Photo credit: moviestvnetwork.com
Halloween is right around the corner, and the Black Squirrel Radio Web Staff has put together a list of their favorite Halloween movies that you should watch this Halloween season before going trick-or-treating.
Corpse Bride- Rory Larrison
Growing up, I was always fascinated by Tim Burton’s creepy films. I found them thrilling and chilling, and his 2005 animated drama Corpse Bride has always been one of my favorite animated movies, especially for Halloween.
The plot follows Victor and Victoria, two young adults who find themselves in the process of an arranged marriage. However, in a twisty chance of fate, Victor unknowingly places his engagement ring on the cold, dead finger of Emily, a young woman who was murdered on her way to elope with a stranger.
She is brought back from the dead and falls under the impression that Victor is now her fiancee. Obviously, chaos ensues!
The film doesn’t exactly fit one genre– it’s spooky but also heartwarming, dramatic with great elements of comedy and contains a killer murder-mystery plot line. However, the two elements that stuck with me as a child and into adulthood are the color palettes and the music.
The drab blues’ and grays’ of the “Land of the Living” contrast with the bright oranges’, purples’ and greens in the “Land of the Dead” to give incredible juxtaposition and is still able to remain cohesive. Danny Elfman’s work on the soundtrack brings even more depth to the film. The jazzy, expositional “Remains of the Day” is so good that I include it on my Halloween playlists to this day. “The Piano Duet” captures the harmony and balance between life and death (quite literally, actually).
If you’re only able to watch one movie this Halloween, make sure it’s Corpse Bride. You won’t be disappointed.
Halloween- Jake Majka
I know I know, I can hear it already.
“Wow, Jake! Halloween is your favorite Halloween movie?! How basic can you be?!”
I hear you, but look at me right in my eyes through your screen. Are you looking? Okay good. You’re wrong!
Halloween is the GOAT Halloween movie, and it isn’t even a question. It’s the perfect slasher film. It’s the PERFECT depiction of the kind of night you were terrified of as a child. Every single kid was terrified that a boogeyman was going to come out of the woods and chase them around the street with candy flying everywhere.
Michael Myers is a BAAAAD man(Stephen A. Smith voice) and is just downright terrifying. Honestly, by the end of it, you’re kinda rooting for him. There’s a softness to his madness.
Some of those high school kids were idiots. Horror movies are at their best when they are both terrifying and unintentionally funny. This movie is the best of both worlds.
Laurie sucks though. Really? You’re going to hide in a closet from the maniac with a knife?!
Anyways, great flick. 10 out of 10 pumpkins. I’m going to go watch it right now!
It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown- Jenn Noga
The Great Pumpkin is IN FACT a Halloween movie, REGARDLESS of what other people on staff may say. Without fail, I have watched this every single Halloween for as long as I can remember, and it’s a staple for Halloween viewing. I’m not a huge fan of “horror movies”, and I use that term loosely because what I’m talking about is like jumpscare/gore/generally unpleasant movies. The Great Pumpkin is something multigenerational for me. I’ve watched it with grandparents, aunts, uncles, my parents and my little brother. I can’t wait to go home and force my teenage brother to watch this with me.
Evil Dead 2- Zac McDowell
Being the horror movie fanatic I am, I can say without fail that Sam Rami’s Evil Dead 2 is one of the greatest movies ever created. It’s the perfect blend of dark comedy and horror that makes it a perfect Halloween movie. Its predecessor, Evil Dead, is an indie horror masterpiece, but I think that Evil Dead 2 takes the cake. Yes, I know sequels are very rarely better than the originals, but hear me out.
The production value in this movie greatly increased as Rami was able to get a larger budget. Bruce Campbell’s portrayal of Ash Williams in this film is ten-fold much better than the original. He seems to descend slowly into madness but adds just a hint of irony and comedy.
The blood and gore is over the top, extra and overall just plain unnecessary. That is just a few reasons as to what makes it an amazing movie. I cannot wait to watch it again this coming week!
Coraline- Reegan Saunders
Ok, so I have never been a fan of horror movies, so Coraline is the closest I have ever been able to get. I can remember when I was eight watching the film in the car on every road trip, every ride to school. I was absolutely obsessed. Now, I watch it every October, so that I can question why I was ever allowed to watch such a terrifying film.
Secret doors, creepy old women, dead children and a mother who wants to sew buttons over your eyes and then eat you?! This never should have been marketed as a children’s movie, but it will forever be my favorite Halloween movie.
Rosemary’s Baby- Grace-Marie Burton
Regarding horror movies, nothing much usually scares me or gives me nightmares. Rosemary’s Baby doesn’t even scare me; it’s just a masterpiece of filmmaking. Despite Roman Polanski’s later offenses, this movie is an excellent study in building up the tension until it all falls apart in the last ten minutes of the movie. Polanski gaslights both Rosemary and the audience, watching her slowly devolve into a state of madness and panic through the uncanny kindness of the other characters, and the hidden symbolism sprinkled throughout the whole runtime.
Monster House- Graham Jeffe
Everyone always talks about their favorite Halloween movie, so I thought I’d mix it up by talking about a movie that almost no one remembers fondly. Every year, around the end of October, Cartoon Network airs several different animated Halloween movies, most of which are forgettable. However, there was one movie that seemingly no one ever wanted to watch: Monster House.
The movie takes a concept of a house being alive and does pretty much absolutely nothing with it. Imagine in your mind a movie where the plot is “haunted house is alive”, and there, you just made Monster House. The plot is not the aspect of the movie that made it memorably mediocre, but the strange 3D animation. This was made in an awkward period in the mid 2000’s where kid’s movies were being churned out on a conveyor, all of them having a specifically ugly animation style, but Monster House takes the cake.
A horror movie is designed to make you feel uneasy when watching it, but with Monster House, I simply do not want to look at the screen. All of these things make Monster House a movie that unfortunately has been burnt into my brain and impossible to forget no matter how hard I try.