There’s always the big debate – does a movie taking place at Christmas make it a Christmas movie?  I fall on the “not” side of this argument when the 1988 movie Die Hard comes into question. 

It’s not just the jolly holiday to which this quandary applies.  Since October starts at the end of this week, I recently came across a list of the Top 10 Halloween movies and began to wonder, just because it came out at Halloween is it a Halloween movie?   The answer is:  YES!!!  The reason is:  they’re (mostly) scary!!!

Personally, I love a good suspense film.  Hitchcock was the master, but there are many good modern ones.  I really hate slasher films.  Call me old-fashioned, but I really don’t think you need to see someone’s spurting blood or grey-matter splattered to have a Halloween film.  Most people don’t realize it, and will deny it when asked about it, but you never see the knife enter Marion Crane’s (Janet Leigh) body in 1960’s Psycho.  You see the knife, you see Crane screaming, you see the torn curtain, and you see the blood (chocolate syrup) run down the drain, but you never see an actual stabbing. 

One of the movies on the list that brings up the original debate is:  The Nightmare Before Christmas (also known as Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas).  The stop-motion animated musical dark comedy was released on October 13, 1993 making it a Halloween movie.  But, it centers around characters wanting the feeling of Christmas.  So, which is it? 

I’ll let you continue the debate for yourself.  As for me, the #4 on the list is my #1 – It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!  There’s no debate that it’s the most sincere.