My Top 10 Favorite Animated Halloween Movies

   Horror movies are always a must for October, but I also like to balance the adult scares with some “family friendly” Halloween movies … preferably the animated ones. It’s like a tradition, Halloween is one of the most nostalgic times of the year for me, when I feel young again, so what better way to close out the year then by looking back at all the tricks and treats that come from full-length animated movies we often associate with the season. I won’t be including any half-hour specials in the vein of “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” or Disney’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. With all that said, here are my own personal top 10 favorite animated movies to watch on Halloween.

 

#10 Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000) 

It’s out of pure childhood nostalgia that this film kicks off my countdown, and while this may be something of a guilty pleasure, I just couldn’t imagine this list without it. While our favorite mischievous chipmunks put together a spooky themed school play, Alvin gets fixated on the idea that a real monster may be lurking in their neighborhood. What he wasn’t counting on was his kid brother Theodor transforming into a werewolf … with the Wolf-Man himself being he culprit. While this kid friendly monster feature is perhaps a little too loud and obnoxious for the grown-ups, it’s still competently animated, loaded with catchy songs, and is unavoidably cute in its own simple way. It’s a movie I can only recommend to little kids, but by those simple standards, it’s quite good.

 

#9 - Frankenweenie (2012) 

I personally adore “FrankenWeenie” … and it has a secure spot among my favorite Tim Burton movies too. Re-making one of his own classic short films, and giving it a more modern look was a welcome change of pace, and the result is a genuinely heartwarming film, combined with an odd Burton style premise, likable characters, subtlety, and an action packed ending full of awesome creature effects. It's one of those special movies that can win me over with its own simple charm, and never needs any big song numbers or spooky highlights to hold my interest. It’s a film that tends to sneak-up on me, as I don’t usually think about watching it annually for Halloween, but I still find myself watching it anyway, and loving it more with each passing season. “FrankenWeenie” came out at a time when Burton needed something special, and it payed off with a positive reception of critics, as well as a nomination at the Academy Awards for best animated picture. If you’re a fan of stop-motion or Burton movies in general, then this film is well worth looking into. It has a distinct atmosphere, a refreshingly simple premise, and heart as big as its central character.  

 

#8 The Batman vs Dracula (2005)  

A unique crossover for Batman to say the least, and one that takes full advantage of what could happen when two legendary figures of the night collide. When Batman goes searching for mysterious disappearing people in the city, his trail leads to a covenant of vampires … lead by none other than Count Dracula himself. The chemistry and rivalry between Batman and Dracula is surprisingly well defined in the film, and it’s genuinely exciting to see the two most famous Bat-themed characters going into battle. There’s plenty of nods to the lore of both Batman and Dracula, and some well-placed characters from the Batman universe … including Vicki Vale, who was featured in the 1989 Tim Burton “Batman” movie. The music is dripping with Gothic atmosphere, the animation is stylish, there’s a spectacular dream sequence, everything moves at a fast pace, and its action packed. For the only movie adaption from "The Batman" TV series, it definitely ranks high as … maybe not one of the absolute best Batman movies, but certainly my personal favorite to watch around Halloween. 

#7 – Corps Bride (2005)  

This is the perfect example of how you should never judge a film by its title. “Corpse Bride” looked and sounded like a really stupid idea for a Halloween special, but director Tim Burton gave it a really nice touch, and surpassed my small expectations. This story revolving around a man who finds himself accidently engaged to zombie bride plays less like a gothic horror, and more of a classic modern fairytale. Somehow, this film captures the same holiday magic of "The Nightmare Before Christmas", but it never once feels like an imitation. It's an amazing looking film, with a very lively land of the dead setting, and the songs for the most part are wonderful. It’s original, romantic, and a surprisingly toughing film about long lost love. I'd say it’s one of Tim Burton’s more uplifting, and wholesome films, but not without some dark visuals, and a lot of imagination.   

 

#6 Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) 

Here it is, the spooky child-hood venture that introduced me to zombies in the first place. As the title suggests, Scooby-Doo and the gang journey to an island to solve the mystery of disappearing bodies and haunted claims. It may seem average on the surface, but once the sun sets, supernatural oddities come about, dark secrets of the island’s history are explored, and an army of zombies awaken to terrorize our hero’s. The story is respectfully multilayered, there’s a mostly challenging mystery slowly being unraveled, some clever twists, the danger was legitimate, and I feel it’s the closest that Scooby-Doo ever came to being genuinely scary. No joke, the ending gets surprisingly dark … certainly darker than anything else in the franchise. Also, the soundtrack rocked, especially with the theme song “Terror Time Again”, which is easily one of my favorite songs to listen to during October. Personally, I think “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island” is the absolute best thing to ever come out under the character’s name, and one that even non-fans might be able to get behind. This film is almost too good for Scooby-Doo, and probably would have made for a great spooky zombie adventure without him.

 

#5 Hotel Transylvania (2013) 

With all the really dark and scary Halloween films like “ParaNorman” and “Coraline”, it’s nice to know that kids have alternatives in the form of films like “Hotel Transylvania”. The story revolves around Count Dracula as he’s built a safe haven for all the classic monsters, but his daughter wants to see the world, and when a young human boy stumbles into monster land ... an unexpected romance is born, and it’s one energized situation after another as the Count tries to maintain peace in his castle. This movie has got just about everything ... funny moments, touching moments, colorful characters, terrific animation, lots of energy, upbeat music, and a location that’s just drenched in Halloween goodness. Dracula's daughter Mavis has a secure spot as one of my favorite new animated Halloween characters, and the rest of the cast play their parts great. It may be over shadowed by other Halloween films that are a pinch more adult, but I hope more people discover this film. It really is a gem, and a good one to show to your kids.       

 

#4 ParaNorman (2012) 

This is one of the scarier animated movies to show your kids, but it’s an incredible motion picture that I highly recommend. “ParaNorman” takes the familiar concepts of a boy with a supernatural ability to talk to the dead, a witch’s curse, a zombie epidemic, and weaves them all together in a brilliant story, with surprising emotional depth, deep conflicts, and plenty of comedy along the way. Some of the jokes also get very adult, like border-line PG-13 territory, so the age of the viewer needs to be kept in mind before seeing this. I definitely have my issues with inconsistencies in tone, and I really can’t stand the silly supporting players, but for all my reservations going against it, this film balances out with stunning imagery, a heavy Halloween atmosphere, and just the right amount of emotional subtext at the center. The visual effects and stop-motion animation are big spectacles, which alone make the film worth viewing, but with an enduring lead character, an especially heartwarming ending, and competent storytelling make this something really special that’s not only worth yearly viewings but also deserving of being called a modern Halloween classic.   

 

#3 Monster House (2006) 

In 2003, Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion” was released and turned out to be a somewhat underwhelming haunted house adventure. Then three years later came an animated gem titled “Monster House”, which completely made up for it. As you’d expect, this is a scary adventure with kids in a haunted house, but it’s also a very smart film with lots of excitement, first rate animation, and plenty of laughs. Watching these kids go exploring through this visually amazing house, discovering clues, and hidden secrets is so much fun, and rekindles the inner child in me looking for adventure on Halloween. It really does take me back to that time when I was young and would go on imaginary spooky haunted house adventures with my friends. I can’t make a persuasive argument that this is a film for everyone, as some may be put off by the annoying character animation or other details. Perhaps it’s more of a guilty pleaser for me, but a favorite all the same. The film simply has everything you’d want ... lot of Halloween charms, likable characters, thrilling action scenes, a nostalgic overtone, and arguably the coolest haunted house I ever seen in motion picture. 

 

#2 The Nightmare Before Christmas (1994) 

As far as I’m concerned, the Halloween season officially begins when I listen to this film’s opening “This is Halloween” number, which is still my favorite song to associate with the season. I’ve always regarded this film as the perfect holiday special ... Why, because it’s both Halloween and Christmas rolled into one awesome package. When Jack Skeleton of Halloween town decides to take a shot at Christmas, it becomes a crazy mash of two holiday worlds. The novelty of the film is that it’s mostly told through song, and is brought to life with top-notch stop-motion animation. It’s an amazing visual experience I’ll never forget, with memorable songs, creative holiday worlds, and stealer artistry. Two holidays are better than one, and this is that rare Halloween/Christmas film that you can watch twice in the holiday season.     

 

Before I crown my #1 favorite, here are some quick Honorable Mentions …

“Scooby-Doo and the Witches Ghost”

“Hotel Transylvania 2”

“Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein”

“The Halloween Tree”

“Monster Mash”

 

#1 - Coraline (2009) 

Even though this film isn’t directly aimed at Halloween, it’s still very creepy, twisted and dripping with a haunting other worldly atmosphere. When a little girl is tired of her boring life, she finds a door leading her to an alternate reality where everything is perfect and fun, but something dark and sinister is trying to lead her away, which leads into an exciting adventure involving Ghosts, monsters and talking cats. It’s scary but very exciting, crazy yet imaginative, dark but not without some decent family morals. Animated movies are always more impressive when there stop-motion films like this, I love looking at all the visuals knowing that there all real sets, props and puppets that act and perform right in front of the camera. Great atmosphere, eye-pleasing visuals, imaginative storytelling, a top-notch vocal performance from Dakota Fanning and so much more make this my favorite animated Halloween movie and personally one of my favorites animated films ever.  

Thanks for reading my countdown … and weather scary or kid friendly, make every day in October feel like Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween!

Evil Dead 2 (1987) (Movie Review)

    Back in 1981, a little horror movie came about titled “The Evil Dead”, which was set in an abandoned cabin in the woods, and focused on young adults trying to survive an onslaught of wicked entities that emerged from a cursed book. It launched the directing carrier of Sam Raimi, as well as the acting carrier of Bruce Campbell. It was a low budget, independently filmed project that has sense influenced people to make their own low budget films. While it was a modest success, it’s also dwarfed by it’s 1987 sequel simply titled “Evil Dead 2”, which has sense become the poster child for 80’s horror classics. Also known as “Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn”, this is one of those rare horror sequels that not only surpassed the original, but is a recognized horror classic that can stand on its own. While I’ve personally never been a fan of the “Evil Dead” franchise as a whole … I absolutely love this movie by itself, and that’s how I choose to view it. So, let’s look back at one of the great 80’s horror classics, and see why it stands as one of the defining sequels of the genera.

   The first thing to note is that this sequel doesn’t require watching the first movie at all, as there’s no direct continuity, and the first half of the film is basically a remake of the original, with the second half giving us new content. 

Bruce Campbell once again reprises his role as Ash William’s, who’s out on a romantic drive with his girl-friend, and the two decide to spend the night in an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods. Our visitors soon learn that the cabin belonged to a professor, who was deciphering the written words of an ancient book called the Necronomicon … which was inked in blood, bound in human flesh, and is a thing of “pure evil”. Rather than doing something conventional, like raising zombies or ghost, this book once translated twists the entire environment into something malevolent. Tree’s come to life, objects move on their own, people are transformed into monsters, and … there’s really no rules as to what can happen, it’s a free for all with spooky encounters, and nasty creatures. Eventually, the professor’s daughter arrives at the cabin with a small team of friends, and they all get caught in this living nightmare. Thus, the chase is on to find a way to send all the evil entities back to where they came from, while also surviving all these horrific encounters. In short, there’s really not much story, or deep character incites, it’s just an over the top may-lay of horror, comedy and action all blended together in one highly entertaining experience.  

    This movie waists no time beating around the bush, once Ash arrives at the cabin, things instantly get crazy, and the rest of the movie is a non-stop ride that combines hummer, frights, atmosphere, innovative special effects, original concepts and creative camera work all into one package. Director Sam Rami had a field day creating all these unique camera tricks, as it’s always flying through the environment, and basically becomes a character in of itself. One of the coolest shots is an unbroken POV shot that follows Ash as he runs through the interior of the cabin, and while we don’t see what’s chasing our hero, it’s still really cool how from the camera’s perspective it bursts through doors and smashes through windows. While the original “Evil Dead” movie inspired independent filmmakers, this film inspired filmmakers to get innovative with how they utilize the camera. Sam Rami would apply similar camera techniques to his live action “Spider-Man” movies. Also, despite having a bigger budget for special effects, Sam Rami still utilizes a number of practical, in-camera effects, and it’s always great to see what an artist can accomplish on-set, as opposed to what gets added in post-production.

   With that said, the visuals on display are the pinnacle of 1980’s creature effects. I was a kid that grew-up watching Ray Harryhausen movies, and as such, I love seeing stop-motion effects utilized for creature appearances. 

Even if it looks fake, there’s still a charm to the craft that just can’t be replicated with CGI. Whenever a person in the cabin gets corrupted by the evil of the book, they transform into hideous creatures, and the makeup designs here are all top-notch, and come in a creative variety. One of my favorite designs is the headless girl with the chainsaw … that’s awesome. Sam Rami also has a lot of fun using the cabin setting for various supernatural oddities. There are reflections in mirrors coming to life, eyeballs flying across the room, a girl gets dragged around by killer trees, and I love that just about every object in the house becomes a character. All the best horror movies like “The Shinning” or “The Exorcist” have distinct visuals that instantly come to mind whenever you think of them, and “Evil Dead 2” is no exception. The first thing that always comes to my mind is that mounted dear head that laughs maniacally along with all the other house hold appliances. It’s probably my favorite little scene of the whole film, as no other horror movie features anything as goofy as that, and I love that our main hero cracks and joins in with all the laughter. One thing I hated about the original “Evil Dead” was its repetitive bloodshed and gore, which I’ve never been a fan of. This film on the other hand gets it right, because despite featuring gallons of blood exploding from the walls, it’s all still cartoony supernatural blood, and that’s fine with me. It’s like the elevator blood from “The Shinning”, which I was okay with as it wasn’t coming from a person.

   Let’s finally talk about Bruce Campbell in his signature role as Ash Williams. Most iconic characters from horror movies are usually the villains, but this is a rare case in which it’s the hero who stands out as the films recognizable mascot. He’s a horror victim, a slap-stick goof and an action hero all rolled into one. Even though the first film started his carrier, it was his portrayal of Ash in this sequel that made him an icon of the genera. He’s laid back and chill, dishing out quotable lines … “GROOVY” … and yet he’s also over the top and loony. His physical acting is what I admire the most, as he puts his body through all kinds abuse, just for the sake of a laugh. He and Sam Rami channel a lot from the “3 Stooges” for the layout of the physical slap-stick on display. The most famous scene of the whole film is when Ash’s hand gets possessed by evil forces, and what follows is an epic battle between one man and his out of control fist. Resourcefully, Ash severs his hand, traps it in a container, and then places a copy of the book “Farewell to Arms” on top … I absolutely love it. Then of course he spends the rest of the movie with a Chainsaw for a hand, and a loaded shot gut in the other, which completes his bad ass design.

   Once we segue into the climax, the main girl learns that she has to read a passage from the book to banish all the evil entities through a black-hole. The catch … all the fiendish forces have to take a physical form, leaving Ash the one guy who has to battle every one of them. There are zombie-witches flying around, giant monsters, winged creatures, and all kinds of cool stuff on display. Once all the action is done, Ash accidentally gets sucked into the black-hole, and is transported back to ancient times. This is the one thing I never liked about the movie, as the setting felt out of place when compared to the cabin, and I hate when horror movies end by setting up a sequel. Naturally, a third film followed titled “Army of Darkness”, which dropped all the horror elements in favor of straight-up goofiness. I liked it a little more than the first “Evil Dead” movie, but it still wasn’t on par with the second film, which still stands as one of my favorite hybrids of comedy and horror.   

   In the end, I wish the title “Evil Dead 2” was dropped in favor of “Dead by Dawn”, that way it could stand apart from the first the same way “Army of Darkness” did. It’s that rare sequel that stands apart from a popular franchise, and has stuck with me as a personal favorite. Bruce Campbell is awesome as the lead, Sam Rami directs the shit out of the film, and everything else is wild, fun and innovative. Typically, I prefer layered stories, and character arc’s, but sometimes I just want to have fun, and that’s what “Evil Dead 2” is. It’s like a theme park ride set in a spooky fun house, and that’s cool with me. Yet, despite it’s over the top nature, this is still a movie that’s inspired countless young filmmakers, and continues to do so through the years. Along with “The Shinning” and “Fright Night”, I think this movie stands as one of the best of what 80’s horror has to offer.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1987 Horror classic “Evil Dead 2” … and treat yourself to one good scare this October.     

Happy Halloween!