Eight Halloween Movies You Need to Watch in January
While Halloween may be over, binge watching Halloween movies doesn’t have to be.
“There’s never a bad time to watch Halloween movies,” says Arrowhead senior Lexi Bartz. “My personal favorite is Hocus Pocus, it’s a childhood classic movie I’ve watched every Halloween.”
“I barely had time to watch any scary movies this Halloween because of college applications, but now that I have more free time, I’m going to watch lots of them to make up for lost time,” says Isabel Case, an AHS senior.
The following list contains classic Halloween movies that you won’t want to miss.
The Shining (1980) R
This movie follows Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) and his family as they stay as caretakers in an isolated hotel in Colorado over the winter. As the winter goes on, Jack’s son begins to get unsettling psychic visions. Eventually the visions get more and more disturbing, Jack’s writing goes nowhere, and the hotel’s evil secrets are revealed. This movie can be found for digital renting on Amazon and Google Play.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) R
Revolving around the infamous horror tale of the headless horseman, this film takes place in 1799 and follows Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) as he investigates the murders of Sleepy Hollow. The inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow believe the killer to be of the undead, saying he is a headless revolutionary war soldier who rides on a large black horse.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) PG
A Tim Burton animation, this movie follows the adventures of Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloweentown. Jack becomes sick of scaring people in the normal world, when he stumbles upon Christmastown–a land full of happy spirits and warm hearts. He plans to take Christmastown under his control by kidnapping Santa, but things go awry. This movie is available for digital streaming on Netflix, and digital renting on Google Play and iTunes
Hocus Pocus (1993) G
After moving to Salem, Massachusetts, Max and his sister Dani make a new friend who tells them of the town’s stories about witches. When Max accidentally frees three witches, it’s up to the kids to help save the day. This movie is available for digital rental on Google Play and iTunes.
Halloweentown (1998) G
After learning she is a witch, Marnie, played by Kimberly Brown, enlists her grandma to help train her in the ways of witchcraft. It’s up to Marnie, with the help of her to siblings, to save her town of Salem as well as Halloweentown.
Corpse Bride (2005) PG
Victor and Victoria’s families have arranged their marriage. While Victor and Emily really like each other, Victor is nervous about his wedding. When he is practicing his vows, he gets knocked into the land of the dead where he meets Emily, who was murdered after eloping with her true love. Victor must return to the real world before Emily marries the evil Barkis Bittern.
Ghostbusters (1984) PG
When scientists (Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray) at a University in New York City get fired from their jobs, they decide to become ghostbusters, removing ghosts from people’s property for money, the Ghostbusters accidently stumbles upon the portal to another dimension that is releasing evil beings into New York and it’s up to the Ghostbusters to stop it.
The Addams Family (1991) PG-13
When a man claiming to be Fester, the missing brother of Gomez Addams, arrives at the Addam’s estate, the family is overjoyed. However, Morticia Addams begins questioning the validity of the man after he cannot recall facts from Fester’s life.
Whether it’s Halloween or the middle of January, there’s always options for scary movies.
Caption: Arrowhead students Isabel Case and Emma Tschurwald on Halloween, dressed as hippies.
