Halloween Movies

Screams on the screen

Classic Halloween lms reemerge for October season

Emilia Citoler citolemi000@hsestudents.org

The beginning of fall, for some, does not just signify the change of seasons, but the beginning of decorations and activities of October’s most popular holiday: Halloween. During this spooky season, a common activity among many is watching Halloween movies. e rst horror movies were made in the early 20th century. ese horror movies featured traditional monsters such as skeletons, ghosts and the devil; this era of movies mostly focused on religious and supernatural themes. As time progressed, more horror movies started to take inspiration from Halloween, creating an entire genre full of movies based around the holiday. However, not every movie watched in the spirit of Halloween actually pertains to the holiday. Some movies are simply scary or have some relation to the time of October. “My all-time favorite Halloween movie is probably ‘ e Nightmare Before Christmas,’” senior Izzy Davis said. “While it is technically a Christmas movie, I associate it with watching it on Halloween with my cousins and the old ‘Kingdom Hearts’ game for Playstation 2.” Some Halloween movies are not only popular, they also gain the prestigious title of a “cult classic.” A cult classic is a movie that amasses a following which resembles that of a cult, according to a Rolling Stone article on the best cult classics. ese movies are o entimes unpopular within mainstream media, but usually nd a niche audience. For example, “Hocus Pocus,” a Halloween movie that is considered a cult classic, only has a 33% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes, but is a favorite among generations of movie-watchers. e movie is centered around the resurrection of three witches. “Hocus Pocus is the perfect mix of some halloween fright and plenty of giggles,” freshman Sophia Hunt said. “Scream,” a slasher lm, from the late 90s, is also considered a cult classic. Slasher lms usually are centered around a serial killer; they are known for creating a large amounts of deaths in a short time period and being particularly gorey. e movie follows a high school student as she is continuously attacked by a killer with the name of “Ghostface.” “Scream” has plenty of jump-scares and gore for those who are looking for a bit of fright. “Watching a scary movie on Halloween has been one of my favorite October activities for years,” senior Kassi Whalen said. “Nothing beats getting the life scared out of you with your friends.” Newer movies like Stephen King’s “It” may not have achieved the title of cult classic, but are extremely popular during the time of October. While “It” is not a Halloween movie, many enjoy the horror lm during the month. “It” follows the trials and tribulations of a small friend group in Maine a er their confrontations with a demonic entity that takes the form of a clown. While “It” is

Infographic provided by Emilia Citoler

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de nitely not family friendly, as it is rated R, the im mixes horror with plenty of adolescent humor. According to a poll taken of Fishers students on Oct. 9th via Instagram, 73% reported that they preferred a Halloween movie that is scary or contains violent imagery, while 27% said that they enjoyed when a “scary” movie is family-friendly. While some Halloween movies include some violent imagery, plenty keep it PG. For example, Disney’s “Halloweentown” is rated PG and is a favorite among all ages for October. e movie follows a young witch, Marnie, as she struggles between her two lives: the life she lives in her normal town and her life with her grandmother, who lives in an enchanted town where it is Halloween all year long. “I enjoy watching Halloween movies because I think it’s fun,” Davis said. “I also like scary things and nd it fun to get a good scare out of something.” Streaming giants, like Disney+ and Hulu, create a collecton of Halloween movies for the month of October. Disney+ has “Monstober” where one can nd plenty of options of PG movies to watch. Similarly, Hulu has “Huluween” where they gather several picks for watchers to binge.