Great Halloween Movies to Rent for Kids
Scary DVD Rentals Make Fun Halloween Night Movies
Aug 9, 2009
Halloween’s a great time for scary movies – but for parents with young children, finding DVDs to rent that have the right balance of scary and entertaining can be difficult. After all, if your DVD rentals are too scary, the kids will have nightmares, but if the movies don’t have any thrills, they won’t feel like good Halloween movies either.
Fortunately, there are plenty of movies to rent that can please both parents and kids. Check out the list of Halloween movies to rent below and make your next movie night a time of family friendly thrills.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
The first (and arguably best) of comedy duo Bud Abbot and Lou Costello’s Universal Monster movie comedies, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein offers a three-for-the-price-of-one deal by letting the comedians tangle with not only Frankenstein’s monster but also Count Dracula and the Wolf Man.
When baggage clerks Chick (Bud Abbot) and Wilbur (Lou Costello) unload the remains of Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) and Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) for a horror museum, they figure the whole thing is just a big gag. But when the monsters rise from the dead, the two find themselves in a load of trouble – especially when Dracula decides to make Frankenstein’s monster easier to control by giving him Wilbur’s brain!
Fortunately, help arrives in the form of Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) who’s a real nice guy – except during full moons when he transforms into the Wolf Man. Soon, Chick and Wilbur get trapped in Dracula’s castle, where they narrowly escape a dungeon and mad scientist laboratory before getting caught in a fight between Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein’s Monster that’s equal parts slapstick and haunted house fun.
A true classic, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein lets the movie monsters keep their scary qualities but also allows them to be funny by playing off the comedians. Nowhere is this more evident than in a hilarious scene where Costello enters Larry Talbot’s room and -- through sheer dumb luck -- repeatedly avoids getting attacked by the Wolf Man, while remaining totally oblivious to the danger he’s in. It’s a rare film that’s both a good monster movie and a great comedy, but this Halloween DVD rental definitely fits the bill.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
In Halloweentown, everyone hails to the Pumpkin King Jack Skellington, the one ghoul who can make every Halloween something to scream about. But for Jack, Halloween has lost its appeal, making him long for something new and different to explore.
Then one night, Jack stumbles through a magic door that leads him to Christmastown, a magical place where children throw snowballs instead of heads, and warmth and generosity fill the air. Eager to explore “this Christmas thing,” Jack gets all the witches, vampires, and monsters in Halloweentown to make toys for the world’s children so he can give Santa Claus a vacation and take over the upcoming Christmas.
Unfortunately, Christmas isn’t easy for the monsters to grasp, and soon they’re churning out all sorts of warped Christmas toys – from monster wreaths to toy snakes that eat Christmas trees. But as Christmas nears, Jack’s plan takes a dark turn when his minions kidnap Santa Claus without his knowledge and take him to the evil Oogie Boogie. Can Jack discover the plot in time to save Santa – before he unwittingly destroys Christmas?
The brainchild of producer Tim Burton, this Halloween movie is many things – including a brilliant stop-motion animated film, a catchy musical, and one of the weirdest Disney movies to come out of Walt Disney Studios. Some scenes, such as the creepy sequence where Oogie Boogie interrogates Santa, may be a bit frightening for younger kids. Despite this, the movie still charms, since most of the monsters remain surprisingly innocent and eager to get into the Christmas spirit – even if they do miss the mark on almost every level.
A lot of fun to watch, The Nightmare Before Christmas makes a great Halloween DVD rental (not to mention a nice Christmas movie to rent as well).
Fun Facts:
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was originally called The Brain of Frankenstein -- but that title was deemed too squeamish.
- Lou Costello initially hated the script to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, especially when he learned whose brain Count Dracula wanted in Frankenstein's monster.
- Tim Burton worked for Disney in the early 1980s before going off to direct movies like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands.
- While working at Disney, Tim Burton directed Vincent, a short stop-motion animated movie about a warped little boy who thinks he's Vincent Price. The short (which is narrated by the real Vincent Price) is included in the Special Edition The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD.
Find more lists of fun movies to rent and behind-the-scenes stories of horror shows at How Universal Studios Created the Munster Family and Parody Films to Rent for Sci Fi Fans
Want to do a fun Halloween craft activity with kids that will create great Halloween decorations? Read How to Make Fake Halloween Eyeballs.
Sources:
Riley, Philip J. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Universal Filmscripts Series Classic Comedies, Vol. 1). New Jersey: Magicimage Filmbooks. 1990. ISBN: 978-1882127108
Thomas, Bob. Disney's Art of Animation. New York: Hyperion. 1997. ISBN: 0-7868-6241-6
 |
 |
