Halloween, more than any other holiday, is routinely mistreated by movies. We're not even talking about all the mutilated babysitters, poisoned candy and ancient curses. We're talking costume choices so egregious they stand out in any scene. Here are some of the worst crimes committed in the name of trick or treating.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, karate kid]()
Never mind that Danny LaRusso goes to a high school dance dressed as a Home Depot display (sorry, but we'd beat him up, too), it's this guy who most confuses and distresses us. You went 80 percent in on a Spider-Man costume, then top it off with beat-up Adidas and a Hamburglar mask? Congratulations, you've basically gone as a Mexican knockoff toy. Now get out of Johnny's way, dude. You're not getting a high five for that fail.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, trick 'r treat]()
If you want to convince us that going as a football player is both A) a good idea and B) will get you laid, this is not the way to do it. Colts-era Peyton Manning? Remember, this is before he was the touchdown record-setting Broncos darling, this is him when he was a disappointing doofus with a beige personality who should have won of a lot more Super Bowls than he did. A girl that like would PDA with a Tom Brady costume, maybe, but not Manning.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, back to school]()
What is it about Billy Zabka that attracts awful Halloween costumes? Here he's dressed as what we can only surmise is former Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow as a caveman, which is a great concept, but poorly executed. His date matches him by going as a losing design challenge from RuPaul's Drag Race.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, mean girls]()
While we applaud Lindsay's look, that guy on the left is like a giant record scratch that brings everything to a halt. Just-what? We mean, c'mon ... WHAT IS THAT? He's basically going as the personification of '90s-era ska music and that cannot be allowed to exist again. Kill it with fire.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, to kill a mockingbird]()
The only way to salvage this monstrosity of a costume is either to convert it into a bottle of Jack Daniels or tell everyone you're going as H.A.M. Otherwise, this is borderline child abuse.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, once bitten]()
Of all the regrettable Halloween costumes of the '80s to be immortalized on film, why did it have to be this one? Yes, this guy is strutting around in an inflatable Kooky Spooks costume, which is like a "My First BDSM Experimentation Kit." Look how quickly Darth Vader is trying to distance himself from him-it's like this guy has no idea that high school dances will haunt you for the rest of your life at the best of times. This isn't helping anything.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, halloween]()
We know John Carpenter basically funded his breakout horror classic with scratch-off cards and Camel Cash, but in one of the only scenes in a movie called "Halloween" to actually show children dressed up for Halloween, he has two kids dressed exactly alike. And both of them are cornball cowboys. C'mon, this isn't 1952. These are hardened '70s kids, meaning they should be going as Huey Newton or post-traumatic stress disorder.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown]()
Everyone dogpiles on Charlie Brown and his multi-holed ghost, but why does "the ghost of Davy Crockett" there get a pass? What is that? You slap a coonskin hat on a sheet and you think you're going high concept? This is confusing and lazy. Even the redundant witches want nothing to do with him.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, american splendor]()
Cult comic book writer Harvey Pekar was the Kanye West of his day. Who else would have the stones to go as himself on Halloween years before he did anything noteworthy? But the costume still fails because not even the most Williamsburgian hipster could pull off a Harvey Pekar costume.
![crappiest halloween costumes in movies, e.t.]()
Steven Spielberg is credited with creating some of our warmest childhood memories, but underneath it beats a black heart. While we're chuckling along watching E.T. waddle around in his ghost costume, Spielberg throws us ...THIS. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? A zombie doctor abducting a puppy from its birthday party? Not even Ryan Murphy could come up with something this depraved. What is wrong with you, Spielberg?
THE KARATE KID
Never mind that Danny LaRusso goes to a high school dance dressed as a Home Depot display (sorry, but we'd beat him up, too), it's this guy who most confuses and distresses us. You went 80 percent in on a Spider-Man costume, then top it off with beat-up Adidas and a Hamburglar mask? Congratulations, you've basically gone as a Mexican knockoff toy. Now get out of Johnny's way, dude. You're not getting a high five for that fail.
TRICK 'R TREAT
If you want to convince us that going as a football player is both A) a good idea and B) will get you laid, this is not the way to do it. Colts-era Peyton Manning? Remember, this is before he was the touchdown record-setting Broncos darling, this is him when he was a disappointing doofus with a beige personality who should have won of a lot more Super Bowls than he did. A girl that like would PDA with a Tom Brady costume, maybe, but not Manning.
BACK TO SCHOOL
What is it about Billy Zabka that attracts awful Halloween costumes? Here he's dressed as what we can only surmise is former Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow as a caveman, which is a great concept, but poorly executed. His date matches him by going as a losing design challenge from RuPaul's Drag Race.
MEAN GIRLS
While we applaud Lindsay's look, that guy on the left is like a giant record scratch that brings everything to a halt. Just-what? We mean, c'mon ... WHAT IS THAT? He's basically going as the personification of '90s-era ska music and that cannot be allowed to exist again. Kill it with fire.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
The only way to salvage this monstrosity of a costume is either to convert it into a bottle of Jack Daniels or tell everyone you're going as H.A.M. Otherwise, this is borderline child abuse.
ONCE BITTEN
Of all the regrettable Halloween costumes of the '80s to be immortalized on film, why did it have to be this one? Yes, this guy is strutting around in an inflatable Kooky Spooks costume, which is like a "My First BDSM Experimentation Kit." Look how quickly Darth Vader is trying to distance himself from him-it's like this guy has no idea that high school dances will haunt you for the rest of your life at the best of times. This isn't helping anything.
HALLOWEEN
We know John Carpenter basically funded his breakout horror classic with scratch-off cards and Camel Cash, but in one of the only scenes in a movie called "Halloween" to actually show children dressed up for Halloween, he has two kids dressed exactly alike. And both of them are cornball cowboys. C'mon, this isn't 1952. These are hardened '70s kids, meaning they should be going as Huey Newton or post-traumatic stress disorder.
IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN
Everyone dogpiles on Charlie Brown and his multi-holed ghost, but why does "the ghost of Davy Crockett" there get a pass? What is that? You slap a coonskin hat on a sheet and you think you're going high concept? This is confusing and lazy. Even the redundant witches want nothing to do with him.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Cult comic book writer Harvey Pekar was the Kanye West of his day. Who else would have the stones to go as himself on Halloween years before he did anything noteworthy? But the costume still fails because not even the most Williamsburgian hipster could pull off a Harvey Pekar costume.
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
Steven Spielberg is credited with creating some of our warmest childhood memories, but underneath it beats a black heart. While we're chuckling along watching E.T. waddle around in his ghost costume, Spielberg throws us ...THIS. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? A zombie doctor abducting a puppy from its birthday party? Not even Ryan Murphy could come up with something this depraved. What is wrong with you, Spielberg?