October is the month for spooky movies—and now is the time to get a watch of some classics in before November arrives. Whether you’re a classics aficionado or simply looking for Halloween inspiration, we have you covered.
Get some costume ideas from Bill Murray—whether it be his Ghostbusters look or the harder-to-pull-off Groundhog Day fit (wear a suit and tie, set your alarm clock to 6 a.m., break it, carry it around, and look generally dazed and confused).
Or if you’re already over Halloween after Thursday, Netflix has enough options for going the other route: turn off all your porch lights so kids think you’re not home, stay inside, and have a Lord of the Rings marathon.
Caddyshack
Not much can beat this 1980 film with Bill Murray, Ted Knight, Chevy Chase, and Rodney Dangerfield. Stick a bunch of golf clothes on some funny guys, make Bill Murray a man obsessed with killing gophers, and you’ve got a comedy.
Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood plays a retired and angry Korean War vet named Walt Kowalski. But when a gang tries to get a teen to steal his car, Walt and the teen become unlikely friends, and Walt becomes a little bit more than the angry old man next door.
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Binging every single Harry Potter movie in October might feel like a good way to spend the month (ghosts, witches, warlocks, and the like are all there), but mixing in some J.R.R. Tolkien is never a bad idea. Both the 2002 and 2003 Lord of the Rings films are available until November 1. So, grab some hobbit costumes and get going.
The Departed
The Departed has a stacked cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen. That’s quite the line up. Set in Boston, this film is about an Irish mob boss who places a plant (Damon) in the Massachusetts State Police, while the police do the same thing to the mob boss. Sneaky.
The Sixth Sense
These days, Haley Joel Osment is turning up in Netflix’s The Kominsky Method, but back in 1999, he was Malcolm Crowe, the kid who saw dead people. In truth, he’ll always be that kid to anyone aware of pop culture—now or then. Anyway, Malcolm sees a child psychologist (Bruce Willis) for help. There’s a pretty big spoiler, but let’s stop here, in case you don’t already know it.
Stardust
Back in his Meet the Parents era, Robert De Niro also starred in a fantasy movie about a boy named Tristan (Charlie Cox) who sees a star fall beyond his town, the fictional Wall, Great Britain. He promises his crush, Victoria (Sienna Miller), that he will bring her back the star, Yvaine (Claire Danes). Tristan is not the only one after the star, which makes this more of a hero’s journey, if you will.
Groundhog Day
Another Bill Murray go-to, this 1993 movie is about a weatherman who relives Groundhog Day, a usual nothing holiday, over and over again. This means a lot of Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, which is never a bad thing. Thank you for this gem of a movie, 1993.
The Graduate
Dustin Hoffman plays a young college graduate who doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life, except that he wants Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) to be part of it—at least for a little while. We also have this movie to thank for the line “One word: plastics.”
Little Women
Greta Gerwig’s Little Women is coming out on Christmas Day, but it’s always nice to throw things back to a simpler time, even if that time is 1994. That version features Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, and Winona Ryder: a true all-star cast of the ’90s.
Coco
This 2017 animated movie about a little boy who ventures into the spirit world on the Day of the Dead is perfect for this week. It doesn’t leave Netflix until November 29, but Día de Muertos starts on Thursday, so if you were looking for a time-specific reason to watch this one, your reason is here.
Hilary Weaver is a freelance writer based in New York who writes about politics, queer issues, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, and every woman the Queen has ever made a dame.
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