Step 12: Watch Some Bad Children's Halloween Movies

 

Quick Points

Scary Music
I'm much more a fan of the music from The Wolfman.

Scariest Moment
It's Alvin and the Chipmunks! There are no "scary" moments! The Wolfman might be a teeny bit scarier than Frankenstein, though.

Scariest Character
Theodore actually becomes pretty scary in The Wolfman.

Scare Rating
It's just scary that I used to think these movies were good when I was younger.


If you couldn't tell from the Quick Points, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman is a better movie than Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein. It makes sense. Frankenstein came out in 1999, a year before The Wolfman. Logic would say Universal Studios would continue to improve their singing chipmunks stories with experience. But man, can you tell these movies are only designed for children.

Both introduce kid's favorite talking woodland critters to Hollywood's favorite monsters, both have one of the Chipmunks turning into monsters themselves, and both have at least one catchy song. Neither one of them goes very deep or offers anything for adults, though. Yes, there's the classic theme of just because you look bad doesn't mean you are bad or you mean to be bad--a great lesson for kids--but Frankenstien's antagonist has no backstory or reasoning behind his madness. The Wolfman's antagonist is a bit more believable, but cheap jokes throughout the movie makes it hard for older viewers to watch the story unfold without groaning.

These are children's movies, though, and for children they're fine. There's jut enough "boo!" to get kids into the spirit, and it's also a cute way to introduce little ones to the classics. While I recommend waiting until you have your own little monsters before taking a trip down memory lane and re-watching these movies, I would go ahead and say they won't rot your kids' brains too much.

---

What did you think of these movies? Comment below!

Step 11: Get into the Holiday Spirit

Quick Points

Scary Music
The little boy raps! It's terrifying, but also somewhat adorable.

Scariest Moment
When Nana finds the hidden camera. You know it's coming, but jeez that woman is creepy!

Scariest Character
See above.

Scare Rating
Not going to lie, I'm a little bit afraid to visit my grandma and grandpa now.




Start off the spookiest month of the year with M. Night Shyamalan's scariest film since Signs--The Visit. Though this movie won't give you nightmares, you will think twice about visiting grandma and grandpa, especially after sundown.

Shot like a documentary, the film follows aspiring director Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her little brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) as they visit their maternal grandparents for the first time. Everything seems normal at first--there's even a bit of comedy thrown in--but this wouldn't be a horror film without a little bit of crazy suspense. Emphasis on the crazy. Nana (Deanna Dunagan) starts running around the house naked after 9:30 pm, and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) imagines that people are following him.  Of course, they've each got perfectly good explanations for their weird behavior--the side effects of old age--but after Becca's hidden camera catches Nana storming to the kids' room with a knife in her hands, the joke's over.

After Shyamalan's long string of duds, it's completely understandable to go into this movie with reservations. While it's by no means the best horror film out there, the movie does keep you guessing throughout the film. Are they really just old? Is there something demonic or supernatural about them? Are they aliens? Is this a sequel to Signs?!  The traditional Shyamalan twist is a good one, though you'll smack yourself for not realizing it sooner. All of the actors played their roles very convincingly, and the documentary-style filming wasn't nearly as bad as The Blair Witch Project.

There were some plot holes throughout the story, and there were a few cliche's (don't go in the basement you dumb kid!), but as I've mentioned several times already, this isn't the greatest horror movie in the world. It is, however, a fun scary movie to watch with friends. I would recommend waiting to watch it until next Halloween, though, when you can rent it from the library. We don't want to pay too much for the movie and give Shyamalan reasons to think he's good again, do we?

----

What did you think of the movie? Comment below!