Knives Out (2019)
Rian Johnson’s smash hit boasts a nail-biting whodunit mystery; a stellar ensemble cast including Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, and Michael Shannon; and so much cozy knitwear. It’s led by a never-better Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc, who’s investigating the sudden death of a wealthy mystery novelist. Make movie night into a double feature with the sequel, Glass Onion—though, it’s much more of a summer movie.
Practical Magic (1998)
Set in a quaint New England town, Practical Magic stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as Sally and Gilly Owens, two sisters from a long line of witches. But their ability to cast spells comes with a catch: Their family is cursed, and any man loved by an Owens witch is doomed to death.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Sure, this Rob Reiner rom-com spans many years and seasons, but there are plenty of scenes with dreamy fall foliage and cable-knit sweaters to classify it as a fall film. Starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, When Harry Met Sally follows two friends trying to navigate their relationships—including the one with each other.
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Coraline (2009)
Neil Gaiman’s imaginative novel is brought to life with gorgeous stop-motion animation in Coraline. The story follows a girl who discovers a parallel reality where everything appears to be better than her drab life. But not everything is as it seems, and Coraline begins uncovering that the shiny surface conceals something rotten.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
When a group of kids accidentally conjure the notorious Sanderson witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) into present-day Salem, chaos—and hilarity—ensue. This film has cultivated a loyal following for 30 years, prompting a 2022 sequel and a forthcoming third installment.
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
After winning Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture with Moonlight, Barry Jenkins wrote, directed, and produced If Beale Street Could Talk. Based on James Baldwin’s 1974 novel, KiKi Layne stars as Tish, a young woman who must prove her boyfriend’s innocence after he’s jailed for a crime he didn’t commit.
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Casper (1995)
When a “paranormal therapist” (Bill Pullman) and his teenage daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) move into a spooky and abandoned mansion, they discover almost immediately that the house is awash with ghosts. While three of the poltergeists insist on causing mayhem, Kat befriends Casper, a lonely child spirit.
The Craft (1996)
When new girl Sarah shows up at their high school, a trio of outcasts befriend her to complete their circle of witchcraft. The girls begin casting spells to fulfill their teenage desires and get back at those who’ve wronged them. But soon their summonings come back to haunt them, and their powers grow out of control.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Every frame of this stop-motion Wes Anderson film is overflowing with delicious oranges, ambers, golds, and browns. Fantastic Mr. Fox stars George Clooney as Mr. Fox, a reformed chicken thief who’s planning one more big heist: to steal goods from three of the meanest farmers around. Also featuring Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Jason Schwartzman, watching is like injecting autumn straight into your veins.
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Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Pat (Bradley Cooper) has just finished treatment at a mental health facility for bipolar disorder when he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a troubled woman dealing with the sudden death of her husband. The two strike up an electric, though uproarious, relationship in this story about love, loss, dance contests, mental health, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
In this Oscar-winning film, Robin Williams is poetry teacher Mr. Keating—or, as the boys he instructs call him, “O Captain! My Captain!” His unconventional teaching methods cause him to butt heads with the other professors at the stuffy boarding school. His students, however, are inspired by the lessons and enthusiastically revive an old club of Keating’s creation: the Dead Poets Society.
October Sky (1999)
NASA engineer Homer Hickam’s memoir Rocket Boys is the basis for this film. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Hickam, a teenager who’s inspired by the 1957 Sputnik 1 launch and begins building his own rockets. But his father is less than impressed with his son’s new passion and wants him to focus on becoming a coal miner instead.
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Coco (2017)
Coco, like most Pixar films, is a beautifully animated story that will leave your face tear-streaked. It’s all about Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Mexican holiday where family members who have died are remembered and celebrated. In Coco, it’s on this day that Miguel meets Héctor, a skeleton who is in danger of being forgotten forever.
Friday Night Lights (2004)
What’s fall without football? For the small Texas town of Odessa, the Permian High School Panthers games are the most important events of the season—if not the entire year. Starring Billy Bob Thorton as the Panthers’ coach, this movie follows the high school players as they deal with the pressure of seizing the state championship and inspired the 2006 TV show of the same name.
Clue (1985)
Based on the board game, Clue is a comedy with a killer ensemble cast featuring Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, and Christopher Lloyd. The fun and offbeat whodunit features three alternate endings, each revealing a different murderer (or murderers).
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The Goonies (1985)
Ke Huy Quan, Sean Austin, Corey Feldman, and Jeff Cohen are “the Goonies:” a group of misfit kids that finds a pirate treasure map. They have to survive booby traps and a notorious crime family as they hunt down the hidden riches to save their families from foreclosure.
Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021)
The first installment in Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy, 1994 is a bloody good time. It’s set in a small town called Shadyside that’s plagued by disasters and killings, where a group of friends unwittingly disturb the grave of a 17th-century witch. It’s not long until they find themselves hunted by mysterious killers themselves. Based on books by R. L. Stein, think of it as Goosebumps for grown-ups.
The Addams Family Values (1993)
Arguably the best installment in the Addams Family franchise, The Addams Family Values has the offbeat humor and quirky characters we’ve loved since the 1960s. But this movie introduces Addams fans to fabulous original creations, too: There’s Joan Cusack’s Debbie, a nanny with a dark secret. Then there’s Joel Glicker (David Krumholtz), an awkward, allergy-plagued kid who’s bewitched by Christina Ricci’s Wednesday. Finally, there’s Camp Chippewa: a summer camp run by two overly enthusiastic counselors that implodes during a play of the first Thanksgiving.
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Halloween (1978)
John Carpenter’s horror classic is surprisingly free of blood and gore while still being one of the best horror movies of all time. Halloween is the story of an escaped killer, Michael Myers, who begins terrorizing the teenagers of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night. It features Jamie Lee Curtis’ first ever film role as Laurie, a babysitter who goes head-to-head with Myers.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Sleepy Hollow reimagines the haunting folktale of Ichabod Crane. The bloody murders and all-star cast (featuring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, and Christopter Walken) make this Tim Burton movie a delight for horror movie fans, but the dreary setting of a New England town besieged by a headless phantom is what really gets you into the seasonal spirit.
Claudia Guthrie is a freelance writer based in Denver. When she’s not writing about food or pop culture, she’s probably listening to the latest true-crime podcast or binge-watching a Mike Flanagan Netflix series for the third time.
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