A trio of Halloween movies you may or may not enjoy

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Starting Oct. 1, we begin our annual tradition of watching scary movies. Sometimes they’re Halloween-themed, such as “Halloween” or “Hocus Pocus,” but mostly they’re anything horror we can find on streaming services. Disney+ has a new Halloween Collection we’ve been exploring, and Netflix is flush with original content, as per usual, so here are three Halloween or otherwise spooky movies you can enjoy with your pack of ghouls and goblins.

First is a classic Disney Channel original called “Halloweentown” starring the legendary Debbie Reynolds. It’s the tale of the Piper family whose grandmother comes to visit each year only on Halloween and only for a short time. When the children decide to sneak on to her bus home, they are transported to the magical burg of Halloweentown where all the monsters, warlocks and witches live. But something is wrong! All the people of H-Town are being mean and nasty and Aggie Cromwell (Reynolds) needs to get to the bottom of it. But when she and her daughter Gwen (Judith Hoag, April O’Neil from the original TMNT film) are incapacitated by an evil warlock, it’s up to Marnie, Dylan and Sophie to crack the case and save Halloweentown.

This movie is adorable and perfectly ’90s. The mask work is commendable, and the effects are what you’d expect from a Disney Channel original. And there are three sequels — all starring or featuring Reynolds — and from what I’ve heard, they’re cute as well. Your kids will love it! Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Snack Packs.

The second from Disney+ is “The Haunted Mansion” starring Eddie Murphy. This was the second of the “ride-inspired” movies, premiering five months after “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” Based (I’ll say it) loosely on “The Haunted Mansion” attraction from Disneyland, the film follows realtor Jim Evers (Murphy) to a huge, spooky mansion to discuss putting it on the market. He diverts his family trip to “the lake” and gets stuck there for the night during a heavy rainstorm. His wife, Sara, is thought to be the reincarnation of the lost love of Master Gracey, the mysterious owner of the house. When she disappears, Jim and his children must out-smart and out-run the ghouls, zombies and other spooky denizens of the mansion to find her before it’s too late!

 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Lincoln L. Hayes is an actor and writer in New York City. His new YouTube project SESSION ZERO is currently in production and should be online in the coming months. Also his sci-fi pilot script was named a finalist in the Port Blair International Film Festival. Wear a mask and please vote.

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