I can’t say I celebrate Halloween much. I just never developed a fascination as a child with vampires, monsters, goblins, etc. I still like a few Halloween-themed movies that have become modern classics like “Monster House,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “The Corpse Bride” and end up on top Halloween viewing lists, including Movie Mom’s, but I have gone in search of some unusual movie choices for DVD watching this Halloween. Not all of these movie specifically reference Halloween , or even creatures from the beyond, but they have a mix of fun and humor mixed with a bit of darkness that make them interesting viewing alternatives for Halloween.
Any other untraditional. spooky but entertaining films I might be missing? Let me know!
Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Somehow I think all of Tim Burton’s masterpieces have overshadowed this movie as a just-scary-enough movie choice for the whole family. I love Jim Carrey’s performance as Count Olaf, a man who plans to outsmart three orphaned children so he can gain their inheritance. Meryl Streep’s performance in this movie as Aunt Josephine is one that is often overlooked as well.
Bubba Ho-Tep
I stumbled across this cult classic over at Netflix and couldn’t believe I had never heard of this very dark comedy about two retirement home residents (Ossie Davis and Bruce Campbell) and their battle again an evil spirit – and giant bugs. This movie was shot on almost no budget so it is a no-frills campy thriller that still has a surprising amount of heart.

Chicago
I love those Broadway musicals, but haven’t re-visited this movie in a long time , so I was please to discover recently that movie holds up well. No, Halloween doesn’t have anything to do with the plot, but the gorgeous costume look of this movie with its sassy spoof of 20s crime in Chicago still seems perfectly in sync with this time of year.
Shaun of the Dead
My favorite spoof of horror movies- particular zombie movies- has to be this movie. From the folks behind the equally hilarious “Hot Fuzz,” a man stuck in a boring life, changes his destiny when he fights a community of beings who are back from the grave and want to munch on the living.