Vote up the non-Halloween films that nevertheless make you shiver, quiver, and reach for candy.
Halloween and movies share some eerie similarities: costumes, candy (to eat while you watch), darkness (to sit in while you watch), and in general, joys and thrills galore. Although the typical “Halloween movie” in some way usually references the October 31 holiday, with ghosts, goblins, monsters, and other creepy or scary phenomena (real or not) as part of the plot, plenty of films are perfect for Halloween without the usual gory or terrifying trappings.
Disney+ offers plenty of movies that are a treat for Halloween even if no pumpkins or vampires are to be seen on the screen. Miniature candy bars to munch while you watch are a must, however.
All of these and more are now streaming on Disney+.
This sponsored list was created with the participation of Disney+.
Turquoise hairball Sulley, lime-green Mike, and (most of) the other creatures in Monsters, Inc. (2001), are far too lovable to be monstrous, even though their job at the Monsters, Inc. energy factory is to scare human children, which in turn creates power for the town of Monstropolis.
Toddler “Boo," a pigtailed little girl they attempt to frighten, is not only fear-proof; she's also cute as can be despite her name.
The voice cast includes John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Mary Gibbs, and Jennifer Tilly.
The stop-motion classic The Night Before Christmas (1993), conceived by goth favorite Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick, captures the spirit(s) of both Halloween and Christmas.
With Christmas Town denizens like the pumpkin-headed skeleton Jack Skellington; his love interest, the female Frankenstein monster-ish Sally; “mad” Doctor Finkelstein; and bogeyman Oogie-Boogie, a charming yet evil sack-like creature filled with insects; plus catchy songs, The Night Before Christmas is an all-around excellent choice for end-of-the-year-holiday film fests.
In Twitches (2005), Tia and Tamera Mowry star as separated-at-birth twin witches (twitches) Alex and Camryn. Originally from the magical realm of Coventry, they end up on Earth, adopted by separate parents after their warlock dad dies (mom Miranda is still alive).
The siblings are, of course, total opposites in personality, and meet cute while trying on clothes at a mall store on their 21st birthday, which happens to be October 31. They bond, attempt to stop a villain called the Darkness, and end up back in Coventry to make things right.
The story is mostly about the power of working together, but it's got witches and pumpkins thanks to the twins' Halloween birthday, and the amorphous malevolent Darkness, which raises the fear factor.
The Haunted Mansion (2003) features enough ghostly encounters and supernatural shenanigans to almost outdo the Disney theme park ride it's based on. Eddie Murphy leads a family of humans caught up in creepy happenings; he plays Jim Evers, a real estate agent who just wants to make a property deal at the decidedly haunted Gracey Manor.
Ghosts played by Terence Stamp, Nathaniel Parker, Marsha Thomason, Elizabeth Henshaw, and Wallace Shawn make things difficult for him and his family. Jennifer Tilly plays Madame Leota, the gypsy ghost stuck in a crystal ball.
Tim Burton's 2012 stop-motion animated comedy film, presented in black-and-white, is both a parody of and a valentine to classic horror films. The heartwarming story is about an unusually intelligent boy, Victor Frankenstein, who uses electricity to bring his dog, Sparky, back to life.
Victor's schoolmates figure out what he's done and use the same technique to bring their own pets back from the dead, creating a bat-cat hybrid, a “wererat," a mummified hamster, a giant turtle, and a gremlin-like sea monkey. The voice cast includes Charlie Tahan (as Victor), Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, and Winona Ryder.
A movie about mysterious happenings in a forest is naturally Halloween trope territory, but Into the Woods (2014), the cinematic version of Stephen Sondheim's Tony-winning musical, boasts an asset that boosts the movie into the Halloween stratosphere: Meryl Streep as the Witch (she received a supporting actress Oscar nomination for the role). Streep is just one of many A-list actors in the film playing fairy-tale characters, including James Corden as the Baker, Emily Blunt as the Baker's Wife, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Chris Pine as Cinderella's Prince, and Johnny Depp as the Big Bad Wolf.
It's dark, kind of dystopian, and filled with magic beans, gold slippers, red riding hoods, memorable songs, and incredible costumes - take note if you need inspiration, although it will be tough to outdo Colleen Atwood, the film's Oscar-nominated costume designer.
