Like Halloween but not horror? Here are 15 movies for you
- 5opn1
- October 31, 2024
- Entertainments
- Like Halloween but not horror?
- 0 Comments
My boss hates Halloween and every year, she struggles to find movies to watch that are in keeping with the spirit of the season but won’t give her nightmares. I’m honestly tired telling her to watch the same movies every year, so I’m putting it in a list for easy reference. (Bosses like that, right?)
Yes, Megan, this list is for you.
In fact, this list is for the Megans in everyone’s life – who recoil at the sight of overpriced bags of candy, who shudder when the TV guide shows a seemingly endless marathon of every “Halloween” movie ever made and who would rather step on a tack than inside a costume store.
You can call them Halloween haters. You can call them horror averse. You can call them hollow of fun. But they need movies, too! (Some of these films were produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, which like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.) So, here we go:
“Hubie Halloween” A silly Adam Sandler classic about a neighborhood outcast who faces his fears to save his hometown. TLDR: It’s so weird, it’s good.
“Hocus Pocus” The original film is an annual must-watch if you appreciate nostalgia and seeing Sarah Jessica Parker outside of New York City, and check out the 2022 sequel for an extra special treat.
“Practical Magic” Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play sisters who are witches with great hair. Need I say more?
“Labyrinth” This Jim Henson-directed 1986 classic has it all: David Bowie singing about magic, a young Jennifer Connelly on a mission and strangely lovable animatronic creatures that talk… On second thought, maybe skip this one if puppets freak you out.
“Harry Potter” You can experience the first Halloween at Hogwarts all over again in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” or pick any film in the series for some magic that will make you smile instead of scream.
“Zombieland” Before Emma Stone won two Oscars, she taught us all how to survive a zombie apocalypse in this 2009 comedy.
“Rocky Horror Picture Show” Killer soundtrack for all the musical nerds who stan Tim Curry (it’s me, hi).
“The Batman” If you’re in the mood for a brooding Robert Pattinson but already watched all five “Twilight Saga” movies, flip on this 2022 Matt Reeves-directed iteration about the Caped Crusader.
“Legally Blonde” For all the people who, like Elle Woods, show up to the party in a sexy-instead-of-scary costume.
‘Mean Girls’ For all the people who, like Cady Heron, show up to the party in a scary-instead-of-sexy costume.
“Halloweentown” This is a great pick If you’re missing Debbie Reynolds (and your adolescence) as much as we are. Fun fact: The movie’s star Kimberly J. Brown is married to “Halloweentown II” star Daniel Kountz. Cute, right?
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” There’s never been a cuter alien dressed up like a ghost. Don’t forget to have a box of tissues nearby because, well, you know…
“Sabrina the Movie” Bewitch yourself with this throwback movie starring the original teenage witch Melissa Joan Hart and a very young Ryan Reynolds.
“Double Double Toil and Trouble” All the millennials are screaming right now, not because they’re scared but because of how excited they are that we just reminded them of this iconic Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie that helped shape their childhood.
“Casper” A friendly ghost movie, with “Addams Family” star Christina Ricci to boot.
