Summary
- The Modern Family Halloween episodes are some of the best in the series, bringing the show to life in a new way with spooky fun.
- Season 9's Halloween episode lacked charm and sharp writing, indicating that the show was losing its touch.
- The last Halloween episode before the show ended, "The Last Halloween," had bittersweet moments and delivered real Halloween fun.
Though the sitcom embraced a lot of holiday fun throughout its 11 seasons, the Modern Family Halloween episodes stand out as some of the best. The series took a look at an extended and dysfunctional family, following them on their many misadventures. However, when everyone got into the Halloween spirit, the show seemed to come alive in a new way with some memorable episodes and moments celebrating the spooky season.
Even though Modern Family ended in 2020, fans still return to the sitcom, especially when looking for a great Halloween-themed episode to watch. With seven episodes dedicated to trick-or-treating, haunted houses, and other creepy fun, there are some that stand out more than others. From Claire's obsession with scaring people to more than a few costume mishaps, the best Modern Family Halloween episodes show why the series was so popular.
7 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Phil Dunphy'
Season 9, Episode 5
The fifth episode of season 9, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Phil Dunphy" is fun but one that's lacking. Knowing how important the holiday is to the Dunphys, it was a sad day when the Dunphy kids weren't into Halloween anymore. While Claire tried her hardest to scare her kids, and later, her co-workers, her efforts fell flat. Meanwhile, Phil was busy trying to build a pumpkin to hide inside, which went awry when he went rolling into his neighbor's yard.
By season 9, the show was beginning to lose a lot of its charm and sharp writing, and this episode is a strong indicator that Modern Family wasn't what it used to be. Claire and Phil's storyline had potential with the bittersweet moment of the kids outgrowing traditions, but it didn't really build to anything memorable. It also didn't help that the rest of the storylines in the show barely addressed Halloween.
6 'Good Grief'
Season 10, Episode 5
"Good Grief" is an unexpected Halloween episode as it starts off with Claire (dressed as a spider) and Phil (dressed as a fly) decorating their house for Halloween night. However, things took a turn when Claire received a phone call and soon learns that her mom (DeDe) passed away, leaving all the characters to deal with the significant loss.
Modern Family was always good and mixing humor and emotional moments, but it seemed misguided here. DeDe's death doesn't come as a sad moment, but rather a storyline that takes away from the expected Halloween fun. However, there are some laughs to be found with the memorable costumes with Mitch and Cam dressed as Prince Harry and Meghan, and Gloria dressed as Marilyn Monroe.
5 'The Last Halloween'
Season 11, Episode 5
'The Last Halloween' was quite literally the last Halloween episode before Modern Family came to an end. In the episode, Phil was determined to scare Claire for the first time. Meanwhile, Gloria struggled with aging and being correctly pegged as Jay's wife instead of his daughter. As further signs of time moving on, Cam and Mitch dealt with Lily attending her first Halloween party by herself.
The episode is a somewhat bittersweet experience as there are so many reminders of the show coming near the end. However, these are done in an effective way with Gloria coming to terms with getting older and Cam and Mitch accepting that their daughter is becoming more independent. The episode still knows how to deliver real Halloween fun with Phil's elaborate plan to scare Claire having a great payoff.
4 'Halloween 4: The Revenge Of Rod Skyhook'
Season 8, Episode 5
"The Revenge of Rod Skyhook" showed fans that Luke was ready to host his first Halloween party. Regardless of everyone's great Halloween costumes, there was a competing party the same night that took away from Luke's efforts, leading to his family assembling to help him out. Meanwhile, Manny struggles with fitting in at the Halloween party while Cam heads out on a mission to find the kind he thinks egged their house.
The episode was a fine example of how Modern Family embraces Halloween more than most sitcoms, telling the three distinct storylines in fun ways that celebrate the holiday. The laughs were not as great as Luke becomes a more obnoxious character as the seasons progressed and the character entered his awkward teen years. However, the conclusion of Cam and Mitch's story has a delightful twist that suits the Modern Family Halloween episodes' legacy.
3 Halloween 3: AwesomeLand
Season 6, Episode 6
In the season 6 entry of Modern Family Halloween episodes, Claire was working full-time and was too busy to decorate, leaving Phil to prepare the house for Halloween night. In a classic Phil way, he decided to get rid of the horror and gore and add a fun-loving energy instead, much to Claire's annoyance. There are some other fun storylines involving Jay's unhappiness with Gloria's costume choices for him and Mitch struggling with a big case on the holiday.
Claire's love of being scary on Halloween has been a big theme of these episodes and this installment wonderfully highlights the differences between her and Phil in terms of their personalities. Their interactions as Phil attempts to prove there is a more family-friendly approach to the holiday is what makes the episode so memorable while Jay's insecurities make for a fun side plot.
2 'Open House Of Horrors'
Season 4, Episode 5
The season 4 Modern Family Halloween episode has a lot of charming and heartfelt moments, which is surprising given the holiday in question. One aspect deals with Gloria becoming increasingly quick-tempered due to her pregnancy, which she takes to mean the baby is angry. Cam and Mitch also have to deal with the fact that Lily is starting to have questions about her mother. However, these sweet moments are mixed with Halloween fun as Claire decides to haunt Phil at his Halloween open house.
It is a nice mix of Modern Family's best aspects as the episode embraces the holiday while still telling great stories about the characters. The episode has a lot of laughs with Claire and Phil once again stealing the show, but the subplot with Lily's adoption is also handled very well.
1 'Halloween'
Season 2, Episode 6
The first Modern Family Halloween episode cemented how seriously the show takes the holiday and set a high bar for the episodes to follow. This is the first episode in which the audience sees Claire's fierce dedication to Halloween and how much she adores scaring people. After turning the Dunphy residence into a haunted house with spooky details, she gave each family member a role to play.
While the show works well with separate stories interconnecting, it is a lot of fun to see the entire family together for the holiday episodes. The other Halloween episodes would fail to recapture that fun as even trying to put on a haunted house turns into a chaotic mess thanks to everyone's quirks, insecurities, and frustrations. Seeing the family lose their cool together is always so much fun, but Claire steals the show with her love of Halloween gradually causing her to lose patience with her loved ones.
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Modern Family
- Release Date:
- 2009-09-23
- Cast:
- Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez
- Genres:
- Comedy, Mockumentary
- Rating:
- TV-PG
- Seasons:
- 11
- Writers:
- Christopher Lloyd, Steven Levitan
- Network:
- ABC
- Streaming Service(s):
- Hulu
- Showrunner:
- Christopher Lloyd, Steven Levitan
