17 Comments
Oct 29Liked by haley larsen, phd

I've rewatched a few favorite classic Halloween movies from my childhood with my own children this year -- Beetlejuice, Casper, and Coraline.

Expand full comment
author

Oohhh I love all of those!! Casper is so cute—I thought Kat was the coolest girl ever when I was little.

Expand full comment
Oct 29Liked by haley larsen, phd

What a lovely rundown of how to get in the Halloween mood, Haley. Enjoyed this.

Expand full comment
author

thanks Wendy!!

Expand full comment
Oct 29Liked by haley larsen, phd

Talk To Me. Surprisingly good

Expand full comment
author

I haven't seen it but A24 never misses!!

Expand full comment
Oct 30Liked by haley larsen, phd

I revisited The Woman in Black film this year and it was so so good. Also experiencing more Shirley Jackson armed with some close reading skills (ahem) was wonderful. I’m currently taking a break from reading some Poe to catch up on my stacks ☺️

The steampunk top hat 😂😂😂 the single most distracting piece of costumery ever. But I agree doctor sleep was a fun reinvention of that world. I hope you love the stand!

I have such a movie crush on Alan Rickman. He’s what we call ugly hot even though that has now been a bit politicized. I love this take on Harris vs Gambon, Harris has such heart while I fully agree gambon is more devious. I’m nervous for this series they’ve threatened us with…

Expand full comment
author

Yesssss! Shirley is SO WEIRD. I love reading her books when it's cold and rainy out.

The top hat was truly so wild. The whole movie I kept wondering if she had a secret under there because boy, did she wear it all the time. lol. The scene with the little boy ripped my heart in five thousand tattered pieces.

I *adore* Rickman. And Yes!! Gambon is so deeeeevious, almost a little gleeful in a way that Harris was more dry and reserved. Both are fantastic interpretations of the character. Harris's feels more like how Harry would've viewed Dumbledore as a little boy who is brand new to the magical realm; Gambon feels like how Harry starts to view Dumbledore a bit askance as he learns more about his history (especially with the sister!!!!)

Okay: is the series going to be good? Are they gonna dial up the adult roles, like the politics and culture of the "Muggle" world vs Magical? I think the movies have such a perfect balance of how children experience the realities of political derision. I'm worried they'll do to this series what the Breaking Bad team did to Anne of Green Gables lol

Expand full comment
Oct 30Liked by haley larsen, phd

I'm not a zombie girlie but Shaun of the Dead is a classic! I must rewatch Hocus Pocus, I don't think I have in several years!

Expand full comment
author

oh my god, I LOVE Shaun of the Dead!!!! hahahaha I forgot about that movie! I also love Zombieland. It makes me laugh so hard.

Hocus Pocus is a true treat. I love watching it!!!

Expand full comment
Oct 30Liked by haley larsen, phd

I am a scaredy-cat regarding horror movies and avoid them., as well as Sci-fi TV. The only full fledged horror/sci fi movie I've watched in my adult life is Donald Sutherland's Pod People. But I love campy series like Buffy, and am so so on Bettlejuice (a little too manic for my taste) and Hocus Pocus (over-the-top camp, although the underlying affection did work for me.) I don't find Harry Potter books or movies to fit the horror category - and enjoyed both, although Rowling needed a more severe editor with several of the later books. For that reason, I liked the Gambon Dumbledore more; he added the elevated horror of the school-gone-wrong story with his retreat from the fight and reliance on a young and inexperienced Harry to win the day.

Expand full comment
author

Okay: I have not watched Buffy (it was a bit ahead of my age group growing up, so I missed the peak years of its appeal on tv) but I keep hearing I need to get into it!! I like your reading of Gambon as closer to the horror genre, in his take on Dumbledore. That feels so intriguing to me! I really like the 3rd film because of the horror direction that Cuaron took with the werewolf story – I wish more of the films had the darker aesthetic of that one!!

Expand full comment
Oct 30Liked by haley larsen, phd

So far this month, I have enjoyed I'll Be Waiting, by Kelley Armstrong, and Wanderers, by Chuck Wendig. I gave them both 4 stars, rather than 5: Armstrong because I figured out the plot twist early on, and Wendig because it was a little longer than I thought it needed to be.

Expand full comment
author

I don't know either of these so I'm writing them down to learn more!!

Expand full comment

I'll Be Waiting is a new ghost story; Wanderers is an older apocalyptic novel.

Expand full comment

I've rewatched 1990 "The Witches" adaptation (iconic) and watched the new one with Anne Hathaway (terrible). Tomorrow I will probably rewatch The Innocents (1961), the best Turn of the Screw adaptation ever made and one of THE BEST movie adaptations hands down. By the way why is it that most spooky books we're reading are set in summer? Did people in the past think August was scarier than October?

Expand full comment

*raises mug in solidarity to going through a vampire phase now*

Also thank you for giving me motivation to figure out which streaming service Over the Garden Wall is on. Maybe I'll watch that on Election Night instead of...literally anything else.

Expand full comment