Halloween 2022

These are the best Halloween happenings to scare up serious fun in Houston

Decked-out dogs show off at the Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade.

Photo courtesy of MUTTS Canine Cantina

This year, Halloween in Houston comes as our beloved Astros kick off their World Series championship quest. Fans of All Hallow's Eve, meanwhile, can enjoy four days of spooky fun, including city and community events, costumed fun in parks, and even bar affairs and mystery-themed dinners.

With that in mind, we've rounded up your best bets to scare up some fun this season.

Friday, October 28

Color Factory's cleverly titled Haunted Hues boasts interactive installations and immersive rooms with ghoulishly good goodies, Instagram-worthy photo opportunities, pumpkin decorating, and a refreshing partnership with JuiceLand. Bring your boo, the little ones, or the whole family for vivid Halloween fun through November 1. 10 am.

Join Rice Village District for a Halloween block party. Stop by and check out our maze, live music, tailgate games, and complimentary refreshments. Kids can celebrate by wearing their costumes and trick-or-treating. 5:30 pm.

Discovery Green will be getting into the scary swing of things with “Scream on the Green.” Houston’s citywide Halloween celebration returns with a costume contest, music, and a screening of Monster House. 6 pm.

The San Jacinto Battleground has been a final resting place for Texans for at least 200 years. On Friday and Saturday, a special candlelight tour of two of its cemeteries will be held to illuminate the real stories of the men and women who lived, fought and died here. 6:15 pm.

Houston SPCA’s annual Howl-O-Ween Ball will feature costumes, entertainment, auction experiences, cocktail hour, and a seated dinner by City Kitchen. The covered equine arena will be transformed into a grand ballroom with ghoulishly delightful décor. 6:30 pm.

Saturday, October 29

Lagoonfest Texas will have a Halloween Trunk or Treat in the parking lot. Children of all ages are invited to go car-to-car for candy, play in a bounce house and compete in costume contests for prizes. 10 am.

Over at Woodlands Children’s Houston, the annual SpookTacular Halloween Monster Mash Party will be filled with children’s carnival-type games, magic shows, live music with children’s musician Mr. Will, science monster slime, and face painting. 10 am.

M-K-T will get creepy and outdoorsy with its Hike, Bike & Fright Fest. It will feature a Trick or Treat Trail, a Shop Local Market, and live performances. 4 pm.

At the Houston Arboretum’s Sip & Stroll, guests can walk along the Arboretum’s dimly lit trails, where they may encounter creatures of the night. The final destination will incorporate music and mingling with light bites and beverages, including wine and Saint Arnold beer. 7 pm.

Sunday, October 30

At Cole’s Flea Market’s Trick-or-Treat event, kids are encouraged to dress up in Halloween costumes for trick-or-treating through the market. Families also can enjoy face painting, a balloon artist, free candy, and pumpkin bucket raffles. 9 am.

Urban South HTX will host its first Halloween market. Bring the entire family out for a fun-filled day, including a bounce house, pumpkin carving, a costume contest, raffle prizes, a cookie-decorating class, market vendors, candy, and more. 1 pm.

Discovery Green’s fifth annual Dia de Los Muertes festival will feature the movie Coco, followed by live performances and music. Visitors are invited to place images or recuerdos of their loved ones on the community altar. Families will enjoy hands-on art activities, artist demos, and vendors. 3 pm.

Levy Park will present the fifth annual Howl-o-ween Dog Parade and Costume Contest. Later in the evening, there will also be a Family Movie Night screening of Hocus Pocus. 4 pm.

Monday, October 31

Bungalow Heights will have an All Hallows’ Eve murder-mystery dinner. Tickets are $100 and must be purchased in advance. It will include dinner, a multi-course dinner, a specialty cocktail, and a tip for the server. 6 pm.

Friends of River Oaks Theatre will hold an outdoor screening of Nosferatu, with live musical score accompaniment. There will also be a a blood drive, vampire costume contest, and short films by local filmmakers. 7:30 pm.

Numbers Nightclub will continue its Halloween tradition with a costume contest where people can win $1000 in cash and prizes. DJ Wes Wallace will provide the music, and drink specials will be available until 9 pm. 8 pm.

Over at Emmit’s Place, James Wilhite will host the Spooky Halloween Monday Night Jam. Come out and enjoy the music. All musicians are welcome, and there’s no cover. There’s usually something to munch on, and tons of great drink specials too. 8:30 pm.

Movie Review

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya face pre-marriage jitters in The Drama

Photo courtesy of A24

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in The Drama.

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya will be seen together a lot at the movies in 2026, with mega-films like The Odyssey and Dune: Part Three coming out later in the year. But fans can get a much more intimate look at the two stars in a film that offers a unique take on relationship struggles, The Drama.

Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Pattinson) are a New York couple who are engaged to be married. After a quick-but-effective montage of their courtship, the story joins them as they are just days away from their wedding. As they get all the details like music, flowers, and food finalized, a visit to the caterer with married friends Rachel (Alana Haim) and Mike (Mamoudou Athie) proves fateful.

A few too many drinks leads to each member of the group deciding to divulge the worst thing they’ve ever done. While each story is slightly shocking, Emma’s takes the cake, so much so that Charlie starts to question their relationship. As they get closer to the wedding date, Charlie finds it increasingly difficult to get beyond Emma’s revelation, with each real or imagined conversation threatening to derail their previously tight bond.

Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, the film is provocative, funny, and cringey as it tries to get to the center of human dynamics. Charlie, Rachel, and Mike have starkly different reactions to Emma’s story, and the way those play out over the course of the film provides, well, the drama. The harder Charlie tries to justify Emma’s past, the more his underlying feelings start to eat at him, causing friction not just between him and Emma, but in other parts of his life, as well.

Strangely, especially for a character played by Zendaya, Emma recedes more than expected. Her explanations for her previous actions are timid at best, and she mostly seems to be waiting for Charlie to forgive her instead of questioning why she needs forgiveness. Borgli favors the male side of the equation, and in so doing he doesn’t dig as deep into the root of the issue as he could have.

Still, the downward spiral at the center of the story has a propulsive nature to it, and each successive step proves to be both hard to watch and impossible to turn away from. It also helps that Borgli manages the tone well, keeping interactions between characters relatively light so that the film doesn’t turn into one like Marriage Story.

Pattinson, who gets to use his own British accent for once, put on an interesting performance that is much better than his last two roles in Mickey 17 and Die My Love. He has good chemistry with Zendaya, who manages to shine despite being laden with a role that doesn’t play entirely to her strengths. Haim and Athie do good work in small roles, while Hailey Grace and Hannah Gross make an impact in brief appearances.

The situation in which Emma and Charlie find themselves in The Drama is not one to be wished on anyone, but it’s presented well by Borgli, keeping tensions high for the bulk of the film. Despite the two main characters not given completely equal footing, the story finds a way to get to a satisfactory ending.

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The Drama opens in theaters on April 3.

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