Favorite Halloween movies
What kind of Halloween movies do you like? I like movies that are spooky and weird, but not necessarily bloody or horrific. If the supernatural is involved, I’m there.
Here are some of my favorites.
Beetlejuice (1988)
After Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die in a car accident, they find themselves stuck haunting their country residence, unable to leave the house. When the unbearable Deetzes (Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones) and teen daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) buy the home, the Maitlands attempt to scare them away without success. Their efforts attract Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a rambunctious spirit whose "help" quickly becomes dangerous for the Maitlands and innocent Lydia.
You can actually see it in movie theaters October 18.
Practical Magic (1998)
Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman), born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov (Goran Visnjic), dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn) growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Meek flower shop assistant Seymour (Rick Moranis) pines for co-worker Audrey (Ellen Greene). During a total eclipse, he discovers an unusual plant he names Audrey II, which feeds only on human flesh and blood. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the previously struggling store. After Seymour feeds Audrey's boyfriend, Orin (Steve Martin), to the plant after Orin's accidental death, he must come up with more bodies for the increasingly bloodthirsty plant.
Fright Night (1985) (the 2011remake was OK…)
Teenage Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a horror-film junkie, so it's no surprise that, when a reclusive new neighbor named Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) moves next-door, Brewster becomes convinced he is a vampire. It's also no surprise when nobody believes him. However, after strange events begin to occur, Charlie has no choice but to turn to the only person who could possibly help: washed-up television vampire killer Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall).
Ghostbusters (1984)
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson lead the cast as the “Ghostbusters,” spirit-exterminators who fearlessly take on the other-worldly evil infiltrating Manhattan, whether it manifests itself as wicked green slime or an ancient tyrant back from the dead to take over the world. The spooktacularly successful franchise captured the imagination of audiences around the world and redefined the action-comedy genre in the process.
And, of course, Hocus Pocus (1993)
After moving to Salem, Mass., teenager Max Dennison (Omri Katz) explores an abandoned house with his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and their new friend, Allison (Vinessa Shaw). After dismissing a story Allison tells as superstitious, Max accidentally frees a coven of evil witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) who used to live in the house. Now, with the help of a magical cat, the kids must steal the witches' book of spells to stop them from becoming immortal.
So, what will you be watching this month?
I have seen three of these movies - the original Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, and Beetlejuice. For this year? Probably none. I'll probably be nestled in a book or two.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Ghostbusters lately? Let's just say it didn't age well.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen Hocus Pocus. (Just missed it.) But I believe I've seen all the others, even Fright Night. (I think I've only seen it once, probably in the theater.) I loooove Practical Magic. And Beetlejuice was just on TV (I think Paramount Channel), like this past week.
Ghostbusters is definitely not politically correct. If they made it today …oh, wait …
DeleteI'm not concerned about being politically correct. Bill Murray's character is a creeper. When I watched it not too long ago, I was horrified by how much that character was way over the line. Sigorney Weaver's character told him to get lost, and he didn't. And somehow this was cute back then. (This saddens me as there were other aspects of the movie that aged pretty well.)
DeleteI agree, nothing bloody, which a lot of "horror" seems to be. I'd rather have a bit scary, more suspenseful, which can be very frightening! Like, "Don't go in that basement!" sort of thing! Same with books. I enjoy Clive Barker and Stephen King, but NOT their horror!
ReplyDelete