The time is finally here, at least for Texans, when the weather drops to a cool 80 degrees and midterms beg for attention while UT football season tempts us. In the midst of it all, a good ‘ole movie marathon could be just what we students need to romanticize the fact that heat strokes no longer threaten us on our way to class; oh, and that UT students are back in town, baby.
From horror and gore to throwbacks and thrillers, there is a movie on this list for any mood. Cut the lights, get some snacks, close the blinds and get ready to relax and escape into these fictional worlds.
Horror
“Scream 2” (1997)
Starting strong with a classic fall genre, the “Scream” franchise follows suit in being a classic itself; it would be a crime for it not to make this list. “Scream 2” spices things up compared to its popular predecessor, ”Scream.” After a string of serial murders that started with a simple question, “What’s your favorite scary movie,” Sydney and Gale Weathers think their worst fears are behind them, but there is a new scary movie in town, and it elicits the murder of two college students. Maybe the worst is yet to come.
Where to watch: Sling (free)
Gore
“Jennifer’s Body” (2009)
After a night out at a concert with her friend, “Needy,” Jennifer Check is reborn–with some new tastes. The following of a high school ”Queen B” who has men willing to die for her and a friend willing to kill for her. “Jennifer’s Body” has a gorgeous girl turn to gore.
Where to watch: YouTube (Primetime subscription), Hulu (Premium subscription), The Roku Channel (Premium subscription), Amazon Prime Video (Premium subscription), Google Play Movies & TV (rent), Apple TV (rent), Vudu (rent), Max (subscription)
Thriller
“Flatliners” (2017)
What’s a film that follows med-school students without depictions of overachieving, competition, and blood, sweat, and tears (literally)? What starts as an experiment turns into a competitive recurring death sentence to research the unknown. But, as there are consequences to cheating in medical school, there are consequences to cheating death. Leave it to the zealous college students to challenge that notion, and ultimately make the hospital beds they may not arise from in the end.
Where to watch: fuboTV (subscription), Hulu (Premium subscription), YouTube (rent), Google Play Movies & TV (rent), Amazon Prime Video (rent), Apple TV (rent), Vudu (rent), Sling TV (Premium subscription)
Silly Spooky
“Scary Movie” (2000)
Another contemporary classic that’d be a crime to deny a place on this list, “Scary Movie” is a comedic mock of the first “Scream” movie. Okay, it really isn’t that scary at all. Still, it does follow a group of particularly interesting teenagers after a Halloween night with all the fun and not a single smart decision (as the story typically goes). After possibly being just about spooked out, “Scary Movie” may provide solace as five spirited people try to escape their own serial killer.
Where to watch: Hulu (Premium subscription), Amazon Prime Video (Premium subscription), YouTube (rent), Redbox (rent), Google Play Movies & TV (rent), Apple TV (rent), Vudu (rent), Max (subscription)
Throwback
“Carrie” (1976)
A movie thought to be so good it got a 2013 remake; “Carrie” follows a pushed-aside teenage girl who both her mother and classmates torment. A mix of anger, frustrations and terror begins to boil over as the film makes its way to the iconic, blood-spilled prom scene and viewers learn that maybe Carrie’s peers, while horrific in their ways, were right, and she really is different.
Where to watch: Hulu (Premium subscription), Amazon Prime Video (Premium subscription), Redbox (rent), Apple TV (rent), Vudu (rent), YouTube (buy), Google Play Movies & TV (buy), Max (subscription)
Nostalgic
“Halloweentown” (1998)
Escape into a new world with the Pipers as they journey into “Halloweentown”. Not only is this movie nostalgic, but viewers can also be spooked by the reminder of life as a preteen (oh, the horrors!) In case you don’t remember, and for the minority that hasn’t seen “Halloweentown,” the movie is packed with surprise after surprise as the viewer finds out their grandmother is a witch, and, not only that, lives in a town full of other perplexing creatures. If that isn’t enough, what’s a Halloween movie without some dooming threats?
Where to watch: Disney Now (free), Disney+ (subscription), fuboTV (subscription), Hulu (Premium subscription), Sling TV (Premium subscription), YouTube (buy), Google Play Movies & TV (buy), Vudu (buy)
Feel Good
“Good Will Hunting” (1997)
Is there any movie Robin Williams is in that is not good? A feel-good movie with some challenges. As the story unfolds, viewers get to watch an insecure, secluded, and gifted janitor at MIT find and allow himself to be happy. In the end, “Good Will Hunting” may tell some viewers exactly what they need to be reminded of as college students.
Where to watch: Hulu (Premium subscription), Amazon Prime Video (Premium subscription), YouTube (rent), Apple TV (rent), Google Play Movies & TV (rent), Redbox (rent), Vudu (rent), Max (subscription)
Coming of Age
“Dead Poets Society” (1989)
Proving earlier claims, here is yet another great fall movie with Robin Williams in attendance. At an isolating and demanding all-boys school, Mr. Keating, played by Williams, offers his students an escape when they enter his English classroom. More than poetry is taught in his class as students transform into the people they only allowed themselves to dream they could be. At the end of the movie, Mr. Keating may teach viewers a few things too–like to “seize the day”–as important circumstances students may face in their adolescence, such as academic and identity pressures, are acknowledged. This film is so good, and a crucial film on any fall movie list, that it made two of Burnt X’s movie lists this year. Where to watch: Google Play Movies & TV (rent), Apple TV (rent), Vudu (rent), YouTube (rent)