Spooky season is almost upon us. Halloween, and the weeks and months leading up to it has increasingly become one of my favorite times of the year. I always loved that Halloween kicked off the entire holiday season-and always looked forward to it. But my enthusiasm has grown in the past few years making the holiday on par with another favorite: Christmas. Every year I add to my Halloween decor-and try to level up the degree of fun and spooky that is my house. Of course, to help get into the spirit of things, we watch movies! So many movies! But here is where things can get difficult.
I’m not a fan of horror movies. I’ve never been a big horror movie person, not even when I was a kid. Feeling terrified isn’t something I enjoy. But feeling scared is something else, don’t you think? What I’m saying is, we need more spooky movies that take spooky seriously.
A lot of times movie studios will make a movie that’s intended to be scary, but also try to make it “family friendly.” Which generally means, no blood and nothing too intense. Which I understand. But what’s so wrong with making a scary movie-that’s truly spooky-but without the “family” label? Here are some examples.
Hocus Pocus is a fun, family friendly Halloween movie. It’s not very scary, it’s a bit campy, a lot of fun, and kids can definitely watch it. The next level is something like a Shyamalan movie, The Sixth Sense or Signs. These can get pretty creepy, but the scenes are brief and not overtly graphic but the overall tone can still be spooky. Anything past that and you’re well into movies like It and The Conjuring or VVitch, or things even more bloody. My wheelhouse is somewhere between Hocus Pocus and The Sixth Sense.
It’s more about setting the right mood than it is about feeling scared. I want spooky. I don’t want to lay awake at night letting my imagination run wild while I think all the noises outside my window is a demon or serial killer. Spooky with a side of fun and maybe a hint of camp? Is this too much to ask? I want The Little Shop of Horrors. I want Beetlejuice. Even Coraline seems a bit too creepy for me at times-which is perfect!
I like a Halloween vibe that’s creepy but fun, and I feel like there’s not enough modern movies being made that can strike just the right chord. Some horror movies want a wider audience so they go for a PG-13 rating-that’s not what I’m talking about. I want spooky. I want more…I don’t know…Edward Scissorhands? More Witches (Angelica Houston please) and less Saw.
Earlier this year I wrote about Spirit Halloween-the Halloween pop up shop turned movie. While this has potential, I feel it’s going to lean more into the family friendly territory than I’d prefer. Hocus Pocus 2 hits theaters soon with a sequel that’s been nearly 30 years in the making. This-too-will be toeing the line of its predecessor. I don’t expect to be spooked out of my mind when I leave the theaters there. So what is there to look forward to for us spooky-not scary-minded folk? Not much. But it’ll be fine. I’ve got years of past films that happened to get it right to keep me occupied.
In the meantime, here’s an open statement for Hollywood. Make more spooky movies for the grown ups that don’t have the stomach for gore. And bring strong Halloween vibes along with it. Take a word of advice from The Nightmare Before Christmas lyric, “Life’s no fun without a good scare. That’s our job-but we’re not mean-in our town of Halloween.”