Hello, Blog! Yet another week has passed and I’ve run into nary a British celebrity—not even Harry Styles on a Lime bike. In other words, nothing particularly interesting has transpired in the world of Camden on account of my dutiful attendance to many English lectures and seminars. While I find the subject matter to be quite interesting, I refuse to write about it without the promise of a grade, so I’ll spare you the details of Shakespearean plays and George Herbert’s The Temple.
If you were tuned into the last blog, you’ll know my parents visited me in London and very graciously kept me abundantly entertained and fed. I believe, however, they took with them a bit of London’s magic in their luggage and the past week has been a bit more gloomy than it was before. What can I say? They’re my besties.
In an attempt to keep things interesting and keep money in my bank account rather than in the hands of tourist traps and the London transportation system, I’ve decided to embrace the spooky season and attempt to complete my long list of autumnal movies.
I’ve constructed this list by consulting TikTok, Pinterest, several online film forums, my extensive Letterboxd watchlist, and my own nostalgia. To best customize my experience to the specific feeling I’m searching for at a given time, I’ve divided the movies, TV shows, and specials into three categories: “Thriller/Horror,” “Spooky,” and “Cozy Autumn.”
For this week’s blog, I’d like to do a quick overview of the films I’ve watched this past week to hopefully inspire readers to take advantage of the spooky season, and to more importantly, boast my attention span and commitment to longform media.
Scream title screen
I commenced this movie marathon with a bang, opening with the iconic 90s slasher, Wes Craven’s Scream (1996). This being my first movie of the season and my first ever slasher, I was pleasantly surprised by the element of fright coupled with the subtle humors that made it feel so quintessentially 90s. I paired this movie with a Cadbury Marvellous Creations Jelly Popping Candy chocolate bar, and the scariest part of the evening by far was the rate at which I demolished every decadent, milky morsel. Indulge in these bars at your own discretion. And the movie, of course.
Scream: ★★★★☆
The following day, I watched Ghostbusters (1984) for the very first time, and other than affording me the understanding of references made in Stranger Things and a chance to listen to that banger of a theme song, I got nothing out of this experience. Sorry to the die hard fans out there. “Who you gonna call?” A time traveller so I can get my 105 minutes back.
Ghostbusters: ★★½☆☆☆
Sweet Home Alabama title screen
American Psycho title screen
To switch things up and remind myself there is, in fact, life after Ghostbusters, I decided to switch over to the uncharted category thus far, “Cozy Autumn.” I began with Sweet Home Alabama (2002), which, similarly to the first two films, was a first-time watch for me. This film was just okay. I opted in for Patrick Dempsey and unfortunately, the confederate flags in film somehow held more screentime than McDreamy.
Sweet Home Alabama: ★★★☆☆
That same night, I continued with another film slightly less horrific than the last, American Psycho (2000). If anyone tells you this is their favorite movie, run. And if you end up watching it, run preferably to the nearest park so you can reconnect with nature. At least, that’s what I should do. I won’t be rewatching, but I’m very glad to say I’ve seen it so that if I ever use Patrick Bateman as a quick Halloween costume, I won’t be a complete poser.
American Psycho: ★★★½☆☆
Corpse Bride title screen
I took a brief and much needed intermission from the “Thriller/Horror” category and spent the following two evenings watching Todd Durham’s Hotel Transylvania (2012) and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005). While I had already seen Hotel Transylvania, it was my first time seeing the iconic Burton film, which again, gives another good costume to Future Maggie who will eventually spend her Halloween season somewhere other than her bed, watching movie upon movie. I enjoyed both flicks!
Hotel Transylvania: ★½☆☆☆☆ (I can enjoy it and simultaneously give it a low rating, right?)
Corpse Bride: ★★★★☆
Friday the 13th title screen
Mean Girls title screen
Jennifer’s Body title screen
At risk of penning the great American novel and not a short blog, I have to briefly touch on the rest of the films from this week because there were some certified bangers. I watched Friday the 13th (1980) for the first time and while I can see how it came to be so iconic, the only redeeming quality of the movie was seeing a young Kevin Bacon. I would still recommend it if you’re in a creepy Halloween mood. The same evening, I watched Mean Girls (2004) to check off a movie from my “Cozy Autumn” list. I’ve seen this movie countless times and enjoyed reciting my favorite lines to myself and somehow laughing at the jokes I’ve heard again and again. Mean Girls is a near perfect film, and is certainly perfect to watch in October.
Friday the 13th: ★★★☆☆
Mean Girls: ★★★★½☆
I watched another four new movies including: Good Will Hunting (1997), Jennifer’s Body (2009), Hocus Pocus (1993), and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). To sum it up quickly: great, great, good, eh.
Good Will Hunting: ★★★★½☆
Jennifer’s Body: ★★★★☆
Hocus Pocus: ★★★☆☆
Silver Linings Playbook: ★★★☆☆ (In my world, 3 stars can somehow mean either “good” or “eh” for some reason?)
This concludes my review of my 2025 Fall Movie Watchlist so far. I’ve had so much fun watching all these movies and writing reviews, so stay tuned for plenty of movies to come for the rest of the season! Thank you for reading 🎃
Cheers! xx