Movies for the Halloween Spirit

As Halloween draws nearer, we find ourselves getting the itch to watch something with a Halloween flavor, whether it's spooky, fun, or plain out horrifying. To help get you in the mood, I've compiled a list of some of my personal favorites, along with films that I know many other people are keen on. Some of these are shown on TV every year in those popular Halloween marathons, but a lot of them are left in the dark when they shouldn't be.

If you're looking for movies that the whole family can enjoy, try these:

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) - A classic with hokey comedy and special effects, but good old fashioned fun nonetheless. What makes this film especially enjoyable for those old movie buffs is the return of Bela Lugosi in the role of Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man, along with the famous comedy duo of Abbott and Costello. Among one of the memorable quotes is when the wolf man explains, "You don't understand. Every night when the moon is full, I turn into a wolf!" To which Costello casually replies, "You and twenty million other guys."

Hocus Pocus (1993) - A Disney classic about witches, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson Sisters who return to life after three hundred years to suck the lives out of little children. One of the few truly witchy films that are drenched with the Halloween spirit. If this doesn't make you want to dress up and go trick-or-treating, I don't know what will. It's fun and humorous with a couple of songs thrown in. As a bonus, it has a talking black cat and a zombie.

The Addams Family (1991) - A true classic based on a classic. The kooky, spooky and "altogether ooky" family Adams are fun to watch with their delightfully morbid characters. It has witchcraft, crawling hands, torture devices, underground labyrinths and man eating plants. Yet, it's still suitable for the whole family!

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! (1966) - We all know this one. And if you don't, go out and get it right now. It's a classic Halloween piece, and though I enjoyed it as a kid, I was rather disappointed that they never actually show the Great Pumpkin. If you're willing to deal with that fact, you will like this one.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - The popularity of this movie has gone up in recent years with a new generation to follow it, it seems. This stop-animation feature is not only perfect for Christmas, but for Halloween. I suppose only Tim Burton could have pulled that off.

Now, for all you grown ups, you should add these to your list of Halloween Marathon movies:

Dracula (1931) - Bela Lugosi at his best and accompanied by eerie sets, moments of unnerving silence, and frightening rubber bats flailing on the ends of strings. The original Dracula in all his black and white glory.

Frankenstein (1931) - "It's alive! Alive!" There's something thoroughly enjoyable about watching a film on Halloween night about an amalgamation of corpses being brought to life as one square shouldererd monster. The film is short, and slightly lacking in plot depth, but is very enjoyable if you like the subtle form of macabre. You may want to watch the sequel Bride of Frankenstein along with this one.

The Wolf Man (1941) - The list wouldn't be complete without this one. If you can get past Lon Chaney Jr's bland portrayal of a man tortured with the curse of the beast, then you may enjoy the special effects of the transformation scenes.

Young Frankenstein (1974) - You'll get more of the jokes in this movie if you've seen the original Frankenstein films. Even if you haven't, though, this films is still a riot as a classic story is put safely into the hands of the parody king Mel Brooks. Gene Wilder, with his wacky hair, is all too fitting as Frankenstein with Marty Feldman as assistant and Peter Boyle as the baby faced monster. Like every Brooks film, this movie is quotable from beginning to end.

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) - Not as famous as "Young Frankenstein" but a personal favorite of mine. To watch this movie has become something of a Halloween tradition. The film betrays itself by seeming the dark spooky drama, but is filled to the brim with ridiculousness and slapstick. And if you like blood in your Halloween movies, there is an abundance of it in this one.

Practical Magic (1998) - For all you girlies out there, here's another witchy film. There's something feministic about it, but that's probably what constitutes it as a chick flick to some degree. Fans of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman should watch this one if they haven't already. I almost categorized this one for under family films, but some elements in it may be scary for the younger ones.

Here are some other movies worth checking out:

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Halloween (1978)
Nightmare on Elm Street (1884)
The Fly (1986)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Witches of Eastwick (1987)
The Others (2001)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)