Four movies to watch this Halloween

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

From “The Corpse Bride”

As Halloween approaches, we’re used to seeing most people go to parties, dress up in costumes, or go trick-or-treating. However, because of the pandemic, experts have advised people to stay indoors. While this may limit Halloween night fun, there are other entertaining things to do this season. Here are four movies to watch on Oct. 31 to help keep the Halloween spirit alive in your home:

“Hocus Pocus,” a cult classic, was released in 1993 and directed by Kenny Ortega, a renowned filmmaker, touring manager and choreographer. The cast includes Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as everyone’s favorite witches: Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson, respectively, or the Sanderson sisters. “Hocus Pocus,” tells the story of Max Dennison, a teenage boy who has just moved to Salem, Mass. with his younger sister Dani. On Halloween night, Max, Dani and their new friend Allison explore the abandoned house of the Sanderson sisters, who are famous in Salem. Being a skeptic of their town’s “legend,” Max accidentally frees the coven of the evil witches, who plan on taking the souls of children to keep their immortality and stay young. With the help of a talking cat, these three kids have to steal the witches’ book of spells to stop them from becoming immortal and saving Halloween.

Nothing can go wrong with our beloved friendly ghost, Casper. “Casper” was introduced in 1995 by director Brad Silberling, and tells the tale of a ghost of a young boy who peacefully haunts Whipstaff Manor in Maine. When “ghost therapist” James Harvey arrives to communicate with Casper and the other ghosts that haunt the manor, he brings his teenage daughter Kat along for the ride. Casper develops a crush on Kat, and their budding friendship begins and quickly becomes complicated: not only does he not have a reflection in a mirror, but his mischievous uncles and a woman named Carrigan intends to tear down Whipstaff Manor to find a hidden treasure that is buried somewhere inside the house.

With a cast like Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Christopher Lee and Richard E. Barton, how can you not want to watch “The Corpse Bride”? Director Tim Burton unravels the story of Victor and Victoria, whose families have arranged for them to marry since Victoria’s family has gone broke. Even though they like each other, Victor is nervous about the ceremony. After ruining the ceremony, Victor runs into the forest to practice his lines for the wedding and puts a ring on a tree branch, which actually ends up being a finger attached to a hand — a hand that drags him to the land of the dead. Consequently, Victor meets the owner of the hand, a corpse bride named Emily, who was murdered after eloping with her love and now wants to marry Victor, who realizes he has accidentally proposed to her. Now with the intent to escape, Victor must get back aboveground before Victoria marries the villainous Barkis Bittern, who seems to have something up his sleeve.

If you’re in for a real scare, then “The Conjuring 2” might be the one for you. Directed by James Wan, it tells the true story of a young girl’s possession in North London. In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, venture out to Enfield, a borough in North London, England after hearing about a family being terrorized by a wicked spirit. There, they meet a single mother of four who tells the couple of something evil in her home as she needs help getting rid of it. At first, the Warrens are skeptical of the woman’s youngest daughter, who seems to be playing an elaborate prank, but they’re immediately proven wrong when the girl starts to show signs of demonic possession. When they try to help the girl, they unknowingly become the next targets of the malicious spirit.

These movies are available to stream, rent, or buy on most major streaming platforms.