Renee Sogueco, ‘Doah Managing Editor
October 22, 2014

Whether you’re in the mood for some scares or plain entertainment, here are a few classic Halloween movies to add to your film palette.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

This Tim Burton original imagines what would

happen if Halloween took over the Christmas holiday. With spectacular stop motion animation, the film reveals the tale of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town. He stumbles upon Christmas Town and is fascinated by the presents, trees and overall spirit of the season. Because of his monotonous existence in Halloween Town, he wants to celebrate Christmas and seeks to do so with some

disastrous and comical consequences. Most of the plotline is told through song, and as a fair warning, may have some frightening images for those who do not do well with the whole aspect of Halloween.

Hocus Pocus

Bette Midler, known for her powerhouse voice, conquers the screen in this tale. Set in Salem, Mass., a teenage boy recently moves to town, where

previously, three witches took a child in the late 1600’s and were hung due to the heinous crime. The teenage boy in present day then resurrects the witches and faces many obstacles in order to return them to the grave. Full of witchcraft and even a musical number by Midler, this film takes the Salem witch trials on a completely different spin.

Halloween

Originally, it began as an independent and low-budget film but quickly turned into a cult classic and helped the slasher genre become popular. The first movie starts with a young Michael Meyers murdering his own sister. Later in life, he escapes prison and sets out on a killing spree, while dressed infamously in a blue jumpsuit and white William Shatner mask. The production value is low, but the director paces the movie to where the audience begins to build an understanding about different characters. This diverges from what horror films usually do. Debuting a fresh-faced Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween lacks gore but can be placed as a classic in horror.

Halloweentown

This film often played on Disney channel and enchanted many people for years. Coming out with several sequels, the original movie had a unique storyline for its intended audience and is another witchcraft-based film. Its story surrounds the three Cromwell children and their grandmother, who only visits during Halloween. The grandmother, who is in fact a witch residing in Halloweentown, returns home and is unknowingly followed by her three grandchildren. This film delighted with its special effects, scene sets, make-up, costume designs and certainly the plotline.

Scream

As a movie, it does not transcend but remains a cult classic from the ‘80s. Scream is more of a parody in the horror film genre. It takes several elements from slasher films in order to frighten and entertain. The movie even takes the time to map out what characteristics someone would need to survive a horror film. Its story surrounds Sidney Prescott, who during the previous year encountered the tragedy of her mother being murdered. Strange things start occurring: One of her classmates is murdered, and she begins receiving threatening phone calls from an anonymous caller. Filled with some classic gore scenes and actors like Courtney Cox and Skeet Ulrich, this film really bleeds entertainment.

Whether you’re a fan of gore or not, these films are classic that are good for college students to reminisce over.