Written by Grace Carpenter
Disney+ has made a collection of Halloween shows and movies this October, compiled of many Disney made movies, as well as those targeted towards older audiences with their STAR collection.
Here is a list of my top picks from the collection, as well as a few that I plan on watching this year in the lead up to Halloween.
My Top Picks
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
This is a horror/musical movie that was released in 1975. It is about a couple whose car breaks down in the middle of a storm, and they seek help from people living in a castle nearby.
They experience many strange things during their stay and meet very interesting people. I love musicals and horror, so this was the perfect blend for me.
Overall, the movie is very quirky and definitely a classic I think everyone should watch at some point.
Jennifer’s Body
Starring Megan Fox as Jennifer, and Amanda Seyfried as her best friend Anita, this movie released in 2009 is perfect for this Halloween.
It follows the story of two high school best friends dealing with school and boys, however there is a bit of a twist. Jennifer gets possessed.
She is sacrificed to Satan and turns into a succubus, and Anita has to try and stop her from hurting more people.
It perfectly combines the drama seen in high school shows whilst adding in a great horror story to the mix, and this is why I absolutely love it.
Cruella
Cruella is a recent movie made by Disney following the origin story of the villain in 101 Dalmatians, Cruella D’Evil.
We see her when she’s young and goes by her original name, Estella.
We see her love for fashion grow as she makes her mark on the industry. She quickly becomes friends with some thieves and begins to embrace her evil side, as she works to get revenge on the people who have wronged her in the past.
This movie is a great origin story of a very famous villain in Disney, with so much suspense and mystery woven in to make it a gripping tale.
I highly recommend this movie for people who love Disney and this Halloween would like to see the story from the villain’s perspective.
Maleficent
Another great Disney movie which follows the story based mainly from the villain’s side.
This movie shows Maleficent’s backstory, and how she grew up as a kind fairy, until her lover betrayed her.
As revenge, she curses his daughter Aurora, but she discovers when the daughter is grown up, that she needs her help in protecting their beautiful country.
Starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning, this retelling of Sleeping Beauty is a beautiful story about love and change.
There is also a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, that came out in 2019, that I have not seen yet, but is definitely now on my watchlist.
American Horror Story
This TV show is definitely moving away from the stories in the movies made by Disney.
It is a series of horror stories, with each season being a separate story taking place in a separate time or location.
Disney+ has ten seasons, and seasons 11 and 12 are still to be added to the streaming platform.
Here is a quick overview for the first season, which has been my favourite out of the few that I have watched.
Season one is called Murder House. It follows the story of a family moving into a mansion, that comes with a housekeeper and some eccentric neighbours.
The father, Ben, is a therapist and often meets with his clients at the house. His daughter, Violet, becomes attached to one of his clients, Tate.
They discover the house is haunted by ghosts of previous owners of the house, and many weird things start to occur.
This show is great if you love horror with a bit of mystery and gore. I highly recommend watching this show if you’re not scared of a little horror, but it does cover some possibly triggering topics so I would recommend looking up warnings before watching.
A final note from Grace
Looking through the list on the Disney+ Halloween collection made me realise there are so many awesome movies and shows I haven’t seen yet.
I have just started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it is an awesome TV show following a high school girl who has been chosen to be the slayer.
Here are some more that I will be watching in the leadup to this Halloween: Edward Scissorhands, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Goosebumps.
