10 ICONIC SCARY MOVIES TO PAIR TOGETHER THIS SPOOKY SEASON

I’m a self-proclaimed scary-movie expert. By expert, I mean that I believe my three favorite “scary” movies—The Little Vampire (2000), Halloweentown High (2004), Twilight: Eclipse (2010)—are high art, and I can and will defend this position in conversation for hours at a time. This year, though, I have to admit that my thirst for horror movies has fallen a little… flat. Something to do with my news feed being just as scary as the latest Jordan Peele flick, maybe? To rekindle my love for the officially-arrived spooky season, I’ve decided to do the only thing better than watching one scary movie: watch two! Double the fun, twice the scares, and an impressive amount of nightmares to annoy your roommates—here are 10 iconic scary movies to pair together for your viewing pleasure this fall! (And, no, Twitches (2005) and Twitches Too (2007) are not on this list. Watching those religiously every Halloween should be obvious.) 

1. Child’s Play (1998) & Annabelle (2014)

Okay, so Child’s Play, or Chucky—the movie that gave us our favorite kid’s toy who loves to terrorize and murder—is objectively pretty bad for a 2021 horror-movie watcher. Annabelle, on the other hand, may not be the original red-headed doll killer, but is much scarier and much more well made. Why watch them together? They’re both about dolls, both get sort of sillier the more you think about it, and they’re simply just classic movies that target a common fear that a lot of people apparently have about their inanimate toys being secretly alive. (Another possible scary movie to watch with these that I didn’t include is Toy Story.) I recommend watching Annabelle earlier in the night, and then following it with Child’s Play to quell some of the nightmares.

2. Jennifer’s Body (2009) & The Witch (2016)

One of these movies is an absolutely stunning and masterful work of art… and the other is an A24 movie. Okay, okay, just kidding! Jennifer’s Body is a cult classic, about a teenage girl in the early 2000s who murders a bunch of guys at her school. The Witch is about a teenage girl in 1630 New England who is also involved in a bunch of murders. Girl power? I guess? Anyway, they’re both bad bitches, both terrifying takes on the shit that can happen when you underestimate women. I love these two films together for their feminist approach to the horror genre, and they both leave you rooting for teenage girls, as completely different as they are.

3. Insidious (2010) & Hereditary (2018)

Insidious is one of my all time favorite horror series, and Hereditary, another widely popular A24 movie, is just unforgettable. No spoilers, but I watched these two together because they’re movies that, at their cores, explore the nuclear family structure. Both movies focus on the life of a stereotypical American family where, um, something happens to one of the children and drives the rest of the film. The “fun” part is watching the widely opposite ways these families do and don’t figure out their shared grief and fear, but I wouldn’t say either of them have what you would call a completely happy ending. I won’t tell you which of these to watch first—they’re both terrifying.

4. Hush (2016) & A Quiet Place (2018) 

A Netflix film and a theatrical one, Hush and A Quiet Place are both movies that play with your senses to heighten the fear factor. The protagonists of each film are trying to make as little noise as possible while trying their best to stay alive for as long as possible. Hush is more rooted in reality, but A Quiet Place offers a new take on the alien movie. They’re really great movies, but extra special for the way they use sound to create a uniquely sensory experience for the watcher. And afterwards, you’ll probably be over-conscious of how loud you’re being. They also both star deaf characters! 

5. Train to Busan (2016) &... Today 

Train to Busan is a South Korean horror movie about a random, life-changing infection that breaks out amongst people and suddenly everyone is scared for their life and doing their best not to get infected and super worried about what’s going to happen in the world and—sound familiar? “Today” is not a movie, but I figure our everyday reality is horror film-esque enough that it deserved a spot on the list. If you’re like me and would rather not look too closely at the current pandemic, though, Train to Busan is more than good enough to watch on its own. Fast-paced, thrilling, and a fresh twist on the zombie movie trope, it checks all the right boxes and even has some chilling social commentary. 

Alllll the movies listed could also be watched on their own. In my opinion, even the worst one on the list (sorry, Child’s Play) has some worthwhile moments and would make for a great spooky night paired with some candy corn or a caramel apple. If, you know, you’ve been anxiously waiting for fall and have that stuff lying around like me. You could also just watch Twilight, which is what I’m going to do for a little lightheartedness after all of these. Happy watching!