As Halloween quickly approaches, pop culture fans are faced with the mounting dilemma of what they should dress up as to celebrate the spooky holiday. While it can be tempting to dress up as characters with distinct senses of style like Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction, many fans forget to consider the costumes their favorite film characters adorned during Halloween celebrations of their own.
Since these costumes are only shown for the limited span of these Halloween party scenes, it is only natural that viewers gloss over these looks entirely and stick to instantly recognizable costumes. However, sometimes the best Halloween costumes are so obscure that only fans with a similarly keen attention to detail can truly appreciate them.
10 Kat As A Victorian Girl Let Viewers See A Different Side Of Her
Casper
As the first-ever Casper movie, it was pertinent for Casper (1995) to contain elements that set it apart from other movies with ghost protagonists. Thankfully, the film accomplished this through its uniquely friendly, charismatic specter and charmingly witty tomboy deuteragonist Kat.
Although Kat's tomboy sensibilities are reflected in her wardrobe for much of Casper, her girly Halloween costume drastically strays from this. The frilly costume is topped off with Kat's black combat boots — a detail that reminds viewers of her tomboy aesthetic. Since Kat dresses in this manner to help restore Casper's memories from his past life, it is refreshing to see Kat do anything to help her friend, Casper.
9 Gertie As A Cowgirl Was Refreshingly Adorable
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
When viewers first think of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, it is practically impossible to overlook the heart-warming bond between E.T. and Elliott and the pair's emotional goodbye. In addition to its refreshing central theme of accepting others who are different, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became an instant classic and continues to be lauded by film critics as one of the best films of all time.
Another aspect that makes E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial great is seeing a young Drew Barrymore portray the adorably charming Gertie, Elliott's younger sister. This adorableness is perhaps most notable when Gertie dresses up as a cowgirl for Halloween and can't even begin to contain her excitement for the spooktacular holiday.
8 Velma As Ruth Bader Ginsburg Was Immensely Impactful
Scoob!
Viewers who grew up with the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? cartoon series generally agree that the franchise's latest films are mere cash grabs that can never truly recreate the magic of the Mystery Inc. gang's early days. However, these latest additions often contain elements that refreshingly speak to how the political climate has changed since the cartoon initially aired.
A prime example of this manifests in the 2020 film Scoob! when the gang dresses up as their favorite superheroes for Halloween. While most of the gang dressed up as more conventional superheroes like Wonder Woman, Velma chose to trick-or-treat as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Supreme Court justice who championed paramount legislation for women's rights and same-sex marriage during her 27 years of service.
7 Dani Dennison As A Witch Spoke To Her Effervescent Personality
Hocus Pocus
As a Halloween film, Hocus Pocus stands the test of time for its willingness not to take itself too seriously, combined with the compelling characterizations of the twisted Sanderson trio. Although the film encourages viewers to root for Max and his younger sister, Dani, it is practically impossible not to be bewitched by the Sanderson sisters.
This being said, an undeniable highlight within Hocus Pocus was seeing the fiery, outspoken Dani in her unique witch costume. While most TV and film characters who dress up as witches go for the typical black witch's hat and plain black robe, Dani's bright, colorful witch costume is refreshing and speaks to her vibrant personality.
6 Lindy As A Hippy Inspired A New Wave Of Bohemian Halloween Costumes
Beastly
Although Beastly received mostly negative reviews as a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast that doesn't live up to its source material, the film has several redeeming qualities. Much of the film's criticism focused on how the supposedly hideous love interest, Kyle, isn't aesthetically jarring enough to add to Beastly's intended message of inner beauty trumping physical ugliness.
However, moments like the Halloween party scene reminded viewers of Beastly's irreverent humor. While the protagonist, Lindy, was able to dress up as a trendy hippy, Kyle could attend the party without turning heads since other partygoers assumed he was wearing a costume.
5 Oogie Boogie's Henchmen As Trick-Or-Treaters Are The Film's Best Halloween Costumes
The Nightmare Before Christmas
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=750&dpr=1.5)
Even though The Nightmare Before Christmas mostly grapples with the meaning of Christmas and what it means to celebrate the holiday, the film boasts several aesthetically compelling characters that Halloween lovers are sure to love. While most of these characters adorn their spooky wardrobes year-round, there are a few characters whose clothing can truly be considered costumes.
This refers to Oogie Boogie's three henchmen (Lock, Shock, and Barrel), who are dressed in three classic Halloween costumes: a devil, a skeleton, and a witch. In addition to looking like a cohesive trio, these costumes speak to these children's love of Halloween and Halloween Town, where the holiday is celebrated 365 days a year.
4 Donnie Darko As A Skeleton Was Refreshing In Its Simplicity
Donnie Darko
Although Donnie Darko performed poorly in theaters when it was first released due to poor timing, the film has since become a cult classic with a devoted fan base. Besides its refreshingly relatable depiction of teenage angst, many fans couldn't help but fall in love with Donnie as a character when they saw him dressed as a skeleton for Halloween.
While the costume itself is fairly simple, and it is evident that Donnie didn't put much effort into it, this is part of the costume's inherent charm. Something as simple as a skeleton suit with a grey hoodie shouldn't work, but sometimes the most simple Halloween costumes are also the most effective.
3 Michael Myers As A Ghost Proved That The Killer Has A Dark Sense Of Humor
Halloween (1978)
Since its first cinematic release over 40 years ago, Halloween has cemented itself as one of the best horror movie franchises of all time. While it is only natural that some installments are better than others, each Halloween film adds to the franchise's extensive lore and viewers' understanding of Michael Myers' inherently evil ways.
However, the film franchise proved early on that Michael Myers has a sinister sense of humor in Halloween (1978) when the silent serial killer adorned Bob's ghost costume shortly after killing him. This scene is as terrifying as it is darkly comedic, leading many Halloween fans to deem it one of the most iconic scenes in the entire franchise.
2 Karen Smith As A Mouse Is A Classic Pop Culture Halloween Costume
Mean Girls
As a staple of early 2000s pop culture, Mean Girls has remained a timeless classic despite being released nearly 20 years ago. In fact, when movie fans think of iconic Halloween costumes from films, Karen Smith's mouse costume is still one of the first that comes to mind.
Even though the other Plastics dressed in similarly sensual Halloween costumes, Karen's "mouse" costume is the film's most unforgettable Halloween costume due to her simple yet impactful, "I'm a mouse, duh!" In addition to speaking to how Karen embodies the ditzy blonde archetype, her costume speaks to the film's understated yet effective satirical sense of humor.
1 Wednesday Addams As Herself Speaks To The Franchise's Macabre Aesthetic
The Addams Family (1991)
The Addams family is known for being delightfully macabre year-round, so their daily wardrobes cannot exactly be considered Halloween costumes. However, the darkly clever Wednesday Addams inherently pokes fun at this notion in The Addams Family (1991) when she is asked why she isn't wearing a Halloween costume as the Addams celebrate the spooky holiday.
Wednesday is known for her quick wit, which manifests in her apt yet true-to-character response of, "This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else." Like other iconic quotes of hers, this line really makes viewers think and adds to audiences' understanding of the morbid yet affable Addams family.