5 Tim Burton Movies to Watch this Halloween

Spooky Season is happening, and you know what that means! It’s time to sit back, relax, and watch some devilishly creepy movies. Which films are better to watch than the often wholesome, occasionally gruesome, yet always witty Tim Burton classics?

Tim Burton has made a name for himself by creating eerie, creepy, and whimsical films that tend to capture the spirit of Halloween. While there are a lot to choose from, here are five of the spookiest!

1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Didn’t see that one coming, did you? While not exactly a “Halloween-themed” film, Burton’s Sweeney Todd is still a horrifying tale of a barber gone mad. Johnny Depp, as per usual, leads a terrifically talented ensemble cast as they sing through a gloomy tale of lost love. Burton blends musical and horror genres well in this adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 Broadway Musical. The story follows a barber whose wife was taken from him by an evil Judge and the tale of revenge that follows. Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, and Sacha Baron Cohen join Depp in a sumptuously shot, magnificently scored, and bloody unforgettable musical murder-fest.

2. Corpse Bride

Short and sweet, makes you tap your feet, Corpse Bride is an imaginative feast for the eyes and ears! Taking it back to his stop-motion roots, Burton and crew created a beautiful and gothic tale of love from beyond the grave. Meek Groom-to-be, Victor Van Dort (played by, you guessed it, Johnny Depp), accidentally proposes to a Corpse. The “corpse bride” in question, Emily (played by Helena Bonham Carter), becomes taken with Victor. Unfortunately for her, Victor already has a bride to be. What follows is a comedic, heartfelt, and outright morbid story of unrequited love, death, and murder!

Danny Elfman supplies the tunes and his voice for some catchy songs of the undead, with a hell of a cast joining along. The film also features Emily Watson, Christopher Lee, and Richard E. Grant, to name a few. On top of all this, the runtime is only an hour and seventeen minutes, making it a brisk watch that still packs a punch. If you haven’t seen it yet, it may just become one of your new Halloween favorites.

3. Beetlejuice

The second feature film helmed by Burton is a haunted-house send-up of hilarious proportions! More romantic comedy than actual horror, Beetlejuice is a ridiculously over-the-top spoof that created one of pop culture’s most iconic characters. While the entire cast absolutely kills it (pun intended), no one can forget Michael Keaton’s turn as the wonderfully crazed and nutty Betelgeuse! Despite having only seventeen minutes of screen time, Keaton absolutely steals the show, as he should. He gives it his all, delivering punch lines and yelling obscenities at breakneck speed.

Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are perfectly paired as the wholesome couple who come to find out they’re dead. Catherine O’Hara and the late, great Jeffrey Jones play the opposing high-strung parents who are taking over the deceased couple’s home, and in one of her first roles, Winona Ryder shows us she’s got angst to spare as the so-emo-it-hurts daughter of the Deetz’s. Despite the themes of death, the film maintains a breezy, goofy, and heartfelt tone throughout its hour-and-a-half runtime. Its an absolute classic, and it should’ve been the only one of its kind.

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas

Yes, ok! I know! Tim Burton did not direct this film, it was Henry Selick, director of Coraline. However, Burton wrote and produced, and this clearly has his signature style all over it. This is a fan-favorite Halloween/Christmas movie and so rightly deserves a spot on this list! (And yes, it is both a Halloween and a Christmas movie; anyone who disagrees is insane.) This is clearly the most Halloween-based film of Burton’s, and has so much fun defying genre and holiday conventions.

Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas and tries his darnedest to marry the two holidays. What happens next is disastrous! This film is also as short and sweet as Corpse Bride, at an hour and sixteen minutes, but fits a lot into its runtime. There’s even more music and songs (by Danny Elfman, of course), characters, a romance, and so much fun to be had. The animation is beautifully crafted, and the story is as engaging as it is the first twenty times! Be sure to add this one to both your Halloween and Christmas movie watchlists.

5. Sleepy Hollow

Last and certainly not least is Burton’s take on the classic horror tale. Once again, Johnny Depp is taking the lead, and this 90s gothic horror is a rollicking old time! The set design and costuming are elegant, and the scenes in the forest are absolutely dazzling. The 1700s era and the story of a beheaded spirit decapitating townsfolk work perfectly with Burton’s aesthetic. There is so much fun to be had, from Depp’s meek “Ichabod Crane”, to several electric set pieces featuring the Headless Horseman. I cannot understate how bad-ass some of the action is in this one!

Danny Elfman, of course, does a fantastic job creating an eerie and haunting score to accompany the killings. Burton and screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker also had a lot of fun adapting the classic story. Ichabod Crane becomes a detective as opposed to a school teacher in the story, creating a murder-mystery-slasher vibe that elevates the thrills and chills. The effects are great for 1999, both visual and practical, and are used to produce delirious results. While it’s not his best work, Sleepy Hollow certainly deserves a place among the Halloween movies that have come before.