#POPCULTURE | Halloween through the screen
by Kaleena So
Halloween, celebrated annually on October 31, is one of the oldest holidays in history. A day that was once meant for religious rituals is now a widely celebrated holiday with numerous references in today’s Pop culture. The holiday has been evolving throughout the years with growing traditions such as trick-or-treating, costume parties, pranks, and games. These traditions also play a part in movies and television shows in the present.
Holidays like Halloween and Christmas are a big inspiration to Pop culture today. People have fallen in love with Halloween through the warm and nostalgic feeling it brings. Making movies is now just as much a part of the celebration as dressing up and asking strangers for candy.
Considering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine regulations, for our safety, many Halloween traditions are canceled this year. Unable to leave their homes and gather in large groups, the celebrations continue in the comforts of people’s homes watching Halloween-themed movies and TV-shows. With a number of movies on the theme from classics to new releases, here are some highly recommended things to watch and celebrate the holiday with.
One of the most appropriate films for Halloween is well, Halloween. Among the 12 films in the franchise, none have the same enduring quality as the original released in 1978. Directed by John Carpenter and starring Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, this is one of the first movies in cinema history to tackle the Halloween theme.
The iconic film follows love-to-hate slasher villain Micheal Myers (Nick Castle), committed to a sanitarium after killing his sister, as he escapes at the age of 21 to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting Haddonfield, New Jersey. He then finds out his sister Laurie is still alive. With the sheer violence of Micheal’s killing methods, creepy sense of cinematography, and an amazing gloomy score, this movie is the cornerstone of modern horror today.
Another iconic horror film based on the Stephen King book of the same name. Directed by
Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is considered to be one of the best big-screen adaptations of a Stephen King story and continues to be a subject of discussion today. With Kubrick’s work, the film stands out from the horror crowd through its hyper-realistic lens. It delivers the same amount of intellectual components as its horror aspects which has cemented itself as cinematic greatness.
It follows the story of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a job as the caretaker of The Overlook Hotel. Despite being warned about the tragedy that took place there, he takes the job anyway, bringing his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) with him. It is not until the secrets of the hotel surface that Danny’s psychic abilities are triggered and some supernatural forces start messing with Jack’s sanity.
The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
Part of Netflix’s Halloween 2020 program, The Haunting of Bly Manor is the long-awaited follow-up to Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House. The former, not being a sequel to the latter, has a different storyline that features many recurring cast members.
The 9-episode drama series, each about an hour-long, follows the experiences of a young governess, Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) after being hired by a man to take care of his niece and nephew at his family country house. Arriving at the Bly estate, she starts seeing ghosts who eventually haunt the premises, making you believe that dead doesn’t mean gone.
Warrior Nun is an American drama-fantasy series based on the manga novels of the same name by Ben Dunn. The series was released on Netflix in early July and is packed with action, drama, and horror, a great binge for the holidays.
Created by Simon Berry, the 10-episode series follows the story of Ava Silva (Alba Baptista), a young orphan who wakes up in a morgue with supernatural powers. She is implanted with the angel Adriel’s Halo to save her life. She then finds herself in a tug-of-war between the demonic and the divine.
The directorial debut of writer and director Jordan Peele tackles the theme of benevolent racism in the American horror film Get Out. This film only released in 2017 is becoming a horror classic, as it continues the aspects of horror films by weaponizing surveillance and desire while cleverly incorporating unique and thought-provoking themes.
The story starts off with Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a young black photographer, and his white girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) when they are on a weekend getaway to meet her parents. Anxious about her parents’ approval of their interracial couple, Chris soon discovers some disturbing truths about Rose’s family. Jordan Peele’s inventive ways make this ever-entertaining scarefest of a film all the more interesting.
Stranger Things (2016-present)
Set in 1984 Hopkins, Indiana, this sci-fi horror TV series tackles the exploration of an alternate universe known as the Upside Down. Created by the Duffers Brothers in 2016, Stranger Things has become a massive success, with its fourth season coming early 2021.
The storyline of the series starts off in the ’80s when Will Beyers (Noah Schnapp) goes missing. His friends, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) set off on a quest to find Will. In the process, they meet Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a young girl with telekinetic powers who we find out is from the Upside Down. As the series progresses, new challenges come their way as they discover the mysteries of the Upside-Down world.
Directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, this hit 1984 supernatural comedy was a cinematic phenomenon. The use of visual effects and the concept of ghost busting made the film unique, with a popularized theme song you can dance to today. The film’s critical and commercial success sparked the start of its franchise, one of the most notable during Halloween with their newest film Ghostbusters: Afterlife coming in 2021.
The film revolves around unconventional parapsychologists Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), who have lost their positions at a university in New York City. They then decide to become “ghostbusters” battling the supernatural with tech. In doing so, they discover another dimension, and it’s up to them to save New York.
Followed by a series of spin-offs and sequels, The Conjuring is the start of the most successful horror movie franchises in the 21st century, commonly known as The Conjuring Universe. Created by James Wan, the film series is centered around a number of supernatural horror films including, Annabelle, The Nun, and The Curse of La Llorona. With dolls and ghosts doing what they usually do in horror movies, what sets the film apart from others in the horror genre is that it’s based on real events. This is a present characteristic in other films in the franchise.
It starts off with the Perron family who moved to a supposedly haunted Rhode Island farmhouse in 1971. With this knowledge, they contact well-known ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Famiga) to help them get rid of the evil spirits. Though these spirits seem relatively harmless at first, events escalate after the Warrens discover the house’s horrifying history.
The presence of dialogue and sound play a significant part in the making of a horror film. A Quiet Place is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the majority of humans have been killed by noise-sensitive creatures. Directed and starring John Krasinski, this movie is a nerve-shredder designed to keep you on your toes as an active participant when the horror unfolds.
The film revolves around a tight-knit family consisting of a father (John Krasinski), his wife (Emily Blunt), and their three kids as they live in a world where making sound can cost you your life. The family lives in a small house and communicates with the use of sign language. The film’s well-thought-out scenery and refined visuals make it even more thrilling. What makes it worth watching is the additional theme of familial love between the scenes.
Comedy Halloween Episodes
While many Halloween themed movies and tv shows take on the horror, thriller, and drama genre, comedy series often release an episode celebrating the Halloween holiday. These particular episodes can be singled out from the series as a short film or can be part of a long binge.
From the wide range of sitcoms and comedies, two of the most notable series for their Halloween themed episodes are Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-present) and Modern Family (2009–2020). Every year the Brooklyn 99th Precinct has its annual Halloween heist to determine who is the Ultimate detective/genius/human which puts the characters head to head. On the other hand, the Dunphy family (Modern Family) celebrates Halloween through the traditions of dressing up, decorating the house, and trick-or-treating. Both series’ enthusiasm for the holiday makes them more entertaining to watch.
As Halloween continues to be a tradition in today’s society, the release of horror or Halloween-themed films are as much of a tradition as dressing up as your favorite characters. From classic horror movies to themed episodes of the most popular sitcoms, these movies and TV shows are here to help you enjoy the holiday and our well-deserved break.
