Every once in a while I will select a general topic and select movies to accompany it. As you can see the more child-friendly movies are at the start of the day, but when night falls: ‘here be monsters’. Please feel free to give suggestions of other unknown movies.
One rule though: Auteur themes like ‘Shakespeare’ or ‘James Bond’ are not allowed. ‘Spy-movies’, naturally, are.
Theme: Ghosts
Ah ghosts; some of the oldest stories in the world involve a (maleficent) spirit or other. So naturally there are a lot of possible movies to choose from. This is my little list of movies that deal with ghostly figures.
08:00-10:00
Paranorman: A sweet little story to start the day with. I’m a great fan of stop motion animation and Laika and Aardman are the two greats in the world. Laika’s Paranorman is about a young boy who can see ghosts and accidentally rekindles an ancient curse. It might be a bit too scary for the little ones but overall it is a great tale about being who you are.
Paranorman: A sweet little story to start the day with. I’m a great fan of stop motion animation and Laika and Aardman are the two greats in the world. Laika’s Paranorman is about a young boy who can see ghosts and accidentally rekindles an ancient curse. It might be a bit too scary for the little ones but overall it is a great tale about being who you are.
10:00-12:00
Child of
glass: This movie scared the heck out of me as a child. Strangely enough I had
no qualms with Anthony Zerbe getting his head chopped off in an episode of
Columbo (or blown up in Licence to kill). But the nasty person he plays in this one…
12:00-14:00
12:00-14:00
Tower of
Terror: Straight from the Disney 90s factory. It basically sells you what’s on
the tin. But there is a nice story behind it about restless ghosts who all died
in an elevator disaster. Rumor has it that this movie will be remade in the
near future.
14:00-16:00
14:00-16:00
High
Spirits: Again Steve Guttenberg. Plus Peter O'Toole earning an easy paycheck and (Shindler’s list's) Liam Neeson earning a honest paycheck playing a disgusting
ghost. It’s fun, but terribly outdated by today’s standards.
16:00-18:00
16:00-18:00
Casper: Definitely not the best movie on this list apart from one fascinatingly great
scene. Christina Ricci’s character discovers Casper’s (being dead and all) old
playroom and decides to set up all the toys as a surprise. Casper, when he
comes in, discovers an old sled. This triggers a remembrance in Casper in
which, in one fantastic monologue (definitely helped by James Horner's
soundtrack), he explains how he died.
Casper is a child. And Casper is dead, a ghost. So how does a child explain something as fantastical as his own death? He calls it 'I got sick'. In a child's mind there is no death. Sickness is the closes to death any child can phantom. And, just because, he doesn't say something as obvious like: 'I died', the dramatic impact becomes that much grander. Basically the scriptwriter figured that we the audience were clever enough to pick up on the obvious hint. And, yes, we usually are.
Casper is a child. And Casper is dead, a ghost. So how does a child explain something as fantastical as his own death? He calls it 'I got sick'. In a child's mind there is no death. Sickness is the closes to death any child can phantom. And, just because, he doesn't say something as obvious like: 'I died', the dramatic impact becomes that much grander. Basically the scriptwriter figured that we the audience were clever enough to pick up on the obvious hint. And, yes, we usually are.
18:00-20:00
Ghost graduation: A fun Spanish movie for the afternoon. A teacher who happens to see
ghosts decides to help some ghostly teenagers to graduate. It’s a fun and
charming movie at times. And the poster is a great callback to The breakfast
club (a movie I honestly dislike…sorry).
20:00-22:00
20:00-22:00
Ghostbusters
2: Almost as good as the first one-It has a marvelous villain. But this time
the tongue is more firmly in cheek as it were. Also this version has one of the
greatest (dark) jokes. When the Titanic finally arrives one of the dockworkers
utters: “Well, better late than never!”.
22:00-00:00
22:00-00:00
Flatliners:
Not really ghosts in this one but close enough. Apart from the creepy
red-hooded boy that pops up all the time I always enjoyed Julia Robert’s
storyline. The scene in which she makes amends with her dead father is tear
jerking great.
00:00-02:00
00:00-02:00
House on
haunted hill: I prefer the remake as it is far bloodier and crazy than the original. A group of people
spent the night in a haunted insane asylum. What could go wrong?
02:00-04:00
02:00-04:00
The
Shining: Of course this one is on the list. I’ve written about it before. All I
can say that it is without a doubt one of the best ghost stories ever put to
film.
Honorable mentions: The haunting (one of the first real haunted house ghost stories).
Honorable mentions: The haunting (one of the first real haunted house ghost stories).
The
innocents (oh that creepy song).
Ghost (great film, just not my cup of tea).
Thirteen ghosts (awesome, but I still need to see the original first before I can compare the two).
The lady in white (far too outdated for today’s standards.
Burnt offerings (not really ghosts in this one).
The great ghost rescue (a fun children’s movie with a great twist).
Johnny and the dead (Brian Blessed bellowing the Internationale – awesome).
And many, many others.
Ghost (great film, just not my cup of tea).
Thirteen ghosts (awesome, but I still need to see the original first before I can compare the two).
The lady in white (far too outdated for today’s standards.
Burnt offerings (not really ghosts in this one).
The great ghost rescue (a fun children’s movie with a great twist).
Johnny and the dead (Brian Blessed bellowing the Internationale – awesome).
And many, many others.
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