It’s a good thing that this year’s Halloween falls on a weekend since a lot of people will probably spend it trick-or-treating or for the adults, going to parties. But, there’s also the group of people who would rather stay in for the night and get some much-needed rest and relaxation. If you belong to this group, then you’re in luck because we’ve compiled a list of some of the best Halloween car movies.->ke3897

Obviously, most of the movies on this list belong in the horror genre, but I’ve taken a few liberties in adding a few comedies to balance things out a little bit. Some of you might even chuckle at the production quality of some of these horror movies since they were released 30 to 40 years ago.

Either way, these suggestions should give you enough time to procure copies of these movies in whatever way you see fit. I personally am trying to get my hands on a few of these flicks, so everybody knows what I’m going to do this weekend.

Continue reading after the jump.

Christine

As far as scary car movies are concerned, Christine ranks right up there among the freakiest of them all. How else can you properly describe a 1958 Plymouth Fury with a demented mind of its own? It’s actually based on a Stephen King novel of the same name, so you know that King’s rather sick mind played a huge role in creating this diabolical character. Oh, did I mention that Christine had a penchant for regeneration, which served her well throughout the movie as her appetite for mowing poor people down would certainly make Chucky and Freddy Krueger proud.

The Car

You would think that a movie with the title “The Car” would be anything but a horror flick. Well, you’d be wrong there, because this movie was brutal in all sorts of ways. It follows a similar plot as Christine in that the main antagonist is a car. In this case, the car is a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III, and while it doesn’t benefit from having an actual name, it’s insatiable lust for hit-and-runs was so terrifying my grandfather actually sold his Continental after watching this movie. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you scare the audience. The only downside to The Car, and to Christine for that matter, is that nobody had the foresight to make a single sequel starring the two insidious vehicles forming a tag team and terrorizing its entire audience. Then again, if Stallone and Schwarzenneger could make a movie as old-timers, I’m not giving up hope on these two demon rides joining forces in modern times.

Maximum Overdrive

Just when you thought I was done with possessed and murderous vehicles, I present to you Maximum Overdrive. Yet another movie based off of a Stephen King novel. Here’s a little fun fact for you: Maximum Overdrive was actually Stephen King’s directorial debut. Anyway, the movie itself was pretty good and if you watch it now, you’d think that it had a little bit of Transformers in it. But, Maximum Overdrive makes it on this list because it managed to do what Christine and The Car started and take it to another level -- thanks in large part to a group of big-rig marauders bent on mowing down everything they see. Bonus points also for the leader of the pack, a black semi semi-truck sporting a giant Green Goblin mask on its grille. Anytime you see something like that in your rear view mirror, you’d be running away from it too.

Death Proof

Ok, now we’re past the point of murder-binging cars with minds of their own. Take a deep breath. We made it. Death Proof is the latest movie in this list, having been released in 2007. Sure, it’s more modern compared to some of the other movies on this list, but its no less scarier. Kurt Russell, who plays a psychotic former Hollywood stuntman turns two of his cars -- a 1970 Chevy Nova and a 1969 Dodge Charger -- into two killing machines. See! The cars themselves have no minds of their own. Unfortunately, their owner and driver does, which doesn’t bode well for their poor and unwitting victims.

The Wraith

This movie isn’t going to give you nightmares at night, but I couldn’t resist adding it because of the drag racing element that’s at the crux of the entire plot. Speaking of plot, the Wraith is all about a murdered teenager who comes back from the dead as a powerful drag racing wraith intent on exacting revenge on his murderers. He does it by killing all of them in high-speed crashes, leaving their bodies untouched except for the burned-out eye sockets. See! That’s worth watching, isn’t it? Oh, and it stars a young Charlie Sheen who is still years away from his #winning ways.

Black Cadillac

It’s never fun to see a mysterious 1957 Cadillac Series 75 Limousine in your rear view mirror. Imagine how traumatic it must be to learn that the Caddy’s demented driver is following you because it wants to kill you. This is what Black Cadillac is all about. It doesn’t have any identifiable stars other than Randy Quaid, but it does serve its purpose as a movie that intends to scare off anybody who sees a Caddy limo in their rear-view mirrors. The movie also gets extra brownie points from me because of the unexpected twist in the end. I won’t spoil it for anybody who hasn’t seen it, which should be even more reason to keep an eye out for the movie when you stumble upon it.

Jeepers Creepers

At this point, I’ve come to a realization. Rehashing some of the most traumatic movie-going experiences of my life has put me in a rather uncomfortable position. But, I’ll soldier on because this is the last real horror car movie on my list, and it’s a doozy. If you’ve seen Jeepers Creepers, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven’t, well then, you’re in for a roller coaster of a movie. In a lot of ways, the 1941 Chevrolet Cab Over Engine van gets completely overshadowed by the antagonist’s rather otherworldly skills and talents, but let’s just say that if I ever see a Chevrolet COE anywhere in the real world, I’m steering clear of it by any means necessary. Not to spoil or anything, but I like my eyes where they are. I don’t need anybody taking them away from me.

Ghostbusters

The last two movies on this list aren’t really horror movies -- they’re comedies -- but they do have a couple of important things about them that qualifies them to be part of this list. They both have iconic movie cars and they still revolve around the chills and thrills that’s associated with Halloween. First up is Ghostbusters, a movie I saw when I was a kid and still watch to this day every time I see it on TV. Ghostbusters is a great nightcap of a movie because you’ll appreciate it finally chuckling at a movie after a day’s worth of watching legitimate horror movies. Plus, it has the Ecto-1, which ranks right up with the DeLorean and the car on the next movie as one of the most iconic fictional movie cars of all time. I love Ghostbusters for that exact reason and I'm sure a lot of you share in that sentiment. If you really want to enjoy the full Ghostbusters experience, pop in Ghostbusters II while you’re at it.

Scooby Doo

The last movie on this list is one that’s close to my heart, not because the movie itself was good (it wasn’t), but because it finally brought one of my favorite cartoon characters to the big screen. It also featured one of my favorite movie cars of all time (the Mystery Machine) and still had enough ghouls and ghosts to actually qualify for this list. It’s also the perfect way to end a day’s worth of watching horror movies. You get the really scary ones at the beginning and then peak with the scariest of them all before diving straight into two comedies that will lighten your mood. Hopefully, when you’re done watching all 10 movies, you can still sleep well enough at night that you won’t have to worry about a 1958 Plymouth Fury or a 1941 Chevrolet COE sitting outside your window.