By Don Shanahan, Resident Movie Critic
Truth be told, as much as I’m a cinema aficionado and card-carrying film critic, I’m not much of a horror guy.
Alas, the often overly-violent genre successfully dominates the month of October when it comes to film entertainment. For those as squeamish as me by all the amplified violence, I wanted to offer a quick list of excellent non-horror movies that still celebrate or showcase the fun of Halloween.
“E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” (1982) — The simplest costume in the world that we’ve all likely worn once in our lives—the white bed sheet ghost—hides our (and Steven Spielberg’s) favorite secret alien. If you’ve seen the restored special edition, you’ll love E.T.’s reaction to a kid wearing a “Star Wars” Yoda costume. “Hey, I know that guy!” [*Currently streaming on Netflix.]
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) — While it’s technically a Christmas movie, Halloween is all over this Tim Burton treasure and fuels the main character’s roots nicely. It must be Halloween in Burton’s house. Go with “Frankenweenie” for another kid-friendly pick.
“Ed Wood” (1994) — Let’s stay in the Burton universe for one more. On a night of trick-or-treating, we watch filmmaker Ed Wood (Johnny Depp) getting a personal viewing of Dracula with the aged Bela Lugosi himself (Martin Landau, in his Oscar-winning role), with a little hot “Elvira” seduction and reminiscing mixed in for fun. That’s not a bad friend to have on Halloween!
“To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962) — This classic might contain my personal favorite for a non-horror Halloween scene. Seeing the vaunted Boo Radley (Robert Duvall in his film debut) intervening to save a ham-adorned Scout is a stellar climactic scene and plays great in black and white. [available on Hoopla]
“Mean Girls” (2004) — Our wiseacre narrator Lindsay Lohan lets us know the modern high school chick rules for Halloween. The inhibitions and censors take the day off.
“The Karate Kid” (1984) — A Halloween party and dance turns into a chase and a fight, and the beginning turning point of the movie. As the spandex-skeleton costumed Cobra Kai bullies outnumber our hero, Daniel, Mr. Miyagi hops in to lay the smack down and save the day.
“The Crow” (1994) — “Devil’s Night” is October 30, the night before Halloween, and the annual day in which the arson and vandalism rates go off the charts in the city of Detroit. The violence of that night turns Eric Draven (the late Brandon Lee) into an avenging rock star a year later where his vendetta of revenge spills into Halloween after rising from the grave. “The Crow” is one of the best graphic novel adaptations Hollywood has ever done.
“Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) — Set just after 1900, before Halloween became a commercialized holiday full of store-bought candy and costumes, the popular musical-turned-movie shows it as a night of childhood mischief, bullying, and trouble.
Don Shanahan is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic and the editor-in-chief of Film Obsessive and Every Movie Has a Lesson. In addition to Chicago Indie Critics, he is part of the internationally recognized Critics Choice Association. He also owns and operates the Free Blockbuster box on the 2600 block of 75th Court, where those passing by may “take a movie/leave a movie” in the spirit of sharing a little art and culture with the community.
Shawshank is a good one too.