Sweatshirts are coming out, nights are cooling off, and students want to escape the stress of their course work. It is not uncommon for students to escape by watching movies, but this month calls for a particular genre of movie. Viewership of horror movies skyrockets in October due to the looming holiday at the end of the month that is Halloween. What better way to gear up for Halloween than watching horror movies? Kean University students were asked what their favorite movies to watch during this time of year are.
Halloween movies do not necessarily have to have the intent of scaring an individual beyond capacity. Ellesa Effner, a graduate education major, has a low tolerance for fright, which steered her toward Halloween movies of the good-feel nature. Effner could not decide between two movies as being her favorite Halloween flicks: Hocus Pocus or the Halloweentown series. She describe watching these movies as, “Halloween, without being scared.”
Similar to Effner, Peter Abbate, a junior majoring in information technology, enjoys watching Casper. “I watched it as a kid, so Casper is nostalgic for me,” explained Abbate. Zach Mulcahy, a freshman computer science major, branched out a bit with his choice. His favorite movie to watch during this season being The Nightmare Before Christmas. Mulcahy appreciates “Tim Burton’s creative abilities and I think the plot is pretty cool.”
There are those who revel in being petrified or the possibility of being frightened through watching horror movies. Child’s Play is the preferred horror movie of Sam Montanez, a senior history major. While Montanez used to be afraid of Chucky, that fear is no longer in existence, “I overcame my fear of Chucky, and I even got a tattoo of his face.” Tyquilah Whitehead, a freshman undecided major, chose Friday the 13th as her favorite Halloween pastime. Whitehead believes “The illusion of Halloween, it’s supposed to be scary,” and this movie supports that illusion. Haneefah Cooper, junior criminal justice major, agrees with Whitehead. Friday the 13th was chosen by Cooper because he prefers this genre, “I like watching horror movies, it’s a great way to pass the time.”
From children’s movies to screaming-your-head-off-and-losing-your-voice-for-a-week movies, Kean University students have a wide range of preferences when it comes to their horror movie selections. At times, an individual may have the urge to visit movies from childhood’s past, such as Casper or Halloweentown. Then there are those who prefer being scared, like the fans of the Child’s Play or the Friday the 13th sagas. No matter a student’s favorite Halloween movie preference, it appeared that there were numerous ways to skin a cat… a black cat that is, and enjoy a good Halloween flick.
