Now, I know that Fall officially started on September 22, 2024, but hear me out! Here at JMU, we’re still hitting temperatures in the 70s and 80s (°F)! Once it finally starts to cool down and the leaves start turning their fiery orange and falling off their trees, I can’t *wait* to watch these movies!
If you’re anything like me, you know that fall is the most beautiful season of them all. It’s the perfect season to cool down from all the summer fun, get all cozied up in your autumn fits, and start watching those nostalgic autumn classics! In this list, I’ve compiled some of the greatest fall movies that I cannot wait to start watching once the weather begins cooling down!
1. ‘Hocus Pocus’ (1993)
Hocus Pocus is a hilarious 1993 family comedy directed by Kenny Ortega that follows the teenagers Max Dennison (Omri Katz), his sister Dani Dennison (Thora Birch), and their friend Allison (Vinessa Shaw) as they explore an abandoned house in Salem, Massachusetts. While exploring, Max accidentally awakens three evil witches, Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker), Mary Sanderson (Kathy Najimy), and Winifred Sanderson (Bette Midler) who used to live in the house. They obtain the help of a cat named Thackery Binx (Sean Murray), who aids the teenagers in their adventures of stealing the witches’ book of spells to prevent the Sanderson Witches from becoming immortal!
I enjoyed this movie as a kid, as scary as the witches were! Growing up, my family always put on this movie during October as an addition to our Halloween movie marathon to prepare for the trick-or-treating weekend! This storyline is incredibly engaging and the jokes aren’t half-bad if you’re into the classic “time jokes” where 17th-century witches find themselves confused by a truck’s headlights.
2. ‘Halloweentown’ (1998)
An absolute classic directed by Duwayne Dubham, Halloweentown is the only place where all of the Halloween monsters and supernatural creatures can live a ‘normal’ life. For the main character, Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown), a normal life is all she’s ever wanted and dreamed of! After finding out that she comes from a family of witches, and even finding out that she’s a witch herself, trouble begins to loom over Halloweentown. With the help of her younger siblings and grandmother, Marnie and her family decide they must fight against the evil warlock threatening to take over the world.
With Halloween only a few weeks away, it’s only fitting to watch Halloweentown, and that’s exactly what I plan to do during these next few weeks. This magical movie with a heartfelt ending of finding family and purpose is the perfect movie to watch while cozied up in your dorm, maybe even surrounded by your friends for a movie night!
3. ‘The Addams family’ (1991)
This comedy horror film will ‘snap!’ you right into the holiday mood! The Addams Family, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, is a hilarious and quirky film following the Addams Family as a man claiming to be Fester (Christopher Lloyd), the missing brother of Gomez Addams (Raul Julia), arrives at their family home. While most of the family is thrilled by their missing family member returning home, Gomez Addams’ wife, Morticia Addams (Anjelica Huston) suspects that Fester is a fraud. Unfortunately, Fester manages to evict the Addams Family from their home so he can swindle their family fortune, to which Gomez Addams decides to challenge Fester.
The Addams family includes all of the feel-good feelings that you can think of, especially with its depiction of the tight-knit family and their messages of accepting people as they come, but not letting them walk all over you!
4. ‘Coraline’ (2009)
Not into live-action? No problem! Coraline has become increasingly popular over the years as people yearn for the uniquely dramatic style of stop-motion films. This especially dark fantasy horror film directed by Henry Selick is based on the novel Coraline by Neil Gaiman follows the story of Coraline (Dakota Fanning) after she discovers a secret door hiding an alternate world that mirrors her own. This alternate world, however, harbors dark secrets, as her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) and the rest of her alternate family try to convince Coraline to stay with them forever and leave her real family behind.
While this movie may seem relaxing, with its art style appearing cute and unique, the film itself can be particularly mind-boggling, edging viewers into an increasingly nervous tone as the film progresses. As October harbors the creepiest holiday of them all, it’s only fitting to get into the holiday spirit with this incredibly produced film!