It's Halloween, what shall we watch?
DVDs for the whole family...
The Witches (PG)
Roald Dahl's book is spookily translated to the screen. Young Luke is taken to a posh English seaside hotel by his grandmother, but little do they know it is where a coven of witches is hosting their annual convention. The Grand High Witch (a marvellous Angelica Huston, whose witchy make-up may alarm younger viewers) decrees all English children should be turned into mice, and it looks like Luke is her first victim. How can he alert grown-ups to her plan now he's a helpless mouse...?
Monsters Inc (U)
The whizzes from Pixar - makers of Finding Nemo and Toy Story - produced another animated treat with this tale about the monsters who lurk in our wardrobes. They're actually cute and cuddly creatures – especially fuzzy Sulley and his spherical sidekick Mike – who are really scared of humans and find themselves in big trouble when a little girl they have spooked follows them back to Monstropolis...
Ghostbusters (PG)
Hilarious spooky comedy with Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd as the paranormal 'experts' who set up a ghost-busting business when ghouls and spooks start popping up all over Manhattan. It's not meant to be very scary, but parents of little ones should note that there are a couple of nasty hell-dogs who crop up halfway through...
Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (U)
Aardman Animations, the group behind Chicken Run and Shaun The Sheep, deliver their first feature to star Wallace the dotty inventor and his bemused dog, Gromit (previously seen in A Close Shave and The Wrong Trousers). This time, the pair are on the trail of a giant, angry rabbit who is terrorising locals and eating their prize veggies, just days before the Giant Vegetable Competition at Tottington Hall...
Casper (PG)
Casper is the cutest ghost you're ever likely to meet - the spectre of a little boy, he haunts Whipstaff Manor with his three odious uncles, Stench, Stinkie and Fatso, but really just wants a pal of his own. When young Kat (Christina Ricci) and her dad (Bill Pullman) move in, Casper finally gets his wish, but his uncles are desperate to get rid of the 'fleshies' inhabiting their home...
DVDS FOR THE OVER 12s
Gremlins (15)
Actually set at Christmas, this is the story of Billy, who is given a cute cuddly creature called a Mogwai by his Dad, who found it in a quirky Chinese shop. Billy's not to feed the creature he's named Gizmo after midnight, has to keep it away from bright lights and must never let it near water. Of course, Billy soon breaks the rules and the result is that Gizmo pops off a few dozen offspring. Unfortunately, they're not as cute as he is...
The Dark Crystal (PG)
Muppet creators Jim Henson and Frank Oz made their first non-Muppet movie with this dark fantasy epic. Scary flying creatures called Skeksis rule the land, but there is a prophecy that a small creature, a Gelfling, could end their rule. The Skeksis think they have killed them all, but a young Gelfling raised in secret sets off on an epic journey to restore order and peace to the land...
Spirited Away (PG)
A Japanese animated adventure, this is the tale of a ten-year-old girl who is moving with her parents to a new house in the suburbs. Dad takes a short cut, however, through a mysterious tunnel and the family find themselves in a seemingly deserted town. But when night falls, faceless spirits appear and the girl realises she is trapped in a spirit realm...
Beetlejuice (15)
Superb horror comedy from director Tim Burton. Wholesome couple Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) Maitland die in a car accident and discover they are haunting their old home, which now has a new family living there who are remodelling their picture-postcard house. Unable to scare away the new residents themselves, the Maitlands call upon the rude, belching, vile bioexorcist 'Betelgeuse' (Michael Keaton), who will rid these humans from their home... for a price...
Monster House (PG)
A deliciously dark animated adventure. Three kids discover a haunted house in their suburban neighbourhood when they go to retrieve their basketball and get a little more than they bargained for – the wooden home is hungry and can use its hall carpet to gather people up and pull them inside. Inventive stuff – a sort of junior Amityville Horror – with some great laughs and good scares.