Welcome to the Kid’s Made For TV Halloween

 I honestly can think of a better title.

When I was still in elementary school (nearly thirty years ago…shivers), I took an early October trip to Disney World. This was before Halloween had really taken off into the phenomenon at theme parks it is today and Disney World was focused on its 25th anniversary celebrations (yes, I saw the Pink Castle).

While on that trip, I first road the Tower of Terror…and didn’t like it. I was pretty young and it was before Disney had changed the ride to its modern (less intense) setting. I much preferred the spooky Haunted Mansion.

However, since it was close to Halloween, Disney played its first (made for TV) movie about one of its park ride, The Tower of Terror (1997), on one of their channels. It starred Steve Gutenberg (whom I knew from Three Men and a Baby) and a very young Kirsten Dunst. Did it scare me? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Much more than the ride. 

For a long time I thought the movie was a fever dream. It was rarely shown on TV and might have become part of childhood lore without the advent of the Internet. In the early Wild West days of YouTube, I found someone who uploaded the whole movie - in multiple ten minute parts. It was eventually taken down (like many of those early YouTube bootlegged movies) and I struggled to find a copy, even through Amazon, until I found a bare bones DVD at Target. I grabbed a copy.

Guys, this movie still hasn’t been added to Disney+. 

The Haunted Mansion has TWO theatrical movies! Why can’t we get a new Tower of Terror. The ride has as much of a cult following as Haunted Mansion.

I digress.  

The Tower of Terror isn't the only made for TV movie that shaped my childhood. It especially isn't the only Halloween themed made for TV movie that I anxiously hoped to see year after year. So today, I bring you a list of made for TV and direct to video/DVD movies that shaped younger years during the month of October. 

This list will not include long episodes of shows (sorry "House of Villains" fans) nor will I include anything I can't fully prove existed (I guess this means I have to leave off the "Are You Afraid of the Dark" TV movie I swear existed). All of these movies were made in the 1990s to early 2000s. These are in no particular order. 

1. The Tower of Terror - since I started this post with a rambling explanation on my early memories and quest to find this movie, I might as well mention it first. This movie is spooky with a few intense scenes (spoilers: the elevator falls at a couple of points in the plot). Though there isn't any reference to the TV show "The Twilight Zone" - which the ride supposedly lives in - it keeps a lot of the same plot points in the ride's story. Kids over the age of 7 or 8 should be okay to see it. Sadly, Disney has given this movie the "Disney House of Mouse" treatment and pretends it doesn't exist.
2. Halloweentown 1, 2, and High - Nothing says Halloween more to a 90s and 2000s kid than one of the Halloweentown movies. I'm particularly fond of the first two movies (maybe because I really liked Marnie and Luke as a couple). I'm including Halloweentown High because it's one of my sibling's favorites. I'm glad Debbie Reynolds was in these movies as she brings a bit of cozy class among all the fun camp. No Halloween is complete without watching at least one of the movies. We do not acknowledge Return to Halloweentown. 
3. Don't Look Under the Bed - Disney Channel Original Movies are going to pop up a lot on this list and this is one of the best in their horror category. Though not scary for adults, this movie was eventually pulled from the October rotation because of parents complaining about how the movie scared their kids. There are plenty of intense scenes, especially when Boogeyman/Boogey-person shows up. This movie is primarily about how forcing kids to grow up too fast is bad for their emotional development (it's not explicitly stated, but it is heavily implied) and that children shouldn't have to step into an adult role when they are clearly not ready for it. It was one of my favorites as a kid and I honestly thought it was lost media until Disney+ finally added it to its library. 
4. Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman - if ever there was a love letter to the Universal Wolfman movies, this is that movie - which might surprise some of you. Alvin, Simon, and Theodor are in a school production of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", but when Alvin is banded from all things spooky due to nightmares, Theodor steps up into the Mr. Hyde role. At first timid, Theodor's attitude changes overnight after getting bitten by a "dog". Alvin and Simon visit Madam Raya - an Elvira like character - who tell them to bop Theodor on the head with something silver to save him. Luckily, their next door name, Mr. Lawrence Talbot, has a cane with a silver wolf head that was originally a bullet that killed his great grandfather. Are you seeing where this plot is going? I still enjoy this movie and watch it every year (I have it on DVD). The songs are kind of catchy and there's plenty of fun chaos with only a couple of intense moments. This is a good introduction horror movie to little ones. 
5. Scooby Doo on Zombie Island/Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost - technically these are two separate movies, but I'm counting them together because they are part of the four movie series that kicked off the 2000s revamp of Scooby Doo. They are not long episodes. They are stand alone movies that share a universe. Zombie Island is a straight up horror movie. As the name implies there are zombies roaming an island. Many a parent thought they were putting on a fun Scooby Doo movie only to scar their kid for life with Zombie Island. Witch's Ghost isn't as scary as Zombie Island, but this movie is all about the fall. It takes place in a small New England town haunted by a witch who reminiscent of the Salem witch trials. This movie also introduced the Hex Girls - an eco goth band with witchy vibes. Witch's Ghost takes some liberties with witchcraft as a modern religious movement (um, no Wiccans are not a hereditary group and popped up in the early 1900s). I'd recommend these movies for older kids. 
6. Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire - part of me still finds it funny that Mr. Sheffield from "The Nanny" played a vampire trying to date Sabrina the Teenage Witch's Aunt Hilda in this 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie. When a divorced mother of three is set up by two of her children on a date with a mysterious man to get her out of the house (because she had rightfully grounded them), craziness ensues when the mysterious man turns out to be a vampire. Lizzie McGuire's dad...I mean...Malachi Van Helsing comes to help the kids save their mom. I haven't rewatched this one recently, but I do remember being very worried for the mom while she was in a trance. Also, seeing all these actors I was familiar with from other shows I enjoyed was a lot of fun. Good for a family movie night.
7. Twitches/Twitches Too - I can't leave two of my favorite witches off this list. Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry star as two long lost twin sister and heirs to a magical kingdom, sent to the non-magical Earth (our world) to be kept safe until they are unexpectedly reunited around their 21st birthday. Together they learn of their magical and royal roots while working to fulfil a prophecy that might turn deadly. It's a fun fantasy story that is light on the scares, but qualifies as a part of the Halloween lineup. Alex/Artemis was my favorite growing up because of her awesome writing powers and her association with the moon and all things nighttime. This movie is particularly good for your more feminine leaning kids. 
8. The Scream Team - apparently this movie was supposed to be a backdoor pilot to a TV show that was never picked up, which means I can include it on this list. Scream Team has a great cast including Kat Dennings, Eric Idle, Tommy Davidson, and the great Kathy Najimy. This movie is about death and accepting when a loved one leaves us unexpectedly. Idle, Davidson, and Najimy are ghosts helping two kids, who recently lost their grandfather, find their grandfather's ghost and get him to cross over to the next life - all while avoiding a fire welding angry ghost named Zachariah Smith. It's a heartwarming and fun take on a serious and sad subject. 10 out of 10, I recommend, though maybe for kids over the age of 7.
9. Phantom of the Megaplex - I love this Disney Channel Original Movie and was disappointed when Disney stopped showing it regularly in October. Not only is Micky Rooney a great addition to the cast, he brings a certain charisma and nostalgia for older movies that elevates the story from simply silly to meaningful. The movie roughly follows the plot of Phantom of the Opera (if you think of oldest brother, Pete, as the Christine of the story...that might be giving too much away). There's a phantom running around causing mayhem on the night of a major movie premiere. Siblings, Pete (who actually works at the Megaplex), Karen, and Brian are on the case to find out who the mysterious phantom is. Hopefully they can dodge the cinema sitter, love rivals, and actual responsibility to catch the phantom in the act. It's just a shame that Pete's manager is MIA for most of the night after "firing" the previous theater's owner, Movie Mason (he didn't actually work at the Megaplex, but "volunteered" to help with the premiere preparations). This movie is all about the love of classic cinema and how movies themselves are magic. One of my all time favorite lines comes from Movie Mason: "When we arrive in this world, magic is all around us. You simply have to see a baby discover a butterfly or a toddler splash in the bath for the first time. Yet, as the years pass, simple pleasures aren't quite so simple to find. Myths and legends fall away. Santa's secrets are revealed. Card tricks lose their fascination. True wonder is hard to come by. But there's always... magic at the movies". It's sweet and not really that scary. Good for kids all ages. 
10. It - Yes, I'm talking about the 1990 Steven King TV miniseries. Yes, I'm counting it. There wasn't a kid in the 90s or 2000s how didn't know someone who saw this movie way too young and swore it was the scariest thing they had ever seen. It was a staple of Halloween sleepovers and caused a generation of kids to be wary of clowns. But let's be real, the 1990 It isn't scary. The 2017 and 2019 movies are much, much better. The 1990 version is campy and funny. Not that I recommend showing a ten year old this movie (because that's how it's now advertised as). However, this made for TV movie was a staple of my childhood - not that I wanted my parents to know I'd seen it. I also didn't find it scary as a kid (probably because my first actual horror movie - which I was also way too young to watch - was Arachnophobia, which set the bar high for spider horror). I do think that it's a good intro horror movie for the more mature preteens to Steven King. Plus it has Tim Curry in it and he was a major part of any 90s kid's childhood.

Are there any made for TV movies you remember for the Halloween season? I have some vague memories of TV movies on ABC Family that I swear existed (like the "Are You Afraid of the Dark" movie), but can't remember the names or plots of - just that they were scary. Are there some modern TV/direct to streaming movies that you enjoy during the Halloween season? My sibling loves Under Wraps (2021). Let me know in the comments. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week. 

Welcome to the Haunting Horror

Happy belated Halloween! Did you guys have a spooky time? I was suffering from some extreme jet lag as I had spent the past week exploring the Pacific Northwestern region of the United States. Then I decided to take the red-eye home. The only thing scary about my day was the lack of sleep.

When was the last time you felt scared?

The feeling doesn't have to be because of something major. I feel scared for many reasons, some of them even silly. Fear, horror, and terror are all associated with feeling scared. I tend to find myself terrified of some social situations (none I will specify here) or when one of my cousins decides to take a mountain pass road on the side of a cliff...in the rain (“it’s only 8 miles” my foot).

Fear is subjective.

As a child I was always fearful of mysterious monsters in my closet or under my bed. I would build a wall of stuffed animals to keep vampires and ghosts away. Don’t even get me started on zombies. I can’t stand zombies even to today (if only they weren’t a real probability of occurring right?).

Did someone say monsters?

It took a long time for me to be able to watch or read horror stories. There are some stories I still won’t watch (mainly of the torture/slasher variety). I don’t like blood and gore at all. Even in college I wouldn’t watch the show Supernatural after a certain time.

Except things started to change.

It was a slow process. I was always aware of stranger danger, but it wasn’t as big of a reality until I moved away from my friends and family. The idea that I could fail didn’t seem as scary until I was responsible for providing for myself. The future always seemed bright and shiny until I realized there was very little I could do to control it.

My fears went from imaginary monsters to intangible realities. I can’t punch a fear that doesn’t have a physical form.

I also started embracing more of the horror genre as a way to deal with my own nightmares. Slowly at first with kids shows and cheesy movies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I became drawn to the beautiful side of horror. Gothic sets with ominous lighting and music scores that could draw out every emotion the characters felt. I really liked horror video games with their intricate stories and emerging the player as both the protagonist and omnipresent observer. Fatal Frame and The Haunting Grounds are two great titles that pull this off.

Now, it’s become a lot harder to horrify me with movies, books, and even video games. It’s not that I’ve seen it all or that I know the genre too well. It’s more that a lot of horror mediums these days rely on cheap scares to jolt their audience into an adrenaline rush.

The type of horror I’m drawn to is subtle. It isn’t a sudden jump scare or loud “boo” to the face. It’s seductive, able to draw their victim in to a beautiful trap that leaves them shaking for days after wondering when the next bout of terror will come. It’s a horror that stalks its prey long after the prey has escaped.

A great example of this horror done well is the new Netflix original The Haunting of Hill House. I was surprised by how off putting and truly terrifying the mini series was. The very few jump scares were on point and not cheap thrills.

The new Suspiria movie that just came out is an equally terrifying experience (though I wasn't so keen on the Epilogue portion of the movie). Much like 2018's The Haunting of Hill House, this remake of the 1977 classic takes things in a completely new direction while keeping the bar bones of the original. It's a slow burn horror movie that draws the viewer in and isn't shy about being upfront with the supernatural aspects of the movie.

However, these examples might not be seen as scary or engaging enough for everyone.

The thing about horror is that its incredibly subjective. A movie like the 2017 It doesn't scare me for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm not scared of clowns, 2) I know that there's a whole other part because I watched the original 1990s miniseries, and 3) the imagery that's supposed to shock me - doesn't. That doesn't mean there weren't a few good scares in the movie. I definitely jumped when I first saw the headless boy following Ben and the scene with Pennywise coming out of the projector was creepy as all get out. I still enjoyed the movie, I just wasn't scared by it.

I may find it creepy, but it's not scary.

As my taste in horror media changed, so too did the things that scared me. I'm no longer scared of ghosts or witches or vampires. Now I'm scared of things that are a lot more abstract and less straight forward to fight back against. I'm scared of the a future I can't predict. I'm scared of hypothetical situations that I can neither control nor account for. I'm afraid of isolation and being forgotten about.

People have different fears, anxieties, and feelings. What one person finds scary another finds invigorating. Some people like being scared, others hate it with every fiber of their body. Fears morph and change as your life does the same.

Just remember one thing: whatever your scared of, no matter how mundane - it's okay to feel that fear.

Just try not to let those fears take over your life.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.