Halloween 2010: Get Your Fright Fest On for Free Online

By dealtown (view all posts by dealtown)
at 8:57AM Thursday October 21, 2010
under Stuff We Like

I love getting into the Halloween spirit, but I DEMAND TO DO IT FOR FREE. Since I know I'll spend money on a costume, candy--and probably alcohol--I do my best to keep other Halloween activity costs to a minimum.

One of my favorite things to do around Halloween is to watch old horror/ science fiction classics, both movies and TV. They're ideal for both making a night of--or for playing in the background of your Halloween party as Katie wrote in a recent post. And many are available online for free.

Here are five of my favorites.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) - You can't go wrong with the original zombie movie. Though controversially gory for its time, the film is unlikely to scare anyone today. However, it's always a fun and campy watch. More importantly, the film had an enormous influence on the horror genre, so if you haven't seen it yet, you really should. It spawned much of horror film as we now know it.

They Live (1988) - Somewhere between sci-fi, horror, action and political "something-or-otherness," John Carpenter's They Live is best viewed with a group of witty friends. Though a well-intentioned (and fairly scathing) comment on consumerism and complacency, the film is pretty over-the-top silly, in a completely lovable way.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-65) -The beloved anthology series of the 1950s and 60s features mysteries and spooky occurrences that have, in large part, withstood the test of time. There are a ton of episodes available to fill all your spoooooky Halloween downtime!

Nosferatu (1922) - I'm not going to tell you this is the most exciting movie in the world, but I do think you'll be surprised how creepy it is for an eighty-eight year-old silent film. Potentially fun fact: because the film was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, names and various other details had to be changed (hence the substitution of "nosferatu" for "vampire").

The Twilight Zone (1959-64) - Color me obvious, but I didn't feel right leaving this one out. In terms of free entertainment, you can't afford not to- there are at least 99 episodes on the Hulu paged linked to above. Although it definitely has an element of hokeyness, I still enjoy the mysteries and ironic twists of...The Twilight Zone.

For more free classics, check out Google Video, Internet Archive, AMC's list of B-Movies. What are some of your favorite horror or sci-fi classics?