TMS Retro: Revisiting Three Halloween Season Classics

(Haxan Films / Artisan Entertainment)

NOTE: This article was originally written for DGO Magazine in 2020

With the release of the supposed conclusion to the Halloween franchise and contemporary trilogy, David Gordon Green’s polarizing Halloween Ends; I’m reminded of how the last couple months of the year are always a good time to revisit our favorite holiday films. This October, rather than watch some of my favorite horror or Halloween appropriate films like Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), John Carpenter’s original Halloween (1978) or Wes Craven’s Scream (1996); I mostly revisited horror and ‘spooky’ family films which blew up in popularity during their initial release when I was growing up. For the sake of shortness and simplicity, I’ll focus specifically on three movies with this piece: M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense (1999), Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez’s The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family (1991).

It had been so long since I last watched The Sixth Sense, that my revisit this month might as well have been a first viewing. But since I already knew the infamous plot twist even with a vague memory on the rest of the film, I can say that unfortunately the twist only truly works the first time you watch the film. That said, I did find the direction very effective and atmospheric enough to make the movie still interesting for multiple viewings. And of course, the cast’s performances—particularly Toni Collette and Haley Joel Osment—hold up today, as does one, completely genuine jump scare that got me near the middle of the film.

(Spyglass Entertainment / Buena Vista Pictures)

The Blair Witch Project on the other hand, is a flick that probably should not have aged well at all considering ‘found footage’ is now one of the more overexposed and predictable tropes in modern horror. But surprisingly, I find the movie even more fascinating now than I did when I was younger. While the feature itself is rather quaint and basic by the standards of Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity (2007) and Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield (2008); to me it’s more intriguing to see these unknown actors and filmmakers basically craft and invent a landmark in both the horror genre and independent filmmaking with Blair Witch.

As for the first The Addams Family film adaptation, this is a movie which thoroughly disappointed me on re-watch as an adult, if I’m being honest. Maybe it’s because Sonnenfeld’s sequel, Addams Family Values (1993) has become the favorite for TV syndication, but nearly everything about the 1991 movie’s tone and humor comes off as annoying and grating through my grown-up eyes. For whatever reason, the goofy mood and comedic timing, including adding Joan Cusack as the villain, just feel more natural with Values to me. I will say though, as someone who has never been attached to ABC’s classic 1964-66 sitcom, I still find the casting more spot-on in the big screen versions. And it will be interesting to see how Tim Burton updates the famous spooky family with his “Wednesday” series streaming on Netflix next month.

All in all, sometimes the films that live up to youth’s perception aren’t the ones you’re expecting.