Tis the season of Monstober
It’s that time of year again when the leaves start changing colors and the air gets crisp. But the one part of fall that many people neglect to talk about is the season of Monstober. In case you grew up under a rock, Monstober was when Disney Channel would strictly play their Halloween episodes and movies throughout the month of October. In case you are a novice or did not grow up looking forward to the Halloween Disney Channel movies, here is my complete ranking of the best and worst movies ranked, from worst to best.
11. Halloweentown High
Starting with what I believe to not only be the worst out of the Halloweentown saga, but the worst Halloween DCOM is Halloweentown High. All I have to say about this movie is that there is absolutely nothing memorable about its plot or what even happens in it. Upon researching the plethora of Halloween DCOMs, I was hit by a wave of nostalgia after seeing this movie on the list, in the worst way. This movie was an hour and 22 minutes of absolutely nothing, and there are so many better Halloweentown movies to watch instead.
10. Twitches Too
A close tie for the last place slot with Halloweentown High would have to be Twitches Too, a mediocre sequel to the classic Twitches (soon to be mentioned). Like Halloweentown High, Twitches Too was an unnecessary sequel with a strong lack of a memorable plot. Though this movie may be considered a fan favorite for fans of the Twitches series, for the rest of us, there are so many better movies to watch this Monstober.
9. Mom’s Got a Date With a Vampire
The rankings of nine through five is where things start to get dicey. The rest of these movies are all strong top five contenders, but at the end of the day, it just came down to which were the most memorable. For number nine, I am going to have to go with Mom’s Got a Date With a Vampire. This movie is the definition of a hidden gem: not many people know about it, but when you watch it, you’re glad you did. The synopsis of this movie is basically explained in the title, but the hour and 23 minute film follows two kids who accidentally set their mom up with a vampire and then the three children work to prevent the date from happening. Mom’s Got a Date With a Vampire rests comfortably at the number nine slot, but it is a fun and underrated movie.
8. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
Though this may be considered cheating since it is technically not a Halloween movie, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie takes the number eight spot. Now you may be thinking, why would I rank a non-Halloween movie along with the ten others that are? Well even though it’s not a Halloween movie, this film features all of the proper criteria: wizards, magic, monsters and more! And if you are a Wizards of Waverly Place fan like me, this is a staple fall movie. If this was a real Halloween movie it would definitely rank higher, but since it is not, number eight seems like an appropriate placement.
7. Halloweentown: Kalabar’s Revenge
For fans of the Halloweentown series, this placement may be shocking and disappointing and you may currently be questioning my taste. But Halloweentown: Kalabar’s Revenge was never exceptional in my opinion. When looking at it on the basis of how strong the Halloween vibes are, it would rank very high. Halloweentown: Kalabar’s Revenge picks up right where its predecessor ends, as Aggie and Marnie battle against Kalabar as he attempts to transform trick-or-treaters into being their costume for the rest of their life to form a mini Halloween army. For example, if you were to dress up as Vector from Despicable Me, you would forever be Vector. Though a rewatch may convince me to change my stance on this movie, number seven felt like an appropriate middle spot.
6 and 5. Phantom of the Megaplex and Return to Halloweentown
For the sixth and fifth slot I could not for the life of me pick between these two movies. Both hidden gems, the two movies are Phantom of the Megaplex and Return to Halloweentown. Though the Halloweentown series is very well known, Return to Halloweentown is always neglected due to the fact that they recast Marnie. But the movie is fast paced with elements of monsters, witches, magic and time travel, all taking place at college! Return to Halloweentown is a staple for me and I look forward to watching it each year. Phantom of the Megaplex is one of the most unknown Halloween movies, but one of the greatest. It’s about a movie theater worker and his siblings working to solve the mystery of who is haunting the megaplex and trying to ruin their biggest event of the year. Both of these hidden gems should be considered Disney classics, which makes them the perfect tie.
4. Twitches
The next four movies are classic Disney Halloween films, and taking the fourth place spot is Twitches! Twitches follows two twin sisters who discover that they are related and also witches. The newly discovered twins and witches work to save their kingdom from the dark forces that are trying to take over. Twitches is the perfect balance between lighthearted fun between Tia and Tamera Mowry and a race against the clock to save the kingdom.
3. Girl vs Monster
Kicking off the top three is Girl vs Monster. Olivia Holt and Luke Benward star off in this classic DCOM where Skylar (Olivia Holt) discovers that she is a monster hunter as she embarks on an adventure to capture the monster Deimata as it terrorizes her town. Like any classic Disney movie however, there has to be some classic song, and in Girl vs Monster, the viewers were blessed with the absolute bop of “Had Me @ Hello.” This movie is the perfect mixture of adventure with some monster hunting!
2. My Babysitter’s a Vampire
Second place goes to the movie and TV show classic, My Babysitter’s a Vampire. The movie first came out in early 2011 as a movie, and then became a two-season show following the same characters and plot line as the movie. The plot follows a high schooler’s sister’s babysitter, who turns out to be a vampire, and their group of friends have to fight other vampire gangs and monsters while battling high school and its qualms. During the fall season, I could not recommend watching both the show and movie enough.
1. Halloweentown
The moment we have all been waiting for is here…the reveal of the best Halloween DCOM! Though you have probably already guessed it, the top movie will have to be the original Halloweentown. With Debbie Reynolds, a great soundtrack, some action and the perfect setting, what could be missing? Halloweentown has all of the key parts to a good and festive Halloween movie, and I look forward to watching it each year. So if the one thing you take away from this list is to give this one a watch, I fully support it.
With the last two weeks of Monstober upon us, I encourage you to divulge in some of these Halloween Disney Channel classics. As Marnie from Halloweentown states: “Halloween is cool,” which it totally is, but what isn’t cool is missing out on the spirit of the season.