Special Report
Every State's Favorite Movie to Watch for Halloween This Year
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For some people Halloween is all about dressing up in a funny costume and going trick or treating. For others, however, the holiday is all about a spooky movie marathon. (If you’re a costume-wearer, have a look at the most popular Halloween costume in your state.)
Surfing through channels and streaming services these days, movie fans may have noticed many horror films as options. After all, Halloween is approaching. It turns out that where people live may say a lot about the kind of Halloween movies they like.
To compile a list of the favorite Halloween movies in every state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a new study by Wishlisted, a product discovery platform that occasionally conducts surveys on various topics. The site considered a list of 210 movies tagged “horror” on Rotten Tomatoes, filtered for those with at least a 60% audience score, then used Google Trends to compare searches for each movie by subregion between September 2017 and September 2022. Where many films were most popular in the same state, states were matched with the film with the most proportional popularity for that state.
According to the survey, the most popular Halloween movies range greatly not only in theme but also in period. Residents of some states prefer the old classics, such as the 1925 version of “The Phantom of the Opera” or “Freaks” from 1932. Others have more modern tastes, favoring movies released in the last year or two, such as “Vengeance” (2022) or “Candyman” (2021).
Click here to see every state’s favorite Halloween movie to watch
Films traditionally associated with Halloween also made the list, including John Carpenter’s “Halloween” (of course) and Wes Craven’s 1996 “Scream.” However, favorites like “Hocus Pocus” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” did not make the list this year. (These are the best Halloween movies of all time.)
It might be noted that a few films on this list aren’t horror films per se, though they’re terrifying enough to earn a “horror” tag on Rotten Tomatoes – for instance, Steven Spielberg’s classic “Jaws” from 1965 and Michael Powell’s haunting 1960 murder movie “Peeping Tom.”
Alabama: Hatching (2022)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61%
> Directed by: Hanna Bergholm
> Main cast: Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Jani Volanen
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 205/210
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Alaska: Alien (1979)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94%
> Directed by: Ridley Scott
> Main cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 3/210
Arizona: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75%
> Directed by: Scott Glosserman
> Main cast: Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Zelda Rubinstein
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 118/210
Arkansas: Freaks (1932)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88%
> Directed by: Tod Browning
> Main cast: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 22/210
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California: The Orphanage (2007)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86%
> Directed by: J.A. Bayona
> Main cast: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 38/210
Colorado: The Shining (1980)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93%
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
> Main cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 6/210
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Connecticut: Border (2018)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75%
> Directed by: Ali Abbasi
> Main cast: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jörgen Thorsson
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 106/210
Delaware: Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62%
> Directed by: Leigh Janiak
> Main cast: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr.
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 113/210
District of Columbia: Us (2019)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 60%
> Directed by: Jordan Peele
> Main cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 208/210
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Florida: Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87%
> Directed by: Kier-La Janisse
> Main cast: Linda Hayden, Ian Ogilvy, Kevin Kölsch
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 34/210
Georgia: Candyman (2021)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72%
> Directed by: Nia DaCosta
> Main cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 134/210
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Hawaii: The Innocents (1961)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86%
> Directed by: Jack Clayton
> Main cast: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 41/210
Idaho: The Fly (1958)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71%
> Directed by: Kurt Neumann
> Main cast: David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 145/210
Illinois: Horror of Dracula (1958)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81%
> Directed by: Terence Fisher
> Main cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 76/210
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Indiana: Host (2020)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72%
> Directed by: Rob Savage
> Main cast: Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 140/210
Iowa: Peeping Tom (1960)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85%
> Directed by: Michael Powell
> Main cast: Karlheinz Böhm, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 47/210
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Kansas: Vengeance (2022)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86%
> Directed by: B.J. Novak
> Main cast: B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Lio Tipton
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 39/210
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Kentucky: Halloween (1978)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89%
> Directed by: John Carpenter
> Main cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 15/210
Louisiana: Crawl (2019)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75%
> Directed by: Alexandre Aja
> Main cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Morfydd Clark
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 110/210
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Maine: Misery (1990)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90%
> Directed by: Rob Reiner
> Main cast: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 12/210
Maryland: Bloody Hell (2020)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80%
> Directed by: Alister Grierson
> Main cast: Ben O’Toole, Meg Fraser, Caroline Craig
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 79/210
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Massachusetts: Jaws (1975)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90%
> Directed by: Steven Spielberg
> Main cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 11/210
Michigan: Violation (2020)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81%
> Directed by: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
> Main cast: Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 75/210
Minnesota: Cat People (1942)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73%
> Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
> Main cast: Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Kent Smith
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 131/210
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Mississippi: Candyman (1992)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62%
> Directed by: Bernard Rose
> Main cast: Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, Tony Todd
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 189/210
Missouri: The Djinn (2021)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72%
> Directed by: David Charbonier, Justin Powell
> Main cast: Ezra Dewey, Rob Brownstein, Tevy Poe
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 138/210
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Montana: It Follows (2014)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66%
> Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
> Main cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 165/210
Nebraska: Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79%
> Directed by: Don Coscarelli
> Main cast: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Bob Ivy
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 91/210
Nevada: It (2017)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84%
> Directed by: Andy Muschietti
> Main cast: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 50/210
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New Hampshire: Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (2021)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80%
> Directed by: Leigh Janiak
> Main cast: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 80/210
New Jersey: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80%
> Directed by: Rouben Mamoulian
> Main cast: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 84/210
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New Mexico: Gremlins (1984)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78%
> Directed by: Joe Dante
> Main cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 98/210
New York: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84%
> Directed by: Rupert Julian
> Main cast: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 53/210
North Carolina: The Innocents (2022)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74%
> Directed by: Eskil Vogt
> Main cast: Rakel Lenora Fløttum, Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Sam Ashraf
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 121/210
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North Dakota: Drag Me to Hell (2009)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62%
> Directed by: Sam Raimi
> Main cast: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Ruth Livier
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 188/210
Ohio: The Wolf Man (1941)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80%
> Directed by: George Waggner
> Main cast: Claude Rains, Warren William, Lon Chaney Jr.
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 83/210
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Oklahoma: Dog Soldiers (2002)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79%
> Directed by: Neil Marshall
> Main cast: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 93/210
Oregon: Midsommar (2019)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 63%
> Directed by: Ari Aster
> Main cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 181/210
Pennsylvania: Diabolique (1955)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93%
> Directed by: Henri-Georges Clouzot
> Main cast: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 7/210
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Rhode Island: The Conjuring (2013)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83%
> Directed by: James Wan
> Main cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 54/210
South Carolina: Frailty (2002)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78%
> Directed by: Bill Paxton
> Main cast: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 96/210
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South Dakota: Better Watch Out (2016)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 64%
> Directed by: Chris Peckover
> Main cast: Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 178/210
Tennessee: Anything for Jackson (2020)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71%
> Directed by: Justin G. Dyck
> Main cast: Sheila McCarthy, Julian Richings, Konstantina Mantelos
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 144/210
Texas: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82%
> Directed by: Tobe Hooper
> Main cast: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 66/210
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Utah: A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92%
> Directed by: John Krasinski
> Main cast: Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Cillian Murphy
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 8/210
Vermont: They Live (1988)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 85%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79%
> Directed by: John Carpenter
> Main cast: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 90/210
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Virginia: Julia’s Eyes (2010)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 68%
> Directed by: Guillem Morales
> Main cast: Belén Rueda, Lluís Homar, Pablo Derqui
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 158/210
Washington: Upgrade (2018)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87%
> Directed by: Leigh Whannell
> Main cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo, Steve Danielsen
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 25/210
West Virginia: Scream (1996)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79%
> Directed by: Wes Craven
> Main cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 87/210
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Wisconsin: The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 63%
> Directed by: Bryan Bertino
> Main cast: Marin Ireland, Michael Abbott Jr., Julie Oliver-Touchstone
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 184/210
Wyoming: The Lost Boys (1987)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76%
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85%
> Directed by: Joel Schumacher
> Main cast: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest
> Rank on Rotten Tomatoes Top Halloween Movies list: 44/210
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