Autumn is having a hard time getting here with this heat, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start thinking of foliage and the Halloween season now. As a woman working in filmmaking, I’m always on the lookout for new fall-themed content. The cool thing about autumn is that it can be either cozy and welcoming, or scary and mysterious. Whichever side of the season you enjoy, I’ve got some fall content recommendations for you!
Movies/tv
Starting off simple with the comfy stuff, you can’t go wrong with animated classics like Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. These wrap you in a warm fuzzy blanket and immerse you in the beauty of the season. In a world where 3D/CG animation is everywhere, it’s nice to go back to the intricate wonders of hand-drawn and stop motion animation. Other great movies with autumn aesthetics include Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and Griffin Dunne’s Practical Magic. With strong, funny women at the center of these films, it can be a great girls-night-in with these films!
Now you can’t mention fall and television without bringing up Gilmore Girls. What more do I need to say? Hand over the pumpkin pancakes and take me to Star Hollow TODAY! A more eccentric short and simple watch is Cartoon Network’s Over the Garden Wall; following two brothers who get lost in a mysterious woods, the two must encounter strange, enchanting, and disturbing people and places to find their way home. It has cute and comfy moments and surprisingly scary moments, leaving you with a unique watching experience that is perfect for fall. Available on Hulu, this miniseries ran with 10 episodes at about 10 minutes per episode. So this is one that you could knock out in one night if you wanted to!
If you’re looking for something a little more scary, Henry Selick’s Coraline might be a good starting point, with just enough disturbing imagery to keep you on your toes but nothing too extreme. It keeps itself cozy enough to give you room to fall in love with the characters and the worldbuilding. Going up the scary scale, Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat and John Carpenter’s Halloween are great flicks to give you the chills and thrills of the holiday. Both feature iconic killers like little Sam, the Ghost of Halloween, and the intimidating Michael Myers, giving you the taste of a 2000s anthology horror film and a classic 70s slasher.
BOOKS/Graphic novels
I’m not sure how many of my gal pals are fans of graphic novels, but one of my all-time favorites is The Autumnal by Daniel Kraus. It follows a mother and daughter traveling to a mysterious town where it is always autumn to start a new life but discover its dark and disturbing secrets. This graphic novel does feature some quite disturbing content, so I recommend you do some deeper dive if you are nervous about that. It features some beautiful artwork and an emotional, dark story that has hung onto me ever since I first read it. (I read it on the bus and nearly started crying in public.)
Moving onto books, Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a perfect cozy read for the “ber” months. I absolutely adore magical realism, so this book was right up my alley. It tells of a Tokyo cafĂ© with the ability to send its customers back in time, but only if they get back before their coffee gets cold. This book was almost chosen as my campus’ chapter for book club this month! Another fantastical read is Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn; this one is more pure fantasy, diving into a magical world of wizards and creatures. It gives you that cozy feeling with a touch of existentialism and emotional heart. The 1982 animated film based off this novel is also incredible, so it’s a good pair to keep you in the fall mood!
Hit me up on Instagram @introducing_toni if you decide to check out any of my recommendations and tell me what you think! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
