The month of October is right around the corner, and what better way to go through the month than by watching movies that capture the spirit of pumpkins and Halloween?
To start off, for all the non-spooky fans, there is the classic 2004 teen comedy, “Mean Girls.” While “Mean Girls,” directed by Mark Waters, may seem like an odd choice at first, it is actually the perfect film for the start of October. The iconic line, “it’s October 3rd,” cemented the film to that date, making October 3rd unofficial “Mean Girls” day. The story follows Cady (Lindsey Lohan) as she struggles to fit into the wild and dangerous halls of high school after being homeschooled all her life.
Chaos ensues when she gets too deep into a plan to take down “The Plastics,” the clique of popular girls ruled by Regina George (Rachel McAdams). If you are looking for a fun laugh, watch “Mean Girls” (if you somehow haven’t already).
The next film is an absolute classic: the iconic 1993 family film “Hocus Pocus,” directed by Kenny Ortega. The story follows three kids, Max (Omri Katz), Dani (Thora Birch) and Allison (Vinessa Shaw), as they try to stop the wicked Sanderson Sisters, Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy), from eating the souls of the children of Salem.
This film perfectly captures the joy and spookiness of being a kid on Halloween night. Full of evil witches, black cats and full moons, this film is a gold mine of spooky tropes.
Next up is Henry Sellick’s 1993 film, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” While many consider it to be a Christmas movie, I see it as more of a Halloween one. With the creepy and gothic atmosphere, this film just screams Halloween. The story follows Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who tries to solve his existential crisis by becoming Santa Claus. With impressive stop motion animation and haunting songs, this film is a perfect way to dive right into the Halloween aesthetic.
For a more recent film, try 2019’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” directed by André Øvedai. Based off of a collection of scary stories by the same name, the film uses amazing, and frankly disturbing, practical effects to create a very creepy and suspenseful story. The film follows Stella (Zoe Colletti) and her friends, who accidentally release a dark force that they all must work together to stop before it takes them all. Similar to “Hocus Pocus,” the atmosphere just screams October and Halloween, making it a perfect watch for the upcoming month.
Finally, there is the 1966 Peanuts classic, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” directed by Bill Melendez. Many of us probably know this classic, in which Linus (Christopher Shea) waits up all night with Sally (Cathy Steinberg) to see the Great Pumpkin in the local pumpkin patch, Charlie Brown (Peter Robbins) gets rocks while trick-or-treating and everyone goes to a Halloween party, all while Snoopy is busy trying to shoot down the Red Baron. It’s funny, it’s cute — what else is there to say?
Those are my five film recommendations for the month of October! I hope everyone reading enjoys their October and, if you celebrate, have a wonderfully spooky Halloween!