By Dakota Hornak, staff writer
October brings a wave of nostalgia for fall and movie-lovers alike. Growing up, we ran home from school every day before Halloween to watch the newest Disney channel thriller and this year, that excitement for Halloween doesn’t have to be in the past. Take a walk down memory lane as we discuss and review some of the most iconic and sentimental spooky films of our time.
“Hocus Pocus,” released in 1993, follows the life of new student Max as he first moves to Salem and tries to fit in. As the movie unfolds, the Sanderson sisters, a trio of witches executed in the 17th century, are awoken and begin to wreak havoc one again on Max, his new friend, and Salem itself. This film is one of the best-known Halloween movies of its time. Its storyline is simple and easy to follow and the visual elements used made the movie feel like a thrilling adventure we got to take part in. “Hocus Pocus” is one of the most beloved movies in the time of October and one that kicks off the Halloween season for most of us.
Another classic film takes place in two seasons at once: “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Also released in 1993, Tim Burton created the Halloween-king Jack Skellington who wanders into the woods and finds the entrance to Christmas town. The movie kicks off when Jack falls in love with Christmas and wants to bring it back to Halloween. This animated film has defined the thrilling holiday to a tee. The art direction done by Burton in this film adds a new dimension to the holidays most of us are familiar with and love as much as the characters in this movie.
1998 brought the start of Disney channel’s famous “Halloweentown” series which spans over four nostalgic movies. In the first installment, Marnie and her siblings find themselves following their grandmother to Halloweentown, discovering that Marnie herself is a witch among a family of them; this comes as a shock especially because of their anti-Halloween mother. The three other films carried on the series into 2006 and are still fondly remembered and rewatched by Halloween lovers every year. The make-up, set design, and the storyline is all cohesive and portrayed beautifully. As the series goes on the story does get weaker, but, as a whole, it is still one of the most loved Disney Halloween series.
“The Haunted Mansion” hit screens in 2003, telling the story of a family stopping by a mansion the husband is selling that they later discover is haunted. There they meet ghosts that ask for help breaking a curse. The famous Disney World ride opened in 1969, inspiring the creation of this Disney film. The characters are still well-known and discussed today, and Halloween is the perfect time to revisit it.
Tim Burton created another spooky classic, “The Corpse Bride,” in 2003. This animated feature looks at Victor as he practices his wedding vows for his fiancé as he walks, placing his ring on a root. This causes young ghost Emily to take him to the land of the dead and accept his vows as her own, marrying him before his own wedding. As the film goes on, the audience watches Victor attempt to return to his original bride and help Emily come to terms with being a ghost. The stylistic animation style and dark color schemes of Burton complement this story well and is the perfect relaxed, haunting film to reminisce on this Halloween season.
In 2005, the famous story of twin witches was released, making “Twitches” one of Disney’s most popular Halloween originals. The movie series follows Alexandria and Camryn who discover on their 21st birthday that they are twins who were separated at birth, and watches them as they realize the powers they share. The character development in the movie is what makes it so well-remembered. The twins work together well but act completely differently, creating a hilarious and entertaining dynamic between the two. It’s hard not being charmed by the twins and storyline in both “Twitches” and “Twitches Too.”
“Monster House,” made in 2006, is another favorite film of college-aged students as they follow the story of three kids trying to figure out what is wrong with their neighbor’s house. After years of neighbor Nebbercracker terrorizing children and taking their belongings when they land on his lawn, he takes a fall, and the three heroes DJ, Chowder and Jenny believe he died. When his house starts to move on its own, the kids realize that the monster in their neighborhood is really the house across the street. The best part of this movie is the storyline and learning how the house became a monster. Not only is it humorous and lighthearted, but also a thoughtful and engaging plot that will keep audiences thrilled and guessing until the end.
Another childhood classic for many of us is none other than “Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out?” which is an adaptation of R.L Stine’s original book that was released in 2008. It follows student Max as he discovers spirits in his house. After meeting the ghost twins, Nicky and Tara, Max decides to help them break a curse and get to the bottom of why they ended up as ghosts. His ideas have haunted Halloween for college-aged kids for our entire childhood and “Mostly Ghostly” is the perfect dose of nostalgia for this season.
2009 brought one of the most well-remembered stop-motion features, “Coraline,” that follows blue-haired Coraline Jones moving into a new apartment with her distant parents. Throughout the film, she is discovering an almost identical alternate world within the house with perfect parents, but it all turns sour faster than she ever expected. The art direction and the details in the story are what make this film so original. Stop-motion films create a larger video from multiple images, meaning the amount of attention to detail in this film took months to develop and there is something new to notice after every watch. Theories and explanations for this film still come out to this day trying to tie the story together fully.
The final movie series on our list is a later classic series also inspired by R.L Stine that started in 2015. The film “Goosebumps” starts when teenager Zach meets his new neighbor Hannah, whose father is R.L Stine. When he finds a special book and releases the monsters within it, Zach, Hannah and her father have to work together to capture them. The second film from 2018 follows a similar idea, except a different book is in the hands of a brother and sister and their friend. This series reimagines the “Goosebumps” novels and shows that we all grew up with, rekindling the same joy and thrill we had as kids watching the episodes air during October.
All ten of these spook-tacular movies have grown up with us through the years and still create Halloween joy for many. Celebrate the season with one or even all of these movies and revisit the traditions of our childhoods.
