Cats, Cauldrons, and Covid-19: Films to watch for Halloween
Cats, Cauldrons, and Covid-19: Films to watch this year for a stay-at-home Halloween movie marathon
If you’re like me and you love ghouls and ghosts with a side of witch realness, you will thoroughly enjoy the vibes of Halloween. However, if you’re also like me and have terrible insomnia combined with a rather vivid imagination, you may also absolutely hate horror films. For this Halloween, the state of society feels scary enough already with the many global issues 2020 has thrown at us, from the pandemic to our deteriorating climate. Therefore, since 2020 has been horrifying enough, I suggest that this year we indulge in the mystical and magical qualities of Halloween. Due to the restrictions of Covid-19, trick or treating and partying won’t be on the cards this year, so I have instead put together a list of films outside of the genre of horror for a spooktastic movie marathon. Gather your family, flatmates or attic ghost and get the popcorn going… buckle up witches, we’re movie watching.
Hocus Pocus, 1993
Hocus Pocus is a creative re-imagining of the Salem witch trials featuring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, who play three comedic witches summoned by the lighting of a candle.
Addams Family, 1991
The film centres around the Addams household and the return of the strange Uncle Fester. The second Addams family film, Addams Family Values, 1993 is also a must watch, focusing around the iconic character Wednesday Addams.
Coraline, 2009
We were all terrified by Coraline as children, but I reckon we can give it another go now. For those who haven’t seen it, the film features a young girl, Coraline, who discovers a secret passage to an alternative universe in her new family home, however her alternate family are not all they seem to be.
Maleficent, 2014
Based off the story Sleeping Beauty, Angelina Jolie as Maleficent is an “evil” fairy who is betrayed by her love Stefan which leads her to place a curse on his daughter Aurora.
Halloweentown, 1998
The Disney classic and family friendly film follows a family who realise their magic powers once their Grandma, played by Debbie Reynolds comes to visit.
The films sequels Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge, 2001 and Halloweentown High, 2004 are also very binge worthy..
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is not specifically Halloween-based, however, it is probably the biggest film franchise to feature witches, wizards, werewolves, giants, ghosts, centaurs and elves therefore each of the eight films make for perfect Halloween viewing.
The Nightmare before Christmas, 1993
A Tim Burton classic, which mixes both Halloween and Christmas together into a spooky animation.
Casper, 1995
The film follows the story of a young girl and her father who move into an old mansion inhabited by the lovable character, Casper the friendly ghost and some other not-so-friendly ghosts.
Ghostbusters, 1984 and 2016
The basic story follows the adventures of three professors join together to become a ghost removal team. However, the 2016 version features an all-female cast with an extra-comedic twist.
Edward Scissorhands, 1990
Edward is an artificial human who was created with scissors for hands. When he is taken in by a suburban family he falls in love with their daughter, however the townspeople are not accepting of him.
Twitches, 2005
Another notable Disney Channel Halloween film which features young twin witches, twitches, who discover the strength of their powers combined. The film also has a spooky sequel Twitches Too, 2007.
The Witches, 2020
The recently released film is based off Roald Dahl’s classic novel which centres around a young boy living with his Grandma who unfortunately encounter a gathering of witches.
Hotel Transylvania, 2012
The light-hearted animated film tells the story of Dracula and his daughter, voiced by Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez, who live and run a hotel for monsters.
Beetlejuice, 1998
Two ghosts, Barbara and Adam Maitland, haunt their house and employ the help of Betelgeuse to scare away the new residents who have moved in.
Warm Bodies, 2013
The film tells the love story of Julie (a human) and R (a zombie).
Corpse Bride, 2005
The animated film follows the story of Victor who marries a corpse Emily who takes him away to the land of the dead.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, 2005
Wallace and Gromit embark on another adventure to track down the Were-Rabbit destroying the town.
Kiki’s delivery service, 1989
The anime film follows the 13-year-old, Kiki, who is a young witch in training.
Young Frankenstein, 1974
The comedic/ horror film follows the story of Victor Frankenstein’s grandson who begins to continue his grandfathers’ experiments upon inheriting his estate.
Stardust, 2007
The romantic film is set in a magical fantasy kingdom where the protagonist, Tristan, searches for a star to give to his love whilst a group of Witches are also hunting down the star.
Monsters Inc, 2001
This is definitely a tenuous link to Halloween, but the film is all about monsters and is an absolute Disney classic.
What We Do in the Shadows, 2014
Taika Waititi’s hilarious mockumentary parodying the lives of several vampire housemates as they try to cope with the complexities of modern life in New Zealand.
Additional spooky TV shows:
Sabrina the Teenage Witch, 1996-2003
Sabrina Spellman is the classic 90s teenage witch who goes to high school and lives with her two aunts and of course her talking black cat, Salem.
Scooby Doo, 1969-1970
You can’t go wrong spending Halloween with Scooby and the gang in the mystery van.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997-2003
The show follows another classic 90s teen, Buffy Summers, who juggles both high school and vampire hunting.
Charmed, 1998-2006
For those who can’t get enough of Halloween in the 90s, the trio of sisters discover that they are witches and use their powers against evil.
Alexandra McDermott Brown is a fourth year student at the University of Edinburgh studying History of Art. She is the Arts Editor and In-House Illustrator for Ensemble Magazine.