It is Friday, Oct. 1, and there’s a lot to be excited about.

One, this semester is coming to a close. It may not be imminent just yet, but winter break is coming up in about two months. Two, fall is here and it’s time to bring out your inner fall aesthetic that’s been hiding for a year. Three, Halloween is coming.

This season offers a lot: trick or treating, pumpkin carving, candy, decorations, and not to mention, scary movies.

Scary movies are a must when it comes to the fall season and as my favorite genre, I’ll be naming 5 of my favorites to watch during the spooky season.

#5 – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Coming in at number five, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is a great classic horror movie and some may say that it paved the way for the slasher movies we know today.

You might’ve heard or watched this one before, but for people who haven’t, here’s what it’s about: Sally, the main character, hears that her grandfather’s grave might’ve been vandalized so, along with her brother Frank and their friends, they set out to investigate.  

When they go to their old family’s farmhouse, they’re attacked by the main antagonist, Leatherface. The group must do everything in their power to survive.

With the disturbing storyline, the gore and the suspensefulness that’s felt throughout the entire movie, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is one movie you have to watch this season.

#4 – The Ring (2002)

At number four, “The Ring” is a top contender for a great horror movie to watch this month.  Even though it’s not necessarily a classic like “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” or “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” it’s still a very scary and chilling movie.

For those who don’t know, “The Ring” is about a videotape filled with disturbing and nightmarish images that leads to a phone call foretelling that the viewer is going to die in exactly one week.  

If you like mysteries, flashbacks, creepy imagery and disturbing scenes, then this horror movie is the one for you.

#3 – It (2017)

With “It” being released in 2017, it doesn’t qualify as a classic horror, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bring the scare.  A film adaptation of my favorite author Stephen King’s novel “It”, I believe this movie deserves to take this third spot.

“It” is set in Derry, Maine and follows seven young outcasts who face a shape-shifting evil clown that comes out from the sewers every 27 years to prey on the town’s children. 

“It” has been named by many people as “very scary”, and it definitely gives watchers that feeling. There’s everything in the movie that makes it a great slasher/horror film: gore, jump-scares, clowns and murder.

#2 – Psycho (1960)

Now, “Psycho” is the type of classic horror/thriller movie I was talking about before and it also paved the way for many slasher movies today. It was also produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who was the most influential person in the film industry to date.

Marion Crane is on the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to skip town with her boyfriend.  During a thunderstorm, she stops at Bates Motel and meets Norman Bates, a young man with a knack in taxidermy and a straining relationship with his mother.

This film is infamous for its shower scene. That scene was genuinely terrifying and unexpected and that’s what made it great. The movie is centered around suspense and tension with a few spooky moments and reveals. There’s little gore but that doesn’t take away from the fear factor of the movie.

#1 – Halloween (1978)

As many of you probably guessed, the original 1978 version of Halloween is number one for many reasons.  Directed by WKU’s one and only John Carpenter, this movie is one for the ages.  Not only did John direct the movie, but he composed the music in it as well. You could say “Halloween” made way for the modern era of slasher films because it’s one of the top classics in the horror movie genre.

“Halloween” is about Michael Myers who, on Halloween night in 1963, murdered his 17-year-old sister Judith. He was sentenced for it and got locked away. On Oct. 30, 1978 though, now 21, he steals a car and escapes Smith’s Grove. He returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois and looks for his next victims.

As the movie progresses, suspense builds. The scariest part of the movie is the psychological aspect. There was no big budget, no special effects, and had a one note score, and yet it still scared people.  Also, the soundtrack is a masterpiece to listen to.

“Halloween” isn’t a movie to miss during the fall season, especially with the actual holiday coming up.

Commentary writer DJ Stover can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DeJayeJJ.