It's here! It's finally here! The week we've all been waiting for! I don't know about you, but I'm trying to figure out a way to wear my costume every day this week! I'll be going to the annual Spiral Dance hosted by Reclaiming SF this Saturday where I'll get to join in the ritual with witches from across the nation! What are your plans for the weekend? Is anyone going trick-or-treating? Does anyone want to send me their extra candy?! Please?
This week's got some biggies! And just remember, this list is not in order of best or worst, but instead a mash up some classic favorites with the occasional obscure film thrown in to create the perfect playlist for your October.
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Day 26: The Crucible (1996)
Oh Winona, what a babe. Everything you do is so strangely beautiful. First Beetlejuice, then this wonderful Arthur Miller play. This play is a necessity in your bookshelf. If you don't own it, go here and buy it right now. I'll wait.
Salem Massachusetts, 1962, not the best time to be accused of witchcraft. But with young village girls running around all willy-nilly, it's bound to happen. Imagine you're in high school. Now imagine that the groups of girls that hate you can have you killed by calling you a witch. Welcome to The Crucible. (It's obviously much more complex than that, but you get the picture.)
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Day 27: Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
I cannot express to you enough how much this movie means to me. Studio Ghibli is a Godsend, and this film is its holy grail. (At least in my opinion.) Every piece of this movie will delight and inspire you to go out and live a magical life.
Kiki leaves home at 13 to train as a witch, with her trusty black cat by her side. She finds a place to live, and a great job delivering items with her flying broomstick. But everything starts to fall apart when she starts to lose her magic!
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*Special Note*
Tonight is the full moon! So go out and bathe in the moonlight. When it comes to dancing under the full moon "the nudity is entirely optional, as you well remember!"
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Day 28: The Initiation of Sarah (2006)
This was a tough decision between the 1978 original and this remake. The only reason this one wins? Summer Glau. *Sadly sings the Serenity theme song*
Two sisters join a sorority then soon find out they have magical powers. This couldn't possibly go wrong!
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Day 29: The Worst Witch (1986)
Mildred Hubble is the original Neville Longbottom. This is the movie that started it all for me. I felt like I WAS Mildred Hubble. I was geeky, generally terrible at everything I did, as well as hated (and tortured) by the popular girls. This movie taught me lessons that have lasted a lifetime and was my initiation into the world of witchy films. Not to mention this was my first introduction to the magical man that is Tim Curry.
Mildred is literally the worst witch at her school. (Her and Seamus Finnigan would have been BFF's at Hogwarts.) She battles head-on with the other girls and magical hijinks ensue.
P.S. If you have a child (hell, even if you don't!) go and buy the book series. They're a national treasure.
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Day 30: Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
Oh yeah, the amount of creep is on point. Häxan is a Dutch silent film, but if you find the right link on youtube you can read the subtitles in English.
The whole film is a study of the "Malleus Maleficarum." Yeah, that one. It explores the superstitions and misunderstandings of disease that led to the witch-hunt hysteria. For bonus points: it was banned in the US for graphic depictions of torture, nudity, and sexual perversion. Now that's my kind of film.
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The Big Night : Halloween
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Ever since it first premiered in 1993 I've watched this film with my family every Halloween. Now that's some great parenting! I definitely plan to continue this tradition with my kids someday.
Max Dennison is a virgin who doesn't know how to take things seriously. He lights the black-flame candle and brings the three Sanderson sisters back from the dead. What do they want? To suck the lives out of all the children of Salem Massachussetts so that they can live forever. Easy peasy right? Not if Max and his sister Dani have anything to say about it.
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So tell me what you think guys. Were there any movies that I was crazy to not include? Were there some that you just could not force yourself to sit through? Let me know in the comments below!
Now, sadly my friends, when the sun rises on Sunday morning, it will no longer be October, but November 1st. Remember though, October 31st is the Witches New Year, so start fresh with your new life, and have a Happy New Year!