Thoughts & Things

My October Must-Watch List

October is the spookiest month of the year. We are firmly within the fall season, the air is cool, the leaves are falling, and the days grow shorter. Halloween approaches. It is the perfect time to get into the Halloween mood and celebrate the fall season by watching movies and TV shows that get us in the mood. Without further ado, here are the things I watch every October.

Hocus Pocus
While Hocus Pocus may be a bit cornier than some prefer, it has most definitely become a cult classic. The perfect amount of spooky and silly that all things Halloween should be, Hocus Pocus sets the Halloween mood perfectly for anyone who enjoys this time of year. With all the standard Halloween tropes, and a fight against evil witches, it's hard not to get sucked into the fun.

Halloweentown
While still along the lines of cornier Halloween content, Halloweentown is a film I have enjoyed since my childhood. Like Hocus Pocus, it encapsulates the mixture of spooky and silly that makes Halloween so much fun. It's hard to resist the charm of witch characters battling evil in a town where everyone and everything is a Halloween costume or prop.

The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror Specials
Ever since the second season of the Simpsons, they have been running an annual Halloween special that has come to be known as the Treehouse of Horror (after the first special, which featured the children telling scary stories in the treehouse). Many of the early specials in particular featured masterful parodies of horror and Halloween flicks, that made for a great deal of fun. Whether Homer is selling his soul to the devil for a doughnut, or Bart and Lisa are fleeing cannibalistic teachers, Treehouse of Horror is a blast. I make sure to watch at least a few of them every October.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the ultimate campy cult classic. With a bizarre cast of characters, vibrant costumes, wild song and dance numbers, and a plot filled to the brim with mayhem, RHPS is yet another perfect Halloween flick, without having anything to do with Halloween. I have somehow never attended a showing at the local cinema, but it is my ultimate Halloween dream.

At Least One Classic (Anything Before 1970) Horror Flick
October is Halloween season and therefore the time for horror. I am a big fan of the classics, and I try to make it a policy to do at least one of said classics during October. I have box sets of the original Frankenstein, Dracula, and Wolf Man films, which all make for great Halloween watching. This year I may try to go for a couple I haven't seen before, such as some of the Hitchcock films I have missed (maybe Rear Window or The Birds), or something else along those lines.

At Least One Modern (Anything Since 1970) Horror Flick
Watching at least one modern horror flick in October often leads to heading for the latest horror flick at the cinema, but I try not to confine myself to that. While I do enjoy the modern classics (Nightmare On Elm Street, etc), I have a few more recent ones that I enjoy the rewatch of, such as Cabin In The Woods or Sinister. This year, I may try to catch up on the Japanese horror flicks I have missed out on.