Psycho (1960)

8.5 stars out of 10 based on 667,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: " A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother."

Secretary Marion Crane has successfully robbed her employer of $40,000 and finds herself on the run with her boyfriend. However, she is plagued by a heavy rainstorm, leading her to pull up at the Bates Motel for the night to rest up before carrying on running.

There she meets hotel proprietor Norman Bates, a charming but odd young man with an interest in taxidermy and strange relationship with his mother. Alfred Hitchcock in his prime, this thriller is a must watch for both Halloween fans and movie buffs alike.

1) Rosemary's Baby (1968)

8 stars out of 10 based on 216,000 reviews

IMDB Synopsis: " A young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbours."

This Roman Polanski classic hit tells the tale of a young mother coming to believe that her child is not from this world whatsoever. Rosemary (played by Mia Farrow) moves into a less than reputable New York apartment with a dark past, which is filled to the brim with strange neighbours and tenants alike.

When Rosemary falls pregnant, she becomes completely isolated to the world and upon giving birth, the diabolical truth is revealed to the world.

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