Give yourself a pat on the back everyone. After a long and chilling winter, two weeks of what could be considered spring and three months of one of the hottest summers on record, we made it. Fall is finally here.
I truly think fall is the season that trumps all. Seven times out of 10, when you ask someone what their favorite season is, they are going to say fall. What is not to love about it? You can wear sweaters with shorts or pants with a T-shirt and still be comfortable. It has the best flavored foods in my opinion, from apple pie to, admittedly, pumpkin spice. But what truly takes the cake is the entertainment associated with the autumn season.
However, I feel that whenever this time of year rolls around, everyone’s knee-jerk reaction when they turn on the TV is to re-binge all seven seasons of “Gilmore Girls” with a couple of trashy horror flicks thrown in. While I also cannot complain about returning to the world of Stars Hollow, I challenge you to branch out with these four fall media recommendations you may or may not have seen yet.
“Ginny and Georgia.” This show is slightly controversial in the eyes of the public. It is basically “Gilmore Girls” but with a slightly darker plot line and numerous plot twists. However, it is still a comforting mom-and-daughter show set on the East Coast in a cute little town.
While it may seem like a cheesy premise, I went into this show with the exact same skepticism and finished it eager for season two. There is something comforting about the corny dialogue and predictable couplings. I argue that “Ginny and Georgia” is actually very entertaining, and lines up well with the autumnal season we just began. If it is ever a chilly night and you feel like returning to a classic, I challenge you to try out this show instead.
“The Haunting of Bly Manor.” Many people know the sister show, “The Haunting of Hill House.” The reason I recommend this show over the latter is truly due to personal bias. I thought “The Haunting of Bly Manor” was just the right amount of scary, combined with plot. I am in no way saying that this show is good for people who have no tolerance for spookier media. Rather, I think Netflix was able to create a horror television show that did not sacrifice the quality of the story or characters, just so a couple of extra jump scares could be added in.
It also incorporates elements of a love story. By no means does this make it a rom-com, quite the opposite, actually. But, if you’re looking for a new show to start that you need to be engaged with instead of passively watching, this is the one for you. It has a very intricate plot and a timeline that leaves you wanting answers at the end of each episode. Plus, it takes place in the ’80s, so the costume design is more fun than your run-of-the-mill contemporary horror show.
“The Blair Witch Project.” We cannot have a fall watch list without some Halloween movies on it. Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. The main activities are dressing up in fun costumes or staying in with a bowl of candy and silly horror movies. Yet, I need to give at least one serious horror recommendation. This movie is not for the faint of heart.
Without giving any spoilers, I’ll preface this by saying it is not a horrifically gory movie with heart-stopping monsters. This movie is more of a psychological horror movie. The suspense that gradually builds up over the course of the film puts the audience in a constant state of fear over what will happen next. The movie itself is a very interesting work of art, seeing how the movie is shot purely from a “found footage” point of view. All the scenes are shot by one of the characters on a shoddy hand camera that they brought with them. This is my favorite horror movie of all time, but I recommend you watch it with a buddy.
“Ghostbusters.” Honestly, I feel like I need no justification for this film. When I was pondering a less intense Halloween movie to add in, I had some other films such as “Hocus Pocus” and “Casper.” While they are good movies, I do not believe they carry the same cultural significance as “Ghostbusters” does. It is so beloved that they have remade the movie, once in 2016 and again in 2021.
Nothing beats the nostalgia that you get watching this movie. It is a classic family-friendly movie that does not make you feel like a toddler while viewing. I guarantee if you ask some friends if they would want to have a “Ghostbusters” viewing party, few would say no.
