"Corpse Bride"

“Corpse Bride,” directed by Tim Burton, draws viewers into a haunting world where love reaches beyond the grave. On the day before his wedding, Victor, who is betrothed to Victoria, runs away into a dark forest to practice his vows. While practicing, he places his ring on the root of a tree, only for it to be revealed as the skeleton hand of a dead woman named Emily. By placing the ring on Emily’s finger, Victor is officially married to this “corpse bride,” and finds himself taken away to the land of the dead as her husband. From there, he works to escape back to the land of the living to reunite with Victoria.

While the stop-motion animation and Burton’s gothic style give the film a spooky look, I would not really consider it as an ideal Halloween movie; at first it seems like a classic horror movie with villainous characters and jumpscares, but it ends up being very sweet and meaningful, pivoting away from the usual outcome of most horror tropes. The land of the dead is not dark and cruel, and the land of the living is not lively and enjoyable; rather, the stereotypes of both have been switched. The dead are not cruel and quiet, but the living are instead. When the living and the dead meet, it is not seen as a terrifying interaction, but a sweet reunion. This refreshing take portrays death not as something to be feared, but as a peaceful transition.

I also loved the way the expected villain was portrayed. While at first the audience is meant to see the villain as cruel and unfair, throughout the movie this perspective shifts; the character turns out to be incredibly sympathetic, especially at the end when they realize they are putting someone else through the same hardships they once faced. While the movie doesn’t follow the trajectory of a classic Halloween jumpscare film, it ultimately delivers an unexpectedly engaging storyline and provides depth to its characters alongside its gothic charm.

"Nightmare on Elm Street"

If you’re looking for a Halloween fright, nothing beats “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” With spooky season just around the corner, we all need some chilling movies to get us into the Halloween spirit.

Directed by Wes Craven, this 1980s slasher film follows teenager Nancy Thompson and her friends in Spring County, Ohio. One day, the lives of these teens are forever changed when they become targets of Freddy Krueger, a burn victim and serial killer. Though Nancy soon finds out the reason for Freddy’s deadly hauntings, she realizes it may be too late to save herself and her friends. The climax of the movie was tense and grabbed my full attention because the main character was in a suspenseful situation, leaving the watcher on the edge of their seat.

At the beginning, I thought this was another cheesy horror movie; however, the notion of a friend group that sticks together until the end really enhanced the pain and fear that I felt for the characters, making me feel as though I had experienced that nightmare alongside them. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” is one of those classic movies that will for sure stay popular for years to come. Although some jumpscares were pretty predictable, it added a certain charm to the feel of the movie, and hearing the iconic song, “One, Two, Freddy’s Coming For You” felt very nostalgic as well.

Instead of wasting time searching for the cinematographically “perfect” Halloween movie, this classic film makes for a great combination of nostalgia and thrill.