As we come to the end of October, I and many others may have realized that we hardly watched any of the movies that we had wanted to. Life is constantly buzzing, and sometimes it’s hard to get a good movie in. Here’s a list of movies to make sure to watch before the spooky season is over.

Before we get into the movies, I would like to note that there is some nudity in “Dracula” and a racial slur in “The Shining.” If these can make you uncomfortable, please do not watch these movies. 

Let’s kick things off with Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). The film takes place in 1897 London and follows a man named Jonathan Harker. As a solicitor, he’s been summoned to Transylvania to arrange Count Dracula’s recently bought property. He experiences many strange things during his stay and fears what’s to come. Meanwhile, his fiancée Mina Murray patiently awaits him in London. 

This movie runs a little longer than average, but it’s worth the watch.  The story is cohesive, the characters’ interactions are interesting to watch, and the cinematography is beautiful. I enjoyed seeing all of the architecture. Dracula’s castle is beautiful and creepy and Lucy’s house is regal and colorful. 

This movie was actually based on a book, and I think they did a pretty good job. What they cut out made sense to not have in the movie and I feel pretty satisfied with what they included.

The Shining (1980) takes place in the secluded Overlook Hotel, where Jack Torrance and his family decide to take care of it during its offseason. The hotel has quite an awful history of one of the previous caretakers murdering his wife and twin daughters, which their son Danny can see through a gift called “shining”. Jack ultimately snaps due to the isolation. 

This movie also runs a bit longer than average at 2 hours and 23 minutes. What this film is impeccable at is tone setting. The actors, the music, the angles, the setting, all give a very eerie feel overall. The way that the Torrence’s interactions with each other are strangely awkward for such closely related family members gives such an unusual mood. There’s a lot of suspense and build-up, and a lot of the time the camera is solely focused on a character. The personalities of the characters are written wonderfully, and the character dynamics are interesting to watch. 

This movie surprised me in that it didn’t come right out and frighten me with jumpscares. It did many subtle things to make me feel that something was wrong. Even in the calmest parts of the movie, there’s always something unsettling that feels a little off.

Moving to Halloweentown (1998), we follow teen Marnie Piper, who loves all things spooky. Ghosts, witches, vampires; you name it, she loves it. Her mother, however, is not too fond of Marnie’s interests. Marnie is continuously shut down until their grandmother Aggie makes her annual visit on Halloween and tells Marnie and her siblings about a place called Halloweentown. As most would, they thought it was a fictional place until they followed their Aggie onto a bus to Halloweentown. 

I enjoyed watching Halloweentown. It was cute, and I can watch it with my family. It’s a little cheesy but I wouldn’t expect it not to be. I felt that the character development was a little lackluster, but the personalities between the characters were distinct and I can appreciate that. I would certainly recommend this for those that still want to be festive but don’t like the frights that come with most Halloween movies.

In Beetlejuice (1988), we meet married couple Adam and Barbara Maitland. After working around the house, they take a trip to the hardware store, swerve off a bridge into a river, and ultimately drown to death. The Maitlands come to find this out when the Deetz family moves into their former home, and Delia Deetz attempts to remodel the house. Their teenage daughter, Lydia Deetz, is the only one that can see and communicate with them. All three attempt to scare Lydia’s parents out of the house with the help of the undead Beetlejuice.

I adore Beetlejuice. The characters, the scenery, it’s all amazing. Beetlejuice is a goofy antagonist and he’s really fun to watch. He’s very energetic and Michael Keaton’s performance was wonderful. I am also personally a fan of Winona Ryder and love her in this movie as well. Her character design is unusual and fits her perfectly. There is also a musical based on this movie, I would also suggest watching that if you’re into musicals. The music is loud and exciting and perfect for this movie.

Although I may not have covered your favorite movie, I hope you can still enjoy the movies that I mentioned.