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The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 11, 2023

Labyrinth (1986)

A dramatic actress wannabe with a dreamy admiration of fairy tales gets caught up in a tale of her own when, after wishing her baby brother away in a fit of babysitting pique, is given 13 hours to solve the labyrinth to the goblin city and get him back from the goblin king.

Let’s get the problematic stuff out of the way. Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), the main protagonist, can be a bit spoiled and unlikable, and the goblin king (David Bowie) is clearly much older than the 16-year-old protagonist but appears to be trying to seduce her at times.

All I have to say is I love Labyrinth so much that stuff doesn’t matter. Truthfully, Sarah being as unlikable as she is in the beginning allows you to see how clearly she changes through the movie. Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t throw a petty fit or two as a teenager, so it tracks. As for the age difference, spoiler warning, but it can be argued that the “seduction” scene is in Sarah’s imagination rather than anything the actual goblin king does, so the characters themselves never have an actual romantic scene together.

I also have an extreme fondness for fairy tales, so much so that I know the whole setup of a maiden going through a trial of some kind to earn something from a goblin king is also a classic trope that always has such a rich story but isn’t utilized much. I appreciate that this movie pulls on that rather than the typical maiden to be rescued by a hero type of story.

The Spooktacular Halloween Movies Challenge: October 5, 2023

The Addams Family

Whether you started by watching the 60s black and white tv show or only dipped your toe into the Addams family with the Netflix release of Wednesday, I think we can all agree that the Addams-verse has legs, even if they’re draped in a deathly back shroud. I found myself with plenty of time to play some spooky favorites in the background while I worked today, and I decided to binge watch the Addams family. So I did.

I am aware that there are people with strong opinions about what version of the Addams family is best. For my part, I can’t choose. I am delighted by absolutely every version of the Addams family I can get my hands on. I have two black cats named Morticia and Ophelia after the Frump sisters, so you know I mean business.

Whatever your favorite, I encourage you to dip your toe into versions you maybe haven’t explored yet. Maybe you’ll add some new favorites to the list. And for you die-hard Addams fans out there, if you’ve consumed absolutely everything you can find and still can’t get enough, a less known fact is that the Addams family actually got their start in a comic strip back in the 1930s. It may be time to do some internet grave-digging and see if you raise some copies back from the dead.

So get a witch’s shawl on, a broomstick you can crawl on. It’s time to pay a call on the Addams family *snap, snap*

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 16, 2023

Haunted Mansion (2023)

A single mom named Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest, and a historian to help exorcise her newly purchased mansion after she discovers its previous inhabitants from the other side.

Okay, y’all. First movie from this year, and it’s one that I was waiting to watch until this month. I should preface that I’m not a big Disney head. I enjoy their movies, but I don’t lose sleep if I don’t catch every new release. I’ve been to Disney World. It was fun but way too expensive. I’d have just as much fun at Six Flags for a fraction of the price.

That being said, I loved this movie. It probably helps that New Orleans is my favorite city in the US and that this sort of upbeat ghoulishness is my bread and butter (remember my adoration for the Addams family). Whatever the reason, it charmed me. The characters were great, the visual effects were so fun, the music always put me in the right mood, and, best of all, it was giving me those 90s and early 2000s Disney Channel Halloween movie vibes that I get nostalgic for, a la Under Wraps, Halloweentown, Twitches, etc. (I’m not forgetting that Eddie Murphy’s Haunted Mansion was in that era too. I just don’t remember it well, and it would require revisiting before I could discuss it)

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 28, 2023

Five Nights at Freddy’s (October 27, 2023)

Desperate for a job so that he can keep custody of his little sister Abby, Mike Schmidt accepts a position as a security guard at an old animatronic pizzeria called Freddy Fastbear’s. It turns out the job isn’t as simple as it may have seemed. Can he keep his sister safe against the tide his new job brings?

Released only yesterday (theatrically; I believe streaming was two days ago) and available on Peacock, this long anticipated movie adaption of the video game is already getting some boos from the critics, but I expect that ratings will take an upswing as the audience puts their two cents in. I have only watched some let’s plays of the original and some adaptations of the game; I haven’t played it myself. That being said, I know enough to say they captured the spirit of the game pretty well. There are some shot for shot copies of some of the game’s jump scares, and of course, there are similar musical stings, Easter eggs, and a pizzeria matching the original layout pretty faithfully as far as I can tell. That’s all good news for people who were excited for its release because they loved the game.

What made me appreciate this film was the effort they did to put some more depth to the story. After all, you’re pretty much a faceless security protagonist in the original video game, listening to the history of the place through tapes and trying your best to stay alive in a struggle against unstable electricity and relentless monsters. Interesting for a game, not really interesting for a movie. Instead they gave Mike Schmidt a story, a pretty compelling reason to make the choices he does, and people to protect other than himself when things go awry.

You can probably tell that I liked it. The practical effects were great. Using puppetry instead of CGI gave it some realism, the music could be both haunting and fun depending on the circumstances, and I became pretty invested in not only the three main characters but the puppets too.

I should warn that it’s honestly not that scary, which seems to be why most of the critics were irritated, but to be honest, I don’t think it would have been appropriate if it was scarier or gorier. The makers probably knew their target audience, mostly kids up to 20s, maybe early 30s adults. No need to scar children for life who just wanted to watch such a huge pop culture icon adaption. And to be fair, the game is not gory either. It’s got jump scares, that’s pretty much it. Hard to be mad at a video game adaptation for keeping the same tone. I had a good time. It looks like a lot of people who are familiar with FNAF agree. Try it out if that sounds like fun to you.

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 13, 2023

Corpse Bride (2005)

An arranged wedding between a poor, aristocratic family and a nouveau riche family is looking optimistic when the young bride and groom actually experience the flushing of new love on their first meeting. Their union is interrupted when the groom, practicing his vows in the woods, accidentally marries a corpse bride, and his place is usurped by a mysterious stranger. Brides and grooms, living and dead are caught in a struggle for love, survival, and broken promises. Which couple will come out on top?

This is a charming movie. I remember a little bit of a hubbub when it came out because some Tim Burton fans wanted it to be a bit more like A Nightmare Before Christmas, but I found it stood on its own quite well. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thought so, because upon revisiting, it’s actually pretty highly rated now. The animation still look great, even nearly 20 years later, the music is hauntingly beautiful, and it’s a cute and unique story. It’s also not very long at a 1 hr and 14 min run time, so it’s got this feeling of watching a short fairy tale.

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 14, 2023

Barbarian (2022)

A young woman discovers that, upon her arrival at the rental home she’d booked, a stranger is already there with a duplicate reservation. Against her better judgment, the woman stays, but a stranger becomes the least of her worries when she discovers the secrets hiding in the basement.

So I’m going to admit a secret: I’m a big ole wimp. I love scary movies, but I definitely get incredibly scared. I made a rule that I don’t watch them without my partner around to keep me steady. They were out of town for a bit there, but now they’re back, and we picked out a few bone-chilling options to celebrate.

I’d never seen or heard of Barbarian before today. It was something my partner had heard was good, and it was highly rated, so we put it on. Let me tell you, I am glad I didn’t attempt to watch this one alone.

The Spooktacular Halloween Challenge: October 23, 2023

Halloweentown (1998)

Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie follow their grandmother after discovering the secret their mother had been keeping from them their whole lives. Delight and magic awaits when they arrive in Halloweentown and learn they come from a long line of witches, but there is something lurking under the surface, a mystery that is causing the inhabitants of this strange new world to disappear.

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 21, 2023

Malignant (2021)