As Drexel students, we have such busy lives that we may find ourselves losing our Halloween spirit. With midterms beginning right before Halloween, how are we even supposed to have time to watch scary movies and carve pumpkins? We barely have time to pull together a good costume for the night. If you’re feeling a little down about not having time to be as festive as you used to be, these five movies will definitely put you in the Halloween spirit and bring back some of that childhood nostalgia.
1. Halloweentown
Deep down every girl knows that Halloweentown (1998) was the movie that made them fall in love with fall and Halloween. The classic Disney movie starred Kimberly J. Brown as quirky Marnie Piper who learns about her family’s history of being witches. She learns about another world, Halloweentown, where her grandmother practices magic.
There are multiple movies in the Halloweentown series. After the first, it’s Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge, Halloweentown High, and Return to Halloweentown. All four movies are great, and what makes them even better is watching them back-to-back in a Halloweentown marathon. Watching in your dorm room definitely can’t beat how warm and cozy it made you feel to watch a Disney Channel original movie right in your childhood living room, but you can still try to recreate the magic.
2. Hocus Pocus
This other Disney original, Hocus Pocus (1993), shows us a lot of silly moments from three funny witches. The movie takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, where three long-dead witches are resurrected and roam the town causing mayhem. They were cursed and hung 300 years earlier, and now that they’re awake they want to take advantage of their powers. Is it an amazing movie? No. But is it a cute and classic movie? Yes. This movie reminds you of how scared you were of the witches and how all the kooky special effects used to excite you back in the day.
3. Harry Potter
Although Harry Potter isn’t necessarily a Halloween movie, it definitely does the job of reminding us about Halloween and getting us nostalgic. There’s witches, wizards, giants, trolls, ghosts, goblins, chocolate frogs and basically any magical creature you can think of. The mystery and excitement of this series is what keeps up on our toes; which is exactly what Halloween is all about. Make a day of it by having a Harry Potter movie marathon ABC Family style!
4. Paranormal Activity
Even though Paranormal Activity is actually a pretty lame movie (and its sequels aren’t much better), the production team masters building suspense simply with the plotline. As a film, it’s unique because it uses no background music, or any special sound effects. The lack of cheesy sound effects lets you focus on what’s unfolding on the screen. A movie with simple but terrifying scares makes you excited to be scared.
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Halloween is about all things spooky, including horror movies! A Nightmare on Elm Street, where the infamous Freddy Krueger came to be, is a classic horror film. The plot is original and has a lot of thought put into it making it revolutionary for its time. The antagonist, Freddy Krueger, appears in teen’s nightmares repeatedly until he appears in real life to torment and murder them. For a low budget film, the movie actually does its job of scaring you and gives you a suspenseful night or two after watching it. This may just be the perfect horror movie to watch with a group of friends to get ready for Halloween.
Hopefully these five movies are enough to gear you up for fall and Halloween. You can start simple and fun with Halloweentown, and then work your way up to the real thrillers. If you’re not a Paranormal Activity fan, then skip it but definitely give A Nightmare On Elm Street a watch. Show us how you get back into spirit of Halloween on Twitter (@hercampusdrexel). Enjoy the best season of the year!