There are several ways to celebrate the fall spirit: pumpkin carving, apple picking, and going to haunted houses. However, the best thing to do during the fall by far is watching movies. They are a great way to enjoy the fall spirit without risking frostbite, and allow for anyone to escape into an entirely different world. Here are some of my top picks for fall movies that I’d absolutely consider watching before the autumn season ends.
- It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown is always a classic, and you don’t even have to celebrate Halloween to enjoy this amazing movie. The story revolves mainly around Linus, a little boy who goes looking for “The Great Pumpkin” on Halloween night, hoping that he’ll get candy in exchange for believing. It came out in 1966 as a Halloween special, and captured the hearts of many of its viewers because of its cast of characters who bring charisma and coziness onto your screen with their own unique personalities and quirks.
2. Coraline
As incredible as this movie is, it completely traumatized me as a kid. It follows the story of an 11-year-old girl named Coraline, who moves with her parents into a strange apartment building in Oregon. Her frustration with her parents is clear, as she feels neglected and angry that they brought her to live in a completely unknown area. One day, Coraline finds a tiny secret door in her home, and, in her frustration, she climbs through it. On the other side is an almost parallel reality, with new, kinder parents and nicer neighbors. Coraline falls in love with this new world and visits often, but things quickly take a turn for the worst. This film focuses on courage and appreciation for your loved ones and what you already have. It’s a great movie for the spooky season because of the eeriness of her parallel family, and was originally a book written by Neil Gaiman, who is a fantastic author.
- The Addams Family
The live-action movie The Addams Family came out November 22, 1991. The movie is about a strange, quirky family who have been spending the past couple decades looking for their lost uncle Fester. One day, he shows up unannounced, claiming to have been living in the Bermuda Triangle, making many family members reluctant to believe him. The Addams Family is an odd, unique film about the importance of family. Its charm, wit, and gothic edge makes it a perfect movie for Halloween.
- The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is about three teenagers who are doing a project on a town legend, the infamous “Blair Witch.” After doing interviews with the residents of Blair and reviewing the town’s history, they travel out to the woods- an idea that quickly takes a dark turn. Set in October of 1994, the Blair Witch Project is a phenomenal movie that devotes itself to the psychological twist of the mind rather than jump scares and gore.
- Beetlejuice
When Barbara and Adam get into a car crash, they don’t fully realize they’re dead until they find a weird book in their home called “The Handbook for the Recently Deceased.” Eventually, when a new family moves into their old home, they use the book to haunt the new residents. When nothing works, they decide to take desperate measures. The movie itself is funny and bizarre, centering around the demon, “Beetlejuice,” whose only plan is to kill the new residents of the home.
