Top 5 Movies to Watch at a Halloween Party

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I practically celebrate it every day. For a transitory moment in time, the whole world is infected with the horror bug. What would Halloween be without a few Halloween parties? It would be mundane, which is why you should either throw or attend a Halloween party. Go nuts with frightening furnishes, odious hors d'oeuvres, and a fright flick marathon. Choosing the right film to screen can be tricky. I would suggest starting with a goofy b-movie and then settling in with a disturbing selection that will have everyone squirming in their seats. A few suggestions, if I may…

1. Night of the Demons - This is the ultimate party movie. It's sleazy, cheesy, and appropriately enough, it's set at a Halloween party. I would advise against letting the kiddies stay up to watch this one, although I'm sure that they would get a kick out of it. The bloodshed is bountiful, the nudity is capacious (it's all about Linnea Quigley's lipstick exhibition!), and the mood is breezy. "Demons" is creepy at times, but it's dumb fun above all else. The opening credits alone are worth the price of admission.

2. The
Texas
Chainsaw Massacre - I'm referring to the 1974 original, not the glossy gaffe of a remake. "Chainsaw" is horror in its purest form. It's a gritty, inexorable exercise in tendon-cracking chaos. The pace is deceivingly slow at first, but once the saw hits the fan, the viewer doesn't get a chance to catch his/her breath/influenza.

3. Killer Klowns From Outer Space - With a title like that, how could you not watch this kaleidoscopic soiree at a Halloween party? Your friends will be laughing their heads off while simultaneously being terrified by the titular greasepaint goblins. This flick doesn't leave any circus cliché out. We're treated to popcorn pistols (!), balloon search dogs (!!), cotton candy cocoons (!!!), and carnivorous shadow puppets (!!!!). "Klowns" is one of the most accomplished low-budget features of all time, and I guarantee that it will entertain your houseguests, regardless of whether or not they like it.

4. Satan's Little Helper - "Helper" was released in 2004, but it went largely unnoticed by Ballbuster, I mean, Blockbuster patrons. The plot follows a little boy who befriends a man in a demon costume on Halloween night. As it turns out, the man's demon costume is not a costume. Whoops! "Helper" is twined with mordant comedy. If you have a sick sense of humor, you'll laugh out loud more than once during this film. Director Jeff Lieberman effortlessly captures the spirit of the hair-raising holiday. Watching "Helper" will make you want to go trick-or-treating and englut the sweetest candy that you can gnaw on without infuriating your dentist.

5. Night of the Creeps - Slugs from space latch onto people's necks and turn them into slavering zombies. Here again, we have a failsafe premise that is bound to regale any crowd at a Halloween party. What keeps this spookshow afloat is the fact the characters are actually likeable. Plus, we get wet gore and memorable one-liners to keep us amused. With a healthy balance of depth and camp, "Creeps" is another film tailor-made for convivial gatherings on All Hallow's Eve. Good luck finding it, though. I would let you borrow my copy, but I don't really want to.