55 Halloween Movies That Are So *Not* Scary, You Can Basically Fall Asleep to Them
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Do you pick treat over trick every time? Calling those who'd rather load up on chocolate bars instead of nightmare fuel. What do you do when you want to watch something on or around Halloween, but you can't deal with even an ounce of scariness? Okay, maybe an ounce or two is perfectly fine, but if you need an alternative to all the paranormal, bloody, or horrifying slasher flicks never fear (literally!) because we've rounded up 55 stellar non-scary Halloween movies for you to choose from. Besides, us non-scary-loving folks co-opted this holiday to make it about candy anyway, so why not lean into the ~gentle~ Halloween vibes?
As a person who doesn't seek out horror in the slightest, I try to find fellow scaredy-cats to get my advice from; I make it a rule to never ask people who are bona fide scary movie fans whether or not something is scary. They're always like, "Ehhh, it's not that scary," and then we turn the movie on and I'm essentially crouching behind the couch while using my fingers as makeshift earplugs. So if I say something on this list is a teeny, tiny bit scary, or not that scary? YOU CAN TRUST ME. Pinky promise. There's something on here for the total wimps and those who can handle light scares but don't want to be totally grossed out or jumping five feet in the air. But more often than not, these Halloween movies are not scary. That's what you came here for! And that's what you shall receive.
The Invitation
This gothic romance has some scary moments but is mostly a love story. It's romantic with a holiday-appropriate sense of foreboding and ultimately kind of feminist.
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Hocus Pocus 2
They're baaaaaaack...
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It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Come on, it's a classic! Halloween stories without an ounce of scariness don't get much better than this one. The Great Pumpkin would never scare you.
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Clue
It's not set during Halloween, but this murder mystery set in a big spooky mansion is hilarious and not really scary. It's a good alternative to a haunted house story. Even though there are some deaths and a wee bit of violence, you'll be dreaming about how hard you laughed.
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Warm Bodies
Some people like watching zombie movies at Halloween. Me? I'm queuing up this zombie romantic comedy.
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The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall
Did you think I was going to recommend the movie? If you really, really can't handle scary stuff... why not check out this anniversary live performance of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical instead? You can see the modern audience right there. You know it's not real and the Phantom can't get you.
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Teen Witch
Talk about a throwback! This movie is way too campy to be scary, and I mean that as an absolute compliment.
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Matilda
When you think about it, Matilda and Carrie are kind of the same story. They're both about girls in abusive situations who harness their emotions into supernatural power. They both get revenge on the people who wronged them. Carrie is just... a lot more brutal and scary about it. If you're all been there, and done that with the '90s movie, may I recommend the movie musical?
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Ghostbuster
There are some scary moments, but the old-school visual effects kind of make it easy to watch without getting nightmares. Plus, at the end of the day the story of four men who go into business busting ghosts around New York City is a comedy.
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The Lost Boys
What if the bad boys that your parents don't want you to hang out with are actually vampires? That's the premise of this '80s coming-of-age movie. If you can handle Stranger Things, you can handle this. Heck, Stranger Things might actually be scarier.
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Donnie Darko
Some parts of this movie are uneasy, and a little scary to look at. There's a pretty freaky bunny that might spook the especially faint of heart. But at the end of the day it's more existential than terrifying. You'll be up all night debating the ending and what it means, not scared that something is going to grab you.
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Only Lovers Left Alive
The moodiest vampire movie you've ever seen. If you're drawn to the vampires that mope instead of going on killing sprees, like Edward Cullen and Angel, you need to watch this ASAP. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play two bored immortals who listen to great music (wouldn't you, if you'd been alive for ages) and basically hang out while they decide what to do with their lives. It's great. It's a Halloween vibe. It's not interested in scaring you.
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Wendell & Wild
Two demons trick an alt girl so they can escape the Underworld and get up to mischief. Not murder! Nothing scary like that! Just a little bit of mischief!
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Werewolf by Night
The Marvel special may have spooky music and spooky black-and-white in an homage to classic horror movies, but it's not that scary. I believe in you! You'll absolutely love Man-Thing.
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Honor the late Stephen Sondheim and the late Angela Lansbury with their spookiest musical collaboration. This is a recording of the stage production, which makes it a little less scary than the Tim Burton movie; it's hard to immerse yourself when you can see the wings and hear other people in the audience.
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Scooby Doo
The cast of the 2002 live-action film (Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, and Matthew Lillard) is so iconic 20 years later. The gang heads off to Spooky Island—not Terrifying Island—so you know what to expect.
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Practical Magic
You have nothing to fear from the witches in this movie unless you happen to be a man who wronged them. So you're good... aren't you?
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Invisible Sister
A late October science experiment turns up the volume on sibling rivalry when Cleo accidentally turns her sister Molly invisible. With all the STEM girls in movies and television these days, it's natural that at least one turns out to be a mad scientist.
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The Curse of Bridge Hollow
This family Halloween movie on Netflix stars Priah Ferguson from Stranger Things and is all about a dad who hates the holiday. Relate much? When people act like Halloween is all about jump scares... yeah, I kinda do relate!
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Under Wraps
It's a Halloween-set movie about a mummy named Harold. He befriends three kids! He wears cool sunglasses! That's not scary, right? There's a sequel on Disney+ too, so you could make a marathon of it.
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Kiki's Delivery Service
This Japanese film is about a witch, but not the kind that eats children for breakfast. She doesn't even turn people into frogs! Kiki delivers baked goods. It doesn't get tamer than that.
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Young Frankenstein
The Mel Brooks comedy is an absolute classic and way too silly and goofy to be scary, even though it is parodying one of the most well-known (but often misnamed) scary monsters.
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The Witches
This new adaptation of Ronald Dahl's book is wild. While it's always good to remember that Dahl's stuff is way freakier than we remember and kids can handle darker material than we sometimes think, the movie is still not horror-movie-level scary.
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Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
There's obviously a whole Hotel Transylvania franchise that you can marathon along with its latest entry, but I wanted to give it a shout-out in case you missed it.
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Z-O-M-B-I-E-S
Now this movie is the first in a recent DCOM musical trilogy about monsters that are metaphors for oppression and not fitting in at school. Eventually, they get to werewolves and aliens, but for now, it's all about zombies.
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Hubie Halloween
Adam Sandler's Halloween movie is as goofy as he is and spooky without being scary. If you missed it in 2020, check it out!
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The Nightmare Before Christmas
I know what half of you are gonna say. Don't even start with me.
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Halloweentown
I have 1 million questions about the Halloweentown logistics, lore, and economy, but that's what makes revisiting this DCOM so dang fun! There's plenty to love and plenty to poke fun at over wine with your friends.
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Nightbooks
As a big Don't Trust The B, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, and Jessica Jones, fan I am loving this witchy moment for Krysten Ritter (hmm, or maybe I'm just a Ritter fan... whatever!).
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Hocus Pocus
Let's be honest: You know that no matter how many suggestions I give you, you're just going to end up resorting to Hocus Pocus for the 50 millionth time, right? It's okay—everybody does!
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Crimson Peak
Okay, so. This is one of the movies that I said would be a little scary. This Gothic romance is spookier and more ~adult~ than the other movies on this list, but it's so, so good. Watch it before the sun sets if you must.
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The Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean isn't the only movie based on a Disney Parks ride. And theƒ new Haunted Mansion movie will be here just in time for 2023 Halloween!
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Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children
Eva Green is such an underrated spooky Queen.
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Monster House
It might be scary for kids, but not adults. The title makes it seem way more intense than it actually is.
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Dark Shadows
Not my favorite Tim Burton movie, but completists should probably check it out. Plus, 70s nostalgia is very in right now and this movie is chock full of it.
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Edward Scissorhands
Speaking of Tim Burton, this film of his is spooky at times, heartbreaking at others, and satirical at sometimes, too. It's not just Halloween candy, it's a full meal.
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The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
This is a Nickelodeon movie about a family that inherits a castle (like you do), which may or may not be protected by a werewolf.
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Spooky Buddies
Puppies are the opposite of scary. But please, nobody ever make a scary puppy movie now that I've said that, TYVM (do not say Cujo, he's big).
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The Scream Team
This is a DCOM about a haunted house that's not the Haunted Mansion. Spirits pass through to move on instead of staying forever, as a good spirit does. It also stars a young Kat Dennings!
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Jennifer's Body
There are scary elements in this movie, but no super big jump scares. If you want something between a horror movie and something for literal children, this is it. The only people that should really be scared of this movie are bad boyfriends and shitty guys, and maybe they deserve to get spooked into acting right.
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Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire
Honestly, you could make a pretty good Halloween DCOM marathon out of some of these movies. This is such a throwback!
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show
There are definitely some parts of this movie that are unsettling and some parts that are sexier and kinkier than the average Hollywood fare, but they aren't scary in the traditional or modern sense. Just a warning! I don't want you coming to me scandalized.
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Twitches
Tia and Tamera Mowry's magical film is totally low stakes and a whole lot of fun.
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Girl Vs. Monster
There are a lot of spooky-themed DCOMs but this one is literally about a girl trying to throw a Halloween party.
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The Addams Family
You might be more of an Addams Family Values person, and that's totally fair, but wait a few weeks and save that one for the iconic Thanksgiving scene!
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Coco
Technically, this is a November 1 movie—that's Dia De Los Muertos—but I'll allow it for you night owls out there.
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Casper
He's literally a *friendly* ghost. What more do you need to know?
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Beetlejuice
The classic film, now a hit Broadway musical as well, is the perfect silly/throwback thing to put on for a nightmare-free Halloween. Your dreams will maybe just be...weird, instead.
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Fun Size
There should be more Halloween movies that are about trick or treating! Don't you agree? Please sign my petition on the way out.
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Coraline
Other Mother is lowkey terrifying, but I believe you can handle her. Stay strong!
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The Worst Witch (1986)
The Worst Witch, the story of an incompetent but lovable witch in training named Mildred Hubble, has been an HBO series and a Netflix series—but our Gen X elders l-o-v-e to talk about the movie. Honor them this Halloween by streaming the cult classic.
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ParaNorman
There's something about stop-motion animation that just screams spooky season, don't you think? Also, this spooky animated movie about a boy who speaks to the dead stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, who went on to get an Oscar nomination for The Power Of The Dog. Good for him!
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Corpse Bride
If you're one of *those* Nightmare Before Christmas people, watch this animated movie instead.
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Little Shop of Horrors
If all else fails, watch a musical! Little Shop is a spoof of cult horror movies, but it's really not itself scary. Just, you know, don't feed the plants...
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