It’s spooky season and Halloween is just around the corner. Get into the season by hosting a family or youth group film screening and discussion of an age-appropriate spooky movie.

Trick or treat! Well, hopefully, this post is a treat as you prepare for the spooky season at your church or in your community. Halloween and the entire month leading up to it have continued to grow in popularity as a holiday for children, youth, and even adults, and many churches participate with Trunk or Treats, costume parties, and more.

A staple of the season for many people is horror movie marathons. Horror is a diverse genre with a little something for everyone, from family-oriented, low-stakes horror like Hocus Pocus (1993) or Hotel Transylvania (2012) to the classics like Universal’s Dracula and Frankenstein (both 1931) or the genuinely bone-chilling like Get Out (2017) and Longlegs (2024).

Horror movies, from the not-at-all-scary to the truly frightening, are excellent conversation starters and can be utilized by CYF staff and volunteers to tie in with the lead-up to Halloween, adding a fun experience to Halloween parties, lock-ins, youth trips to the movies, or even take-home discussion guides for families to watch films together and discuss afterward. I have included a few tips to talk about spooky movies or host a movie event below.

Why Watch and Talk About Horror Movies?

Few genres of fiction borrow from religion as much as horror. Movies like The Exorcist (1973) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) feature Christianity as a central element to the story, as good in the form of a priest and religious scientist, respectively, battle against the demonic and evil. But even horror films that don’t feature such an overt religious plot still typically draw on religious imagery like crucifixes and holy water or feature out-of-context biblical quotes as prophetic warnings.

Some films, like Midsommar (2019), Red State (2011), and Carrie (1976) focus on the horrors of religion gone awry. Other films, like Freaks (1932), People Under the Stairs (1991), and the aforementioned Get Out are sharp social commentaries on class, ableism, racism, and more. These films can teach us about how we interact with religion, with each other, and with the world at large. Movies are great ways to start conversations about these topics and pick apart the religious imagery, such as whether it is helpful or harmful theology.

How to Host a Movie Event

There are many ways to host movie screenings. They can be attached to another event like a lock-in or service project, or they can be events in and of themselves. If you are showing the movie on-site, regardless of your church size, make sure that you have the appropriate licenses to show the film. Many churches already have licenses for music through CCLI. CVLI (Church Video License) is run by the same company and most major film studios are represented in the CVLI license. Screening a film without the proper license is not only illegal but can leave your church with large fines.

After picking the film to view, make sure to screen it ahead of time regardless of the film’s rating. If the film is rated PG-13 or above, consider having permission slips with content warnings for what is in the film if you are showing it to youth under the age of 18. Consider supplying snacks.

There are many websites that provide discussion questions for specific films and Teach With Movies and The National Film Board (of Canada) provide general discussion questions that can be used on a wide variety of films. In addition to the questions provided there, I suggest asking questions about what this movie says about God, good and evil, or about humankind to inspire dialogue around the theological and religious aspects of the film.

Suggestions of Horror and Spooky Movies to Show

There are so many excellent spooky films out there that would provide the basis for discussion with families and youth. For younger and family audiences, the aforementioned films Hotel Transylvania and The Addams Family are both stories about learning to accept oneself—differences and all. Middle-grade audiences might enjoy Hocus Pocus or the sequel Hocus Pocus 2, both of which feature plenty of humorous references to hell, evil, and the devil that would provide ample discussion on those topics.

For youth, Jordan Peele’s three horror films are all deep and thought-provoking films, perfect for discussion. Get Out deals with the horrors of racism, Us dives deep into questions of identity, community, and belonging, whereas Nope examines spectacle and our interactions with the natural world.

If you have an audience, such as young adults, who would be okay with films that have depictions of violence and gore, The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise features questions about believing teens who are going through difficult situations, what counts as reality and waking life, and chosen family whereas the Halloween franchise features questions of identity, the nature of evil, and community.

Conclusion

Horror is such an expansive genre and is effective because so many of the movies tackle themes that are great jumping-off points for discussion. Whether your church audience would prefer a low-stakes, family-friendly horror movie night or the bone-chilling suspense of a scary movie, the genre can teach us a lot about God, good and evil, ourselves, and each other.

Peace and all good,

Pace Warfield

About the Writer

Pace Warfield (they/them) is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Theological Union where their research interests include queer theology, Reformation studies, and theological anthropology. They are the creator and co-host of Horror Nerds at Church, a bi-weekly podcast examining horror films and what they can teach us about theology, queerness, and each other. They have also recently written an article for Living Lutheran titled “On Martin Luther and Horror Movies.” They are a Director of CYF ministries at two parishes in the Minneapolis area.

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