Watching films with friends and family is a great way to make new memories together, especially at the moment with cinemas being shut and many new releases going straight to streaming. Now, more than ever, it’s important to take time out, put your feet up and escape for a couple of hours and what better way to do it than getting together as a household and making a fun night in for Halloween. Here, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to creating your very own cinema experience at home this year.
CHOOSE YOUR FILM
Like us, do you end up scrolling and spending half an hour trying to decide what to watch? Not to worry, we’ve sorted that for you and compiled not one but two themed playlists via Box of Broadcast, the on-demand TV and radio service for education (and completely free for students!)
Our first playlist is for the die-hard Halloween fans out there and is guaranteed to spook the living daylights out of you. If you’re a wuss when it comes to the Halloween scares, never fear, as our second playlist is much more tame and family friendly.
TOP 10 SCARY FILMS
Fancy getting terrified? Tune in to these all-time top 10 thrillers, full of freaky old school favourites and modern creepy classics – if you dare!
- 1. The Exorcist, 1973
- 2. The Babadook, 2014
- 3. The Shining, 1980
- 4. Rosemary’s Baby, 1968
- 5. The Omen, 1976
- 6. Halloween, 1978
- 7. Annabelle, 2014
- 8. The Conjuring, 2013
- 9. The Witch, 2015
- 10. The Ring, 200
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TOP 10 FUN AND FAMILY FRIENDLY FILMS
Not a huge horror lover? Never fear, here’s our rundown of some family favourites for everyone to enjoy and hopefully which won’t give you the scares before bedtime!
- 1. Hocus Pocus, 1993
- 2. Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, 2005
- 3. The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror III, 1992
- 4. The Addams Family, 1991
- 5. Frankweenie, 2012
- 6. Edward Scissorhands, 1990
- 7. ParaNorman, 2012
- 8. Coraline, 2009
- 9. Nightmare Before Christmas, 1992
- 10. Ghostbusters, 2016
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SET THE SCENE
Now the clocks have gone back, you can get cosy and set up your cinema den late afternoon, straight from your lectures. All you need is…
- A mattress or large sofa cushions
- Pillows (literally all of the pillows you have!)
- Blankets, duvets or sleeping bags
- Candles and fairy lights (might as well get them out now and keep them up till Christmas eh?)
Swerve the cinema seats, and inevitable blobs of old chewing gum that somehow always end up stuck to your trousers, and pile your mattress, cushions and pillows high on the floor! Maybe use a corner of your bedroom or, if your family or flatmates don’t mind, take over the living room and go all out. You need to use as many cushions and pillows as you can find to make your den super comfortable. Cover the area with your blankets or duvet and leave a couple free for everyone to get nice and snug (or hide behind when Jack Nicholson ventures into room 237 at the Overlook Hotel). Sleeping bags work well for this too, if you have any to hand.
Now it’s time for your pre-uni IKEA haul to really come into its’ own – grab all those tealights and candles and light them up, making sure they’re safely lit in a holder of course and on a heat resistance surface, away from any curtains, fabric or shelves. If you have the obligatory string of fairy lights in your halls or room, drape them around your viewing area. We also love these ASOS lightbox message boards (also available at Argos) for that vintage cinema vibe. That should be all the lighting you’ll need for creating a perfectly spooky cinema atmosphere.
If you haven’t already cleared out the middle aisle at Aldi of all their devilish decorations, there’s still time to creep-in store and get your home feeling suitably festive for All Hallows Eve. We also recommend The Range, B&M and the usual supermarkets for cheap but effective ways of getting your home in the Halloween spirit. There’s plenty of templates online for making your own decorations too – we particularly like this stencil which you can trace onto black craft paper, cut out and crease to make 3D bats. Ideal for hanging around a fireplace, round door frames or up stair banisters.
CURTAIN-UP
Now you’ve picked your film, it’s time to get your craft on and make a shoebox projector – we’re looking at you BA (Hons) Product Design! No more fights over the remote, just follow the instructional videos below, sit back and enjoy your film on the big screen or the biggest white wall you have. If you’re feeling brave and have some outdoor space available, grab a white duvet or mattress sheet, hang it from your washing line and ta-da – your very own outdoor cinema. Umbrellas, blankets and hot water bottles may be required! If your family or flatmates don’t mind, you may as well keep it up for a few weeks ahead of those Christmas movie marathons.
Here are the links for making your very own home cinema projector…
FOR BEGINNERS
FOR PRO’S
The Works and Ryman sell magnifying glasses for under £2. Amazon and Wilko also have them on sale if you’re not able to get to the shops and prefer delivery straight to your door.
If you’re feeling fancy you can go the extra mile and make cinema tickets to hand out as invites. Again, there’s lots of free templates available online if you are able to print them off.
EAT, DRINK AND BE SCARY
Everybody knows that no trip to the flicks is complete without the all-important snacks to accompany the main event. We all have our favourites but, seeing as it’s a special occasion, we’ve put together some tasty recipes to turbo your Halloween themed celebrations. We recommend putting all your delicious food and drink in a designated area, a breakfast bar in your kitchen or just the coffee table, to rival the multiplex concessions stands!
PICK YOUR POISON
Calling all peanut butter fans for this wickedly good milkshake punch. You’ll need a blender but we have it on good authority that it’s worth fishing it out from the back of that kitchen cupboard no one ever goes in. It’s good enough without the booze, so feel free to leave the bourbon out (and always drink responsibly folks). We also recommend this cranberry juice based Halloween punch. Both are great photo opps for Instagram and should satisfy even the sweetest of tooths. Bottoms up, witches.
TRICK OR TREAT YO’SELF
Make a night of it and outdo yourself on your hosting skills with these cute veggie carved peppers from the trusty BBC Good Food. This recipe could easily be adapted to include meat with turkey, chicken or beef mince. Add grated cheese on top of the filling for extra flavour!
If you’re keeping it more basic, nachos are always a winner. Rather than buying a ready-made box, why not try making these homemade spooky vegan nachos. And let’s be honest, we can’t have a cinema night without popcorn. Get imaginative with your flavours and concoct your own pimped up popcorn bowls – add pretzels or chocolate, sprinkle in mini marshmallows or Halloween themed sweets (we heard M&S’s legendary Percy Pig has a spooky special on offer). If you want to push the boat out and pop your corn from scratch, Buzzfeed have a rundown of 17 Totally Genius Ways To Flavour Popcorn.
GIVE ‘EM PUMPKIN TO TALK ABOUT
For the bakers in the household, these are our top five gruesome sweet treats…
- Halloween Cookie Bars – Janes Patisserie
- Bloody Gingerbread Biscuits – Tesco Real Food
- Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf – Jamie Oliver
- Gluten Free Halloween Rocky Road – Gluten Free Alchemist
- Rice Krispie Brains – Sainsbury’s Recipes
We hope you’re feeling inspired to make the most of your celebrations at home this year. Or maybe you’re just sending this page on the group chat, hoping someone else does all the work! Whatever you do, make sure you turn up together, choose the best films, scoff some goodies and always be #ChillinLikeaVillain