October’s chilly air has crept in with spindly fingers and breathless angst. As this golden time of the year takes hold in the northern hemisphere, Halloween enthusiasts search for movies to chill their bones and warm their heart. Director and producer Tim Burton has cultivated fame around his unique, gothic style. From claymation to live action, the man of the hour builds stories that appeal to watchers’ love for the unusual. However, five of his films stand out among the rest, bringing out all that sparks viewers’ spooks.
Released in 1988, Burton’s “Beetlejuice” rocketed to a classic status for its fascinating characters, advanced technical effects and quirky plot. The movie stars Winona Ryder as goth teenager Lydia Deetz and Michael Keaton as the film’s namesake.
When the Deetz family moves to Winter River, a sleepy Connecticut town, they hope to begin a blissful new life. Their fresh start stalls when they enter their home, a Victorian building previously owned by a young couple who died on the site. The couple haunts the attic, and fearing the family’s encroachment, does everything in their power to scare them away. This attempted scare-off includes contacting Beetlejuice, a “bio-exorcist” with the personality of a 1970s used car salesman. Eventually, the unbothered new family figures out the home’s haunts. While her parents attempt to profit, Lydia helps the young couple move on, leaving only the green-haired sleaze-bag Mr. Juice to deal with.
Edward Scissorhands, played by Johnny Depp, came to artificial life just outside of a suburban Florida town. Trapped almost in the 1950s, the pastel, Levittown-style neighborhood starkly contrasts Scissorhands’ tall, gothic figure and bladed fingers.
The town of typical families initially accepted him, but they eventually began to view the sharp newcomer as a freak, fearing him despite his gentle kindness. One woman, Peg Boggs, takes in the befuddled outcast and introduces him to her teen daughter, Kim. Soon, Scissorhands falls in love with the girl and begins a new path to social acceptance, wrought with mobs, loneliness and ice sculptures.
“I would recommend it to anyone who struggles with differences or discomfort within their own selves. It stands out because of its touching story and the way it blends fantasy with a very human origin tale. The character of Edward, with his mind you scissor hands, is just bizarre and deeply sympathetic, which is a bit different from the darker tones in some of Burton’s other movies,” junior Lisa Scranton said.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas”
A classic in claymation, Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” follows Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king, as he tries to improve Halloweentown and take control of Christmas. The spooky setting contrasts with Skellington’s attempts at Christmas cheer, creating a certain uncomfortable irony. The musical claymation builds a romance between Skellington and Sally, a sheltered girl created by an evil scientist. As Sally helps the pumpkin king stay out of too much trouble, the reimagined Christmas holiday creates chaos around the world.
With seven awards and seventeen nominations under this movie’s belt, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” stands as a Burton holiday classic, regardless of the holiday.
Another Burton claymation, “Corpse Bride” stars Johnny Depp as Victor Van Dort. The young man finds himself in a love triangle between struggling heiress Victoria Everglot, played by Emily Watson and dead bride Emily Merrimack portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter, both of whom need him. In the late Victorian village, the fates of these two women rest on Victor, but ultimately, his heart can only guide him.
Like the majority of Burton’s work, the film has faced mass critical acclaim. With nine wins and thirty nominations, one including an Oscar, “Corpse Bride” stands as a flawless selection for those who value a film’s professional praise.
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”
Based on the book series of the same name, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” follows Jake, an American teenager who recently lost his beloved grandfather. When his father takes the saddened teen to an Irish town, he explores his grandfather’s old school. There, he meets Miss Peregrine and her students, kids with special abilities. He realizes that his grandfather spent time at the school under Peregrine’s care, but none of the members of the man’s stories seem to have changed. Caught in a loop to protect themselves from invisible Hollowgasts, the children and their avian guardian need someone who can see their foes. Like his grandfather before him, Jake learns he possesses this peculiarity, but the power carries danger.
“This film is just weird and unique, and if you love fantasy this is your type of movie. I think that people felt connected to this movie because there’s many people that are considered weird or peculiar and… they should be seen as normal. Everyone should be seen by the way they are and not just by just being weird,” senior Karismel Acosta Martinez said.
Through love stories and scary moments, Tim Burton manages to create masterpiece after masterpiece in film. These impeccable qualities shine, but the movies’ ability to provide an opportunity to spend time with one’s friends, family or significant other exemplifies Burton’s true excellence.
