Spooky movies to watch this Halloween season
Ghostbusters (Hulu)
A group of 3 parapsychology professors start a business catching ghosts. With Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon (Harold Ramis), “Ghostbusters” provides comic relief and is festive for the Halloween season.
The Adventures of Ichabod Crane and Mr. Toad (Disney+)
Ichabod finds himself in love with Katrina, but his chances with her are dashed after his mysterious disappearance.
I’m not sure if it’s because Bing Crosby narrates and sings or if it’s because I wrote an alternative ending to the short film in the sixth grade, but regardless, the tradition still stands today.
Gremlins (Amazon Prime for $3.99)
An iconic film featuring Howie Mandel as Gizmo that is practically a reflection of how this semester is going for me. The film follows Billy Peltzer, who receives a mogwai as an early Christmas present from his father. Owning a mogwai comes with a few rules: don’t expose the mogwai to bright light, don’t get it wet and don’t let it eat after midnight. Billy might not be capable of keeping those rules.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Disney+)
Jack Skellington? Danny Elfman? Tim Burton? What’s more spooky than that? Probably nothing. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” follows the Pumpkin King on his search for more meaning and exploration of Christmas.
Halloween Town (Disney+)
A Disney Channel classic that comes with a dysfunctional family. Complete with a mother who doesn’t want her kids practicing witchcraft and her own mother (Debbie Reynolds) who wants her grandchildren to continue the witch tradition.
Twitches (Disney+)
On their 21st birthday, twin sisters are reunited for the first time since birth. They quickly discover their witchy powers and discover their home is in need of rescuing.
Frankenweenie (Disney+)
I’m not going to lie, I’m not the biggest fan of “Frankenweenie,” but when you have weird friends you got to watch it during spooky season, so here we are. “Frankenweenie” follows a similar plotline to the original “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. Victor’s dog tragically dies unexpectedly, and though his family is supportive during his time of grief, Victor grapples with overwhelming darkness. In light of a science project assigned at school, Victor tries to bring his dog back to life and is successful. If only it had been kept a secret….
Hocus Pocus (Disney+)
Max Dennison, joined by his sister and her friend, decide to explore a spooky, abandoned house. Max dismisses the haunting, spooky legends as fables but ends up freeing three evil witches who used to reside in the house.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Hulu)
If you don’t know what this is, I am honestly questioning whether or not you actually had a childhood. For once in his life, Charlie Brown isn’t the weirdest kid in the neighborhood, but he still gets rocks instead of candy for Halloween. Linus “wastes” his Halloween waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear in the most sincere pumpkin patch in his neighborhood while most of the other kids are trick or treating.
The Corpse Bride (Amazon Prime for $3.99)
This is one of the few Tim Burton films I love. “The Corpse Bride” features an unlikely love triangle between an engaged couple, Victor and Victoria, and Emily, the corpse bride. Victor accidentally repeats his vows to a dead bride, who then rises from the grave and accepts his hand in marriage. The misunderstanding brings Victor to an underworld of sorts and a world of trouble.
Beetlejuice (Hulu)
Barbara and Adam Maitland (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) live perfectly content lives in their beautiful home until a tragic accident leaves them trapped in the house and in need of haunting help from the “bio-exorcist” Betelgeuse.
Edward Scissorhands (Hulu and Amazon Prime)
Johnny Depp brings life to the gentle and misunderstood creation, Edward Scissorhands. Before his creator could finish assembling Edward, he dies, leaving him with scissors for hands. Edward is discovered by a saleswoman, who lets him stay with her and her family, sparking an unlikely romance begins between Edward and the saleswoman’s daughter.
The Sixth Sense (Amazon Prime $2.99)
Young, troubled Cole (Haley Joel Osment) is being constantly visited by ghosts and sees a child psychologist (Bruce Willis) to help solve his haunting problem. But Coles’s supernatural abilities have more power than either of them realize.
The Watcher in the Woods (Disney+)
Karen disappeared years ago but suddenly begins calling out to a young girl. As a general rule, don’t let a bunch of 11-year-old girls watch this movie at 10 p.m. at night, because I can guarantee that at least one of them will stay awake all night, afraid that Karen is lurking in the shadows.
Garfield’s Halloween Adventure (YouTube)
Garfield and Odie go trick or treating together and stumble upon a 110-year-old man with a dark secret.
The Haunted Mansion (Disney+)
In an attempt to please his wife, Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) takes his entire family on a vacation, but on their way, the Evers family stumbles upon a haunted mansion with a curse that needs breaking.
Emily White is a junior studying English and broadcast journalism. She is currently serving as the senior writer for the Lifestyles section of the Statesman.
—emily.white@usu.edu